"Go change. We need to be there in an hour. Aiden will be fine here with me," he assured her and pushed towards the door that he believed might be her bedroom. Hesitantly, she left.
Elio sat down next to the boy in rather awkward silence. Being around children wasn't something he was comfortable with because he had no idea what to talk about to fill in this terrible moment they were sharing. Besides, even though he had two small cousins, he usually preferred to avoid them just like his bitchy aunt. His low tolerance for bitchiness was especially visible in their company. Most of his family felt entitled to be the way they were just because they moved up the ladder in the Famiglia. No longer simple soldiers. At least not all of them. And that was the biggest difference between him and them. Elio wanted to earn things, not pretend to already have them all and act almighty without a solid reason to.
Aiden didn't speak a single word or budge from his spot on the couch. He looked at ease with no talking as he held the cards. However, when Elio glanced up from his blue shirt, his eyes were on him.
"What?" he asked.
He unabashedly kept his eyes peeled on the man but didn't answer. The deep black eyes were freaking him out with the void that was almost beaming from them.
Elio grew annoyed. "Why are you looking at me like this?"
The boy stayed quiet.
"He doesn't talk much. Or almost never," said Savannah from the room, probably listening in on them.
"Why don't you talk?"
Aiden shrugged.
"You talked to me before in the car," he tried again, thinking back to that day when he had fallen down the monkey bars. He had told him that he was five.
"I answered you, not talked," Aiden finally said. His voice completely not what Elio expected. It was almost too soft for the expression on his face and the cold look he served him. If it wasn't for his height and childlike facial features, he wouldn't be that much different from an adult.
"Same shit."
"Are you Savannah's boyfriend now?"
The question made Elio choke on the air. He didn't expect him to be so upfront with his concern. Because it wasn't said in a normal childlike curiosity.
"No," Elio reacted almost instantly, wanting to get this idea out of not only Aiden's head but also his own. If he kept on thinking about it later, it would be extremely bad. There was no need to allow such options in his future plans.
He wasn't boyfriend material. He’d always known that and always believed that if there was a point in his life when he would have to pay attention to a girl outside of fucking, it would be someone his father chose for him to marry for the Famiglia’s sake. Not by his own choice. It would be an act of convenience rather than desire.
Aiden half-smiled. "Good," he said. "I don't like you."
Elio scoffed at the blunt words that came out of the boy's lips. He might not talk much, but he sure as fuck knew how to make his words count.
Savannah came into the living room, a scorching expression on her face. She pursed her lips, glancing at the five-year-old. "Haven't we talked about respecting people? It's not nice to say things like this, Aiden."
For a couple of seconds, the siblings had a staring contest as if that was the way they usually fought. Who would last longer before breaking and apologizing. It didn't seem like a good concept, however, at least they didn't feel the need to scream at each other. Which wouldn't probably work, either, since Savannah would be the only one doing all the talking. It was their middle ground.
Her eyebrow rose and she put her hands on her hips, waiting expectantly.
"Sorry," whispered Aiden without looking at Elio. It was meant for him, however, the boy didn't regret his words and only apologized for his sister's sake. It's not like the man even cared much. Aiden didn't know him, but if he did, he would have more reasons to stay true to his opinion.
Then he left the room to take a few things after Savannah told him that he would spend the evening with Frank downstairs.
"I'm sorry for him. He doesn't feel comfortable with strangers around."
Her words sounded and bounced without much consideration from Elio. He focused on the girl's appearance, wondering how the hell he kept on missing subtle hints of just how beautiful she was. First, her deep blue eyes that could probably swallow him whole, hypnotizing him. Then her body as she was laying on his bed. And the overall look that in a matter of minutes went from a homey one in sweats to a killer outfit that accentuated all her curves.
Savannah wasn't the standard beauty as Elio already realized. She wasn't skinny enough for model standards, which was refreshing. He was used to hanging around those and banging them. Their falseness was almost palpable. Instead, he preferred soft curves with a hint of unfeigned innocence.
Her hair in a high, slick ponytail revealed a slender neck. She was wearing a pastel pink dress with a plunging neckline, which was both considered pure because of the color and sexy as her breasts were slightly showing. It was composed and tasteful. And totally not what Elio expected. She had applied some delicate make-up with her eyelashes long and thick, making the man's cock twitch in his pants as he felt even more enchanted by her eyes. She was rather pale which elegantly matched the outfit.
She took a step towards Elio, black heels strapped around her ankles clicking on the floor. Savannah was short, however, now her slim legs looked long driving him crazy. Once their eyes met, she looked down embarrassed. It was obvious that she wasn't used to wearing such revealing clothes and felt uncomfortable. And if Elio were a better man, he would suggest her to change. But the words
