Cinnamon Girl
Samone didn't come to Brooklyn for a life of crime; she came for an architecture degree and a chance at something better. Working double shifts at Millie's Diner to survive the crushing cost of tuition, she is just another face in the snow until Carmine walks in. Wrapped in expensive wool and radiating an unnerving, dangerous confidence, he offers her everything she's ever wanted: a way out.
From the grey, frozen sidewalks of Brooklyn to the neon-soaked, high-stakes sprawl of Las Vegas, Samone is swept into a gilded existence of private jets, diamonds, and untouchable luxury. But in a city built on losing, the biggest bet Samone ever made was on the man beside her. As the shine wears off, she discovers that Carmine's promise of the American Dream is a cage. Beneath the glamour and the smooth words lies a darker reality where the cost of her life is a price she may not be able to pay.
Inspired by the haunting, sweet-yet-bitter legacy of Lana Del Rey's "Cinnamon Girl," this is a story of love, obsession, and the thin line between a dream and a nightmare.
~*~
Carmine leaned forward and gave Samone his undivided attention, ignoring his cigarette and the loud men at the bar who cheered at the TV.
"What are the odds of this?" He asked, motioning between the two of them. "What are the odds of me coming to Brooklyn and finding you? Won't you take a chance? You could have everything you've ever dreamed of if you were mine."