To Save a Life

This is crazy, he thought. Things are going great with Lindsay. I have the ring. Soon, I'll ask her to marry me. Jules...well...she knows what I'm doing. It isn't like she stopped me at the beginning and said she'd wed me so I could stay here. Not even Jules, with nothing else going on for her, would do that for me, he thought. How could I tell Lindsay the truth and expect her to help me? How could I tell anyone?

* * * *

Sergio held the phone to his ear as his mother cried on the other end of the line. Several of the Capursos had accosted her at the local market, telling her they were looking forward to being the greeting committee when he returned home. He was filled with rage as he listened, thoughts of vengeance consuming him. They'd get him, he thought, but he'd take at least a few to hell with him.

His mother wanted to hear none of that. "No, Sergio. You run if you have to, but you cannot come home. I wish...I wish I would have stayed in America when I had the chance. What a stupid, young college girl I was. Why did I return home?" She broke into sobs again, breaking Sergio's heart.

"It's okay, Momma. I will stay, and I will send for you when I can."

"Promise, Sergio. Promise Momma."

"I promise, Momma. I will find a way to stay."

"Buono, Sergio. Molto buono."

* * * *

Lindsay's hair was already a mess as she lay on her side, holding her head up with her hand and tracing a finger down Sergio's chest.

"My God, Serge. When you go down on me like that, I think I must be touching the edge of heaven," she said with a happy sigh.

"I guess my idea of skipping classes today doesn't sound too bad right now, does it?"

"Hell no," she answered, reaching a hand down and grabbing his shaft in her hand. "You gonna fuck me, or is today all about lip service?" she said with an evil grin.

"Oh, I'm going to fuck you, Lindsay" replied Sergio. At this point, he was accustomed to the stab of pain such words brought, the double meaning clear to him. He rolled over and grabbed a condom, opening the package and making a show out of putting it on. Lindsay watched in anticipation and need, breathing heavily and squirming on the bed.

"Get on your hands and knees," Lindsay."

She smiled and complied, then looked over her shoulder at him. "Mmmmm. You know how much I like it like this, Serge." She grunted as Sergio penetrated her with his stiff cock, pushing himself deep inside her. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her tight against him, then purposely made his cock twitch within her.

"Fuck. I feel you, Sergio."

She wiggled her hips from side to side as Sergio began to move in a rhythm, using deep, long hard strokes. Lindsay loved that Sergio had stamina and staying power, fucking her far longer than anyone had ever done. She closed her eyes as he took her, lost in the feeling of his thick cock stretching her insides. Dropping to her elbows, she reached a hand underneath her and massaged her clit as Sergio continued his assault on her cunt. She managed two more orgasms before Sergio finally grunted and yanked her hard against him, unloading a torrent of cum and collapsing on top of her.

When Sergio finally uncoupled himself from her, she rolled over and looked down at him. Intending to make a comment about his cock, she instead let out a screech.

"Fuck, Sergio! The condom! Look at the fucking condom!"

Sergio looked down, and saw that the condom had shredded. There was almost nothing left beyond the ring at the base of his cock.

"Holy shit," he exclaimed.

"Oh my God. This is fucking bad, Sergio. I track my cycles. I'm fertile right now. Jesus Christ. What the fuck am I going to do?"

"Don't they have one of those pills?" he asked, already knowing she couldn't take them.

"Yes. No. I can't take anything like that. My body can't tolerate them," she said, jumping up and running to the bathroom. Sergio followed her and watched as she did everything she could think of to remove as much of the ejaculate from her as possible. She led him back into the bedroom with tears in her eyes.

"Damn it, Sergio. Didn't you feel? Why didn't you stop?"

"I didn't know, Lindsay. I didn't. I'm sorry."

"Shit. Just...shit."

"Okay. Take it easy, Lindsay. We don't know that anything really happened yet anyway," Sergio calmly said. "Let's just see what happens, okay?"

"Well, it's not like I have a choice, do I?"

Sergio pulled her close and held her to him.

"You know, I've been thinking about something lately anyway."

Lindsay looked up at him.

"I've been thinking...we are so good together. Well, fuck. This isn't how I wanted to do it, but I've been thinking about asking you to marry me."

"Oh, come on, Sergio."

"I mean it. I guess I've been more than thinking about it. I already have a ring."

Lindsay sat up in bed. "You what?"

"I bought the ring already. I was waiting for the right time to ask you."

Lindsay sat in stunned silence.

"I know we're still in college, but I just needed to do this."

"I don't know, Sergio. This is all a bit much to absorb."

"I know. But..."

"We dated for a couple months and you dumped me. Now you're back for a couple more and you suddenly decided that you have to marry me? What am I supposed to make of that, Sergio? What?"

"Lindsay. Let me explain."

"Let you explain? Please do explain everything to me."

"Why are you so angry, Lindsay?"

"I think I need a beer," Lindsay replied, putting on a robe and walking out of the room.

Sergio pulled on a pair of shorts and followed her. He was surprised to see Jill, Kim, and Julie sitting in the kitchen, eating sandwiches and munching on chips.

"What's happening?" Kim asked.

"What's happening is that Sergio is going to explain why he wants to marry me. Do you even love me, Sergio?

"I adore you, Lindsay."

"Adore me? What, exactly, does that mean?"

Sergio let out a deep sigh and plopped into one of the chairs at the table. He looked at the four women and shook his head.

"Okay. I can't do this anymore anyway," he said, directing his gaze to Lindsay. "Where I come from...I am a fugitive. Not from the law, but from some people that mean to do me harm. I can't go home. If I do, I will be killed. Not maybe. Going home will be a death sentence."

"So you decided to trick me into marrying you so...what? So you can stay here and become a citizen?"

"It was all I could think of, Lindsay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I bet you are," Lindsay said as she started to laugh.

"You find this funny?" Sergio asked her.

"I've known all along, Serge. Right from the start, before you even called me again."

"You what?"

"That's right. Your good buddy Rich got a little tanked at a party and tried to hook up with me. When I blew him off, he told me about your predicament. I wasn't sure I could believe him, but I did a little research and found out it was all true."

Sergio sat there in shock. "Were you even considering marrying me?"

"Hell no," Lindsay snapped. She turned to Jules. "Jules, honey. I love you, but please don't try to play matchmaker for me. I know what you did and why, but...you shouldn't have gotten involved. This wasn't your moral dilemma to deal with."

"I'm sorry, Lindsay. Really I am. I didn't know what to do."

"I know, Jules. I don't know what I'd have done in your situation. Any choice you'd have made would have sucked for you."

"Why did you play along then, Lindsay?" asked Sergio.

"Are you kidding? Sergio, honey. A man that can fuck like you should know the answer to that. What, do you think only men enjoy sex? Hell no. And by the way, I'm on the pill, Serge. That little show I just put on? You deserved that," she said with a snarl. "Let me ask you this, though. Why didn't you just tell me, Serge? Why this big game?"

"Why? Would you have married me Lindsay? Honestly? Would you even have considered it?"

Lindsay looked at him and looked away. "I don't know."

"Lindsay, you know."

She looked at Sergio with a frown. "I don't think I would have. No."

"Exactly. What about you, Jill? Would you have stepped up?"

Jill shook her head no.

"I wouldn't have either," chimed in Kim.

"There you have it," said Sergio. "I felt horrible. Really horrible, but I was trapped. Do you girls think I would have found anyone that would have married me to save my life? Anyone?"

Unable to listen any longer, Julie stood up and glared at Sergio. "You're such an ass, Serge."

"What, Julie? What are you talking about?"

"I would have done it, Serge. I would have done it in a second. But you...you didn't so much as even realize I was there. You never have, not like that anyway."

"But you...you didn't say anything."

"Of course I didn't. You dismissed me without so much as a thought."

"I...I. Jules..."

"But you noticed me the other night, didn't you?"

Lindsay looked over at Jules. "What do you mean?"

"When we stayed home and watched movies. I woke up while you were blowing Romeo on the couch. I watched. He watched me watch. I touched myself, and he watched that. We had a moment I'd say. It was the first time that Sergio ever really noticed me. Hell, it was the first time that any man has."

"Oh my God," said Lindsay with a giggle. "He was so distracted in the bedroom that night. Almost as if he'd lost interest in me. He was thinking about you. Weren't you?" she asked, directing her question to Sergio.

"What the hell. No more lies, right? Yes. I was. I don't know what happened. I..." He looked at Julie and smiled. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since. It's as if there was an opaque coating over you since I've known you, and the other night, it dissolved. I saw Julie for the first time. I saw who you really are for the first time. How had I never before noticed you? Now that I have, I can't believe what has been in front of me all along."

Julie put a hand to her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. The three other women in the room looked over at her, and all gasped as one. As if by magic, they, too, saw what Sergio had seen. It was Julie, but it wasn't Julie. She was beautiful, captivating even. And yet, most people wouldn't even notice it. It was as if you needed a special pair of glasses to see her, and they had all been granted them.

"Come on girls. Let's go into the living room," Lindsay said to Jill and Kim. "I think we should leave these two alone for a while." She grabbed Julie's hand and gave it a squeeze on the way out of the room.

* * * *

Lindsay reached up for the bouquet, but it was gleefully snatched away by Jill at the last moment.

"Damn. Second place again, she laughed."

"Hey Serge! You have any more relatives that need to come hide here in America?" Jill asked.

"You'll have to find your own man," he answered, wagging a finger at her.

The reception went on for hours, finally ending at midnight. After a short limo ride, Sergio carried Julie across the threshold and into the cottage they were staying at for the night. The couple left a trail of clothes leading into the bedroom, with Sergio removing the last bit of Julie's clothing as she lay on the bed. It was only two months since they'd gotten together, so Julie decided that she'd wait until this night for her first time. It turned out that Rich was right. She really was pure on her wedding night.

Two months of anticipation had turned her body into a pile of nerves, and every look, touch and kiss by Sergio had felt like an electric shock shooting through her. He gently kissed her everywhere, his hands moving to and fro. She was slowly moving and grinding on the bed as he took his time, cranking her up one notch at a time as if she were an amplifier. He was naked, and she could feel the heat from his cock where it was pressed against her.

"Oh please, honey. Please. Don't make me wait any longer," she begged. "I need you."

Sergio moved between her legs, wrapping his arms under and around her, holding her face gently in his hands. He moved his hips slightly, and the head of his cock found her opening. He kissed her, then pulled away and watched her eyes as he thrust forward, her insides filled for the first time ever. She was shaking with excitement and need as he moved, kissing her softly and gently, never taking his eyes off of hers.

It was not only her first time; it was his too. Sergio had never made love to a woman. But on this night, he did. She came for him, several times, before he filled her with his seed. He kissed away her tears of joy, and held her in his arms, man and wife, the unlikeliest of couples.

* * * *

Julie awoke first the next morning and looked down on a sleeping Sergio with a smile. She had never been this happy in her short life, and felt quite lucky to have been blessed as she was. She decided to go out and get them some coffee and a bite to eat. They didn't leave for the Caribbean until that evening, so they could spend the day relaxing. She didn't want to waste time leaving the cottage for food when Sergio woke up. There was something else she needed him to eat other than breakfast.

She slipped into a pair of shorts, t-shirt and flip flops and quietly left the room. There was a coffee shop right next to the hotel, and Julie walked out of the cottage and headed over to it. Two men were sitting in their car watching her go. They looked at each other and nodded, getting out and walking to the door of the cottage. One of the men pulled a stolen pass key from his pocket. He slipped it into the lock and the door unlocked, as indicated by the little light turning green.

The men quietly entered the room and walked over to the bed where Sergio was still sleeping. The larger of the two men grabbed Sergio by the ankle and yanked him out of bed and onto the floor. Sergio let out a yell, then rolled over and glared at the intruders.

"Capurso," he growled. He slipped into his native Italian, questioning the men. "What is this? Why are you here? We are in America. I am supposed to be safe here."

"You made a mistake, my friend. We cannot allow a Marriotto to be in our family," one of the men replied. "You will pay with your life."

"What are you talking about," spat Sergio. "Julie isn't a Capurso. Her name is Caputo. Are you stupid as well as evil?"

"Did it never strike you that the names were so similar, you fool? Her great grandfather changed his name when he came to America. She is a Capurso."

"Not any longer," replied Sergio. She is my wife; a Marriotto now and forever."

"There is no forever for you, Marriotto."

Julie had ordered, then realized she had forgotten to bring her wallet. She told the counter person she'd be right back, leaving the coffee shop in a rush. She hurried to the cottage, hoping that Sergio was still sleeping. She slipped the key in the door, turned the handle and walked in.

Sergio heard the door and saw that the Marriottos had turned to look at who had opened it. In a flash, Sergio was on his feet and leapt at the closer of the two men.

"No," he screamed, crashing his shoulder into the man and driving forward, the two of them tumbling to the floor. There was a deafening sound as a gun went off and dropped to the floor. Sergio reached for it as he heard Julie scream. He held it to his assailant's head and pulled the trigger, sending blood, brain and bone everywhere. Rolling off, he set his sights on the other man, but was too late. The man had recovered and had his gun pointed at Sergio, squeezing off two shots that hit him in the torso. Sergio rolled and pointed his gun at the shooter, getting off a shot himself. The round hit the man in the forehead right between his eyes. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Sergio could hear Julie whimpering by the door. He looked to her, horror registering on his face when he saw that she was covered in blood. He crawled over to her and held her in his arms, the two lovers bleeding from arterial wounds. They comforted each other as best they could as hotel employees and guests called the police and gawked at the scene. Sergio and Julie clung to each other as they left this world together, a Marriotto and Capurso bonded as one.