It was unseasonably warm for the month of February in the heart of Jersey. Adina paced helplessly at the service entrance of the club. She needed to get away. She desperately needed to make an escape without Jacobi or Ant realizing she was no longer present. Both men presented difficulties she was unwilling to face that evening. Jacobi would surely continue in his role of doting, committed boyfriend for the public eye, before turning to the evil devil that always greeted her behind closed doors. Then there was Antioco Bianchi, equal parts of charm and danger. He had read her like a book; providing basic yet intimate details about her life and relationships. She hated him but at the same time a piece of her craved the attention he so graciously offered.

A sudden but regrettably brief breeze flitted across her skin. She welcomed the momentary relief. She inhaled slowly - fresh, smoke free air filled her lungs, and she expelled it with the force of her frustration. Her repetitive technique was working until she felt the familiar heat at her back, "You can't run from me."

Outwardly she groaned but inwardly she was thankful for his reappearance. His face still held a shit eating grin. A plain white towel rested around his neck in an attempt to catch the remaining liquid she had tossed at him moments before, "What else could you possibly have to say?"

His lips turned upwards another fraction of an inch, "Maybe I have something else you need to feel."

Adina's mind quickly traveled back to her inappropriate introduction to the piece of Mr. Bianchi that clearly defined his manhood. Even her hand longed to reacquaint itself with him. She pressed said appendage against her thigh and willed the desire to subside. She was so consumed with her personal battle that when he gripped her forearm and pulled her closer, it was too late for her to get away.

Ant took a deep breath and whispered in her ear, "Just listen." Adina twisted in his grasp and he continued, "Today is my birthday."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm well aware of that fact."

His touch softened, "Hundreds of people are in that club, drinking, eating, and partying on my fucking dime." She couldn't conjure an ounce of sympathy, "And yet, I'm all alone." Again his fingers skimmed the contours of her cheek, "To quote Al Green, I'm so tired of being alone." His digits lingered on her lips, "Just once I want to get the girl." He leaned in closer and his mouth hovered above hers. She grew more intoxicated by the second from sweetness of the liquor on his breath, "Jacobi doesn't deserve you."

Adina tilted her head forward and answered his first request of the evening. She kissed him. It was gentle and sweet. She couldn't help the smile that folded across her lips, "Happy Birthday Antioco."

~`~

Adina said his name with the perfect inflection. It was almost as if her lips and tongue were meant to form each and every syllable. He wanted to hear her say it again. Instead he accepted the comfortable silence that settled between them. They shared a cigarette and traded playful glances that spoke to the easy chemistry that developed between them the night they first met.  Her body eased closer to his and he welcomed the comfort. And then with one inquiry she set his nerves on edge again, "What do you want for your birthday?"

No one had posed that question to him in years. His parents probed him when he was younger with tickles and kisses to his cheeks as they waited for an answer. He filled their ears with babbles about bicycles, matchbox cars, and eventually a Sega Genesis. Now he was staring at the only thing he wanted more than one of his prized childhood toys. He tilted his chin to the moon, "I've got everything a man could possibly want."

Her smile was flawless, "Bullshit." She never ceased to challenge him and for that he was grateful, "If you had everything you wanted then you'd be in that room celebrating with every other superficial asshole that RSVP'd your invitation." She turned her eyes to the same moon, "You're so full of it, deconstructing every layer of my being and then running from the truth of your lonely, miserable existence."

He didn't fold under the power of her verbal assault. Sure her words were insightful, ominous, but they were facts he knew well and never intended to deny. His child was the only thing he had to show for the empty years he'd spent upon the earth. He wanted more. He was tired of attracting and inspiring because of his family ties. He wanted, no he needed, someone unafraid to call him on his shit, but willing to open their arms and soothe the hurt life had brought his way. "Feel better now?" He faced her, "Now that you've told the big, bad mobster about his hellacious ways?" He lowered his lids as he prepared to deliver his final blow, "Still doesn't change the fact that you're a helpless little girl, trapped in a grown woman's body, content to allow a poor imitation of a man into your life, just so you can say you're not alone. Yeah I'm the one who's miserable."

Her bottom lip trembled and he knew his words hit the tenderest spot in her soul. He didn't flinch when the palm of her hand connected with his cheek. He accepted the second and third smack, but grabbed her hand when she pulled back for a fourth.

Her eyes were as bright as black diamonds and they burned with misplaced anger. She was amazing to behold.

Ant could resist no longer. He kissed her. The act was not full of tenderness but a fiery passion, which was a true testament to the frustration she spurred within him. When he pulled back and met her eyes, his next statement was a riddle of sorts, yet he knew she was able to decipher his meaning, "Always know your worth Adina," He held her gaze refusing to release her from his forced visual captivity, "This isn't everything you are."