Page 100 of The Man with a Treasure

“Angelo!”

To be rude, I lazily shooed at him from over my shoulder. “Nope. Nothing to see. Just me going to get my dick wet.”

Crash! Sal’s empty wine glass was now in pieces all over a wall and floor in the kitchen.

With remorse, I turned slowly to face him, and the reality we both didn’t see coming.

But he was gone.

Alone in the living room, I no longer felt like that rocket needing the sky. Now, I felt like a bird with injured wings who no longer desired to fly at all. I couldn’t understand how everything had tragically changed in a matter of minutes.

It reminded me of the cold minutes that passed after my mother died. I remember standing there, isolated in loneliness. My mind begged to go blind so that I wouldn’t have to see a world without my mother. Sadly, I continued to see all the things that would remind me of her. Here, I became aware of the black grand piano, waiting for me by the floor to ceiling glass walls. Dare I open a book I had slammed shut so long ago?

Facing Scarlett’s room, I silently begged that I wouldn’t have to. I wished for her to appear and bring me the peace I now realized she offered every time she was around me. Especially in the dark moments.

When Scarlett didn’t appear, I turned to search for my last hope.

Numbly, I faced the other side of the house. There was no Sal waiting for me.

What I saw was a broken TV and the piano I had purposely ignored.

My feet dragged heavily toward the instrument my mother had taught me to play. I believed I was silently calling out to the woman I had lost when I was far too young. My hands opened and closed, hungry to be close to her again, yet terrified, knowing she was nowhere near me now.

The bench creaked as I sat down. I ran my shaking hands over the ivory keys that represented such a special time between mother and son. I stopped breathing as I realized I didn’t want to hurt like that ever again.

Sal and Scarlett.

If I didn’t have the balls to play the fucking piano, how would I ever be man enough to keep them safe?

Again, for those two, I chose to face demons I feared. For the first time in over two decades, my fingers began to move. To create.

I had thought it would be difficult to remember an old melody, but it came to me as gently as a breeze. My mother’s gift started my body swaying. Remarkably, fear drifted away and comfort settled my spirit.

It is truly amazing what happens when you stop being scared. Your sight clears and allows you to witness the miracles that surround you.

Only two feet away stood one of the most powerful gifts my world had ever known.

My eyes met hers. The calm lighting let me see her as a gift from above. Until I noticed his shirt. Another reality slammed into me; I was not upset my clothing wasn’t covering her. I was bothered that it was his clothing, on her.

Unreasonable. I know that now. But… I was lost.

My fingers went still. “Please stop wearing his undershirt.”

My breath caught when she immediately removed it, demanding, “Play.”

This new side of her instantly had my full attention and my compliance.

With curves and slopes of perfection, she was a siren. But it was both her body and her soul that sang to me. Thus, I gave her a melody to intertwine with her dangerous song.

Eyes not leaving this magnificent creature, my siren thanked me by caressing the picturesque instrument with her hands then body. I tried to swallow down desire when she elegantly crawled on top, lying down, looking like a single flower afloat on a reflective black lake.

Sensually, gracefully, those artistic hands moved over her head. When they reached for me, I couldn’t fight my groan and leaned forward so I could feel her gentle touch. Soft fingers caressing my face filled me with such awe, my mouth fell open for a taste.

Breathing heavily, I realized Scarlett wasn’t seeking a kiss, as much as a taste of all she had been missing. She was silently pleading for the experiences for which she had been robbed.

Scarlett wanted me to show her the way.

She whispered my name, “Angel.”