Chapter 5 Night Out-03

��I will be on my best behavior, like always,�� I smiled before taking the shot that I had poured myself. Uncle Rocco just sighed and turned to my brother as I poured myself another and pushed the bottle toward Gia.

��I will watch them, I promise,�� Lucca told him. I waved to my uncle as he walked away looking slightly defeated. ��You couldn��t at least appease him?�� He asked throwing his hands in the air.

I took my fourth shot with wide eyes, ��what do you mean? I told him I would be on my best behavior!�� Gia giggled from beside me, earning a glare from me. I picked up the bottle and poured her a shot, forcing it into her hand, ��shut up and drink.�� Gia stopped laughing and rolled her eyes at me before taking the shot, knowing that she wouldn��t win an argument with me about it.

��You do know that Uncle Rocco knows that you trying your best just means that you will count to four before throwing a punch,�� Gia giggled. I looked at my brother who only nodded his head in agreement. I sighed and stood up.

��Whatever. Let��s dance,�� I said grabbing Gia��s hand and dragging her out of the booth. I ignored her sounds of protest and pulled her behind me downstairs to the dance floor. I turned to her and started swaying my hips from side to side while holding onto Gia��s hands. She refused to move at all, just standing there watching me. I rolled my eyes and let go of her hands to dance around her trying to get her to join me. When I made it to where I was facing her again, I threw my arms around her shoulder and leaned in to grind on her. She laughed, pushing me away from her and finally starting dancing with me.

We danced for several songs before a guy came up behind Gia and tapped her on the shoulder. I stopped dancing and watched her turn around to look at the guy. He was not bad looking but I could tell he wasn��t my type. His black hair that was cut into a simple fade was too boring for me and while I could tell he had some muscle, I liked guys that had more so that they at least gave the impression that I wouldn't be able to take them. He was perfect for Gia though. ��Want to dance?�� He asked her. Gia turned to look at me and I nodded my head. She turned back to the guy and nodded. He grabbed her hand and pulled her further on to the dance floor so, I turned and walked to the bar to order myself another drink.

I watched from the bar as Gia��s smile grew wider and wider while she danced with the guy. I felt like my mission for the night had been accomplished. There was no way that she was thinking about the whole arranged marriage thing while dancing with him. I decided to go back to the table and hope that my brother hadn't found some floozy to make out with like he liked to do when we went out. I sat down beside him when I got there and he handed me a shot before pouring himself one. We clinked our glasses together and smiled a rare smile at each other. ��To getting her mind off of the random she is supposed to marry,�� I said and threw back the shot. I reached for the bottle to pour another shot but it was empty, ��What happened to the bottle?�� I shook it at Lucca who just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into the booth. I rolled my eyes realizing now that he was way drunker than expected. ��Guess I'm getting another one,�� I sighed standing from the booth and heading to the bar.

��Can I get another, Caesar,�� I asked the bartender as I handed him the empty bottle.

��Lucca?�� He asked with a chuckle. I just nodded. Everyone may expect me to get into fights and sometimes even dance on the bar but they also expected Lucca to drink too much, sometimes resulted in the bouncers all carrying him out to the car through the back door so no one would see. Caesar handed me the new bottle and I walked back to our table. When I got there, Gia was sitting at the booth next to the guy that she had been dancing with. Lucca was gone and she was giggling and I was happy that she was so happy. At least until I looked beside the guy to find someone I never intended to see again. My eyes widened when his connected with them. I saw a look of recognition pass through his face before he turned to the girl that was sitting on his lap and telling her he wanted to go dance. He said nothing to me as he passed me where I stood frozen.

��Was that who I think it was Max Ricci?�� I heard Lucca slur from behind me, breaking me from my shock. I nodded and poured myself a shot but slid it toward Gia instead and just took a drink from the bottle. ��Why is he here? I thought he was still in Italy.�� I only shrugged not knowing anything since I hadn't heard from him since he was sent away. I was angry at him for so long. I knew that it was my father that sent him away but I had thought we had something real enough that he wouldn��t just ignore me and not ever try to contact me after her left.

��He is my best friend,�� the guy Gia had been dancing with spoke up. I looked at him better now that the lights were a little brighter than they were on the dance floor and could see the Italian in him now. He had an accent that said he spent most of his time there but not thick enough that this was his first time in Italy.