By Any Other Name (18 page)

"You haven't?" How could he have
not
thought about it?

He shook his head. "I don't like to think about things in terms of
after
, Genna."

"But that's all there is," she said. "The
after
. Every moment is just the aftermath of whatever came before it. I mean, hell, even time is measured by the after.
After
noon. A quarter
after
."

"Not always," he said. "Sometimes it's a quarter 'till."

She narrowed her eyes at him.
Smartass
. "Whatever, I'm just saying…"

"I know what you're saying," he said. "But still, when it comes to my mother? I don't like to think about the
after
."

Sighing, Genna sipped her wine and lounged back in the chair. "I know how you feel, you know. I mean, I don't know
exactly
how you feel, but I get it. My mom…"

"I know," he said quietly.

"You know?"

"Of course," he said. "That surprises you?"

"Well, considering your family had nothing to do with
that
… or, well, at least I don't think…" She shot him a playful look of suspicion that made him grin. "I didn't know if you'd know…"

"My mother told me about it when it happened," he explained. "Said she died in a car accident."

"Yeah," she muttered. "My dad hates me driving because of it. He watched her drive away one afternoon and she just never came back, and I guess he's afraid of the same thing happening to me. Took me forever to convince him to let me get a license, and even still, every chance he gets, he makes it so I
can't
drive. He's always forcing Dante to chauffer me around."

"He doesn't try to drive you himself?"

"No. He hasn't driven since… well…"
Since Joey died from the car bomb attached to his car
. "Let's just say I can't remember a time when he
did
drive."

Matty nodded, his gaze shifting from hers as he glanced to his glass of abandoned wine. He nudged it out of the way, away from him. She knew, watching his expression softening, that he knew what she was talking about. "Let's talk about something else. We're always talking about our families, and well, frankly, the last thing I want to think about tonight is what awaits us tomorrow. I'd rather think about tonight… and you… and making sure you get all ten-inches you asked for."

She snorted with laughter, taking another drink of her wine, the atmosphere instantly lightened again. As if on cue, the waiter appeared then with their food, sliding their plates on the table in front of them.

"Can I get some steak sauce?" Genna asked, glancing around the table, noticing there was none.

"Yeah," Matty said, grabbing his knife and pointing at her steak. "Nothing worse than taking in ten inches dry, huh? The wetter, the better, they say."

She glared at him when the waiter laughed and set off to grab some steak sauce. "Funny."

Matty shrugged. "I thought it was."

Playful innuendos slipped out left and right over dinner as they ate and laughed, the banter flowing freely between the two of them. The alcohol relaxed Genna as it simmered in her bloodstream, loosening her taut muscles. The air in the restaurant grew stifling after a while, warm and crowded with conversation from the tables surrounding them, the endless chatter occasionally intruding in their stolen moment of peace. Matty sighed eventually and stood up. "Let's get out of here."

She looked around for their waiter. She hadn't seen him in a while. "Did you pay the check already?"

She couldn't even recall the check even coming.

"They'll bill me," he said, holding his hand out to her. "Come on."

"Are you sure?"

"They've done it before."

Shrugging it off, Genna took his hand and stood up, putting up no argument as he led her from the restaurant, out into the warm, quiet night.

They drove through town, straight to the small white suburban house Matty had taken her to before. Genna strolled inside, pausing in the living room as Matty flicked on the light and tore off his sweater, tossing it on the couch. He shoved the sleeves of his gray button-down up to his elbows as he approached.

"You really do look beautiful tonight, Genna," he said quietly, pausing in front of her. Softly, he pushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, the back of his hand brushing against her flushed cheek. "
Shall I compare thee to a
… uh… whatever the hell Shakespeare compares thee to."

Smiling, Genna draped her arms around his neck. "A summer's day, but I'm more like a winter storm."

"Ice princess," he joked, softly kissing her as he gripped her hips. "You feel warm to me."

"Maybe you're just cold, too."

"Might be," he said. "But I don't think you're made of ice. You're like a volcano, Genna. You've been dormant all this time, all that passion building up and brewing right under the surface, just waiting for the right tremor to cause the explosion." He kissed her again, his hand drifting down her leg and slipping beneath her dress. "And I think I got just the shockwave to set you off, princess."

Genna shivered when his hand slid between her thighs, her breath hitching when his fingertips grazed along the edges of her lacy thong. "I changed my mind."

"About?"

"I think I wanna take the dress off."

"Nope. The dress stays on… and the shoes, too, while we're at it."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

He smirked, pulling his hand away as he took a step back, his gaze slowly, methodically, raking down her body. When he reached her toes, his gaze trailed back up to her eyes. "Definitely."

Genna let out a surprised yelp when he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the bedroom. She followed him, light-headed as she swayed a bit, whether from the wine simmering in her bloodstream or the looks he cast her, she wasn't sure. As soon as they were in the bedroom, Matty pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, his hands once more on her hips as he led her to the bed. Slowly, he laid her down and hovered over top of her, breaking from her mouth to kiss down her jawline, his lips finding her neck. He kissed and caressed her skin, licking and sucking, leaving small red splotches along the way.

Matty trailed kisses down her clothed chest, teasingly biting at the red lacy fabric as he slid her thong off, his hand lightly stroking her inner thigh. Genna arched her back, tingles coating her body and a rush of pleasure washing over her when she felt his teeth nipping the flesh shielded by her dress. Her hands found his hair, running through the dark locks as he moved down even further, along her stomach, until he settled between her parted thighs.

Gripping her hips, Matty locked her in place on the bed and trailed wet kisses up her inner thighs before reaching her aching center. The moment Genna felt his mouth on her flesh, his tongue gently, teasingly grazing her clit, she sucked in a sharp breath that left her body as a shaky cry of pleasure. "Oh, fuck..."

She was a goner.

Matty took her to the brink quickly, easily, with nothing but a gentle touch and a wordless tongue. He played her body like an instrument, plucking her strings and stroking her keys, leaving her a quivering mess yet again.

Crying out, she gripped his hair tightly, fisting the locks, as her thighs clamped around his head. Her heels dug into his back, wrinkling his shirt, dirtying the fabric with the soles of her shoes.

Orgasm rocked her like an earthquake, curling her toes and sending her heart racing. When the pleasure faded, she loosened her hold on Matty, softly running her fingers through his hair when he shifted his body to look at her.

"So?" he said, arching an eyebrow in question as he hovered over her again.

"So," she whispered, "I think you might've graduated summa cum laude." She cracked a smile. "Get it?
Cum
laude?"

Matty laughed, shaking his head as he kissed her quickly. "That was a terrible joke."

She shrugged. She thought it was pretty funny. "Matty?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I take the dress off now?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

Hours later they lay together, sweaty and tangled in the rumpled sheets. Genna had no sense of time—could've been minutes or hours, but it felt as if the world had stopped as she lay in his arms.

Heavy darkness permeated the air. Midnight?

"We should probably go soon," she said.

"You're right," he said, although he made no move to get up or even let go of her.

A few minutes passed before she mumbled, "My family's probably expecting me."

"Yeah," he said, softly kissing the top of her head. "Mine, too."

A wild ruckus surrounded The Place, the racket only growing louder when Matty opened the outside door to head up to his apartment. He paused at the bottom of the stairs and sighed exasperatedly, the soles of his feet vibrating to the rhythm of guitar riffs.

Just great
. Enzo was home… and obviously not alone.

Trudging upstairs, his feet heavy from exhaustion, Matty opened the door and stepped inside. Music blasted him, the classic rock so loud he cringed. Bodies packed the living room—three guys and three girls. Enzo sat on the couch with a girl on his lap. Beside them was another girl—a young girl—her face caked in make-up. AquaNet and Crayola from The Place, Matty recognized.

Carl and Roy Civello, two Barsanti street soldiers, brothers with a reputation for being all brawn and no brains, flanked Enzo, while the last girl sat on the floor, huddled over the coffee table, snorting lines of something. She tilted her head back, her eyes closed in euphoria, her skin damn near as ghostly white as the powder she inhaled.

Unbelievable
.

Matty shut the door behind him, the movement drawing their attention. Enzo glanced over, his face lighting up with a grin. "Matty-B! What's up?"

"Nothing," Matty muttered, not loud enough for his brother to even hear as he tossed his sweater down on one of the stools surrounding the small bar near the kitchen and walked over to the stereo. He turned the music down, low enough that he could
think
, ignoring the protests from the girls. "I could hear that shit from the street. You're lucky nobody called the cops."

Enzo scoffed, holding his fist out for his brother to bump it. "Who's gonna call the cops on me?"

"Somebody who doesn't know any better," Carl said, laughing, as he draped his arm over Crayola's shoulder.

Matty didn't entertain that with a response, instead walking into the kitchen for a drink. He glanced around, spotting a nearly empty bottle of rum on the counter, and grabbed a shot glass to pour himself a shot. He tossed it back, grimacing at the hot, bitter liquid as it scorched his throat. He stood there against the counter, his eyes closed, as he let the burn settle into his chest.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and poured another shot when Enzo strolled it. "Looking good tonight, bro."

Matty cast him a quick look, seeing his brother sizing him up.

"Hot date?" Enzo asked, grabbing the bottle of rum and pouring himself a shot. He clinked his glass with Matty's before they both tossed them back. The second shot was smoother, numbing Matty's chest just enough to fill the sudden void he felt… the void from having to drop Genna off at home and drive away, unsure of when he would get the chance to see her again.

"You could say that," he replied.

"Same girl?"

"Yeah," he said. "Same one."

"You ever gonna bring her around?"

Matty shook his head. "Probably not."

"Why?" Enzo pressed. "Afraid I'll steal her? Because I won't. Well, you know… depends on how hot she is."

Matty laughed dryly at that. "You couldn't steal her from me if you tried."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'll pass." Matty set his shot glass down and stepped away from the counter. "I'm going to bed."

"But it's still early."