GianCarlo Ch. 03

Her second time on the motorcycle was way better than the first, there was less fear more thrill. As Gian swerved unto the residential roads Delia was comfortable enough to spread her arms out as they sped toward her house.

"That was fun!" Delia said as they walked toward her front door.

"I enjoyed myself too." Gian said shoving his hands in his pockets. He wasn't ready to leave her yet.

As they reached the door Delia spun toward him and whispered conspiratorially, "I'm not ready to go." Gian broke out in a smile, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Dee said with that mischievous smile and a shrug, "Have you ever seen South Beach at night?"

Dee tiptoed into the house grabbed her sisters little green pouch and tiptoed back out. It was ten minutes before Gian and Dee were barreling down Collins Ave with the saltwater air whipping past them.

"We're here!" Gian said over the sound of air whipping past them, "What's next?"

"We chill out."

Gian parked his bike in a nearby parking lot and they set off onto the dark beach. Delia was the first to take off her shoes reveling in the cool sand contrasting against the warm damp air. "You are super tall," Dee said just making out Gian's form in the moonlight. She heard him chuckle.

"Well, it's the first time you've taken off those...stilts since I've met you."

"I love heels! Is that a crime?" Delia said chuckling along "It's just nice not to be the only skyscraper present."

Gian took off his shoes and walked along. They walked until they came across some abandoned beach chairs and Delia was the first also to plop down in one.

"Do you do this often...the beach at night?"

"Yeah, why not? It's much more peaceful now...and quiet"

They both sat back to listen to the sounds of the beach, and watch the moon sitting on the dark waters. The waves crashing onto the shore created white foam that was stark and eerie against the dark night.

"Reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe." Dee said

"No, that wasn't a totally random connection pulled out of midair." Gian said sarcastically and Delia chuckled.

Delia, remembering Denise's pouch, pulled it out of her pocket and went through it.

"What's that?" Gian asked kind of hoping it was food.

"'Happy' is the code word my sis uses." Delia said pulling out a small baggie of something and a glass pipe. "It's weed, and not very strong weed. My mom's boyfriend got it for their anniversary but my mom didn't want to smoke it with him." Gian felt his jaw drop in shock but then quickly recovered. Delia had a huge family, hippie mother, party girl sister and anxiety issues of course she'd smoke weed.

"Do you smoke that often?" Gian found himself asking. Of their own accord his fangs slid out, it had been at least five months since he had last fed from someone high or drunk.

"Not really, special occasions mostly, like my birthday or graduation, maybe Christmas with my cousins. I don't have the time to walk around high all the time."

Delia had fidgeted around enough with the pipe and had pulled out a lighter. Gian felt himself salivate. He couldn't bite Delia while she was high, he wanted to so badly though. The memory of consuming the spiked blood, the feel of it on his tongue the rush from the narcotics plus the adrenaline saturating it, it was almost overwhelming.

Gian switched his focus to the crashing white foam of the beach. "Why didn't your mom want to smoke it with her boyfriend? She's against it or something?"

"Ha-ha, my mom? Against weed? No, it's because her boyfriends a recovering drug addict. Apparently he was addicted to everything except meth. My guess is it's because meth wasn't that big in the eighties. He's fifteen years sober I believe, and my mom didn't want to be the one to rock the boat." Delia took another drag from the pipe before offering it to the dark form which was Gian. Gian declined, happy she couldn't see his fangs which he seemed to have lost control of.

"How do you feel about that? You know the whole drug addiction thing?"

Gian's voice was unreadable. To Delia it sounded as if he wanted to hear a certain answer, but she couldn't tell which answer he wanted...or maybe she was just high.

"There is no way to feel about it. I mean we all have our weaknesses and it's easy to just give into them. It's easy to succumb to defeat the harder our problems get. He wasn't infallible. I'm just glad he's found a healthier way to deal with it...other than drugs."

"And how is that?" Gian sounded more curious than he meant to lead on.

"My mama," Delia said with a little smile. "I don't know how he deals with her crazy ass but they are adorable together."

They talked on and on about the idiosyncrasies of the people around them. Gian found out that Delia's mom wasn't the only 'crazy' person in her family. Gian's teeth finally receded when he saw Delia yawn and rub her eyes, she looked so young and something within him stirred. He didn't question it he was just happy he could hide his fangs. A strong since of foreboding befell him.

"I think I'm hungry," Delia said before giggling at some unheard joke. "No, I'm definitely hungry." She was silent for a while as she stared at Gian's dark form.

"Chicken Nuggets!" She said louder than she meant to. "I need chicken nuggets!"

Gian chuckled, "You're funny when you're high."

"Shut up and feed me," Delia said before doubling over with laughter. Gian couldn't help himself, he laughed at her giggly state.

After a few stumbles and gales of laughter Gian finally got Dee on the back of his bike and to the nearest McDonald. Gian, although amused by her state, was afraid she would fall off his bike so he tucked her hands beneath his arms. Dee found this to be an endless source of comedy and tried unsuccessfully to tickle him, not thinking once that maybe tickling the guy who has your life in their hands isn't such a good thing. They pulled up to a 24 hour McDonalds and Delia sang 'mickey d's' up until they entered the place. She sounded like an excited five year old.

Once inside, Gian quickly excused himself and made a bee line for the bathroom. He needed to get his head on straight. There were so many emotions swirling within him but more so a deep seeded paranoia sat in his belly. He was sure it was from simply being back in South Beach. He went to shake it off so he can further enjoy Dee's current behavior.

Delia, feeling a little stranded at the entrance, slowly looked around at the patrons of the restaurant. A drunken couple made out at the way back corner, it almost looked like light wrestling and it took everything in her power not to double over with laughter. She snickered covering her face.

Delia caught the attention of two fairly young guys at a booth near the ordering counter. One was a tall slender black guy maybe a few years older than herself, dressed in the Miami gangster's uniform, an Ed Hardy tee, dark washed and baggy jeans, and some ridiculously long chain. The other was Hispanic, given the fact it was south beach it was safe to assume he was Cuban. He was a bit shorter with hair slicked back into a low ponytail and he had two shaved lines in his eyebrows. Delia's eyes watered with held back laughter. Did guys still shave those two lines in their eyebrows? Who was still doing that?

She willed herself to sober up as she made her way to the menu. For some reason this felt like a mission in itself, her limbs felt a little too relax yet her mind was rolling at a million miles an hour as she noticed more and more things to laugh at. As she passed the table with the two guys, the Hispanic one grabbed Delia's hand as she passed pinning her with a lascivious grin. "No thank you," Delia said. She was sure she sounded like a doof but she wasn't sure what one was expected to do in a situation like that. She slid her hands from his and continued toward the counter. Once there, Delia could have sworn she stared at the menu forever until she found the chicken nuggets. She opened her mouth to order and heard.

"Yo, get my girl here some cheese burgers, like three of them, on me." The first thought in Delia's head was 'Omigosh I sound like that?'" the second thought was "Wait, I didn't want cheeseburgers" and the third thought was "This person behind me really need to give me three feet, I can't concentrate with a strangers breath on the back of my neck".

Delia turned around to tell the person behind her to back up when she ran straight into the black guy from the booth. Delia was a little slow with her reactions, thanks to the ganja, and before she could pull away the guy had his arms wrapped around her a hand on each butt cheek. His flea market cologne was burning her eyes and he was forcing his hips to her. She gently pushed him away but couldn't muster the strength to, all the while panic never occurred to her. Her main objective really was to order some chicken nuggets.

"James, get your hands off of other people children." One of the older employees behind the counter said.

"Ms. Rey she knows I'm playing with her."

"Hey, can I order some chicken nuggets" Delia said pushing against the guy to no avail. "Excuse me sir" She said pushing a little harder. He chuckled at her and from behind her she felt the shorter presence of his Hispanic companion. A chill ran her spine as she tried to push away again and his grip tightened, his hands sliding into her back pockets. "Ms. Rey? Can I order some chicken nuggets...ten piece. James lemme go I need to order." Delia said using the names she heard them say.

"Beg me" He said into her ear.

"What? No!" Dee said as fear slowly gripped her stomach. Dee pushed harder against him and was suddenly released and stumbled into the arms of the guy behind her. The guy behind her wrapped his arms around her chest pushing his pelvis into her backside. Her gaze fell on James in front of her.

"Can you guys let me go?" Dee asked her tone sounding conversational, despite her rising panic.

"Why? You don't want to party with us?" The black guy said in front of her.

"Yeah, party with us" The Hispanic one growled in her ear and ground himself against her making her stomach flop in disgust. "Give us what you gave gringo on the motor bike." Something sinister passed between the two guys but they still smiled at her amused.

"Ms. Rey gimme five cheese burgers," the Hispanic one let go of Delia pushing her into the chest of his friends and once again she was locked into a vise grip with his hands on her ass. He groped her ass as if she were his. "We need to keep this ass fat."

He emphasized with a loud smack to said ass. Fear settled into the pit of her stomach and although she still wanted the chicken nuggets she also felt a great urge to pull out some cool Charlie's Angel maneuver and kick these guys ass but she knew that was just her high talking. The guys groping became more insistent and the older employee's rebuffs were half assed at best and not helpful to her. She could feel it coming on. Her heart beat was starting to speed up and become erratic and she felt herself begin to tremble.

"Can you please let me go?" she asked softly, her voice trembling a bit.

"Not until you moan for me." The guy growled

"THE FUCK!?"

****

'I need to get my shit together' Giancarlo thought as he splashed his face with the cold water. No matter what he did this hard cold paranoia clung to him. For some reason he felt like something horrible has happened or will happened and he couldn't shake the feeling. Gian wasn't used to listening to his emotions, they often confused him and he spent most of his time trying to numb them. Ever since Delia came into his life there'd been things he wanted to feel, things he didn't want to suppress or numb.

Gian guessed that with clarity of emotion came some great moods and feelings like how Delia's teasing made him smile and the tingles she causes by simply hugging him goodbye. He also had to deal with the not so great emotions, the anxiety and paranoia and the mounds and mounds of fear, fear of his father, of rejection, of failure and of loneliness.

He wiped his face with cold water again and dried it taking one last look in the mirror. He wondered if Delia even found him attractive. He was a good looking guy and many women did double takes but by his own admission he wasn't CK model gorgeous. His face was angular and his eyes wide and green. They looked cold and distant in his opinion but it was only because he compared them to Delia's soft friendly ones that seem to smile even when she didn't. Gian's hair was about shoulder length wavy and a deep black. Maybe he'd get a haircut, maybe Delia would like that. He wished that he could simply ask her. He would do anything and become anyone for her.

Gian took a deep breath and left the bathroom his thoughts were taking a dark turn. As he made his way to where he thought Delia would be he almost screamed when he saw the two guys surrounding her. One had a handful of her ass while the other twirled a lock of her hair in his fingers chuckling at what the first was saying.

"THE FUCK!?" Gian shouted. He doubted he could help it "Lasciarla adare o io ti uccidero cazzo! Let her go" Gian shouted once more slipping into Italian, a habit he had when he was upset. It was something he shared with his father and he hated it.

Delia used James's distraction to break free. She headed straight for the ordering counter. Her legs were wobbly and she couldn't stop shaking. "Can I get chicken nuggets, ten pieces, and a small fry?" The older employee looked at her bewildered.

"Yo, meet me outside. I'll break your arm for touching her." Gian said making his way to Delia's side. She turned toward him after making her order. A shiver raked her at the look in Gian's eyes. It was predatory, his green eyes went hard and cold like stone. His every move looked deliberate and agile as if he were ready to attack.

"Listen, we were just playing with yo girl. You just need to chill out" James said. He had to be only an inch or two shorter than Gian because the look in his eye told Dee he thought he could take him. Gian wasn't overly muscled or even looked like the type to start swinging but in this very moment he looked like the most dangerous thing in that restaurant. Even the couple pawing after each other stopped to gawk at the scene.

"I'mma need my order to go," Dee said to the employee handing her a ten dollar bill, "keep the change, you did your best."

The employee jumped quickly into action getting Delia's food bagging it and handing it to her.

"I got my food, Gian, let's go," She said walking toward Gian and putting her hand in his to drag him out. Like a fortified concrete pillar Gian didn't budge. His gaze bored into the eyes of James who seemed to be the alpha in their duo.

"Not yet, Dee, these two owe you something."

"I don't owe her shit! James said taking another step forward."

"You owe her an apology you ignorant piece of shit you don't put your hands on a woman like that. Who taught you it was alright to grope a woman you don't know in the middle of a fucking McDonalds. You damn right you owe her a fucking apology." At the timbre in his voice Dee's nipples puckered. No longer did Gian her best friend stand before her. This was Giancarlo, a man, dangerous, chivalrous and so damn sexy.

"Fuck you and yo bitch!" James said sneering toward Delia

"Excuse me!?" Dee said, she was high, anxious, aroused and holding her chicken nuggets but she'd be damned if she gets called a bitch.

Using the hand he held he pulled Delia behind him. He was so angry with this asshole he saw red but that fact that his mate was no damsel in distress made him smirk. Gian compelled James to stand still while still allowing him all his mental faculties. He grabbed the guy's wrist squeezing down hard.

"You apologize or I'm shattering you skinny little bitch wrists to dust." Gian said menacingly. James howled in pain but gave Gian an insolent look.

"Fuck you" He grunted out in pain. Gian squeezed harder and James screamed.

"Say it!" Choosing that time to grow some balls James' partner lunged for Gian but was stopped dead in his tracks by a death stare Gian threw at him. And warmth immediately pooled between Delia's thighs.

"Both of you!" Gian recounted.

"Damn! Sorry, okay? Shit!" They grumbled. Gian decided that that apology wasn't good enough. In the span of a few seconds he had broken both of their wrists. Delia heard the gruesome crackling sounds, unmistakably the sound of fracturing bones. James fell to the ground in agony while his friend listed heavily against a nearby wall. Like a flipped switch her best friend, Gian, was back with a concerned look. "Dee, I'm sorry that happened to you."

"No problem," Delia said waving away his apology.

"He kept ordering cheeseburgers for some reason. Let's just go"

"Dee, you're still shaking, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine; I just need to get the hell outta here." Delia walked out into the night air and felt a little better. Gian followed her out and caught up to her. He pulled her into his embrace. He held her to his chest inhaling her scent of warm coconuts. She was shaking in his arms and that surge of emotion that made him harm the two guys in side came back with a vengeance. He wanted to kill them.

He felt Delia's hand slide up his back underneath his leather jacket and his anger quickly melted into something one isn't supposed to feel for their best friend. But she wasn't his best friend, Gian thought. She was my mate and no amount of time could ever change how he reacted to her touch. Gian pulled her tighter loving the feel of her breasts pressed against him. He ran his hands down her back stopping at the small of her back and delighted in the way she shivered against him.

"Sei un pazzo!" Delia heard someone say behind her. The voice was gruff. She spun to see who said it when Gian quickly shot back a response in Italian, one of which Dee knew to be a curse word. Delia's knees went weak. If angry protective Gian was sexy speaking English he was downright irresistible in his native tongue. When he pulled her into his embrace she forgot about everything and enjoyed the feel of him his smell his height his warmth and simply feeling like everything was alright with the world......until some loud mouthed Italian person shouted something.

"L'avete messo su quella trappola mortale e poi portarla fino a South Beach, douve tu sei il padre tiene servitori che si affaccino per voi....What were you thinking!?"

The guy went off on a tangent yet his anger seemed contained....barely. Delia understood a few words like; father, death, flunkies and looking. This guy he was tall but unlike Gian he was muscular and dressed like someone who had to work in the morning, dark slacks and steel grey button down. He couldn't be older than thirty five.

"My father doesn't own me and neither do you!" Gian responded in English. "Delia let's go!" He demanded in a softer tone. Gian pulled the helmets off of the handle bars handing one to Delia

"Una cosa e essere spericolato con la tua vita, ma un altro di porter lei in qualcosa che lei non sa null." The guy spoke again sounding more pleading than anything. Gian motioned for her to get on the bike and she acquiesced quickly but there was one word that stuck out to her. Spericolato, It meant reckless.

"Reckless?" She said softly to the guy. "What's wrong?"

The guy smiled slowly, it looked as if he didn't do it often and it was awkward on his face but Dee could tell it was genuine.

"You've been learning the language." He stated "Gian had been reckless with your life as well as his own."

Delia was surprised to find that the guy had a slight New York accent.

"How" Delia asked at the same time Gian said something less then kind in Italian. He chose to address Delia.