Kate

The last of our guests had finally arrived to the Genovese Estates. Ugo had arrived for an engagement dinner to celebrate. We would have an engagement dinner tonight, in five weeks and two days a rehearsal dinner, and then I would become Mrs. Genovese.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed gin bottle in hand getting sloppier than a kindergarteners art projects and I couldn't find it in me to shed a single tear.

Oh they would come, of that I was sure. But it was hard to see past the bottle in my hand.

Somehow or another I found myself drunkenly lost, with no idea whose room I was in and where it was, how I had gotten curlers in my hair, and really, where did my clothes go? They'd been replaced with a fuzzy pink robe. The only thing I was missing was a slimy green face mask and I would be set. I should be painting my nails and getting ready for this dinner where everyone would be present.

I let out a hiccup.

A knock on the door nearly knocked me off the bed, I got up to my feet. Bare feet as something terrible may have happened to my shoes. Or I took them off.

"Good news, no one has decided to kill you. Drink this." Sergio said coming into the room and setting a gallon of water on the dresser.

"Kill me?" I repeated. "Where am I?"

"Moretti Estate. And yes. Kill you. What in God's name have you done with your clothes?"

I shrugged.

"You drove a golf cart into a car."

"Purely accidental, I'm sure." Uninterested I leaned over the side of the bed to retrieve my gin sitting back up I swayed from side to side.

"You backed up and drove back into it three times."

"Hmmm." Uninterested I went to take a drink but he grabbed the bottle from my hand first. "Hey." I protested and looked up as he was directly in front of me now.

"And then you tipped it over." He motioned towards my arm. "The guards couldn't decide if they should kill you or help you. They called my number thinking you were mentally handicapped Kate. When I got out there you were throwing swings, hitting people with your cast-"

"It's my bionic arm."

"Be that as it may these are highly trained professional you were attacking."

"I'm highly trained too you know. Alessio has made sure of it. If I were to take you out-" I pointed my toes and touched them to his ankle, slowly I brought them up to his knee as he took a swig. "I would start right here." I said stopped at his knee.

"And if I were to take you out-" He gave me a once over and then handed me the bottle. "I'd give you a bottle and let you drink yourself into a coma."

"Hmph." I took the bottle back and stood up. "Sergio."

He raised an expectant eyebrow and I did the only thing a sensible person in my situation would do.

I dropped my robe.

His eyes dropped down to take in my body and then shot back up to my face instantly. "Oh." He managed with a blush running all the way from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

I grinned stupidly. "I've never seen you blush."

"I, uh, well I've never seen you naked." He stepped forward and bent to the ground, picking the robe back up he put it back on my shoulders but I didn't slip my arms in or let it close.

"And?"

"And?" He repeated softly. "And you look ridiculous."

"I look ridiculous?!" I gasped and nearly fell backwards. He caught me by the arm and the robe fell again.

His pink cheeks turned to red almost instantly and my grin returned. He picked the robe up again and this time forced my arms into each of their appropriate holes. "I meant with these curlers in." He said and very gently began detangling one of the curlers from my hair.

I stopped smiling abruptly and stood perfectly still until he let that strip of hair fall, with a bit of a spring to it it finally settled in one spot. "There, that's much better." He muttered and ran his fingers through the hair letting the springy curl tame to a more casual one.

I very slowly began detangling the curlers and Sergio, the asshole, actually helped.

When the last curler was finally unrolled I shook my head and sent springs in every which, Sergio cupped my cheeks to stop my wild shakes with a laugh. I stopped and did once again the only sensible thing a girl drunk off gin could do.

I grabbed him hard by his shirt and pulled him forward crashing my lips against his.

Sergio pushed me back immediately. "Jesus Kate!"

I just put the tips of my fingers to my lips. Had I really just? Of course I did. Was kissing someone else so much worse than standing naked in front of them? Heck no! But granted, doing both was probably grounds for divorce. HA! As if we'd even make it to the alter

"Shut up." I said and pulled him forward again. This time he turned his head away, I stumbled and fell backwards on the bed and he caught himself by putting both of his hands on the bed leaning over me.

"Kate." He groaned. "What are you doing? You have an engagement dinner tonight. Engagement? Future husband? Committing to the same dick for the rest of your life?"

I rolled my eyes and then rolled onto my side I held onto his arm and leaned over the bed to get the gin bottle we'd dropped.

"You're drunk."

"No!" I gasped at his accusation.

He stood up straight finally, grabbed my hands and yanked me up to my feet. "Yes you are!"

"No I'm not! If I was drunk could I do this?" I asked and started doing a little dance.

He watched me with complete seriousness as I danced, even stepped backwards to grant me more room when I did a fancy spin.

"Eh?" I said when I was finished.

He seemed to be in deep thought and nodded slowly. "Yes. In fact, you probably couldn't dance sober."

I shoved him one handed. "Can too."

"Whatever you say killer."

I shoved him again with the other hand, he caught me and pulled me into him and wrapped me up in a head lock. "How about I mess up this pretty hair with a noogie? Huh? How about that if you wanna be childish and push people. How about that?"

I whined incoherently until he let me go. I straightened my robe with an over dramatic hmph.

He picked up the gin bottle and took a swig. "Hate gin." He muttered.

"Gin hates me." I replied back and took the bottle back. I took another drink from the bottle and sat on the bed.

Sergio sat beside me, I handed him the bottle and he took another. We took turns drinking back and forth for a few moments before he broke the ice. "So, would you like to explain to me why you drove a golf cart from the Genovese Estate all the way over here and into cars? And why you just tried t kiss me?" He finally asked and set the bottle down on the floor.

"Would you like to explain why you didn't let me?" I shot back.

"To my defense I was a little bit surprised."

"Are you still? Surprised that is."

"No I'm more confused than anything." He sighed. I swung myself over to be straddling him on his lap now. He put both hands immediately to my waist to steady me.

"If you're through being surprised-" I pulled the belt to my robe, the knot slowly unworked and the robe parted only slightly.

"I'm very surprised! And confused! Kate you're about to get married!" "No, I'm not."

He expression changed from flustered and alarmed to cautious though slightly concerned. "What happened?"

"He's cheated on me.

No other words were apparently necessary. Comprehension smeared all over his beautiful face. Was it that obvious? Had this been going on longer than I'd known? His reaction, understanding and sympathy made me only more pissed off. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Are you?" I shot back and smacked his chest. He had told me I had nothing to worry about. That Aria wasn't like that. Had he known this entire time as well?

"I am. Do you want me to get you a hotel room? Call in the jets? I can get you out of here."

"What if I wanted to stay here...right here." I pulled my lip between my teeth.

"Kate." He started in a warning tone.

"Sergio." I mimicked in a low, needy whine.

"Y-you're drunk."

"So?"

"It's not right. I can't-" I pressed my lips to his again before he could utter another word, I could feel the tension in his hands on my waist, resisting but even they tightened after a moment. He pulled me forward first and then pulled back, breaking the kiss and connecting his forehead to mine. "Kate." He groaned.

I pulled back slightly and began trailing kisses along his neck, he flinched with each kiss and his hands on my waist flexed. When I brought my teeth along his neck I instantly found myself on my back with my hands pinned to the bed. "No more." His breath fanned my face.

"I'm not allowed to bite you? Is that what gets you then? Something rough?"

"You're not allowed to anything me Kate."

"He's cheated on me." After a moment I decided I was angry at Sergio too. "You told me I didn't have to worry about them. That she wouldn't!"

"Look kid, I don't know what happened with the two. Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding."

"I'm not a kid. Trust me, I am not a kid." I said and he glanced down to my bare form then back up.

"No, I guess you aren't."

"So fὑck me, like a lady of course."

"Don't quite know if I'd call you a lady either."

"You're a jerk."

"And you are dangerously close to making a decision you cannot undo. You understand that right? That is you keep this up and I decide I'm going to fὑck you, you can't just cry and say you've made a mistake later. It will have still happened, remorse and regret isn't going to just make me unfὑck you-"

"Stop talking and just do it already!"

"You're better than him, better than this." He let go of my hands and sat up though still sitting on me.

I scoffed and shoved him off of me. I sat up and wobbled dramatically. "Why do people think that? I've been with Alessio all this time, known who he is and what he's done and stood by him, Nicolo, and my dad, Nash, I know who he is and I stayed. How does that make me better? I've shot at people to? If my aim wasn't shit I just as easily could have killed. I'm not better than any of this I wish everyone would quit acting like I somehow was! He gets to be a bad guy all the time maybe I want to be one too now either help me or get out!"

"What do you want Kate? You want me to treat you like an everyday whὁre?"

"Why not? You love to make Alessio mad don't you? Don't you think this will do just that? I stood, wobbled even more and gave him a pitiful shove, his balance had already gotten better than the last time I'd seen him but he was injured and he stumbled before pushing me back so I was back on the bed. I pulled on his shirt and pulled him closer to me, spread my legs so he was standing between them. "Per favore."

He took a handful of hair. "I still don't like you." He clarifie.

"Still don't like you." I agreed before he kissed me.

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TGI(almost)F!

This is your Friday update just a little bit early because I'm so not staying up until midnight to post it then.

Hope all my fellow Staters are staying safe. The west is burning, the droughts are serious, Texas and part of the east are threatened to be under water soon. The Gulf and Caribbean's also. Sometimes the world can be such a scary and ugly place. I hope everyone can find a place of peace and safety while we ride these out, know my thoughts are with all those affected
As far as the actual chapter goes...I'm just going to let this one go and leave you guys to your comments and rage or love etc?

Comment and vote <3 <3