Chapter 7: Ice cream
"So what does this mean in regards to the mafia?" Sage questioned.
We had went to the movie theater, but now that the movie was done, we were walking through the nearby park.
"I'm not sure," I answered. "I've been planning for a while now to quit."
"Can you actually?" Sage frowned.
"The normal way people leave the mafia is through death," I shook my head.
"So how are you supposed to quit?" Sage asked.
"That's why I haven't," I shrugged. "It's not like it's a job I could just quit, even though I wish it was. It has it's joys, yes, but thinking about the future I wanna have...it's not gonna work out- the mafia thing."
"That's a difficult situation, especially because you're their leader," Sage pointed out.
"Yup, and I'm not gonna run away 'cause running is for pussies," I agreed.
Sage chuckled at my response.
"I wish I never got into this- the mafia, not the job," I sighed. "Maybe I can do both, but give more attention to the job so that the mafia appoints a new leader. Yet again, I don't take orders from no one. Well...uh...you're somewhat exceptional."
I knew damn well if she told me to max out all my credit cards and give her my black card, I'd do it without hesitation. If she told me to jump of a bridge, I'd ask which one. I was a sucker for this girl.
"Oulala, check me out," she joked, causing me to laugh at her silliness. "On a serious note, if you can't quit, fake your death or something. If you do, you'd have to give up the job and move far away, though."
"To like New York City or something," I smirked, knowing that she wanted to move there someday.
"Yeah, that's pretty far," she nodded. "That's actually where I was planning to move after or during college. It depends on what college I go to."
"Well, that would be fun," I nodded in approval.
"We could go together," she smiled.
"I'd love that," I smiled while gazing into her eyes.
"Hi," a lady with a camera in her hands greeted while approaching us. "My name is Sarah Blake. I'm training to be a photographer. I go to The School of Art two blocks down. I have to take pictures of couples for my project. Do you two mind?"
I looked at Sage who smiled at me and nodded in approval.
"Sure," I smiled at Sarah.
I wrapped my arm around Sage's waist and pulled her body closer to mine.
We both smiled, and Sarah took the picture.
"Can I get two more pics, please?" Sarah asked.
Sage turned to face me and wrapped her arms around my back while staring into my eyes.
Sarah took the pic before saying, "And for the last..."
I rested my forehead on Sage's and stared down at her lips as she started up on mine.
"Perfect," Sarah smiled before showing us the pictures.
"May I take a picture of those," Sage asked.
Sarah nodded, and Sage took pictures of the pictures before thanking Sarah.
"You two are a beautiful couple, by the way," Sarah smiled before walking off to find a new couple.
"These are so cute!" Sage squeled while looking at the photos. "I love them!"
She showed me the pictures, which came out really well.
"I love that you're in them," I smiled.
She blushed and tucked her phone away.
"Ou, icecream," she eagerly pointed to the icecream truck on the other end of the park. "Race you there, if you're done thinking running is for pussies."
I fought the grin that threatened to form on my face, "Need a head start?"
"Do you?" she teased.
"Nah," I smiled. "On your mark, get set, go."
We began racing to the ice cream truck. Sage was such a fast runner, and sports had never been my thing, so it was very competitive to keep up with her. Still, we arrived at the same time.
"You're fast," I complimented.
"And you're competitive," she laughed. "I noticed you struggling to keep up back there."
"Ah, hush," I chuckled.
"Hello. Would you two like some icecream?" the icecream man asked.
"Yes," Sage nodded eagerly.
I looked at the menu to see what I wanted to get. There were basics and then crazy ones. I decided my tastebuds weren't ready for crazy today, so I went for the birthday cake. Sage went for the cookies n cream.
I bought the icecreams and continued our walk in the park.
"I should've gotten a birthday cake icecream too," she sighed as she eyed my icecream.
I laughed and offered, "Would you like a lick?"
She pretended to think about the question before giggling and nodding her head.
She took a lick of my icecream and stretched out hers for me to taste. Instead of licking it, I bit a chunk into my mouth, earning a gasp from her. She then bit into my icecream as revenge.
We both chuckled and began eating our own icecream.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" I asked.
"Yeah, Deadpool 2 was hilarious," she chuckled.
I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.
"Are you ready for work tomorrow?" she teased.
We had the same hours and lunch break, so I was definetly excited to spend more time with her.
"Of course," I smiled. "I got my outfit in my head already."
She giggled and continued enjoying her icecream.
"Can't wait to see you in a suit, Mr-Tims-sneakers-and-icy-jewelry," she mocked.
"Just 'cause you never seen me in a suit doesn't mean I never rocked a suit before, and I'm still gonna be in jewelry, just a more low-key type," I informed. "Watch the pop out tomorrow."
"When you pop out to work 'cause you're the President," Sage captioned.
"You should pop out with me," I teased.
"And color coordinate too, huh?" Sage teased.
"I mean..." I chuckled.
"As if walking in together with new positions won't draw enough attention," Sage chuckled.
"Who cares?" I shrugged.
She licked her icecream before replying, "Obviously, me."
"Why?" I questioned.
"Because it looks suspicious," she answered. "I don't want people to think I screwed my way into being the assistant."
"I guess," I replied with furrowed brows.
"Well, enough about work," she changed the topic. "What do like to do? What's your favorite snack or food? What should I know about you?"
I chuckled and replied, "Which do I answer first?"
"I just wanna get to know you," she shrugged. "You don't even have to answer those questions. Just tell me about yourself."
"Well, I grew up in a wealthy family. My dad, Brick Carter, owned 3 big businesses and was a part owner of Marcello & Brick. My mother owned a wine company and clothing line. She was also known for her artworks, some of which are in museums," I told. "I only had one sibling, a brother, who was a year older than me. Marcello is my uncle, but he never had any children, and my mother was the only child. In other words, I have no cousins or aunts, only one uncle. My grandparents died before I was even born, so I never met them. My family, excluding my uncle, was assassinated. I don't really have any family left. I do had three dogs for 2 years after my family died, but the dogs died in the jet crash. I considered them my little children."
"Wow, that's deep," she breathed.
We sat on one of the park benches and continued enjoying our ice cream.
"Don't you ever get lonely?" Sage asked.
"Not when you're around," I smiled, earning a blush from her.
"You're good at sweet-talking," she chuckled.
"Just being honest," I shrugged.
"I hate being hit on, but with you...it's different," she noted.
"Like I said, I'm just being honest," I enforced. "Guys hit on you because they wanna be in bed with you. I speak from my heart because that's the place I hold everything precious. You wouldn't understand....you wouldn't remember how much you mean to me, Sage. I might tease you about being intimate, but there's so much more to that in a relationship. So no, I'm not sweet-talking you."
Sage remained quiet, but her eyes sparkled as a blush lingered on her cheek.
"From the first day I saw you, I knew there was something special about you," I continued to speak. "Ever since then, I couldn't get you out of my mind. You're so fucking beautiful, and it pains me so much that you can't even remember the time we spent together. That's my fault, though."
"Stop putting yourself down about it," Sage shook her head. "I don't blame you for what happened."
"That's 'cause you don't know entirely what happened," I disagreed.
"So tell me, Nick," she pleaded.
I exhaled before informing, "Titan came to my house to warn you and me that his brother was gonna attack me in ten minutes. When Titan left, I brought you through the garden and to my safety cabin. I led you to a secret door inside the cabin that led to a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was another safety cabin. I told you Junior, Nathan, and I would be there in an hour and that if neither one of us didn't show up, you should leave. After my gangs and I took down the enemies, I sent Nathan and Junior to meet you two, but before I took out Titan's brother, Titan's brother told me he had a suicide bomber in the jet I told you to escape in. I should've told Junior and Nathan to cancel the plan. They didn't know about the bomber. I wanted to get rid of the bomber and go on vacation with all of you. I thought it would take your mind off of the stress and panic I knew your were going through. My dad had taught me how to pilot a jet, so I thought I'd get rid of the pilot and save the day. I planned to make it super romantic and what not, but I got into an accident before the big incident. A truck crashed into my car, sending me off the road. My car crashed into a tree, and the glass from the window shattered and sliced my wrist. Still, I tried to get to you. The person who crashed into my car dropped me off to where the jet was, but you all were inside already. I honked the horn of the truck, and you noticed me, somehow, and walked towards where the pilot was. I don't know what went down in there, but the jet was jerking. Then, I think Junior shot the pilot, and the plane went down. I ran as fast as I could to where I suspected the crash to be, but I wad bleeding out and losing energy. I couldn't move as fast as I wanted to. Still, I never gave up. When I finally made it to the scene, the jet exploded, and I was thrown backwards onto a tree where I was knocked out and almost bled to death."
"Nick, you did nothing wrong!" Sage argued. "Every step you made, was made to benefit me. You were being selfless, and even when you almost died, you still fought to make sure I was safe. So what if I got hurt in the incident and lost my memory? I don't blame you, Nickolas. Stop listening to these people! You did the right thing, and for that, I'm truly grateful."
He parted his lips to speak, but I quickly smooched his cheek.
"Thank you, Nickolas," I smiled gratefully.
It took every ounce of bravado in me to kiss him, much less speak to him after such a confident move.
Blush crept to his cheeks and he grinned, "Anything for you."
His eyes flickered to my lips, and I bit them nervously as my body began to get excited. I hoped he didn't peep, and I tried to stay tranquil to ease my nerves. His eyes met my own, and he let out a small smile before eating his icecream.
I continued eating my own and shyly looked away.