My Brother's Keeper

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~*~
Danielle Brooks as
Maya James
 
Joe Manganiello as
Francesco "Frankie" Giordano
 
Milo Ventimiglia as
Lorenzo "Enzo" Giordano
​~*~

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~*~
 
A girl like you for a guy like me.
 
~*~
 
"And standing in the right corner at 220 massive pounds of pure muscle is heavy-weight all-star MMA champion for 6-years in a row... FRAAANNNKKIIIEEEE GEEEEE!"
 
A thunderous roar of applause erupted within the stadium as bright neon lights danced on the white mat at the center, stained with old, crusty blood from fights prior.
 
Frankie jumped lightly on his toes as he threw quick punches in the air. His red satin hooded-robe hung loosely from his head and clung to his muscular build. His wide back unapologetically stretching out the Italian and American flags sported on his open red robe. Signifying his Italian American culture that he had grown to adore so much it became interwoven in the very fabric of his persona.
 
"FRAN-KIE G! FRAN-KIE G!"
 
Frankie had gotten used to people cheering his name.
 
For he was a legend.
 
He threw his rippling, tanned arms in the air to be met with another thunderous applause.
 
"YEA! YEA!" Frankie growled, flexing his muscles, as he got himself pumped. He searched the crowd of his adoring fans, looking for the only person that actually mattered to him.
 
And then he saw her.
 
"THAT'S IT, DADDY! YOU GOT THIS, BABY!"
 
A wide grin spread across Frankie's face. His heart beat fast in his chest. His pupils dilated. Sweat trickled from his thick neck and down his wide, oily back.
 
2 years they had been together, and still she made him sweat like a 1st grader on the first day of school.
 
His big, beautiful black beauty.
 
"Bellissima..." he grinned.
 
He loved watching her watch him. She was his biggest cheerleader. His number one supporter.
 
"I'm your ride or die, daddy. Neva forget that," she would always tell him. Particularly in his moments of self-doubt. She was there to remind him what a powerhouse he truly was.
 
Frankie growled like a wild bear complementing the roar of the crowd, electrified by his energy.
 
He was as much an entertainer as he was a fighter. And he would not let his fans down.
 
~*~
 
Waiting by the exit of the stadium, Maya stuffed her hands into the pockets of her cashmere cardigan. She hummed a soft tune as she patiently waited for Frankie to make his way out the crowd.
 
Frankie was a fan favorite. People loved him.
 
Especially the women.
 
She leaned back against the door watching her man sign autographs of pictures that waved frantically in his face. Those pictures would cost a fortune one day. Frankie was a 6-title champion. And was on his way to getting his 7th.
 
"FRANKIE G! FRANKIE G! CAN WE TAKE A PICTURE?!"
 
Maya smirked as she watched at least 8 women crowd around her lover. Greedily wrapping their arms around him. They practically fought each other just to touch him.
 
Frankie towered over the crowd of women and put on his signature million-dollar smile, several camera phones going off at once.
 
"Thank you, Frankie G! Can we have your number? Grab a drink maybe?"
 
"Sorry, ladies. But any Frankie G fan should know by now that I'm taken," he said trying to maneuver his way through the crowd.
 
"You're still with her?!" one woman gasped in shock.
 
"Rachel! That's rude!" another woman said, nudging her in the waist.
 
Frankie ignored the girls as he bee-lined straight for the beautiful specimen waiting for him by the exit.
 
Maya opened her arms expectantly as Frankie eagerly pulled her into his possessive embrace.
 
"Fucking hell, I needed to get out of there," Frankie groaned as he buried his face into her soft neck. "Damn, baby, you smell good."
 
"And you smell like ass," Maya teased.
 
Frankie sucked his teeth as he pulled back to look at her.
 
"You and your smart mouth ass mouth. I fight to make my girl proud and this is the kind of gratitude I get," he grinned at her.
 
"I am proud of you. Doesn't change the fact that you smell like a sweaty foot," she smirked.
 
Frankie grinned in amusement. He grabbed her chin between his finger and thumb as he analyzed her large plump lips, glistening from her lip gloss.
 
"How'd Daddy do..." he said hungrily looking at her lips.
 
"Hmm..." Maya said closing one eye as she put on a thoughtful face. "You mean aside from that nasty right hook?"
 
Frankie rolled his eyes. "Come on, Maya. That was a fluke."
 
"Please. He rocked your shit, Francesco," Maya teased.
 
Frankie squinted his eyes at her. Trying to put on a serious face that lasted all but 5 seconds.
 
His signature grin split his face as a chuckle escaped his lips. She loved messing with him.
 
And he loved it in turn.
 
"How about I rock the shit out of you..." His large hands slid around her wide waist, caressing every curve of her body before he firmly grabbed her plump, round ass.
 
"Daddy, don't start nothin' you don't intend to finish," Maya mused as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her fingers tugging at the short hair at the back of his head.
 
"Bellissima, you know damn well... I always finish," Frankie grinned with a raised brow.
 
Maya laughed at his cockiness. Normally she hated cocky men.
 
But Frankie's cockiness was well justified...
 
He leaned down and pressed his lips against her thick ones, sucking her plump bottom lip into his mouth.
 
"You got a boyfriend, bellissima?" Frankie joked. "Cause Daddy would like to take you home."
 
"You damn cornball!" Maya laughed.
 
She looked behind Frankie to see several pairs of unfriendly eyes.
 
She was used to this.
 
As a plus-sized, dark-skinned black woman who wore hair that changed like the weather, Maya was used to the unfriendly bitter gaze she often found projected her way.
 
And as the 2-year long girlfriend of one of the most sought after heavy-weight champions in MMA history, that hatred had only intensified.
 
Maya had been dragged on social media by men and women alike. Including, and especially from her own people.
 
Too dark.
 
Too fat.
 
Too ugly.
 
Maya found herself beautiful.
 
But damn did words hurt.
 
Frankie seemed to get enjoyment out of pissing off the public. For he loved his woman fiercely. The harsher the comments, the more public he was with his affection for her.
 
The only thing Frankie did better than fighting... was loving his woman.
 
"Stop looking at them."
 
Maya snapped out of it as she looked at Frankie in front of her.
 
"I'm hungry," he grinned with a subtle squeeze to her backside. "You got something for me?"
 
Maya sucked her teeth. "You ain't gettin' nothin' till you wash your ass and we look at those bruises."
 
Frankie groaned as he let his head fall back in frustration.
 
"..Mayaaaa..."
 
~*~
 
"Fuuuuuuuck, baby, that feels so good..."
 
Maya kneaded her knuckles into the dense muscle of Frankie's back. His skin was painted a variation of shades ranging from black to light blue from all the bruises his body had suffered that night.
 
She hated this part.
 
When she would have to piece his broken body back together again.
 
Frankie breathed into his pillow as he groaned in bliss from the therapeutic weight she put on his back. He felt her large, thick thighs straddling his waist as she rocked against him, working her thumbs into his sore muscles.
 
"Lift your arm..." she instructed as she raised his heavy arm and tenderized the area around his shoulder. She had memorized his body as if it were a map. She knew every weak spot, sore joint, and scarred tissue that made up the man beneath her.
 
Maya was a physical therapist. That's how she met Frankie. Fed up with the lack of satisfaction in every physical therapist he went through at the beginning of his winning streak, Frankie meeting Maya seemed to be an act of God.
 
She was perfect. In every way.
 
For no one could work his body the way she did...
 
"White people bruise like damn bananas," she sighed as she rubbed lotion into his tender skin.
 
"Why you so rude, woman?!" Frankie laughed.
 
"I'm just sayin'..." she muttered. "You know I hate seeing you like this, Frankie..."
 
Frankie stared at the wall in front of him. A low sigh escaped his lips.
 
He could feel her frustration. Like clockwork.
 
She hated this part.
 
But he loved it.
 
He loved that he had an excuse to feel her hands all over his body. She was the only healing element he needed.
 
"Alright." Frankie bucked his back until Maya rolled off of him.
 
"Boy, I'm not done," she said annoyed.
 
"I am."
 
He rolled over on the bed until he was on top of her. His fingers laced with hers as he held her pinned down to the bed.
 
She looked up at him and felt it.
 
The doubt.
 
His thick, black curly hair framed the face she had fallen madly in love with. His lips were a constant temptation. Her eyes trailed down his finely sculpted chest, still glistening from the healing lotion she had rubbed on him. Like a magnet, her eyes traced the V that led from his pelvis down to his manhood, barely tucked away beneath the sweatpants that did nothing to hide his massive form.
 
Maya loved herself. She had to teach herself to love herself. In a world where her beauty went unappreciated, she had no choice but to teach herself... to love herself.
 
Yet she couldn't help the spontaneous moments when she questioned how a specimen like him ended up with a woman like her...
 
"Fuck, you're beautiful."
 
Maya looked up at Frankie startled. His hooded chestnut eyes hungrily taking in her form.
 
"I swear to God when you look at me like that, baby... fuck..."
 
This was always how he destabilized her.
 
Pulled her out of her thoughts.
 
While she was busy critiquing herself, he was worshiping her impeccable beauty.
 
"Now can I eat?" he grinned down at her.
 
~*~
 
"Fuck daddy!"
 
Maya's body rubbed up against the wet shower wall. Her mouth parted in shocked silence. Her eyes closed tight. A bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.
 
She hated this position.
 
With her thick thigh hooked over the broad shoulder of a crouching Frankie, Maya could barely maintain her balance if not for his death grip on her large hips. Her fingers grasped desperately at the top of his head that was wedged between her thighs so deeply she swore he would suffocate.
 
He loved his position.
 
She was so vulnerable. So helpless. Completely under his control.
 
He slowly dragged his tongue over her wet lips, feeling her shiver beneath him.
 
"You know daddy loves a fat pussy, baby..." Frankie groaned as he sucked her lips as if he were eating a juicy fruit. "God, this pussy is so fat. So wet. So damn fucking good. Shit, Maya."
 
Maya tried to grab onto anything in the shower as her legs started to go weak.
 
She hated this position.
 
She put her hand on her head and felt her bonnet surprisingly still beneath her shower cap. She squeezed her large breasts as she felt the insane, warm sensation creeping into her belly.
 
"D-daddy-! D-daddy!" she panted.
 
"I got you, baby..." Frankie moaned into her pussy as he French kissed her clit. "Your sexy ass better come for me."
 
The sound of a loud slap vibrated off of the walls from how harshly Frankie slapped her backside.
 
Maya gasped as her toes tingled and her legs went numb. She completely gave way, as Frankie took on her full weight.
 
"That's it, cara mia..." Frankie's head moved furiously between her thighs as his tongue painted her skin. He loved her big thighs. He loved feeling the dimpled valleys and distinct tiger stripes that decorated her soft skin.
 
Maya panted against the shower wall, trying to catch her breath while her lover stood to his feet.
 
He didn't bother giving her a chance to recover.
 
He never gave her a chance to recover.
 
He grabbed her waist and spun her around before he slammed her body up against the wall.
 
"Dammit, Maya..." he groaned as he wrapped a firm hand around her large thigh and lifted it to level with her waist.
 
As Maya breathed in, she felt Frankie's length penetrate her without mercy.
 
"This fucking ass, I swear to god," he groaned in pleasurable agony.
 
There was so much to love about Maya. Her body was his alter that he shamelessly worshiped.
 
Her hands planted against the shower wall. She squealed with each thrust. His name was sung from her lips in her own song of praise.
 
She loved this part...
 
~*~
 
"Stop! Frankie! You done messed up my hair. You know how much this style cost me?" Maya sucked her teeth.
 
Frankie snickered like a naughty school boy. "Relax, baby. Next style is on me. Okay?"
 
Maya rolled her eyes. "I swear I can't stand your ass. Pulling all on my hair like it didn't cost me an arm, a leg and half a day in a chair. Jeeeeezussss."
 
She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Holding the towel to her chest, she sunk into the warm embrace of his damp body, sparsely clothed with just a towel around his waist.
 
"I ordered pasta from Gino's," Frankie said removing his towel and pulling on his sweats.
 
"You might as well make the dude your personal chef," Maya rolled her eyes with a grin as she pulled on her panties and one of his shirts.
 
"Don't get testy with me, woman. You date an Italian, you eat like one," Frankie winked.
 
"Frankie, we've been eating from Gino's for like 3 months straight. Next time, we're ordering beef patties. Don't argue with me," she said as the doorbell rang.
 
Frankie laughed as he made his way to the door. He pulled out his wallet getting ready to pay.
 
"How much?" Frankie said flipping through his wallet.
 
"...how 'bout a hug first?"
 
Frankie looked up and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
 
"GET THE FUCK OUT! ENZO?!"
 
Frankie nearly tackled his older brother to the ground with a huge bear hug, causing Enzo to stumble a few steps back.
 
"There's my little brother," Enzo grinned as he patted Frankie's back. "Shit, Frankie. You get bigger?"
 
"You know the fuck I did," Frankie scoffed as he shoved his brother in the shoulder. "I can't believe you actually made it!"
 
"Why wouldn't I?" Enzo said with a raised brow. "You call. I answer."
 
A wide grin came to Frankie's face. "You have no fucking idea how much this means to me. This fixes everything."
 
Enzo raised a thick brow in curiosity.
 
~*~
 
"6 titles. Un-fucking-believable," Enzo grinned as he looked at the belts on the wall. "You're a gotdamn monster, Frankie. Fucking proud of you, man."
 
Enzo eyed the picture of his brother winning his first title.
 
It was special. Not just because it was the first title he won, but because they won it together.
 
Enzo and Frankie had been inseparable since they were kids. Despite having the typical large Italian family, Enzo and Frankie were a family of their own.
 
Frankie sat on the arm of the couch in his living room watching his older brother ogle his champion titles. It was an odd feeling watching the man who spent the majority of his life protecting and raising him, praising him for a passion that Enzo originally inspired in him.
 
Enzo was more than an older brother to Frankie. He was heroic. Self-sacrificial. His main line of defense against the trying times they had to endure together.
 
"I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Without your training," Frankie said sincerely.
 
Enzo turned and looked at his brother fondly. No matter how much time they would spend apart, when they got together it was as if neither had left.
 
"You had it in you all the time, Frankie. I just helped you unleash it," Enzo grinned.
 
"Think I'm gonna need your help again, brother," Frankie said. "I'm going for my 7th title. International."
 
Frankie stood up and walked towards his brother. "I want you to train me. Just like old times."
 
Enzo twisted his mouth, rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck. "It's been a while, Frankie... what about that Brazilian you were working with? He was really good to you-"
 
"There's no one better than my brother," Frankie said seriously. "Together we're unstoppable, Enzo. You know this. I can't do it without you."
 
Enzo smiled warmly. There was nothing he missed more than training with his brother.
 
"Frankie, where is that pasta-"
 
Enzo stopped short. His eyes widened in surprise.
 
"...Maya...?"
 
Maya turned and jumped startled.
 
"ENZO?!"
 
~*~
 
"Oh! Got. Damn. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
 
The loud sound of skin slapping against skin echoed around the darkly lit room.
 
Sweat and cum dripped on the thin sheets of the bed, soaking down through to the mattress.
 
Maya's tongue dangled from her mouth, trying to catch the breath that Enzo immediately stole, selfishly sucking her tongue into his mouth.
 
"Enzo, baby, wait-"
 
"You know I don't wait."
 
Maya barely had a minute to process before she was being rolled onto her stomach. She winced from the harsh stinging sensation on her already sore ass before she was being entered again from behind.
 
Her panting filled the air as she pressed her face into the pillow. Enzo's entire body hovered over hers as he fucked her into the mattress. The bed creaking so loudly it sounded as if it might break.
 
His grip on her hips was tight. Possessive. Wanting. Selfish.
 
His dominance over her body a reflection of the pent up frustration of having to maintain his distance from her.
 
She was his forbidden fruit.
 
And he was oh so greedy.
 
"I need more than this, Maya. Fuck, I need more of you..."
 
Maya knew Enzo wasn't just referring to the sex.
 
"Maya, baby..."
 
"Maya?"
 
Maya quickly looked up from the glass cup of water on the kitchen counter to her boyfriend's concerned face.
 
"Yea?"
 
Frankie cocked his head to the side. "Where are you, baby?"
 
"Nowhere. Nothing," she said quickly. "Thinking."
 
"About?" Frankie asked.
 
"Stuff..."
 
Frankie scoffed. "We haven't seen Enzo in two years and you haven't even hugged him."
 
Maya refused to look at him. She couldn't. And she didn't have to.
 
She could already feel his soft brown eyes on her.
 
And it sent a shiver down her spine.
 
"I'm still a little wet," she said staring at nothing.
 
Frankie and Enzo both looked at her startled.
 
"From the shower!" she blurted. "I meant I'm wet from the shower! Dammit..."
 
Frankie laughed at her embarrassment. "Stop being ridiculous, Maya."
 
The doorbell rang before anyone could speak.
 
"Finally!" Frankie said pushing himself off the counter and heading to the door.
 
Maya tried to keep her eyes on the floor.
 
"Really, Maya? You won't even look at me?"
 
Maya cautiously inhaled and slowly exhaled before she raised her eyes to meet Enzo's gaze.
 
Her heart skipped a beat. Her breathing became choppy. And the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
 
"There she is..." Enzo smiled.
 
"Lorenzo-"
 
"Oh, it's Lorenzo, now?" he joked.
 
Maya shook her head. "You know what I me-"
 
"I missed you," Enzo said quickly.
 
Maya swallowed thickly as she tried to find her words. How in the world did she forget to speak all of a sudden?
 
"I... I missed you too..."
 
And she hated it. She hated that she missed him.
 
His hair had grown longer... thicker than when she last saw him. The beard framing his strong chin was new... she liked it.
 
There was a more rugged look to him than the man she had remembered from 2 years ago. As if he had seen things he shouldn't have. Things that scarred him.
 
She wanted to hug him. Beg him to tell her what adventures he went on while they were apart.
 
His soft brown eyes lingered on her and for a moment she nearly forgot herself.
 
"You never stop being beautiful, do you, Maya?"
 
Maya chewed on her bottom lip. Why did he have to torture her like this?
 
"You hungry, brother?" Frankie said walking back into the kitchen with a bag of food. "We've got more than enough food."
 
Enzo looked at Maya and smiled. "Starved, actually.."
 
~
 
Maya sat at the desk in the bedroom she shared with her boyfriend. She rocked against the chair, tapping her pencil on the notebook in front of her as she went over her notes from one of her night classes.
 
She could hear Enzo and Frankie speaking in the living room. She rarely heard Frankie so animated. But then, Enzo was one of the few people that actually got him this excited.
 
Enzo was Frankie's inspiration. Maya was the battery that kept him running.
 
Maya found her mind drifting back to two year's ago.
 
When she was in love with Enzo.
 
She closed her eyes as she thought about how tenderly he would kiss her. His soft caresses. His sweet-for-nothings whispered in her ear.
 
"Maya?"
 
Her eyes immediately shot open. She jumped startled, falling over in the chair she was already dangerously tipping in.
 
"Shit, Maya. You okay?" Enzo said rushing to help her.
 
"Yea, yea, I'm fine," she said struggling to get up. She felt Enzo's hand wrap around her own before he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled into Enzo's arms as he quickly caught her.
 
"Woah," he chuckled. "You drunk or something?"
 
Maya rolled her eyes. "Studying. You just caught me off guard."
 
"You call that studying?" Enzo smirked. "Looked like you were staring off into space."
 
"I was thinking!"
 
"Oh yea? What about?"
 
Maya shook her head. "None of your business, nosy ass."
 
Enzo snickered in amusement. "I miss how feisty you'd get with me."
 
"Boy please," she said sucking her teeth.
 
"Yup, I missed that too," Enzo smirked. "The way you would suck your teeth. Roll your eyes. Grind your hips..."
 
The last three words caught Maya's attention as she immediately looked at Enzo.
 
"I'm sorry. That wasn't appropriate..." Enzo said quickly.
 
"No, it wasn't," she said. "Please get off of me."
 
Enzo furrowed his brow as Maya forced herself out of his arms. His frown deepened at the way she distanced herself from him and wrapped her arms around herself as if she were trying to protect herself from him.
 
"Is this how it is between us now?" he asked.
 
"What do you want from me, Enzo?" she asked.
 
"Can I really answer that question without you socking me in the face," he teased.
 
"Enzo-"
 
"A proper hug, at least," Enzo smiled warmly.
 
Maya eyed him and caught the heated look in his gaze.
 
He eagerly anticipated her falling into his arms.
 
As she had done so many times before.
 
"You can't...you can't look at me like that anymore," Maya said tightly.
 
"...Maya..."
 
"You've been gone for two years, Enzo! Two!"
 
"I know-"
 
"I'm with Frankie!"
 
"I know, Maya, shit..."
 
Maya watched Enzo run his fingers through his long black hair.
 
He looked at Maya and felt a lump form in his throat.
 
"I never stopped loving you, Maya..."
 
Maya immediately shook her head. "We're not doing this. You're here for Frankie. Not me."
 
"Why can't I be here for both of you?"
 
"Because I'm not yours, Enzo! I'm his."
 
Enzo didn't expect the words to sting so much.
 
But they did.
 
They stung like hell.
 
His jaw tensed as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
 
"Right..." he sighed as the realization set in. He turned on his heels and walked out.
 
~*~
 
The bond between brothers is an unbreakable one.
 
~*~
 
Enzo sat at the bar and played with his fingers that blurred his vision from having 4 drinks too many.
 
He hated this feeling. It gnawed at his very core.
 
He came for his brother. His brother needed him, and like always, he was there for him.
 
But then he saw her...
 
And it was so unexpected.
 
It was like he had completely forgotten the purpose of his visit.
 
He didn't expect the reality to hit him so hard.
 
How much he missed her.
 
Their time together played like a film reel in his head.
 
God, was it possible she became even more beautiful in the time they were apart?
 
He missed her thighs around his neck. The softness of her round stomach pushed up against his chest. The feel of her warm body snuggled against his.
 
He missed holding her. Touching her. Kissing her.
 
And she seemed...happier.
 
Frankie did that... obviously.
 
Frankie made her happy. He had no business getting in the way of that. In the way of his brother's happiness.
 
He looked up at the sound of laughter to see his brother joking around with a few of his friends. Frankie had convinced him to go out to the bar for drinks in celebration of a renewed partnership.
 
As long as he could keep his distance from the source of his heartache.
 
Her scent alone was enough to drive him insane.
 
Enzo's feet found the ground as his nose led him to what his heart craved. The lights a blend of colors. The noise of the bar subdued as he turned the corner into a narrow corridor.
 
He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was accurate.
 
Was he that drunk?
 
A few blinks later, and it was crystal clear.
 
"Maya..."
 
Walk away? Keep going? Walk away? Keep going?
 
But then she sighed.
 
And it made his heart do the strangest flip.
 
Her hold on him was something he never truly understood.
 
Enzo's feet felt like lead as they pulled him along.
 
"..Maya.."
 
Maya looked up from her empty glass to see Enzo standing in front of her.
 
His black blazer clung so well to his toned physique. He was slimmer than Frankie. Same height. Roughly same build. It was obvious they were brothers. Not so obvious they had the same lover.
 
Enzo frowned as he took in the details of her face. Her cheeks were wet. Her eyes red and puffy.
 
"Are you crying?" he asked.
 
"No," she said quickly wiping her face.
 
"It's me, isn't it...?"
 
Maya looked at Enzo before diverting her eyes. She refused to tell him that he was the reason for her tears. That she had argued with Frankie moments prior for not giving her a heads up he'd be asking his brother (and her ex-lover) to stay a while.
 
That the way he looked at her still did something to her.
 
That she had tried to drown her conflicting thoughts with an endless round of cocktails.
 
"Is that why you're here by yourself?" Enzo persisted.
 
Maya shrugged. "I just... needed to get away from the noise."
 
Enzo smiled. "You know Frankie. He loves a party."
 
"Typical," she smirked. "He better not hurt himself. I'm tired of having to fix his reckless ass."
 
"You know what you signed up for messing around with a Giordano," Enzo teased.
 
"Yea, you guys give me a perpetual headache," she mocked as she slapped him playfully in the chest.
 
"Hey, not many people can keep up with us," Enzo chuckled as he grabbed her wrist before she could pull it back. "Not like you..."
 
Maya's smirk slowly faded as she looked into Enzo's probing gaze.
 
This was always how he got her.
 
With those eyes. That touch.
 
She saw him lean towards her and pearls of sweat formed on her skin.
 
"Enzo, please don't-" she whimpered.
 
She knew what he wanted. She hated that she wanted it too.
 
"Enzo-" she breathed out as he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, hungrily pressing his lips against hers. She could taste the whiskey on his breath as he inhaled her kiss. A heated flame sparked within the depths of her belly as she melted against the wall.
 
His hands trailed down her arms and along the curves of her plump waist that he desperately pulled against him.
 
"We can't, Enzo. We can't-" she breathed out as he released her lips. But his lips immediately latched onto the curve of her neck, licking her skin just to remember her taste.
 
"God, baby, I miss you," Enzo groaned as his hands rounded the span of her hips, eagerly grasping her thick backside. "Gotdammit, Maya."
 
Unsolicited feelings. They tore at her being like a ravenous monster. Feelings she thought she had buried. Locked away. Never to be felt again.
 
But with every touch. Every kiss. Every sensual whisper against her ear, Maya felt herself succumbing to those desires.
 
"I can't-" Maya grasped Enzo's shoulders as he pushed her back against the wall. His lips moved furiously against hers as his hands repossessed her.
 
His right hand slid down her curved torso until they teased the hem of her pants.
 
"Let me feel you, baby..." Enzo groaned in her ear. "Please, let me feel you. I missed you so much."
 
Maya bit her lip as she felt Enzo's fingers sneak beneath her pants and into her panties before she felt his warm flesh make contact with hers.
 
"Fuuuuucking hellll, Maya," Enzo groaned as he buried his face into her neck. "Gotdammit..."
 
He felt the consistency of her juices between his fingers and a fierce hunger clouded his already inebriated mind.
 
Maya gasped as she felt Enzo's fingers work their way between her thick lips and slide against her rosebud.
 
"Remember when we used to make love..." he moaned against her ear as he continued to finger fuck her. "Remember how many times I'd make you come..."
 
Maya could barely utter a word as she felt her release building up like a volcano bound to erupt.
 
"I shouldn't be doing this..." Enzo said palming her pussy as he maneuvered his fingers in and out of her. "I shouldn't but I can't... I fucking can't, Maya. You consume my mind."
 
"Fuck, Enzo! Fuck! Fuck!" Maya panted as her climax hit her like a fast-moving truck. Her legs felt like jelly as her pussy throbbed uncontrollably.
 
"God, I miss that sound," Enzo said looking into her eyes. "I miss hearing you moan. I miss making you tremble..."
 
Suddenly Enzo's phone immediately went off. He eyed Maya still panting helplessly against the wall, debating with himself if he should bother answering rather than staying with her.
 
His phone went off again, forcing him to check his caller ID.
 
Frankie.
 
Enzo's jaw tensed with anxiety.
 
What a way to sober up.
 
~*~
 
"I've been thinking about this for a long time, Enzo."
 
Enzo leaned back against the wall as he watched his brother pace the small coat room that Frankie had dragged him into.
 
He absentmindedly rubbed his fingers together, still hoping to feel Maya's juices, but it had already dried. He subtly raised his fingers to his nose and inhaled her scent. Her aroma creating a heartbeat in his pants.
 
"It's been consuming my mind for so long and I just... I gotta do it, ya know?" Frankie said breaking Enzo out of his thoughts.
 
Enzo looked at his brother curiously. "You gonna tell me what you're talking about?"
 
"Maya."
 
Enzo felt his throat tighten at the sound of her name. Did Frankie know about them? About what they used to do... what they were still doing?
 
He felt his stomach tighten at the thought he had already ruined the lives of the two people he cared about the most.
 
"..what.. what about Maya..?" Enzo asked cautiously.
 
Frankie stopped pacing and looked at his brother. His eyes shimmered with excitement as his Adam's apple bobbed with anxiety.
 
"I'm going to ask her to marry me."
 
The words cut through Enzo like a butcher knife to his heart. His breathing stopped and a bit of color drained from his face.
 
"W-wh...what?" Enzo croaked.
 
Frankie let out a chuckle of disbelief as if he didn't even believe his own words. He eagerly stuck his hand in his pants pocket before he pulled something out.
 
Enzo's eyes widened in shock.
 
The ring was big, beautiful, and perfect. Just like the woman it was meant for.
 
"So? What do you think?" Frankie said anxiously. "Shit, man, you not saying anything is freaking me the fuck out! Is this a bad idea?"
 
Enzo blinked rapidly at the ring before he looked into the anxious eyes of his brother.
 
"N-no. No, Frankie this... this is incredible, man!"
 
A huge smile of relief spread across Frankie's face as he rushed his brother for a rough hug.
 
"You have no idea how good it makes me feel to hear you say that," Frankie said into his brother's shoulder. "Nobody's opinion matters more to me than yours."
 
Enzo was still in a state of shock. He should be happy for his brother. He deserved this. More than anyone, he deserved Maya.
 
So why did he feel so broken?
 
"I'm gonna do it tonight," Frankie said pulling back.
 
"What?" Enzo said startled. "You sure? I mean-"
 
"Fuck yea! I mean I got all this energy! I'm pumped! I might as well do it now, right?! No time like the present!"
 
"You're kinda drunk, Frankie. Maybe you should wait till you're sober," Enzo insisted.
 
"Sober or drunk, I still want her to be my wife," Frankie laughed. "Shit. Not even a match has got me this pumped! Let's fucking go!"
 
~*~
 
Maya downed another glass of water after splashing some on her face.
 
But that hollow feeling in her gut only worsened.
 
She cursed herself for drinking so much knowing how fragile she already was.
 
Sure she was drunk. They both were. But that didn't mean shit.
 
And she felt like shit.
 
She had to find Frankie quick and tell him what happened.
 
She maneuvered through the crowd that still looked like one big blur.
 
"Shit," she muttered. "Why the hell did I drink so damn much!"
 
She stumbled into a few people. Her anxiety spiking the longer it took to find him.
 
She finally spotted him. Speaking as animated as ever to his group of friends. Quickening her steps, she headed in his direction.
 
"Frankie," she said grabbing his bicep.
 
"Heyyyyy," Frankie said turning around to face her. "There's my baby!"
 
"Frankie, I need to talk to you," she said tugging his arm.
 
"Me first!" he said excitedly. "I got something I really need to tell you."
 
Maya looked at him confused as he drunkenly stumbled to the counter and grabbed a glass that he banged with a fork.
 
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION!"
 
The glass immediately broke from how hard he hit it.
 
"Whoops!" he laughed.
 
"Frankie, what-" Maya started as she grabbed his hand.
 
"Careful, baby, don't cut yourself," he said handing the broken glass to the bartender. "Just put it on my tab."
 
Maya watched as Frankie crawled on the counter and stood to his feet.
 
"Frankie! What are you doing?!" she blurted. "Get down before you hurt yourself, you crazy ass mofo!"
 
"Everybody! Everybody, I got something to say!" Frankie shouted.
 
Maya glanced across the room, locking eyes with Enzo who shared a similar look of concern. But there was something about his gaze that felt particularly unsettling.
 
Enzo's frown deepened as he subtly shook his head.
 
Maya looked from Enzo to Frankie, motioning for people to gather around.
 
"As you all know," Frankie started. "I am... the motherfucking GOAT!"
 
Maya rolled her eyes with a smirk as everyone cheered in agreement.
 
"6 titles, motherfuckers! And with the help of that badass over there, I'm gonna get my 7th! You motherfuckers aren't ready for the Giordano brothers!"
 
Enzo tried to smile. Show some sort of happiness for his brother's excitement. But all he could muster was a grimace.
 
"I would be nothing," Frankie started. "Without my brother... and... my lover."
 
Frankie looked at Maya with a huge goofy grin.
 
"She's the best fucking woman in the whole fucking world. And she's mine. All mine. But I know how you skeezy ass motherfuckers are so I gotta make that shit official."
 
Maya pulled back slightly as Frankie stumbled off of the counter.
 
Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she saw Frankie drop to one knee.
 
"Maya, baby. I know you think most times I'm a fool with no common sense."
 
He opened the small box in his hand.
 
Maya thought she was going to piss herself.
 
"Bellissima. Cara mia. I don't wanna spend another day not being your husband. Will you marry me?"
 
All the air left Maya's lungs.