Chapter 5

Julia, Susanna and the guys arrived at Walter's Steakhouse that is in the 800 block of Union Street, just a few doors up and across from Union City Grille. They immediately saw the police activity underway across the street and assumed it was an accident or a medical emergency.

After several minutes of banter on how big they wanted their steaks to be, Julia and Susanna decided on the smaller six-ounce filet mignons while Cliff went for the 14-ounce prime rib and Charles ordered the 22-ounce porterhouse. Football players always went for the heavy meat, and he was hungry. They shared appetizers of crab stuffed mushrooms and shrimp cocktails.

Susanna asked, "Charles, why did you pledge Theta Chi? I'd think you football players are too busy with your sport and trying to stay in school than to fool with us stuck up, worthless Greeks."

"It was a tough decision but I needed some comic relief from all the studying and practice. Cliff and the brothers seemed to be a fun bunch of guys."

"Speaking of fun," Cliff said, "Ben's been talking about the video all week. He said you're doing it in multiple sessions starting Monday. He and Jason had some hard words about it when Ashley was over this week."

"Oh. Why was that?" Julia asked.

"As I mentioned, I think there's still, or at least was, some heat between Ashley and Jason after he dropped her. He burned the bridge this week, however. I didn't hear it but Jeremy said Jason called her a slut and a whore."

"That wasn't cool," said Susanna.

"Ben said that she was on him like a wildcat and scratched him up pretty bad. He was bleeding and she bit his hand bad enough to break his little finger."

"Damn, she was mad as hell," Julia whispered.

"Yeah, Eric and his paramedic buddies came over and patched the poor boy up."

Charles added, "The fraternity is now saying all pledges have to be in an erotic video as part of our initiation. I also heard that David is going to have another one made with a new girl he's dating named Jessica. I don't know any girls on campus so I have a problem. I don't think the guys want to see me solo." They all laughed.

Susanna replied, "You know me." Julia and Cliff grinned when Charles eyes shot open.

"You're joking."

"I am?"

"Are you implying that you might be in a video with me?"

"I'd love to if you pay for the production."

"This can't be true, Susanna. You're a goddess and I'm just lucky to know you."

"We goddesses like to hang out with our worshipers on occasion." Everyone laughed. "I like sex too, Charles," she whispered.

The dinner was interesting as Charles kept stealing glances at Susanna, who always seemed to catch his eye and smile. This was serious flirting and when dinner was winding down, Charles was in a permanent state of arousal and wondering how he was going to walk out of the restaurant without dying of embarrassment. He drank two glasses of ice water and carefully avoided looking at Susanna for a long time until it relaxed.

The sisters visited the ladies room while the guys paid the bill. Charles leaned toward Cliff to avoid being overheard. "Is she toying with me?"

"I don't think so."

"Why would someone as beautiful as her agree to do this?"

"She wants to. You might be surprised by how these three women love sex. Julia was all over me a week after we met. Susanna is very active and Layla was until she locked onto Eric."

"You're saying I should just go with the flow and see what happens?"

"Why not?"

Charles sat back and thought, "Yeah, why not?"

As the four left, they noticed police canvassing the neighborhood up and down the street. Obviously, they were looking for witnesses to whatever happened earlier. An officer stopped them as they began to cross the street to their car.

"Excuse me. We've had three gunshot victims a block up the street. Did you see or hear anything about three hours ago that might be connected to the shooting?"

Cliff replied, "No sir. We arrived for dinner about two hours ago and saw the police cars there as we walked to the restaurant."

"Okay, thanks very much. Have a good evening." He walked away toward the next house.

"Glad we came as late as we did," Julia said.

Susanna asked, "Wasn't Eric and Layla coming here tonight to Union City Grille? It's just there on the corner." She pointed to it. "They must have just missed it."

As the four arrived home, Eric and Layla were watching TV waiting for the local news. Eric told them, "We're hoping there's something on the shooting tonight on Union Street."

Cliff asked, "Did that happen while you were in the restaurant?"

"Yes. As we were leaving, we could see all the activity up the street."

Layla added, "Eric ran up there to see if he could help. It was too late. Everyone was dead."

Susanna asked, "You think it was drug related?"

Eric replied, "We think it was an organized crime hit. Three guys were shot in the back of the head, probably all at the same time. All three victims were armed but they never pulled their guns. They were totally surprised, according to the sergeant I talked to."

Just then, the news came on and a reporter gave the lead story from Union Street with the police cars and crime scene tape behind him.

"Earlier this evening, three men were shot execution style here on a major street in the Little Italy part of Wilmington. According to the police officers on the scene, this has the appearance of an organized crime hit, similar to one that happened fifteen years ago in this same area. The three victims have not yet been identified, pending notification of their next of kin. Officers have been canvassing the area to locate witnesses but none have been found, as far as is known to this reporter. Notre Dame was playing Michigan at the same time this crime occurred and very few people were on the street. No one heard gunshots. Surveillance videos are being solicited from all the local businesses.

"It was announced that the police will have a press briefing tomorrow morning, after more is known. We will report any new information as it's announced. If this is, as feared, an organized crime hit, it will be the first in the tri-state area in over ten years and portends an ominous future if revenge is sought. The truce between the crime families may be over. This is Thomas Delaney, WCAU Channel 10, Philadelphia."

Charles said, "You guys were right. Who would have thought of a hit going down right where all of us were having dinner?" Eric and Layla kept quiet about what she had seen.

"I hate to be right on something like this," Eric replied.

Julia asked Layla, "When did Amy go to bed?"

"About an hour after you left. The little angel kicked our tails playing Jenga."

Cliff said, "I had a feeling she was good. She was very quick to want all of us to play."

Susanna added, "That little kid is sharp as a tack. I have a feeling all of us are going to be calling her 'Madam President' one of these days."

Layla replied, "I wouldn't doubt it for a minute. I'll let you read her a book tomorrow so you can see what happens."

"What does she do?" asked Charles.

"When I put her to bed this evening, I read her one of the five she brought. She had memorized every word of that book and she 'read' it to me, in all honesty. Now this book was not easy ... it's 40 pages long. She should never have been able to read it or memorize it, but she did."

Eric added, "Her little mind is like a sponge. It absorbs everything and seems to never forget it. Her mother was like that."

Julia asked, "How about beers for everyone?"

"Great," they responded in unison. They had a seat in front of the TV as Susanna and Layla made the beer run. After debate, they decided to watch an old Star Trek episode on Netflix. There really wasn't much watching however, as each girl began working on her man. Cliff and Eric knew what was happening but Charles was new to this house. Everyone glanced occasionally at him as Susanna applied her many charms to various parts of his body.

It all started with his hands. As she sat next to him, Susanna took his hand and laid it in her lap. She used both her hands to massage his fingers while pressing the back of his hand into her loins. To the casual observer it looked so innocent; to Charles, his hand was touching (through several layers of cloth) the object of his dreams for the last six years. The TV became a bit blurry as his entire mind could only process the warmth on his hand from her treasure box. He stared straight ahead but knew that others in the room were stealing glances at his reaction. He didn't know whether he should be thrilled or embarrassed to be rubbing her this way.

Susanna slipped her hand to his thigh and massaged it ... getting progressively closer to his manhood. Cliff was under similar attack by Julia while Layla decided to just plop into Eric's lap for a round of passionate kissing. No one cared about Star Trek but it played on while the real action was beginning in front of the TV.

Cliff and Julia were the first to retire to her bedroom. Julia stopped by Layla and Eric to whisper, "We'll be quiet and not wake Amy."

Eric whispered to Layla, "Maybe we should go up and check on Amy." Layla smiled at the real reason but also pretended to be concerned about Amy. They stood and said goodnight to Charles and Susanna before going upstairs.

Charles didn't want to assume anything so he said, "Maybe I need to be going."

"Like hell you are. We need to practice."

"Practice what?"

"For our video."

After a moment of collecting his thoughts, Charles replied, "Susanna, I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Charles, you're not taking advantage of me. Do I scare you for some reason?"

That question caught him by surprise and he paused to think. Maybe she did scare him. He decided to come clean and tell her everything.

"Let me just put it all out there, Susanna. This is embarrassing. Since I first saw you when I was a freshman, I lusted for you. I silently worshipped everything about you. My day was always a happy one when I saw you. Occasionally, you even spoke to me but I was so scared I'd say something foolish, I was tongue-tied. I watched as you talked with other guys and wished I had the courage they had. I'd dream about you many nights. The reason I dressed the way I did was for you. When you graduated, I was devastated. I went to the graduation ceremony just to see you one last time. That was the worse night of my life."

Tears came to Susanna's eyes. "Why didn't you let me know this years ago? I was really impressed by you and wanted to date you but I couldn't get you to talk. I didn't know what to think. Charles, I'm sorry I affected you that way and caused such a problem."

"It wasn't anything you did. It was all my stupidity and insecurity. I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I walked in the door tonight and saw you. My heart actually stopped, I think."

"Charles, we have time to catch up."

"But I don't want this to be temporary. I don't know whether I can ever let you go after this. It would probably hurt me more than if we never re-connected in the first place. I lost you once when you graduated, I don't want to relive that misery."

"Now it's my turn to lay it all out there. I have always wanted to date as many guys as possible. All were only for a day or two. It was fun and I learned something from every one. I enjoyed my effect on guys and I took full advantage of it. I didn't want to be tied down. My plan was to get serious at finding the right man after graduation and after I returned to Raleigh to work in my dad's investment business. Dad wants me to eventually take over that business and I wanted to wait until I returned there to find the right guy. I graduate in May. But I'm willing to take a chance on you if you are with me."

"Are you saying we have until May?"

"No, if we're a match and there's no reason to believe we're not, I'll wait for you while I learn dad's business. We can see each other frequently during that year; it's only about six hours away by car."

"Susanna, I'm very concerned about beginning our relationship with a sex video. I'm scared it'll hurt my chances with you for the long term. I'm not that experienced and I'll not meet your expectations."

"Charles, guys want to have sex with me because they think I'm sexy. Sex gets old in a hurry if that's all there is in the relationship. I think there's going to be much more to our relationship than sex."

"Can we start down that road and make sure that's the case? Can we refrain from sex until we build on our relationship?"

Susanna stared at him and realized that he was much wiser than she. Sex isn't the way to begin a relationship and has never been. It's the result of a loving relationship, not the cause of one.

"You're right, Charles. Let's begin at the beginning. Can you stay with me tonight and let's start getting to know each other. No sex, I promise."

"You want me to sleep with you but not touch you?"

"That's not what I'm saying. You can touch me. I want to kiss you right now, in fact. But we'll not have intercourse until we both agree our relationship is at that point."

"You can't imagine how good this makes me feel. You're saying I really do have a chance with you."

Susanna stood, turned and sat in his lap. They kissed, first with lips closed, and then with tongues flicking tip to tip. As their mouths opened a little wider, their tongues jousted as their passion slowly built. Susanna and Charles hugged and gazed at each other, both realizing that this was a beginning and both hoping that it was for real. For the first time in her young life, Susanna felt this might be the man. It was something she wanted to experience eventually; it just wasn't expected this soon.

She stood and reached for his hand. He stood and she realized again just how tall he was. Her 5'9" height was dwarfed; but in a way that gave her a sense of security. Susanna went to the fridge for two bottles of water and then led the way upstairs.

"I have a new toothbrush for you but no pajamas."

"I'll just sleep in my shorts."

They took turns in the bathroom and then slipped under the sheets into Susanna's king size bed. Charles had just enough legroom to stretch out. She snuggled into his open arms and they kissed again before she laid her head on his chest.

"Now, tell me all about Charles. Don't leave anything out." Within 30 minutes, they were sound asleep, still cuddled. The last thing Susanna remembered hearing was the bed creaking in Julia's room and muffled sounds of grunts and slapping thighs.

Layla and Eric heard those same sounds and smiled. At least this night, Eric was allowed to slide into bed next to Layla who was sandwiched between him and Amy. They were a little too crowded in a queen size bed, but they made do. Their lovemaking was limited to fondling each other until they fell asleep.

Mario and his men wound their way 45 miles north to a small, non-descript state park along the Delaware River. Their personal cars were parked there being watched by one of Paulo's men. After carefully cleaning the inside of the Impala they stole from a Bonanno family hit man, they removed the New Jersey plates and rolled it down the boat ramp into the current of the river. They watched as the car initially floated out from the bank and gradually sank into the dark water downstream.

On the way back to his house, Mario stopped on a dark bridge over the river and dropped three handguns, complete with their silencers, and the New Jersey plates into the water. This order was now filled and he could go home to his wife and child.

Eric's iPhone buzzed at the set time, and he rolled out of bed to prepare for his shift. The girls were still asleep when he was ready; he left Layla a note to say he would call later. He leaned over the bed and kissed both on their cheeks. Tears came to his eyes as he recalled the little girl who died in his arms the previous day. Paramedics have to be emotionally tough and almost calloused to the suffering and death they often see. Somehow, the events of yesterday broke through his emotional firewall and it would take a while to recover.

Susanna was next to wake. She suffered from a severe beer bladder problem. After doing her bathroom duties, she stopped long enough to hear the rhythmic breathing of her new beau. Thankfully, he didn't snore.

She quietly went downstairs to make coffee and check the Internet for the latest Facebook gossip and emails. As usual, there were a number from guys trying to schedule a date with her. She took a few minutes to reply that she was off the dating circuit and hooked up to the love of her life. She hoped that was true.

Susanna next dashed off a note to her agent in LA to announce that she had retired from the adult film business and would not be returning there in June as she had planned. She would eventually have to tell Charles about this part-time activity but Susanna hoped she could delay that as long as possible.

Layla walked in and headed for the coffee. "Hey sis. Sleep well?"

"We sure did."

"Charles stayed over?"

"Yep. Y'all can start making fun of me now. I'm hooked."

"NO! Not our Susanna."

She grinned, "I know. I thought I was immune. Damn it! I was having such a good time being free of entangling relationships."

"What happened?"

Susanna filled her in on their conversations and agreements and described how they talked and slept together last night.

"This actually does sound serious," Layla said.

"When you met Eric, you described how you felt and how you wanted his approval for the video business. I thought you had gone all weird on us, but I now know that feeling. How can we be so in charge of our lives one minute and feel so dependent on a man the next? Why do men have this effect on us?"

"It's discouraging, isn't it?" Layla asked. "I was a very liberated woman, making my own way totally independent of men. I was following the women's mantra of trying my best to be better than men and not let them control me. I did things on my terms and never let any man hold me back."

"I was the same way. Heaven help any man who got in my way. I used men for my purposes and dumped them as quick as possible. Wow, did that all change last night."

Julia walked in and overheard the discussion. "What changed last night?" The sisters filled her in as they sipped coffee around the table.

"I have to admit that you surprise me, Susanna. I didn't think I'd live long enough to see you make a commitment to one man. At least you've known of him and been around him a long time."

"Yeah, I was serious last night when I told you he was the cutest guy in school and I wanted him to ask me out, even though he was a year younger. If he'd given me any encouragement, I'd have been bouncing on his dick in the school hallway. My heart just melted last night when he told me his feelings."

Layla asked, "Do you realize how our lives have changed the last two months? I never saw any of this coming."

"Nor did I," replied Susanna.

"Me neither," added Julia. "We're three very lucky girls to have come to this point, especially after Layla could have been killed."

"Mommy."

"Hey Amy, we're over here." Amy came around the corner and saw the girls.

"Can I get you a glass of milk?" Layla asked.

"Yes please." Amy came running in her pajamas to Susanna who lifted her to her lap.

"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?"

"It was okay. I missed Miss Annie."

"Layla said you gave her a weekend off to rest."

"Yes, but I still miss her. Mommy, can I have a cookie?"

"You can have one later. But for breakfast, we need to eat other good food. How about cereal and a banana?"

"Do you have strawberries?"

"I think so."

"Good, that's what I want." All the sisters decided on cereal with fruit and the four ladies sat around the table. Julia pulled two pillows from the sofa to make Amy a booster seat.

As they were finishing the cereal, Charles and Cliff came down, dressed for the day. The girls cheered that the sleepyheads were finally up. Both came to the table and leaned into their partners for quick kisses. They greeted Layla and Amy with sweet kisses on their cheeks.

Amy asked, "Can we play Jenga now?"

Layla replied, "Let's fix breakfast for the guys first. Can you help me?"

"Okay."

Julia helped Amy down from the pillows so she could follow Layla into the prep area of the kitchen. Cliff and Charles came along to get coffee before returning to the table.

Layla whispered to Amy who then came over to Cliff.

"Mommy wants to know if bacon, eggs and toast are okay for breakfast."

"That sounds wonderful to me, Amy. Charles is smiling so he wants that as well."

"Do you want your eggs fried or scrambled?"

"Fried would be good. How about for you, Charles?"

"Fried is fine with me, Amy."

"Okay."

Amy ran back to Layla and reported their choices. Charles leaned close to Susanna and whispered, "Is Layla actually her mom?"

She whispered, "No, Amy has started calling her that. Amy's mom died in a car accident when she was only one. Amy's been looking for a new mom. But none of us doubt that Layla will be her mom one of these days. She and Eric are perfect for each other and she loves Amy like she would her own child."

Layla asked, "Amy, could you get the bacon and eggs for me while I get the pan ready?" Amy opened the fridge and found the bacon in one of the bottom drawers. The eggs were up high and she couldn't reach them. As she started pushing a chair toward the fridge, Charles stood and walked toward her.

"Amy, let me help you with that." He lifted her so she could pull out the carton of eggs.

"Thank you. Here Mommy. Mr. Charles helped me."

"Thanks Amy. Why don't you take a seat at the table while I fry the bacon." Amy ran over to the table and surprised everyone by going to Charles.

"May I sit in your lap?"

"Sure, sweetheart." He lifted her and she sat on his knees with her elbows on the table.

Julia said, "She likes your lap more than she likes those pillows."

Susanna whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "I do too, Amy." Everyone smiled. "Amy, while the guys are eating, why don't you and I go up and get dressed? We need to choose outfits for you and me."

"Okay."

Julia added, "I'll go with you. Will you help me pick an outfit to wear?"

"Okay." With his help, Amy jumped down from Charles lap and took Susanna's hand to go up.

When they were out of earshot, Cliff asked, "You see what we mean about Amy?"

"She's only four?"

"Yes."

"That's very hard to believe. Four going on twelve."

"Exactly."

Upstairs, Amy was going through all her clothes to pick the ones she wanted for the day. Susanna gave her suggestions and helped decide which socks and shoes to wear.

"Let's take a shower, Amy, and make ourselves squeaky clean."

"Okay."

Susanna adjusted the water temperature and brought fresh towels before stripping and helping Amy remove her clothes. They stepped into the shower together. Amy began washing herself and said, "Aunt Susanna, you're pretty."

"Why thank you, Amy. I think you're a beautiful young lady."

"Mommy says I won't look like her when I grow up. Will I look like you?"

"That's possible. Your hair is probably going to turn lighter and be blonde like mine and I think you're going to be fairly tall since your dad is. You're definitely going to have a lovely face."

"Do you like Mr. Charles?"

"Yes I do."

"He's very nice. Did you let him use a drop of fragrance?"