Sinful Alliance: A Reverse Harem Story

Three

-AVALONA-

The trip to the supermarket was fairly simple since I buy mostly frozen dinners because they are the easiest thing to make when I get home from work, but I did buy a few things I'd have to make for my days off. When I got home, I unpacked my haul then went to the small second room where all of my mother's art waited for me. These paintings and my father's academic publications are all that I have left of them; dad had been a counselor at a fancy school in the Little Italy part of New York City and mom was an artist from the Lower East side who tried to make a name for herself. Their marriage had not been one of prosperity, when they'd met dad had been a broke college student and mom was working at some crappy dive bar where they'd first lad eyes on one another ; they struggled their whole relationship because neither came from money, so they worked multiple dead-end jobs to get by. 

When I was born dad had just graduated from Union College with honors and started his new job in the city, the pay was decent so we didn't have to struggle and mom could stay home to raise me. After paying for their funerals there was hardly any money left for me and neither of their families wanted me, so I was left to struggle alone in foster care until I ended up at the doors of Goddess Black one night after turning eighteen. I lowered myself into the wing chair I'd found on the street outside of a brownstone in Manhattan and sipped my tea- just sitting among so many things they'd put their blood, sweat and tears into helps me feel close to them. 

I was finishing my mug of tea when there was a knock on my front door. Before rising from my seat, I glanced at my watch to see I'd spent the last hour and a half surrounded by memories. The mug was placed on the kitchen island as I crossed through my apartment to peer through the door's peephole to find Vartan standing on the other side with a large bouquet of pale pink and white flowers. "Bringing me flowers now?" I asked after opening the door.

He grumbled to himself as he entered to take the vase to the island. I let out a sigh and shut the door then turned to him. "They were delivered downstairs," he informed in his gruff tone that made people think he was in a perpetually bad mood. Without knowing him most people think Vartan is some old, fat guy like so many men that own clubs in the city but that's far from who he is. Twelve years my senior he stands at about six foot five and weighs about two hundred and fifty pounds of hard muscles and barely contained loathing for the world. Dark blonde hair he keeps in a short fade had a few whispers of silver, blue-green eyes flanked by crow's feet and tree trunk arms that are covered by tattoos. When I first met him, I thought he was going to eat me alive but came to find out he had a big heart that he hides from everyone. 

I stopped at his side as he plucked the tiny card from its holder. "'Eventually soulmates meet, for they have the same hiding place.' Who the hell is Robert Brault?" 

"He's a philosopher. My father used to read his works," I informed, taking the card to look for a sender's name and laughed as he grumbled to himself. 

"You have a secret admirer you haven't told me about?" he asked as I walked to the refrigerator to grab him a bottle of Victoria beer, I only keep it for the rare visits he pays for me. 

"Wouldn't be much of a secret if I knew about them," I retorted as I popped the top and handed him the bottle. 

His response was another grumble before taking a long pull from the bottle. "How are you doing kid? We haven't talked in a while."

I shrugged, setting my mug in the sink. "Same as usual. Oh, a guy asked Maria for my number last night."

His brow furrowed as he sat the bottle down and ran one of his large hands down his chin that was covered in the beginnings of a beard. "Who was it?"

"Someone from VIP who ordered a Jack and Coke. I think his name is Silvano."

"Tomasino."

"Huh?"

"Silvano Tomasino, he's a businessman from up in Oyster Bay. Must have been down here 'wining and dining' clients."

The way he said that made my brow furrow almost like he knew something that he wasn't telling me. "I ran into him at Page Grove while I was out today."

He made another one of his noises before downing the rest of the beer in one swallow. "I gotta get back downstairs and get the order in."

"Thanks for bring the flowers up."

"Don't mention it."

He left my apartment as I threw the empty bottle away then moved the flowers to the windowsill.