He reached down and captured her lips once again, rolling off Tiana in the process. As Tiana drifted off into a peaceful sleep, Kieran lay awake and thought about what just happened that night.
He was in way over his head. He just hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake.
****
“
Buongiorno
,
il figlio
. How did you and Tiana sleep last night?” She took out the orange juice.
Kieran walked over to the playpen Tyson was in and picked him up. It warmed Nicola’s heart to see how in love he was with Tyson. “We slept just fine. I hope Tyson wasn’t too much trouble?”
“Oh, he was just fine!” Nicola scrambled the eggs in a mixing bowl. “Gave me no problems at all!”
“That’s great to hear,” Kieran bounced Tyson a little, causing the infant to giggle. “I was a little concerned last night so I…”
“I dreamt of rainbows,” Nicola smiled.
Kieran placed Tyson back in the playpen. He then headed to the dining room to begin setting up the table. He concentrated on the place setting and kept quiet.
“I thought that news would make you hopeful,” Nicola continued to scramble the eggs.
Kieran shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, you know what happens each time I dream about rainbows,” Nicola checked the sizzling bacon in the next pan.
“Someone gets pregnant,” Kieran finished setting the table.
There was a long silence between the pair as Kieran finished setting the table and Nicola put the eggs and bacon on a platter. “
Può parlare più lentamente
? Please slow down with what you’re saying, Kieran. I can’t keep up.”
“What makes you think it’s going to be me and not the others?” He referenced to his brothers.
“Because I saw
your
face. And I saw
her
face,” Nicola referred to Tiana. “I’m not wrong.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s a baby in the future,” Kieran hated dismissing his mother but felt the need to correct her.
Nicola smiled as she put the food on the table. “Funny how Eli and Faith said exactly the same thing.”
Kieran helped his mother with the rest of the food. “It’s too soon for that.”
“Funny how
she
said the same thing last night,” Nicola grinned as she spoke about Tiana.
His mother’s admission caused Kieran to do a double-take. “You spoke to her about us?”
“Of course I did,” Nicola set out the orange juice. “I wanted to make sure you both knew what you were getting into.”
A slow grin formed on Kieran’s face. He began to connect the dots. His mother had a breakthrough with Tiana he had thought was impossible. He gave his mother a big hug. “Thank you, mamma.”
“You’re welcome,
il figlio
,” Nicola hugged back. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Hmm?”
“I want to see my grandbaby. Either you come here or I’ll go to California. I’m not into that Skype-thing that’s all the rage.”
“Good morning, everyone!” Tiana walked into the kitchen. “Wow, Nicola. Everything smells great!”
“Thank you so much, Tiana. Everyone will be here shortly,” Nicola walked back into the kitchen. “Do you want coffee or tea?”
Tiana kissed her boyfriend and walked over to the playpen and picked up her son. “I’ll have some coffee if you have some.”
“Sounds good,” Nicola took out a couple of mugs and poured some coffee. “Oh,
il figlio
, I forgot to mention I thought I heard a mouse last night.”
“A mouse?” Kieran asked. “Where?”
“Down the hall,” Nicola replied, “Tiana, do you take cream or sugar?”
“Both, Nicola,” she replied, “thanks.”
“The funny thing is I only heard it really late at night,” Nicola poured some cream in her mug and a couple scoops of sugar, “sounded like some shuffling. I thought I heard a squeak.”
Kieran’s eyes widened and he looked over to Tiana, who had equally wide eyes. His mother heard them making love. “I’ll check it after breakfast, mamma.”
“Good,” Nicola sipped her coffee, “and when you check for the mouse, can you let me know if you find a rainbow as well?”
****
“You don’t see them often,” Tiana cuddled with Tyson on the bed. “Besides, Faith and Nathan are coming by and we’re going to have some fun with your mother tonight. You need to go out and enjoy being with your brothers.”
Kieran leaned over the bed and kissed Tiana, then Tyson. “I promise to be good,” he spoke quietly.
“I know you will. Have fun, baby,” Tiana waved him goodbye.
Kieran walked down the stairs and kissed his mother goodbye. “I’ll be back later, mamma.”
“See you later,
il figlio
,” Nicola prepared the snacks for the evening.
Kieran’s brothers soon joined him in the kitchen. “Are you ready to go, man?” Joey asked.
“Ready to go,” Kieran replied. “Let’s go.”
The brothers loaded up in Joey’s Escalade and headed out. “What’s the plan for tonight?” Kieran asked.
“The Lovely Kitten,” Joey navigated down the street.
“Jesus Christ,” Kieran huffed, “for real?”
“Come on, man,” Joey glanced at his brother through the rearview mirror, “aren’t you curious?”
“Not really,” Kieran looked out the window.
“We’re just going to go in and see how she’s doing and then leave,” Tony spoke from the front passenger seat, “no harm, no foul.”
“Why do I need to see her?” Kieran asked. “I have no desire to see that
puttana
for as long as I live.”
“Closure,” Nicholas commented. “Closure for you and for her.”
“I got my closure when she cleaned me out,” Kieran rolled his eyes, “that was all the closure I needed.”
“This is real closure,” Eli commented from the back seat. “Face-to-face, no bull.”
Kieran quietly seethed from his seat. He didn’t want to interact with his ex. He didn’t want anything to do with her and the fact she’d been asking about him, made him roll his eyes so hard he thought he was going to be cross-eyed. “Fine,” he replied.
“Besides,” Tony nodded to the hip-hop beat coming from the radio, “it’s okay to see some other titties besides the ones you’re currently seeing.”
Kieran concentrated on the view outside. “Can somebody please…?”
Nicholas reached over and slapped the back of Tony’s head. “Thank you,” Eli commented.
****
While the Lovely Kitten wasn’t considered to be an upscale strip club, it wasn’t low-class, nor were most of the girls working there. Besides the obvious eye candy, the club was known for its food and drinks, making it popular with the locals.
“Can I help you, gentlemen?” A blonde with a thick accent approached the guys.
“Yeah, is Cinna here tonight?” Tony asked.
“She sure is, baby,” the blonde put a hand on her hip, “she’s doing a dance right now but she’ll be available in a few minutes.”
“Good,” Tony got up and gave the blonde some money. “Give half of that to Cinna and tell her she has a client coming in to see her. The other half is for you for your trouble.”
The blonde kissed Tony’s cheek and winked at him. “Anytime, baby,” she walked away and disappeared behind the curtains.
“You have a dance coming up, partner,” Tony mentioned to Kieran when he returned from the bathroom.
Kieran didn’t want to be face-to-face with his ex and he most certainly didn’t want a lap dance from her. “This night keeps getting better.”
“She knows you’re here,” Tony sat next to his brother. He knew he was crossing a line by bringing Kieran to the club and rehashing his painful past but he also knew his brother needed to deal with his past if he was even remotely serious about his future with Tiana. “She’s waiting for you behind that curtain.”
Kieran sighed. He took a shot of his bourbon and decided it wasn’t strong enough. He hadn’t planned on drinking anything that night, but a surprise trip to a strip club featuring his ex made him knock back a drink. He quickly got over his anger and irritation. It would be his chance to ask Jalara what she had been thinking when she left him and their future.
Kieran swallowed another sip along with his pride. He then headed behind the curtain.
****
Jalara Stevens smiled at her ex-husband as she walked towards him. If he wanted another go-round with her, she wouldn’t even hesitate to fulfill his request. “Welcome back, baby.”
Whatever happened to his ex-wife was not pleasant. The time between their divorce and their meeting had not done her any favors. Her face was haggard and the makeup job didn’t hide the acne scars and dark circles. Her body, once young and lithe, had aged with considerable weight gain and if Kieran looked closely, some old track marks. The only thing youthful about her appearance was her obvious breast implants.
Her strawberry blonde mane was stringy and her eyes were the most telling—they were lifeless and empty. It was then that Kieran no longer had anger towards his ex. He simply felt sorry for her.
“Jalara,” Kieran didn’t smile, “how have you been?”
“I’ve been great,” her voice was raspier than Kieran remembered. Jalara always had a smoking habit. “How have you been? Nice to see you around here.”
“I’m in town visiting,” Kieran cleared his throat. “I’ll be leaving soon.”
“I’m glad you could stop by,” Jalara grabbed Kieran’s hand and led him to the couch. She put on some music and dimmed the lights a little. She walked back over to him and straddled his waist.
“Did Tony tell you I’ve been asking about you? He comes in here all the time.”
“He told me,” Kieran kept his hands to himself.
“Did he tell you I got married again? I just had a baby a few months ago,” Jalara ground against Kieran’s lap. “I look good for someone who just had a baby, huh?”
Truth to be told, Jalara didn’t look good even if she didn’t just have a baby. “Your husband doesn’t mind you’re stripping?” Kieran asked.
“Why would he?” Jalara leaned back on Kieran as she continued to grind on him, “he owns the club.”
The word Kieran was thinking of came easily to him.
Magnaccia
. Pimp. “Of course,” Kieran replied.
“How have you been?” Jalara peeled off her top and revealed her breasts. “I’ve heard you’ve been doing pretty well.”
Kieran admired Jalara’s breasts. It was the only good thing about her at the moment. “I’m doing fine,” Kieran briefly contemplated mentioning Tiana but it was best he kept that news private.
There was no need to tell Jalara that information.
“That’s good, real good to hear,” Jalara turned around and faced Kieran. “You know, not a day goes by that I wonder what could’ve been between us.”
Kieran couldn’t tell if Jalara was being honest or blowing smoke up his ass. “So why did you leave?”
Jalara gave a half-hearted shrug as she kept dancing. “I was too young? You were too young?
Our marriage was a mistake, Kieran. We probably would’ve divorced, anyway.”
“I understand that part,” Kieran replied, “but I don’t understand you cleaning me out and taking everything but my clothing and shoes. That’s the part I’m having a hard time digesting.”
“Kieran,” Jalara leaned forward and continued to grind against him, “I needed the money. I knew you were able to make some more and would be okay. I didn’t know about my future. I had bills to pay, I was in school. You were off in the military fighting and I barely heard from you when you were gone. I mean, had I known what was going to happen, I would’ve stayed for sure.”
Jalara’s admission caught Kieran by surprise. He forced her steady with his hands. “What do you mean had you known what was going to happen, you would’ve stayed?”
“I mean,” Jalara shrugged again, “I mean, your mom did win a lot of money from the lottery.”
Kieran’s eyes raged with thunderous anger. “Are you seriously telling me that your only regret of us not being together is because you couldn’t have any of the lottery winnings? My
mother’s
lottery winnings?”
“That’s not the only reason,” Jalara reasoned.
“But it’s the primary one,” Kieran forced Jalara off him. “You didn’t give a damn about me back then just like you don’t give a damn about me now. We’re done here.” He then left the room.
Kieran made his way back to his brothers. “Everything’s done. Let’s go. I’ve had enough entertainment here to last me a long while.” He caught a glimpse of Jalara standing outside of her private room. She had a hand on her hip and a seductive smirk on her face. He turned back away from her. “For a
long
while.”
The brothers stood up and began to gather their belongings. “Is everything handled?” Nicolas asked.
“Yes,” Kieran didn’t want to elaborate. He turned back around and saw Jalara bringing another patron into the private room and closed the curtain behind her. “I dodged one helluva of bullet.”
TWELVE
“So, Ms. Thang,” Faith put the shampoo cape on Tiana, “what can I do for you today?”
“On the floor,” Tiana stated matter of fact. “I want all of my hair on the floor.”
Faith had been a hairstylist as long as she could remember. She started styling hair back in high school and finally opened her own beauty salon in conjunction with Tony’s barber shop. When Tiana requested to get her hair done, Faith jumped on the chance to style the hair of one of the world’s most influential women.