One Night Only

They, especially Ivan, are the only family I have. I share everything with them, I even shared it with women, but this time I won’t make that possible. I’ve decided to make her my wife, and no one will be able to touch her for any purpose. She is off-limits to anyone but me.

She is only mine.

“What does our little boss want now?” Leo jokes. I grunt annoyed by the “little boss” remark. He reaches me and pats my shoulder in greeting. I hadn’t seen them in weeks. “What’s so important?” He takes a seat next to Enzo.

“Yeah, what’s it about? Some showdown? Do we need to kill someone?” Enzo asks excitedly.

“I don’t think it’s anything like that,” Ivan comments. He heads to the drinks bar and pours another type of whiskey into a glass. “He was telling me it’s about his little wildcat.” He turns to look at us.

He knows how I call her. That nickname was coined between them. She’s not aware of it. However, I don’t like them referring to her in that way or in any other disrespectful or joking manner. Now they have to know what she means to me and who will become my life. They are my friends, like brothers to me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let them overstep with her. Besides, I’m a jealous man, I admit it. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable in this environment when she has to come here.

“Don’t provoke me, I might forget you’re almost my brothers,” I mutter.

“Alright, brother, calm down. We’re just kidding, right, guys?” Leo asks them.

The other pair of invisible friends nod.

“And?” Ivan adds.

I can see some impatience in their faces.

“I’ve thought things over and decided to ask her…”

“Finally! That’s the real Devil,” Leo interrupts me.

“Idiot, let me finish talking,” Enzo reproaches him with a hit on the arm.

I exhale exasperated.

I bring my hand to my face and rub my temple to try to calm down. I don’t know how I put up with them.

“I’ll bring Lillie here,” I finish.

They are left speechless the moment I say her name.

“So she’s no longer the wildcat, Esmeralda, the fiery dancer… What else was she?” Leo jokes. Still, his damn comment irritates me.

“Have you decided to kidnap her?” Enzo questions.

“Or maybe you’ve decided to take her by force and screw her,” Leo retorts.

They start attacking me with a flurry of questions or silly ideas they have in their heads, not giving me time to tell them what I really have planned.

“Enough!” I roar. “I’ll marry her, damn it.”

Their dispute stops abruptly when I say the last sentence. A funereal silence is all there is afterwards. Not even their breaths can be heard. Ivan remains standing with his arms crossed, looking at me from his spot. Leo and Enzo remain seated in the same place. Their eyes are on the verge of popping out from the shock.

I know it wasn’t the shout that stopped them, but my confession. The truth is I don’t care if they come up with negative responses, I’ll just ignore them. As much as I appreciate them, I never let anyone interfere in my life, especially now that I’ve made a definitive decision.

“Oh,” Leo blurts out.

“What can I say, just that it’s strange, but I won’t question you about it. You’re my boss and my brother,” Enzo says. “But congratulations! It was about time you settled down.”

He stands up and is the first to congratulate me. I respond to his affectionate hug.

“All I can say is you’re done for,” Leo opines. “You’ll have someone to tame you now. Your outings will be forbidden.” He tries to scare me with his words.

I just smile at his stupid comment. Still, I respond to their congratulations in my own way and hug them.

Ivan still doesn’t say a single word. I don’t know if he’s processing everything or what’s going through his mind, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“And you? What do you say?” I ask him to encourage him to speak.

I want to hear what he’s thinking, know what he thinks of the decision I made, but he still doesn’t say anything. He just walks in my direction while shaking his head and stands in front of me. His serious face changes to a big smile.

“Congratulations, brother!” He extends his arms for a hug.

I thought he would react differently. Commitments don’t go with him. We always said we were going to die single, that there was no woman who could tie us down, especially not me. He knew the plans I had for my life, and I definitely ruled out marriage and a family. However, the first option changed.

“When will you bring her to live here?” he speaks again.

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“What?!” Leo exclaims. “You’re already planning everything and the girl doesn’t even know anything. What if she refuses and rejects you? I want to be present to see that.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Don’t be an idiot and shut up,” Enzo punches him in the chest. “I think you shouldn’t waste any more time. Considering that you’ll be back to Africa next week… I don’t want to be a party pooper, but if you delay more, I doubt you’ll get a good response.”

Indeed, next week I’ll be traveling to Morocco. I’ll be there for several days, as I have to socialize with the king of the Arab mafia. I already have him on my side, but I have to interact more with him and his people, let him notice that I did care about partnering with him. He will also help me destroy Bachman.

I hope to finish all that soon and be back to see my beautiful wildcat again.

Ivan, Leo, and Enzo give me ideas on how to propose to Lillie. According to them, they know about it, but it’s not true, they don’t know a damn thing. They are just as clueless or even worse than me. Although their opinions are stupid, I must find something good in their words.

We are the kind of men who don’t know how to have a relationship, a woman. We don’t even know what a relationship is. Enzo is the closest to it, and I could say Ivan too, although he only has partners for less than a week. They never last. Their relationships are based only on sex. I don’t know if that can help me in any way. None of them have had a girlfriend, wife, or anything like that. We never behaved submissively or like gentlemen like Edgardo, Ivan’s father. Remembering that he is the only one who has been married and has fallen in love, my mind helps me think that he might be the right one to help me with my purpose. Yes, he can help me, but that will have to be after I return from my trip.