Games We Play - Round 1: Never Have I Ever (18+ dark mafia romance)

Chapter 5&6 (Matteo)

Matteo

Chapter 5

Manhattan, New York, United States – October 24th, 2019

When he got the acceptance letter from Hamilton University in New York, Matteo didn't even react (he didn't even know he'd applied in the first place). His father had suggested America when he'd just turned fourteen and was about to start eight grade in Palermo.

"Why America?" Matteo had asked. He liked his life in Italy; he had friends, activities, and nothing ever stressed him out (that was before he discovered the drug greenhouses in their backyard and saw his father pointing a gun at someone on Christmas that same year).

"It's an international private boarding school. It's better than anything you're going to get here in Italy. You're better than Sicily, Matteo. I think you'd benefit from attending an international school and meeting people outside your hometown. If you don't like the first year, I promise you we'll find something else. But a public high school in Palermo shouldn't be your first option."

Matteo listened. Didn't have much of a choice, really.

He met Allison at school in 2014 and she quickly became his girlfriend but got on his last nerves quite often. Her main problem was her being jealous of his friendship with Isabella. By the time they'd broken up, Matteo had been emotionally detached for months.

Long story short, he ended up enjoying his first year of boarding school in America because he had learned a lot: if you're smart, you'll always be one step ahead of people because they're easy to read. If you have money, you can do anything you want. And if you're smart and you have money, you're already winning.

In 2018, his father called him into his office in New York and told him he had a graduation present for him.

"I want you to take over one of my clubs in the city, as a manager."

It didn't even take one second for Matteo to think it through. School was done and the past two weeks after graduation had been boring.

"Which one?"

"Either The Candy Club or Redlight."

"I don't want the strip club. Too much work. I'll take Redlight."

He went to New York for the summer and his father bought him an apartment on the Upper West Side so he could be close to the club. When he found out that he would attend Hamilton University to study Economics, he didn't even question why.

He knew his father had talked to someone without bothering to check with him. It should've bothered him but it didn't because he would've ended up studying Economics anyway - at least this way he was spared the stress of admission.

Since Hamilton University is all the way up in Clinton, his father also got him an apartment there so he could attend classes and split up his time. Nearly all of Matteo's friends from school who chose this university were staying in the dorms on campus. But he didn't mind living off-campus; he liked having more freedom and being able to move from city to city whenever he wanted.

He got through the first year, passed all his exams, while also managing to get drive foot traffic into the club.

It's the last week of October and Matteo is sitting in his chair in the office, trying to roll a joint. Vinnie and Marco are also present, with Marco being a new addition since he started his first year of university.

Their father has just bought them a bigger apartment in Manhattan so Marco could learn the ropes of the business.

"What are we doing for Halloween?" Marco asks, not looking away from the TV screen.