Page 47 of Sticky Fingers
For a moment, she says nothing, and neither do I. I have no fucking idea why I just told her this…
I’ve never told it to anyone before, to be honest. But the words just flew out.
Whenever I’m around Sonia, I feel like I can lower my guard. Which is a fucking idiotic thing to do, being that I barely know her…but then again, I always trust my instincts.
And that’s because they’re always right.
Sonia reaches across the table to grab my other hand, her delicate fingers on mine. “I’m so sorry.” She squeezes and then let’s go quickly.
Fucking classy, because I don’t want to be pitied.
“Yeah, well, it sure colored my life in many fucking ways.”
Popping my sushi in my mouth, I chew slowly.
Sonia takes a drink before continuing. “So, what do you mean? You don’t go hard in business…because of that?”
Jesus, she’s like a fucking shrink.
“Survival. It’s all about survival,” I admit. “I look back and think about all the different ways I could’ve tried to save them. Calling someone. Distracting them. Killing them. I don’t know. But when it comes right down to it, I stayed in that closet to survive. Everything I’ve done is to survive. From my beginnings shaking down kids for lunch money to moving up in the ranks of the businesses I have. Survive and thrive.”
Sonia smiles sadly but nods her head in understanding.
“At first, I was shaking kids down for money and then stealing things so I could keep surviving. Work distracted me from the fact that I was alone. Not getting into drugs lets me keep a distance from the same people that had killed by brother,” I say to her. “After a while, having boundaries of what I wouldn’t do meant that I could keep looking at myself in the mirror.”
I pause and turn to her. “But you know what the most important thing is for me right now?”
Sonia looks up and shrugs.
“I’ve moved from survival mode to thrive mode, and that means that I need to get legit. Everybody gets caught eventually.” I wiggle my eyebrows, and Sonia snorts.
“The most important thing in the last couple of years was my transition from questionable fucking businesses to mainstream cash cows. I don’t want to have to just survive any longer, and the more I have to look over my fucking shoulder, the less I can thrive.”
“Well, that’s very honorable of you.” Sonia waves her chopsticks at me. “Boring but very honorable.”
Boring? Jesus, she’s a fucking hard one to impress.
“You really think that’s boring?” I ask her.
I thought most women would like to know their man isn’t mixed up in anything that would land them in jail.
Wait, her man? Fuck. She’s really getting inside my head.
Anyway, who is she to judge me? She’s a fucking hot intriguing piece of ass, no doubt, but she’s also a train wreck herself.
“Yes. It’s a bit boring.” After taking another sip of her drink, she puts it down and leans in closer. “I like to have fun. Wild fun. And a little bit of danger with the risk of getting caught…It’s a major turn on.”
My lips turn up at her attitude. She’s so fucking hot, and her statement has given me a lot of fucking ideas.
Leaning in, I mimic her pose. “Well, going legit is a lot trickier than it sounds and has some major risks, too. It’s taken me two years to get to where I am now, and combing through everything in my life to get on the straight and narrow has been hard work. I’m very proud of where I am now. Almost.” I hold up my fingers just a little apart.
I’ve been using this analogy for over a year now, but I wasn’t kidding when I said it was fucking tricky. There’s more to it than people realize, and hiding money is a skill all on its own.
“So why does the daughter of the police commissioner go around stealing priceless paintings?”
I pop the last piece of my sushi into my mouth and lean back, determined to wait for the real reason…whether I get it from her mouth or her body language.
She starts to laugh, and I enjoy watching her tits bounce in the sexy bra she must be wearing. I’m already ready for another taste of them.
