" You can really tell today is special. She even had her hair straightened. She hates doing her hair." Another round of tiny giggles followed the statement. When Claudia shot them a pointed look, they only snickered harder.
" Come on, tell us where you're going. Please, we won't tell anyone, promise." Valentina asked, widening her brown eyes in the most comical rendition of puppy dog eyes known to man.
" Yeah, please tell us." Arabella whined, attempting to also give the same puppy dog look which was just as funny as Valentina's.
Claudia bit back her amusement at her little sisters' antics as she straightened the last portion of her hair. Laughing would only encourage them.
" I don't know what you want me to tell you that I haven't already. I'm getting ready for class." Claudia said without turning back to glance at them. She sat in front of the big mirror on her dresser so she was able to see the knowing looks her sisters gave each other. She could also see that her little sisters had climbed up her freshly made bed and were now laying down on their stomachs while lazily kicking their feet in the air.
Claudia wasn't lying, she was getting ready to attend classes. It was who she was meeting up with after classes that made today special and worth getting dolled up for. But she couldn't really tell her sisters especially when Arabella was still yet to master the skill of keeping her mouth shut.
She knew it had been a bad idea to unlock her bedroom door for them when they came to see her right after she got out of the shower. They hadn't stopped snickering to themselves ever since.
Her sisters, Valentina and Arabella were only ten and eight, the fact that there was a ten year age gap between her and Valentina always amused Claudia. In comparison, Valentina and Arabella were closer in age which meant they were closer to one another than anyone else in the family. They were like twins with the way they did everything together. They often finished each other's sentences. They shared the same toys, clothes, a sense of humor and more times than not, they both seem to share a single brain cell.
They were like the floating angel and devil on Claudia's shoulders, except instead of one devil, there were two and they were both laughing at her.
Claudia grabbed a tube of lipstick and applied a fresh coat of her favorite red lipstick to the soundtrack of her sisters giggling in the background.
Grabbing her purse, Claudia headed for the bedroom door but paused when she swung it open and caught a look at the person standing in her doorway.
Aurelio had his hand raised, ready to knock and was surprised when the door suddenly opened before he could. He looked her over from head to toe while shoving his hands back into his pockets.
Claudia and Aurelio shared the same father and that was where their similarities ended. They were nothing alike. Aurelio's mother, who was their father's first wife, unfortunately died due to childbirth complications. Their father married Claudia's mother three years after that and had Claudia, then many years later Valentina and Arabella. From the photos Claudia was able to gleam, Aurelio looked like an equal mix of his columbian mother and their Italian father. He was tall like his mother too. Claudia, on the other hand, looked just like her Spanish mother.
" Do you need a ride?" Aurelio asked but Claudia was already shaking her head. She had a task to accomplish today and she wouldn't be able to with Aurelio in the way. He would only make the car drive to school much more awkward and unbearable.
" No need, Elio can take me." Claudia said, pushing passed him. That was the extent of their interactions with one another.
Outside, Elio, one of her father's guards was already in the driver's seat, with the engine running, waiting for her to finish getting ready. He smiled at her when he saw Claudia approaching, leaning forward to wind down the window so she could hear him probably.
" For someone who was so eager to go out today, you seem to be running awfully late."
Claudia gestured dismissively at him which only widened Elio's grin.
Elio was only a couple of years older than Aurelio and yet somehow wasn't afflicted with the patriarchal notion that almost every mafia man seemed to have. He still took orders from her father and other male higher-ups but still understood that her family shouldn't have the right to control every facet of her life. She turned twenty a few months back and was well past the age to have started making her own decisions.
She liked Elio because he was kind and discreet. A true friend and ally.
Elio didn't bother getting down to open a car door for her this time around, he finally learned how much she hated it when people did that.
" School?" Elio asked.
" Yes, school first." She met his gaze through the rear view mirror. " And he is in town."
Elio didn't need to know who the 'he' in question was. She expected him to scoff or chuckle at her like he would in previous situations like this but he frowned instead.
" You are risking far too much for a man who has never once done the same for you."
Claudia swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She didn't let her smile drop, she wouldn't let Elio see how much his words had truly affected her.
" Good thing I'm strong enough to face the consequences of my actions."
Elio quirked a brow and a few seconds later, the sound of his deep chuckle filled the car. " How could I ever forget?"
She didn't mind the fact that he was laughing at her. It was better than him poking and prodding at her with words like that.
Elio was wrong when he said she was risking far too much for a man who had never done the same for her. It was too easy to come up with that notion given the world they lived in where her family tried their best to control everything about her. It was easy to assume that she was risking the little freedom she had on him. The truth was they were both trapped in families that barely saw them as people.
There was nothing that Claudia was willing to risk that he wasn't already risking himself.
The car soon came to a halt and Claudia eagerly glanced out the window, pushing open the door and stepping out, all before Elio could even unfasten his seat belt.
In front of her was a vast expanse of white sand, with waves washing into the banks in fairly regular intervals. Seagulls squawked above her but she mostly ignored the sound.
It was almost three in the afternoon with the sun still high in the sky and reflecting in the ocean, making the water look as though it shimmered. It was beautiful. He also knew how much she loved the sea. He always brought her out to the beach whenever he could.
There was almost no one else on the beach except for her and Elio, who she had asked to wait for her in the car. There were two other figures in the distance. One of which stood back watching the waves, while the other was heading towards where she stood. His long legs seem to eat up the distance between them.
Dominic
It was just slightly short of a miracle how he was able to remain upright without toppling over with how hard she flung herself at him.
Dominic let out a chuckle as he caught her, a husky sound that washed over her like the waves that rolled over the sandy shore. His hand went around her waist to stabilize her, else she would have landed face first on the ground the moment he let go of her.
The previous exhaustion she had been experiencing moments ago had sipped out of her pore, and in its place was excitement that was quickly filling up her chest till it was just shy of bursting. Her grin couldn't be contained even if she tried. Her grin stretched wide across her face, the widest she had smiled in months.
Claudia raised her hand and grazed a loc of his hair with her finger.
" You grew it out." It was almost back to the length he kept it at when they still went to school together.
" Someone told me that she preferred me with longer hair." He replied. Dominic flashed her a sly smile and she giggled. In the back of her mind, Claudia knew that she sounded as ridiculous as her sisters when she giggled like that but she couldn't help it. Not when Dominic was standing so close, not when he was looking at her like that with that smile on his lips.
His hair hung at the nape of his neck, it was a little longer in the past and he would also tie it up to keep it out of his face. A day after his graduation, he buzzed it all off. He claimed it was because he wanted a fresh start and when he had shown it to her for the first time, she was far too overwhelmed by the feelings it evoked within her that she ended up blurting out that she preferred his hair before he cut it.
That day she had lied. It didn't matter whether his hair was longer or cropped close to his scalp, Dominic Kane would always be the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
Dominic had what people would call a striking face. His eyes were the palest shade of blue she had ever seen, the color contrasting with his raven black hair. He had a strong jaw, an aquiline nose and full lips that she had longed to kiss since the moment she hit puberty and felt sexual attraction for the very first time.
Dominic averted his gaze to stare intently at something behind her. Claudia turned around to check what it was, only to see Elio trudging over. Elio halted when he spotted the both of them staring back at him.
" Who is he?" Dominic said low enough so Elio wouldn't hear. His voice was so deliciously deep whenever he spoke with that tone, it was almost sinful. Claudia felt herself shiver.
" That's Elio, he works for my father. And he was supposed to stay in the car." She said the last part loud enough for Elio to hear.
" Why did you let him bring you here, aren't you worried he might tell your father?" Dominic asked.
" No, Elio cares too much for me to ever betray my trust like that." Instead of reassuring him, her words made him frown.
Claudia continued when Dominic didn't respond. " Besides, it's not as if I'm really doing anything wrong. I'm allowed to have friends. I won't be in trouble for meeting up with one of them."
Friends. It was what they had been for years and since neither of them had ever discussed wanting more, it was how they would remain.
Elio hadn't moved any further. He was close enough that he could easily keep a close eye on them but far enough that he wouldn't be able to hear anything they said.
Claudia turned back around to face Dominic.
" Why are you still scowling at him like that?" She asked and Dominic simply shook his head. Realization dawned and Claudia gaped in surprise. It took a few seconds for the shock to fade and once it did, Claudia threw her head back and cackled.
" Oh my, Mr Kane. Don't tell me you're jealous of poor Elio." She snickered.
Dominic only glanced back at her once before refocusing the force of his glare on Elio.
Claudia stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward to whisper into his ear. " Elio would sooner confess his love for you before he ever found me attractive."
Dominic's eyes widened slightly at her words but she placed a finger on his lips before he could speak. The longer he stared at her with widened eyes, the more her eyes twinkled with mirth. It took her mind back to the night when she had stumbled upon Elio kissing another male guard in a dark corner that was cut off from the rest of the house. Elio had spotted her standing there looking dumbfounded but he hadn't seemed worried about her knowing his secret. He knew she wasn't malicious and wouldn't use it to hurt him.
From the corner of her eye she could see the other figure slowly approaching them. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was Tobias. She smiled and waved at him when he finally closed the distance. Claudia didn't know Tobias as well as she knew Dominic but everytime they were in each other's space he always tried his best to be nice to her. Now wasn't any different either
She had always admired the close friendship Dominic and Tobias shared. They were like brothers in every way except by blood. It was so endearing that it made her heart ache for the closeness she never got to experience with her own brother. She brushed the thought away as soon as it came. It wouldn't do her any good to wallow on it any longer than she had in the past.
Tobias shot Dominic a look so sharp and fleeting, it was gone in a second. It happened so fast, one would have missed it. But Claudia had seen it and the confusion she felt was slowly being plastered on her face.
Dominic nudged her arm with his. " Can I show you something?"
Claudia looked into his eyes and all she could see were deep honest pools. She nodded and placed her hand in his.
" Lead the way."