Found in Darkness

Chapter 8

ELENORA

"Clara!" I gasp, trying to hide the present within the tissue of the small gift box. I held them up briefly before I realized what they were. I glance around the restaurant, hoping the people closest to us didn't see anything.

"What?" She smirks.

"Why did you get me these?" I whisper, trying to put the lid back on the box.

She laughs and tries to grab the box from me but I hold on to it like my life depends on it, but Luna snatches it out of my hands from my other side.

"Luna, don't!"

"What's the big deal, Nora?" She asks and then she and Jackie open the lid and start rummaging through the tissue. Luna lifts the panties up.

"They're just underwear, geez," Jackie states as she takes a sip of her mojito.

"No, dummy, these are vibrating panties. See, look. You put this inside this little pocket and then it should come with a remote. Ah, here it is. Look." Luna clicks the button and we hear the quiet electronic buzzing sound.

"Yeah, but do they work, work?" Jackie grabs them out of Luna's hands and gasps. "Oh, I want to try them."

"Get your own, these are for Nora," Clara scolds them.

"You guys, put them away, people are starting to look." My face is burning as other patrons are watching us.

"Who cares?" Luna responds. "If anything, it gives them reassurance we wear underwear; nowadays, you never know."

"Knowing our luck, someone's taking pictures and they'll get back to Pop." I slurp my Tom Collins. "And that will give Nonno the reason he's been waiting for to actually murder me." Three drinks in and I'm starting to feel it.

"So, are you really going to marry Federico Barone?" Clara asks me.

"No, we're only 'dating'. Pop thinks the family who is threatening us will back off with how prominent the Barone family is. They are constantly in the news about something or other with all their charity and fundraising events and of course the hotel chains they have. And the family who's after dad won't want that attention focused on them. I mean, the mafia doesn't exist, right?"

"But the Barone's have always been known to have connections to the mafia, too," Luna states, sipping her Cosmo.

"They have the money to cover it up."

Jackie's phone chimes. "It's dad."

I laugh. "See, someone sent him a picture of me holding the panties!"

"No, he's asking what club we're going to," Jackie tells us and begins texting, but Clara puts a hand over hers to stop her.

"You are not seriously going to tell him where we are going?"

"Why not?"

"Why does he need to know? Carlo is with us and that other dude I can't remember his name," Clara raises her eyebrows at Jackie, as if to say, there's no need. "Plus, we're going to do a club crawl, it won't be just one place."

"I'll just tell him about the first place then so I won't feel too guilty about not telling the whole truth." Jackie texts our father while Luna rolls her eyes.

"Well, let's get going, but first, you're putting these on, missy!" Clara grabs my hand and then the gift box, pulling me through the restaurant.

"What? No way!"

"Why not? It's your birthday, and you deserve to have a little fun, and excitement, Nora. And the best part is you don't need a man to make you feel good. Besides, no one's gonna know."