We hop out and Izzy stops in front of the door. She takes a calming breath. “You lied right? Giovanni isn’t here?”
“Hell, if I know, Iz. You know as much as I do. I just needed to get us here.”
“Well, we’re here now. Let’s do this.” She pushes through the door, and a big burly man is standing off to the side. I smile at him as he asks for ID’s. I hand them to him, and he nods us through. Once inside, I look around, but I can’t see much over the number of people and the clouds of smoke.
“Let’s go to the bar,” I yell in Izzy’s ear.
She nods as she scours the crowd as well. Once at the bar, I notice the same waitress from before. I know she knows Lo, so I walk up to her.
“Hey, can you point me to Lo?”
She sneers at me. “Find him yourself, bitch.”
Izzy steps up then. “Do you know who she is? That’s Lo’s girl. Do you really want her telling him how she’s being treated?”
The woman’s face pales at her words. “He’s over in the corner. Back there.” She points to the area then hurries off.
“Damn. You scared her.” I chuckle.
“I didn’t. Lo did. Let’s go get your man.” Izzy starts to head in the direction the woman pointed but stops short in the middle of the floor. I run into the back of her and cuss.
“Why did you stop?”
I don’t hear her sigh, but I see the movement in her body. “Giovanni’s here. Let’s go.” She pulls me forward again and walks right up to their table.
“Look at who we have here. What are you boys doing?”
The first thing I notice is Lo’s eyes. They widen at the sight of me. Then they narrow.
He stands up and grabs my wrist as he pulls me to the side. “What are you doing here?”
“I dig this place. I heard the karaoke is good. I didn’t get a chance to perform last time.”
He clenches his teeth. “You need to leave. Now.”
I pull out of his grasp and feel the anger take over. I thought he would be excited to see me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. What happened to the man who was so sweet and kind to me a couple of days ago?
“No. I won’t leave. I have a right to be here, Lo. You don’t control me.”
I turn to tell Izzy we are staying, but she’s gone. So is Giovanni. Instead, I slide into Giovanni’s seat.
Lo slides back into his seat and glares at me.
“I’m only sitting here until Izzy comes back. We’re going to sing a song together.”
He nods but doesn’t speak. I watch as he picks up his glass and downs it in one go.
“What are you really doing here, Mia?” he asks in a deep, grave voice.
I decide to give him a dose of honesty. “I wanted to see you, Lo. You refuse to make time for me.”
“You’re not my girlfriend, Mia. I don’t have to make time for you.”
His words hurt my heart, but I still believe the man who came to me Sunday night. He felt things for me. Maybe this is Lo’s way of pushing me away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Lo. I know you have feelings for me. They might scare the fuck out of you, but you have them. I’m not going to disappear because you want to live in denial.”
His eyes harden then. Before he looked like he was warring with himself. Now, he looks like a coldhearted killer. His emotionless mask slides neatly into place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you're imagining things. Should we get your head checked?”
