Magnet & Steele (4 page)

“Hello Nancy.”

Nancy stopped blowing and spurted
out, “Angelo, how did you find me here?”

Angelo laughed sensitively then
looked across the way at the two boys, “I followed you…you don’t
mind, do you?”

Surprised, Nancy asked, “Followed
me?”

Angelo took a step in closer but his
hands still remained in his pockets. “I wanted to see you
again.”

“I know, I…I wanted to see you again
too.”

They stare into each other’s
eyes—lost in a daze.

“May I sit down?”

Nancy whirled her head around and
sniggled, “Sure, but there’s hardly enough room for
two.”

Angelo brought his eyes down to the
outsized area where she sat then quickly met Nancy’s questioning
eyes. With a laugh still in his words, he conveyed, “There’s some
room next to you.”

Nancy watched in awe as Angelo
stepped into the gap and carefully sat down on the exposed area on
the blanket where she occupied. She scooted over so that he could
at least bring up his legs to get comfortable.

Angelo had never been so nervous and
yet, at that same time calm. “This is nice.”

Nancy stretched out her legs and
then spread out her cotton skirt to cover her knees. A decent girl
always tries not to seem too improper, even if her thoughts were a
little naughty. “I love coming here; this has been my favorite spot
since I could remember,” she gushed out in front of her.

Angelo gazed out from within the
oval tree trunk and watched the two boys gather up their poles to
head away. “And it’s quiet here too,” he said, glad he wasn’t going
to have an audience for what he was about to confess.

“It always has been,” Nancy softly
voiced, hearing her speech crack at the realization that they were
now alone.

Unexpectedly, Angelo grabbed her
hand and held it within his. “Nancy…I can’t seem to get you out of
my head,” Angelo finally said to break their concentrated
stumbles.

“Angelo…”

“I know you must think me
forward.”

“No, I—”

“You must think I’m
crazy.”

“No, it’s all happening so
fast.”

“Yes, to me too, do you think I’m
crazy?”

“No, no, I don’t.”

“Yes, but I feel crazy…”

“I don’t think you’re crazy, I must
be the one who’s crazy!”

“You? Crazy?” An enlightening
expression filled his face. “I don’t even know you and
I’ve—”

“Fallen in love with you too,” she
finished for him.

A flash of karma and wandering eyes
set on one another when a deep sense of realization seeped into
their cores.

Angelo began to caress her fingers
within his at this moment; she hadn’t pulled her hand away and his
flesh wanted more.

“Oh Angelo, what do we do? We don’t
know what we’re saying.”

“Maybe not, but we know how we
feel,” he affirmed, bringing her palm up to his lips and kissing
the back of her hand.

Nancy met his eyes again as he
kissed her skin repeatedly and remained holding them. She wanted
him to kiss her lips as well and asked, “Do you believe in love at
first sight?”

Angelo gave her half a smile, “I
believe in Il Destino, destiny. I believe in old couples who were
once young and fell in love to make a commitment to stay in love
forever…per sempre.”

Nancy sat silent and engrossed. If
it was even possible, her heart expanded even more.

Angelo studied her face, her
beautiful green eyes, pink lips, engaging him. “And I believe you
belong to me,” he claimed, adjusting his position to incline his
body and lean into hers. Gently cradling her face with both hands,
he was going to take what was his.

Nancy didn’t pause, if felt so
natural, it felt so pure and she was so drawn to him; so much so,
they came together in unison and kissed, softly at first, then
grabbed each other fierce with a hunger and uncontrolled passion.
Angelo didn’t mean to be so forward, but his fascination was
stubborn and he couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm for her. Their
steadfast kisses quickly turned into heated bussing that seemed to
detour elsewhere. Nancy arched her neck to accept Angelo’s hot
mouth that trailed up and around her earlobe, down alongside the
back of her ear and then downward again to rest on her bare
shoulder that he exposed with his wandering hands. Yes, they were
wandering and touching her everywhere as Nancy couldn’t help but
feel a bit wanton as Angelo freely undressed her upper body.
Unbuttoning her blouse, Angelo began to finger the softness of her
bare shoulder as he leaned down to kiss her there as well. Nancy
wrapped her arms freely around his neck and pulled him down slowly
and diagonally on top of her, ending with them lying on the
blanket, deep within the hallow trunk of the tree.

Nancy couldn’t stop herself, even if
she wanted to, she was too far gone and her body, too heated up to
cut short what she actually dreamt of doing. He was very
experienced, she could only assume, as his unwavering mouth found
its way to an uncovered breast. Nancy closed her eyes and welcomed
his tongue as it circled around her pebbled nipple, sucking and
licking until Nancy felt her hips buck up giving Angelo a
spontaneous invitation. His roving hands reached underneath her
cotton skirt and pulled down her underwear, pulling and dragging
the fabric down until it reached her knees and lie at the base of
her ankles. Drawing his mouth up and away from her skin, Angelo
stopped; he completely stopped and recovered her breast to Nancy’s
astonishment.

“Do you want to Nancy?” Angelo asked
in a gruffly voice.

Nancy leaned up to kiss him and gave
him his answer by reaching down to his waist and unbuckling his
belt. Angelo assisted her hands by kissing her again; his tongue
deep and erotic transporting Nancy into that impassioned area that
found her there in the first place.

Her exploration of him was equally
exciting as her roaming hands discovered the hardness of his
backside then the softness of his buttocks subsequently realizing
he was inside of her now without an ounce of pain. Kissing and
kissing her repeatedly, she held onto him tightly as Angelo seemed
untamed on top of her, ramming her sensuously until a synchronized
responsiveness ended their euphoria.

*****

Nancy was back at her front door at
midnight and way passed her curfew.

At the base of her stairs, she began
her ascent up the staircase when she heard her father’s voice
ringing through the hallway in the dead of silence.

“Nancy?” She heard him call, “Nancy,
would you please come in here for a moment.”

Nancy turned the corner and walked
into the Great Room. “Yes, daddy?”

Philip was seated in a high leather
back chair beside a blazing fire. Nancy looked into the flame and
heard him clear his throat.

“Nancy, where were you this
evening?”

Nancy looked into his eyes but could
only see the fire’s glow in his eyeglasses, “At the movies,
daddy.”

Philip took a quick glance back at
the blaze. “Try again.”

“I was there, why?”

Philip took off his reading glasses
and rubbed his red eyes. “Nancy, don’t ever lie to me.”

Nancy’s heart began to thump, “I
didn’t…I don’t.”

Philip now ran his fingers through
his hair. “Where were you today Nancy?”

Nancy hesitated, “…at the
movies.”

Philip popped up immediately and
rose to his feet. “You’re lying to me dammit!” He yelled, pointing
his finger in her face. “I’ll have none of it! Now where the hell
were you today?!”

Tears critically bunged at the edges
of her eyes. She’d been caught. “Daddy—”

Philip stood a few feet away from
her, careful not to touch her, careful not to strangle her. “Kelly
came by looking for you earlier,” he let go exasperated with the
situation. “She wanted to know if you could go to the movies. At
first I thought you may have missed her, crossing paths, but then
after awhile, after Kelly and I waited for almost an hour, I knew
the truth. You were out with him.”

“Him?” Nancy asked
carefully.

“I saw you today.”

Her heart immediately
sunk.

“I’ve always known of your special
place by the creek,” he confessed, sort of matter-of-factly. “I
used to follow you there when you were little, to make sure you
were all right,” he said with a cry in his voice, “You were my baby
Nancy, you were so small when you found that creek…and now you
found him.” He stared at his daughter’s pretty red-blonde hair, it
hurt him to say what came next; it injured him
physically.

Nancy began wiping away her tears,
“I’m sorry daddy.”

“You should be,” Philip remarked,
quickly rounding back his emotions, “Because today was your last
day with him.”

Nancy let go a huge sob, “But daddy,
you can’t!”

Philip now lunged for his daughter
and grabbed her by her shoulders. “You are never allowed to see him
again, do you hear me? No one could ever know. No one will ever
know.”

Nancy looked up at him, “But why
daddy? Why?”

He shook her repeatedly, “No one!
Understand?”

Nancy looked away from him, “No
daddy no. I don’t understand, I love him daddy, I love
him!”

He let go of her like she was on
fire and Nancy toppled over trying to catch her balance behind her.
His fatherly instinct was immediate but it was too late and Nancy
fell on her butt, nearly hitting her head on the side of the
banister. Relieved that his daughter wasn’t injured, he stated,
“But he’s not one of us, baby.”

Nancy was still on the ground, but
her tears came to a screeching halt. She tried to register what he
just professed. “What?”

“He’s not one us,” Philip asserted
in a cold austere voice.

Nancy found her feet and stood back
up. “Because he’s a foreigner, you’re forbidding me to see
him?”

“Yes,” Philip confessed, not
ashamed.

“He’s Italian daddy, not German or
Japanese, Italian.”

Philip leaned in towards his
daughter. “He’s European Nancy, they’re all the same. What about
your brother Nancy?” He asked, feeling the moisture behind his own
voice. “Have you forgotten about your brother Nick? What about your
uncle David and Arty’s eldest son? All of them shot down in Italy!
Killed! Don’t you remember? It wasn’t all that long ago, we’re all
still in mourning for crissakes!”

Nancy stepped back and away from
him. “I don’t care! Angelo didn’t shoot them down. It’s not his
fault. I’m gonna get married to him daddy, I’m gonna marry
Angelo!”

Philip turned his head away,
exhausted with her perseverance. “Someday, I know you’ll get
married.”

“No, now to Angelo,” Nancy stated,
pointing to the ground. “He wants to marry me.”

Philip eyed his daughter up and
down, “No, to Stephen Steele.”

Nancy shook her head, “Stephen? No,
never in a million years!”

“On the contrary baby, in two
months.”

Nancy’s eyes bug out,
“What!”

“It’s all been prearranged. I just
got off the phone with Arty and Stephen will be here tomorrow
afternoon to go over the details of the ceremony. We’ve already
notified the papers and in two months time, you’ll be Mrs. Stephen
Steele.”

Nancy grabbed at her throbbing head.
Walking around in circles, she tried to make some sense of it all.
“This is just not happening. This is just not happening! Dear God,
you can’t be serious! You can’t make me marry him! You can’t make
me marry Stephen! Not in a million years! So what I want doesn’t
matter? Even if I happen to be in love with someone else, I still
need to obey the plan?”

Philip wanted to strike her, but
held back his contact. “You’re outta line!”

“I’m running away,” Nancy quickly
determined, “I’ll leave daddy, I will.” She then made a mad dash
for the front door, but her father reacted quicker and yanked her
body away from the entrance. With his two huge hands still gripping
at her shoulders, he shook her body again, trying to shake the
foolishness out of her.