My Son's Teacher Is a Mafioso (MANXMAN)

Chapter 9

A/N: The chapter 8 has been made private due to its content (to read it, you have to follow me)

The following week was the same every day for Gabe. In the morning, he drove his son to kindergarten, where he exchanged pleasantries with Orazio, who was careful not to let anything related to his late night hobby slip; although Orazio was rather doubtful Gabe would find out about it even if he gave him a hint. Gabe was too trusting for his own good.

The possibility of Orazio being a criminal, let alone a voyeur, had definitely never crossed his mind. People never expected men like Orazio to enjoy watching others. He was too handsome for such activity, they would say. In Orazio's opinion, it was rubbish. It couldn't make less sense to him. His hobby wasn't as bad as his boss's, which included enslaving people and torturing enemies. Compared to those, watching a cop masturbating online was harmless. Until Orazio got his hands on him that is. That's where the innocuousness would end.

In the evening when Gabe picked up his son, he would ask Orazio about his day. He always gave off the impression of being genuinely interested in Orazio's day; he didn't just try to sound nice. Orazio honestly hated it when people asked him about his day because he felt obliged to do the same, which he didn't. He wasn't nice and wouldn't bother pretending. He'd told himself he wouldn't make exceptions, yet every single day, he found himself questioning Orazio about his work and life; he was especially interested in the latter.

But God, maintaining the image of a nice guy was surely exhausting. Orazio didn't like lying to Gabe. Not because it was wrong, but because it was difficult to remember all the fabrications. If he kept this up, he was bound to mess up. There were others within the family who excelled at lying, but Orazio wasn't one of them.

It was too much trouble to come up with believable lies, and sometimes, he also had to back up his stories with all sorts of certificates, recommendations or whatever was needed for his job. And obtaining those was an even bigger pain in the neck. Hence, he left the job to his henchmen unless it was necessary for him to do it himself.

Ever since Orazio had left the porn at Gabe's house, he hadn't been there. Unbeknownst to Orazio, those brief moments in the morning and evening slowly became precious to him because those were the only times the two of them would meet personally. They still texted each other, but it wasn't the same as looking into those chocolatey eyes. It wasn't as satisfying and nowhere near as pleasing. But they could flirt through texts, which they couldn't do in front of the children, or at least Gabe couldn't because Orazio couldn't care less about proprieties.

At night, Orazio got his daily dose of voyeurism. Watching the unsuspecting Gabe was more arousing than watching porn. Soon, he got immersed in this frowned upon activity. He was beyond salvation. He really was.

Orazio got slowly hooked on Gabe's coming face. He was so beautiful. Orazio was impatient to get inside Gabe. But Gabe was as elusive as ever, so Orazio couldn't imagine how long it would take to romance him. It was tiring, but the reward would be worth it. Of that he was sure.

The children had gathered around him. It was a nap time, and he had been asked to tell them a fairy tale. Orazio personally didn't like fairy tales. They gave children the wrong impression about the world, making them believe that it was a forgiving place, and that as long as you were pretty, everything would turn out well.

Beautiful people tended to be vain and dull. Most of the time, they were inexcusably stupid, too. Their only redeeming point was their looks, and that didn't last long, either. That's why Orazio rarely bothered himself with that type of people.

But from time to time, he liked to mess with them. Like now that he'd found Gabe, the goody two-shoes policeman, who was too nice to chase after people while waving his badge around. That occupation just didn't suit him. Policemen were supposed to be venal, detested by citizens and useless, otherwise Orazio wouldn't be walking freely.

Glancing at the children, he wondered if any of them would someday become his enemy. Some of them already had a knack for pissing him off. For instance, Sebastiano, who might grow up to be just like his papa. Children liked to follow in their parents' footsteps, even if they were bloody and hardly visible.

Orazio believed that mafiosi were more decent than police officers. They were loyal, did their job well, and hated all their enemies equally. They were just as quick to pull the trigger as cops, but as mafiosi it was their prerogative. And they always cleaned their own mess, not like some imbeciles in uniforms who couldn't do it themselves.

Gabe would have been better off working in a friendlier and not so corrupted environment. But it was what Gabe had chosen himself. If he got in Orazio's way, he would kill him. If he was ordered to kill him, he would do it. It was as simple as that. He might be intriguing, but not worth dying for, Orazio thought.

Dante had recently asked him what he'd been up to. Orazio had been spending an awful lot of time outside the family, and it had piqued Dante's interest. Orazio had avoided the question, but he suspected that it might have made Dante even more curious. It was just a matter of time before Dante found out what Orazio had been doing lately; Orazio hoped he would be done with Gabe by then.

Despite Orazio being the underboss, he would still get into trouble if his boss caught wind of his activities. Both Orazio and Dante were known for their promiscuity, but even Dante wouldn't take a cop to bed. And until not so long ago, neither would have Orazio.

***

Exhilarated, Sebby told his father everything that had happened today. He was in essence a hyperactive child, he was like a chatterbox, always talking. Today was no different. He could hardly sit still. It didn't bother him one bit that he was spitting food while talking.

Gabe was trying to teach him manners, but his son couldn't be stopped once he started. He hoped Sebby would grow out of this bad habit because talking with one's mouth full was something frowned upon, but even so Gabe couldn't bring himself to scold him. Instead, he listened to what his son had to say.

Since Orazio had become Sebby's teacher, his son seemed to be livelier. Orazio let the kids do whatever they wanted, which some of his colleagues could be against, but it had made him popular among the little ones. Gabe could see his own son had taken a shine to the unconventional teacher. He talked about Orazio a lot, and Gabe was happy to hear about him.

He and Orazio hadn't had the chance to talk privately lately, and it made him feel lonely. That was precisely why he liked listening to his son talking about his favorite teacher. Gabe listened to his son re-telling the fairy tale Orazio had told them, and couldn't stop his jaw from falling. He was speechless by the time his son was done. He didn't know what to make of what he'd just heard. Gabe had never heard that version of the story.

***

"My son told me that you've been telling the kids fairy tales."

Again, Orazio flashed his dazzling smile at Gabe. "Fairy tales are very enlightening."

"Like Cinderella?"

Amusement showed on Orazio's face. He knew where the conversation was heading, but he didn't seem to be bothered in the least. "Exactly."

"What's enlightening about Cinderella being the leader of bandits and breaking into a castle to loot the treasury only to engage in a battle with the royal guards, in which she loses a finger that the prince uses to find her? "

Although Gabe found Orazio intriguing, he didn't think it appropriate to tell children such stories. He didn't particularly liked picking a bone with Orazio, but he couldn't leave Orazio to do whatever he wanted. Not all parents were that understanding to let it go. Once they found out what stories Orazio had been feeding their kids, they might demand his resignation.

If Orazio was forced to quit, Gabe wouldn't be able to see him every day anymore. Gabe wasn't ready to part with the mysterious teacher yet.

"You should be careful with what you teach the kids, or you may lose your job," Gabe gave Orazio a piece of advice.

"Would you miss me if I were gone?" Orazio's smile could melt a maiden's heart, Gabe believed.

"Of course." Feeling embarrassed by what he'd just said, Gabe hastily added, "Not just me, but the kids, too."

Well, I don't give a rat's arse about anyone under 150 centimetres. Orazio looked around to see if anyone was watching, then pulled Gabe into a kiss. "As long as you want me here, I won't go anywhere."