i b9efbdf1c066cc69 (17 page)

Central Park.

New York was his home. His friends were there. His family was there. All that was

missing was Zoe.

He needed to convince her to move.

He began upgrading little things about Zoe’s life to help her see why being with him in New York was better than a long-distance romance that spread between several thousand miles and different time zones. Zoe’s Chevy was replaced with a new Mercedes SUV. Her cheap handbags now boasted of Chloe, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. Whenever she was in New York, Joey made sure she was treated like a celebrity no matter where she went, even if he wasn’t with her at the time.

“I know you’re not just staring up at the stars and admiring the view,” Zoe snaked her arms around Joey’s waist as she approached him from behind, “what’s on your mind, lover?”

It was complicated; she more so. It wasn’t a fling. It wasn’t a friends with benefits arrangement. She was his girl. No, that wasn’t appropriate. Zoe was his
woman.
Thinking about her sometimes made Joey’s heart to cease, as if he was trying to grasp for that final breath. He was more interested in the sketches she’d showed him, asking what inspired her to come up with that particular design.

They would converse for hours about anything and everything and if time permitted (and it always did), they would have phone sex – eventually moving to a Skype session for the visuals.

There was nothing hotter seeing his woman get off by her fingers or whatever device she used as he instructed her and stroked his cock.

Proposing Zoe to move to New York was a touchy subject. What if things didn’t work out when they saw each other all the time instead of a week-long monthly excursion? They briefly talked about marriage and babies, both excited about having children but shied away on the topic of marriage. Joey didn’t want to be married and Zoe surprisingly felt the same. She wanted a career and if marriage was in the cards, so be it.

She definitely wanted children, though. Joey wanted to be the one to give them to her.

“How do you feel about moving to New York?” Joey asked, finally taking a chance on the question that had been burning him for several weeks.

Zoe loved New York. She loved it the instant she stepped off the airplane. She knew at some point, a permanent move to New York was going to happen if she wanted to get serious about her fashion career. And she was getting serious about it. With Tiana’s and Kieran’s assistance, Zoe had made several trips to New York to meet with fashion designers and speak more thoroughly about Tyson’s Heart and her creative vision for it.

Joey, however, didn’t know about those trips.

Zoe was determined to keep her business and personal life separate; never combining the two out of fear of distraction. She felt bad about being in New York without Joey’s knowledge but she also realized if he knew she was there, she wouldn’t get any work done. Her time would be spent making love and enjoying what New York had to offer; not meeting with the fashion industry bigwigs and attending important meetings about Tyson’s Heart.

Most importantly, she was on Kieran’s time, not Joey’s.

It was a delicate situation – one brother was her boss while the other was her lover. Which one could she give the most attention to without offending the other?

She loved Joey and could admit she didn’t see anyone else in her life but him. But there was something unsettling about their union. It seemed Joey was trying to
buy
her love and affection when she was giving it to him for free. Her Chevy SUV was perfectly fine but Joey upgraded her to a Mercedes that had so many bells and whistles, Zoe had to pull out the operating manual each time she drove the car. She loved her cheap handbags so she could abuse them in way she liked without being worried she spent several thousand dollars on them.

The preferential treatment she received in New York was what really bothered her. It felt like no matter where she went, everyone knew she was somehow connected to the D’Amatos, specifically Joey.

A kept woman. That’s what she felt like.

“I want to move,” she answered as he rubbed her hands with his, “eventually.”

“How soon is eventually?” Joey asked.

Zoe started apartment hunting not too long ago. She narrowed her choice down to a few places. She balked at how expensive the apartments were and almost reconsidered moving. Then she thought about the bigger prize and not only did she bite her cheek, she swallowed the pride that has held her back for so many years. “Hopefully within the next six months.”

The thought of Zoe moving warmed Joey’s heart but it wasn’t soon enough. Six months

was way too long and his patience was already treading on thin ice. “Is there a way to convince you to come out sooner?”

“What are you saying, J?”

“I want you to move in with me,” he said, blatantly. He turned around to face Zoe so he could be clearer with his thoughts and words. There was no time to beat around the bush. “I’m tired of traveling back and forth and I want you to be with me full-time.”

“It’s kinda soon for that, don’t you think?” Zoe replied back. She wanted to move to New York but only if it was on her terms. She silently admitted she didn’t trust Joey as much as he did with her. “We’ve only been together a short time and you’re talking about us moving in together?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “I don’t see the issue with it unless you do?”

There were a few issues Zoe saw and she contemplated how badly she wanted to bring

them up. The thought of being Joey’s kept woman was one of them and it bothered her more than it should have. “I just need to think about it.”

“Well…” Joey pulled out a long, velvet box and presented it to his girlfriend. “…I hope this will convince you.”

Zoe stared down at the raspberry-colored box and looked back up at Joey. The box was too long for a ring and she breathed a small sigh of relief. “What is this?”

“Open it and find out,” Joey smiled.

Zoe opened the box and sparkling before her was a diamond tennis bracelet. “Joey…” she stammered. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She knew based on the quality of the bracelet, Joey dropped a small fortune and it was probably more than her mortgage.

“I…I…I wasn’t expecting this. How much did this cost?”

Joey took out the bracelet and put it on Zoe’s wrist. “A one-way trip to New York.” He replied with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m not going to rush you or force you to make a decision you’re not quite ready for. I just wanted to put it out there.”

“Put
what
out there?” Zoe asked.

“Z, I love you. There, I said it. I love you. And I want to be with you forever.” He admitted, the pressure built up inside his heart for so long finally exploded and he felt better, “I don’t know if marriage is in the cards but I can’t see myself with anyone else but you.”

Zoe played with the dangling bracelet and looked up at the night sky, the stars matching the sparkling diamonds on her wrist. “It’s complicated, J.”

“Well, uncomplicate it for me, then.” Joey replied.

Zoe let out a breath. “I want to move to New York and eventually I’m going to. But it has to be on my terms and my terms are six months from now. I have a lot to get done before then and…”

“Such as what?” Joey interrupted.

Joey’s question caught Zoe off-guard a little and she swallowed her pride. “Well, I need to meet with some other people in the industry and make connections. I also need to find a place with a studio I can fully concentrate on my work. I have to figure out where the fabric stores are and get to know New York. I can’t just drop everything and move out there now, honey. I need some time to get my bearings together.” Zoe explained, “I also need to give Kieran enough time to interview and find a suitable replacement for me.”

Joey leaned against the brick wall. “Six months, huh?”

“Six months.” Zoe promised. “After that, I’m all yours.”

It was already November and Zoe wouldn’t be in New York until the earliest of May, if she had it her way. He was going to speed up the process. “Six months it is.”

****

Zoe woke up to the smell of frying bacon. She wiped her eyes and stretched out in bed, soon realizing how sore she was. Her legs felt like they’ve been through a marathon. Her back felt a little tight. A smile curved her lips as she remembered the previous night’s activities.

After their romantic trip to the observatory, the pair went back to her place to make love.

Zoe decided to have a bit of a twist to their romance. She moved all of the furniture out of the way in the living room and dressed up as Sheba. If that wasn’t enough, she had an extra surprise for her lover.

“If you want to get in my panties, you need to get
into
my panties.” Zoe smiled.

Joey eyeballed the sparkly blue thong before him. He had purchased underwear for his
conquests before but never had a woman buy him any – particularly women’s thong panties.

He knew Zoe wasn’t the typical woman he had dealt with before. She was independent,
smart with her money, and could throw down in the kitchen with the same effort and passion as
she could suck him to sleep. He considered himself freaky and loved introducing his girls to
some ridiculous freaky things. Christening them, he once boasted to his brothers and friends.

Every good girl had a freak inside her, waiting to come out and play.

Zoe, however, was a different ball park. No, Zoe wasn’t even in the same league as the
others. She was a completely different sport and Joey was ready to swing whatever she tossed at
him. “Okay, I have some rules with this…”

Joey ended up being game, after all, and Zoe was pretty certain if she pulled back the sheets on her body, her entire nether regions would be covered in blue glitter.

That was the moment Zoe truly understood the power of the pussy. Good pussy would

make the manliest of men get down on all fours and beg like a newborn puppy.

“
Buongiorno
,
mi regina
…” Joey brought in a tray full of breakfast food. “I hope my girl has her appetite.”

“After last night, I’m starving.” Zoe sat up in bed and Joey placed the tray over her waist.

She looked at the tray and was impressed by what she saw: a tall glass of orange juice, scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, wheat toast, followed by a small cup of fruit with cottage cheese on the side. She never had a man cater to her needs both in and out of the bedroom and Zoe felt like a spoiled princess. “This is so much, J.”

“I’ll help you, don’t worry,” he smiled. “Anything for my woman.”

His woman. She loved the way he said it – authoritative and declaration. He wanted

everyone to know who she belonged to and what she meant to him. She could quickly get used to that.

“What’s on the agenda today?” Zoe chewed on a piece of bacon.

“Whatever you want to do,
regina
.” Joey replied. “Whatever you want to do.”

Zoe thought about something she wanted to do but wondered if it was the right time – she wanted Joey to meet her family. They were getting serious and she thought it was time for her family to know the guy who has been capturing her attention since she was pretty sure London had long shared the news. “Do you think you’d want to meet my parents tomorrow?”

Joey’s eyebrows slightly rose at the thought of meeting the parents. He’s met several parents of his paramours before and he always made it clear that he was just a close friend of the woman he was dating and nothing more.

Now the tables were turned.

Zoe talked about how prominent and respected her parents were, though they were a bit of the 70’s flower children still. They instilled morals and values within their children, not to mention a hard work ethic that Zoe seemed to inherit. Her bringing him home to meet the parents was very much a big deal and it wasn’t something Joey slept on.

“Um, sure…” Joey thought about his clothing options. He packed a pair of slacks and a dress shirt just in case they were going to go out to a nice restaurant. He was glad he thought ahead. “I would love to.”

“You don’t have to,” Zoe picked up on the hesitation in Joey’s voice, “I understand if it might be too soon.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…hmm…” Joey paused for a brief moment. “Whenever a girl brought me home to the parents, it signaled she felt about me a certain way.”

“Well, I do feel a certain way about you.” Zoe smiled at him. “I love you.”

“
Ti amo, mi regina.
” Joey replied back. “Are you still hungry?”

“I am,” Zoe’s tongue traced her lips, “but I’m hungry for something else now.”

Joey only had one question. “Where do you want it?”

“Well, we haven’t christened the shower yet,” Zoe mentioned. “I think it’s time we

should.”

“Let’s go.”

****

“What makes you think he’s from out of town?” Another employee, Margaret, asked.

“She always takes a week off,” Karen mentioned. “I’m sure if he was local, she wouldn’t be taking so much time off.”

“I wonder what he does that he can afford to take a week off as well.” Karen pondered.

“He can’t be no 9-to-5 type of dude. He must have some bank.”

“Well, if he’s a baller, she needs to hook me with one of his friends,” Margaret quipped,

“I’m tired of these broke-ass busters I deal with.”

“Well, she’s been traveling to New York on behalf of Kieran and Tiana,” another

employee, Liz, mentioned, “so I’m sure that has something to do with it.”

“She has a job I don’t envy,” Margaret shook her head, “working here and doing that

fashion line? I don’t know when the girl has time to sleep.”

“I’m not paying her to sleep,” Kieran’s voice echoed throughout the area. “
Ciao, signore.
”

“Good Morning, Kieran,” the ladies said in unison.

He nodded and smiled at them. “What’s on the agenda today?”