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The ambience in the casino shifted halfway through Adriano smoking a blunt. He didn't hit it enough to feel a high so he could feel when the air changed and his guard stepped to the side to allow the entrance of the woman he'd been hoping to see.
The last time they talked was at the auction days ago and he gave her time to gather her thoughts — she hadn't contacted him.
Until now.
"Can we talk?" She says and he looks at her, eyes roaming her body. The dress she wears is red — his favorite color — and hugs her body. The sleeves wrap around her shoulders then flow past her elbows down past her wrist.
It's already short but the slit up her leg is enough for Adriano to feel himself get harder. He misses her — misses her lips, her skin, her touch. And judging by how she reciprocates the lustful look he gives her, she misses him too.
He nods, allowing her to release a brief breath of release before she turns and steps down the platform. The guard sends her a respectful nod before turning to his boss.
"Buona fortuna, capo." Good luck, boss.
•••
Adalena was always vocal about how much she loves Adriano's casino. She likes the versatility of it — especially with a five-star hotel stacked on top of it. Adriano himself, obviously as the boss, has his own high rise, top tier penthouse where he's only ever allowed Adalena to enter.
The CEO gracefully lowers herself onto his bed and looks out at the skyline that greets her. Adriano, on the other hand, pulls off his suit blazer and rests it on the back of the chair in the corner of the room.
Adalena crosses one leg over the other, eyes closing in comfort as she hears her best friend untie his shoes and step out of them. When she feels him in front of her, she puts her foot in his direction and falls back on the mattress when he takes it into his hand and starts to unwrap the laces from her leg.
As he slowly relieves her screaming toes, he takes the chance to peck her skin and look up at her, "Talk, Lena."
The woman inhales sharply as he presses his thumb into the sole of her foot once he takes her right heel off.
She twists her mouth in contemplation and a bit of nervousness. She doesn't get nervous, yet here she is.
"Promise not to feel sorry for me."
Adriano stops peppering kisses to her skin in order to look up at her, though his fingers still work at unwrapping the heel strap from her left leg.
"Adalena —"
"Just promise me." She rolls her eyes.
"Okay." He says softly and pulls her remaining shoe off.
"I have a year left."
Adriano leans back and watches her as she sits up, "A year left?" The words trigger something in him. Something he felt when his own mother told him she had a couple of months left to live. He can't lose another woman he loves.
"My fertility has a year left." She clarifies, sitting up so she can meet his gaze, "I have a year left to have a healthy and safe pregnancy, Adri."
Adriano leans back on his toes and sighs, not having expected her to say that. But now he knows.
"It's a low egg count that's only going to fall with time. I went to my physician two years ago and they said I had three years left to be able to carry a baby to term if I started treatment immediately. The past two years, life just flew by me and I couldn't find the time, but now I have the time."
Silence passes.
"I want a baby, Adriano. Yes, maybe I wanted it later in life, but I don't want to lose my chance or go through that entire process of freezing my eggs." She bites her lip as Adriano finally rises to stand and rests his hand on her cheek.
She stares up at him, waiting for a word to leave his mouth. His silence unsettles her.
And then, he wraps a hand around her neck and gently pushes her down to the mattress, covering her body with his. His next words leave her reeling.
"I will do everything in my power to give you what you want, Adalena."
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did i just watch dear john and get reminded of my christmas story that features younger channing tatum?
maybe
also, very short chapter but i needed to get something out, omg
