Page 40 of Heaven Help Me

Valentina gives me a look like she thinks I’ve lost my mind.

“Look, it’s the first car I’ve owned that wasn’t bought and controlled by Bettina. Do you know what it’s like to be a man in his thirties and still have his mommy control him because of the car she bought him? Bettina had a fucking tracker on my car!”

I shift in my seat, getting heated all over again. That had been a humiliating day when I discovered that little piece of information. I’d sold the car that same day and bought my own with money I’d made with my legitimate business. It had actually been liberating and long overdue.

“I haven’t taken a dime from her since that day. Everything I have is because of the boutique I run. It’s all mine. No blood on this car.”

Valentina gives me a soft smile. “I get it.”

I’m sure she does. Bettina probably has a tracker on Valentina’s car back in New York too. I don’t ask, but I’m sure much of Valentina’s life has been dictated by Bettina. Valentina didn’t have the benefit of a father who wanted the best for him and tried to provide him with an alternative way to live.

“Right there!” Valentina shouts, pointing to the right.

A gray sedan is parked in the back parking lot of the Celestial Comfort Inn. No one’s in it, a fact we double-check as we park a little further down, away from the glow of the two overhead lights in the parking lot.

I shut off the engine and we sit there, staring at it.

“Why would he still be here?”

Valentina puts her hand on my arm. “Because he knows we won’t call the cops. His job is to intimidate, which he did. Staying here, being a constant presence, is part of the intimidation.”

It pisses me off. Everything about the way the mob works makes me sick. But she’s right.

“I say we do a little intimidation of our own, then,” I say quietly.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Valentina says with an evil grin.

“Care to join me for a stakeout?”

Her grin only increases. “I’d love to!”

We both settle into our seats, putting the back down a bit to rest more comfortably. This is more like old times. Back when we were kids, we’d spend every day together, getting into trouble mostly, but always talking. God, we used to talk constantly. I guess that’s what hurt me the most when we slept together. I’d thought we were friends above all else. And then she’d stabbed me.

There’s no movement in the hotel. No cars pulling in or out of the lot. Fact is, the outskirts of Heaven shut down after ten at night on a random Tuesday. The bars in the Square will see activity from the college kids, but during the summer, things are sleepy here. We could be waiting all night to catch sight of this guy.

“I think we should have sex.”

I choke on my own spit and have to cough it out, the sound loud in the close confines of my car. Valentina laughs softly, so beautiful it makes my chest hurt. She doesn’t laugh enough. Every time she does, she gets this shocked look on her face for a second like it surprised her.

“Say what now?” I manage to wheeze. She must be pulling my leg, right?

She simply shrugs. “You know you want to.”

I’m already shaking my head no, but she whacks my bicep with the back of her hand.

“Yes, you do. I’ve felt your erection too many times for you to deny it.”

My shoulders slump. Fuck, she’s right. There’s really no use denying it when it’s so obvious, so I’ll be as direct as her.

“Sure, my body wants to, but my brain knows it’s a bad idea. I can look at you subjectively and want to fuck your brains out, but I’m older and wiser now. I can tell my body to shut up.”

Valentina leans over and runs her hand up my thigh until she’s rubbing her palm over my dick. My dick that’s already perking up because it’s her and we’re alone and this is just what it does in her presence.

“What if we just let our bodies do what they want? It doesn’t have to mean anything. We’d just be two friends fucking.”

My eyes drift shut for just a second. God, that feels good. Then I force them open again. Force my brain to focus on the conversation and not what she’s doing with her hand.

“Is that what we are, V? Friends?”