Page 48 of Forbidden Property
“Do you see why she might not like you?”
“She cums every time I take her to bed.”
“So? Women cum with weird rubber toys shaped like rabbits. Getting her to like your personality will be a lot more difficult. Especially for you.”
“If you’re so great, where’s your girlfriend?”
Gino hits back way too quickly. “I haven’t asked Nicki to drug her yet.”
“I didnotask Nicki for this and if you ever suggest that again, I’ll tell dad what you did in Naples two years ago.”
He doesn’t laugh that time, but I can’t stay smug for long. Gino might have a point about winning Geralynn’s heart. Have I screwed up too badly? Am I still holding onto my old bigoted ways?
“How exactly do you expect me to help you?”
He sounds only slightly frustrated, so I decide not to push my brother even further. I desperately need his help, even if I want to get a few digs in.
“How do I prove to her I care about her?”
“Who?” Gino presses me. “You can’t even tell me who you love or anything about her. No woman wants to be a mobster’s secret.”
“Wouldn’t it be enough to just love her?”
“Don’t be stupid, Renzo.”
He’s right. It’s the type of advice you can only get from another guy and fuck, maybe it’s as simple as that. I can’t keep acting like a fucking idiot. I can’tforceGeralynn to love me.
I ask my brother the hardest question for me to put into words and it’s something that I never considered before this moment. “How can I stop?”
My stubbornness and pride have ruled every interaction I’ve ever had with Geralynn. My brother might have seen through the ways I tried to push her away throughout all the years I’ve known her, but he’s right to suggest that Geralynn might want to hold me accountable for those actions. Sex isn’t enough.
That thought should have occurred to me earlier, but fucking Geralynn awakens so much fiery energy within me that I assumed she was having the same transcendental emotion-shifting experience. Each day we’ve spent together since Nicki sent us on this messed up pregnancy mission has been enveloped in pure sexual bliss.
But it’s not enough because I’ve been such a dick. I hid all my feelings so deeply inside me that I don’t even know how to express them outside of the bedroom. I’ve fallen so low that I need a phone call with my brother Gino to find my way out of this shit. Dad would say that it’s what family is for, but it just goes to show how far Geralynn has weakened my stoic resolve.
“How many times have you insulted Geralynn? I know you like her, but I’ve heard you call her a fucking ‘mop girl’... What the hell is wrong with you?” Gino sounds genuinely confused by me at the end.
“There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Youalwaysliked her. Since we were… sixteen. Maybe seventeen.”
“I wasn’t a pervert, Gino.”
I hate looking back on those days. I had plenty of girlfriends and I didn’t have an inappropriate crush on Geralynn. I’ve been protective of Nicoletta because I always knew she would become my responsibility. Gino annoys me when he’s supposed to be helping me, which I find incredibly frustrating.
“Can you stop being a prude? It’s normal to fall for your sister’s best friend. It’s very Upstate New York.”
“I didn’t… I… Can we stop this sentimental bullshit? I need to get back to Geralynn.”
Gino chuckles again, which I try not to let annoy the hell out of me. My brother enjoys getting under my skin and I’ll remember how difficult he made this for me later.
“You’re both competitive and stubborn.”
“Is this the part where you help me?” I ask my brother, reminding him that this phone call is about helping me and not pissing me the fuck off.
“Let her win. That’s what you need to do and I think you know it.”
“What do you mean by that?” I don’t want him to say it out loud, but there’s some truth to what Gino says. I don’t want to hear it out loud, but Gino doesn’t care if he hurts my feelings or not. We both want the other to grow more resilient.
