During the course of the next month, Nikki started notice that Erica began to dress more provocatively and she steered clear of her after their confrontation. When the two were in the apartment at the same time, Erica would keep to herself or stay in her room, which was amusing to Nikki.
As Thanksgiving approached, Nikki decided that she would not return home for the weekend. Al would be going to see her family and Greta would join, but given the significant party night that was the night before Thanksgiving, they would make sure they sold as much as they could that night.
They dispersed to different bars across the area, but Nikki and Al would go to a club near Belleville for most of the night. For the night, Nikki opted for a tight black top, tucked into a dark blue pair of bootcut jeans, tied together with a thick black leather belt, her jewelry and a pair of black leather high-heeled boots underneath her pant legs.
After a few hours at the club, Nikki was standing at the bar waiting for her drink and when she reached to pay for it, the bartender told her it was already taken care of. She asked by who, the bartender pointed to a man in his early 40s, well-dressed in a suit. It was Esposito.
“I didn’t know this was one of your spots,” Nikki said with a smile.
“This is Belleville, they are all my spots,” Esposito joked. “Are you intruding on my territory?”
“Not permanently,” Nikki smiled. “Shouldn’t you be home getting ready for Thanksgiving?”
“I have people to take care of that,” Esposito said. “What are you doing for the holiday?”
“Probably just keeping a low profile,” Nikki shrugged. “I decided not to go visit my parents.”
“Well then I must insist that you come to my house,” Esposito said.
“Oh, I don’t want to be any trouble,” Nikki said.
“No, no, I insist,” Esposito said. “Nobody should be alone on a holiday.”
“OK, what time?” Nikki asked.
“Three,” Esposito said as he handed her a piece of paper. “Here is my address. See you tomorrow. Don’t stay out too late.”
“Thanks, dad,” Nikki joked sarcastically.
The following morning Nikki felt something she didn’t normally feel...nervousness. She had never been to the house of -- much less dinner with -- a mob boss. The nervousness didn’t come from fear of any kind, but rather uncertainty. What would it be like? Who would be there? How long should she stay?
After spending much of the morning on the balcony with a pack of cigarettes, Nikki finally decided to peek into her closet to pick out an outfit for the day. She knew jeans or slacks, or even leather pants wouldn’t do for the occasion. Finally, she decided on a strapless black dress that came down a few inches above her knees. She added her usual jewelry and her black high-heeled leather stiletto boots that came to her knees.
Once dressed, Nikki made sure she had everything she needed in her purse, then took her dressy leather coat that went to her mid thigh (just below her dress) and put it on, checking her watch one last time before heading to her car.
During the hour drive to Belleville, Nikki chained through cigarette after cigarette, which wasn’t out of the norm for her while driving, but she seemed to savor these.
Nikki finally arrived at Esposito’s mansion and it was like nothing she had seen before. It had a gate that required her to be buzzed in and the size of it made her jaw drop. This was the kind of house she wanted some day. When she rang the doorbell, Esposito answered and let her inside. He took her leather coat and she realized he had never seen her tattoos before.
“I see you are also a biker,” Esposito commented when he saw the large tattoo covering the entire upper half of her back.
“I am,” Nikki responded.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” Esposito smiled.
Esposito led Nikki into the living room, where he introduced her to his mother, sister and nephews, along with a number of others, whom she presumed to be his crew and their wives and girlfriends. It didn’t take her very long to see this was like being around the club, except more sophisticated.
Women spent much of the time conversing with each other or fetching food and drinks for their men. Nikki quickly made friends with the wife of Esposito’s underboss -- Christina -- and the wife of his consigliere -- Jessica -- both of whom were in their early 30s. They were marveled by her poise and maturity for being just shy of her 19th birthday.
Dinner was exquisite and Nikki found herself fitting in nicely, again thanks to her maturity and her quick wit. It also didn’t hurt that she was not in awe of any of them. After dinner, Nikki along with her two new acquaintances, headed to the deck for an after-dinner cigarette.
“I love your coat,” Christina said as Nikki buttoned up her leather coat to block out the cold November air.
“Are you really only 18?” Jessica asked as she lit a Salem 100.
“Yes,” Nikki responded through an exhale. “I turn 19 in February.”
“I never would have guessed that,” Christina said. “You look older and you definitely act like it.”
“Thank you,” Nikki said. “I’ve always been like this.”
“That’s a good thing,” Jessica said. “For some reason they let their fucking gumas act like little girls, but a wife? Oh, no.”
“All of these guys have a girlfriend on the side?” Nikki asked. “And you know about them?”
“Yep,” Christina said. “That’s how this life works. You want to be with someone connected, be ready for girlfriends, taking care of kids, cooking and long periods without them.”
“Fuck that,” Nikki said. “I wouldn’t deal with that.”
“Once you’re in, you don’t have much of a choice,” Jessica informed her.
“Good thing I’m not in,” Nikki laughed.
“Not yet,” Christina told her as she stubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray. “Do you think he just invited you here to be nice?”
Nikki hadn’t thought much about why Esposito invited her. On the surface, it seemed like a genuinely nice gesture. She probably should have figured that nothing comes without a price tag, however. She certainly had never dated someone so much older.
Through dessert and the remainder of the night, Nikki spent time with Christina and Jessica, hoping to get some time alone with Esposito to see what his intentions were. Finally, all the guests departed for the night, leaving the two of them alone at last.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Esposito asked.
“I did, very much so,” Nikki replied. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Why don’t we go to my lounge for a cigar?” He said.
Nikki obliged and followed him into the room, which was essentially a den with a few chairs, couch and a large flat screen television. He offered her a large Cuban cigar, which she accepted and he lit it for her as she sat down on the couch, legs crossed, left arm bent at a 90 degree angle on the armrest, causing her watch to slide down to the middle of her forearm and the cigar in between her index and middle fingers.
“So why did you invite me?” Nikki asked coyly. “I know you don’t make those offers to anybody.”
“Does there always have to be an ulterior motive?” Esposito responded.
“Yes,” Nikki laughed.
“You are wise beyond your years,” Esposito said with a smile.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot tonight,” Nikki said.
“You are fascinating,” Esposito admitted. “I have never met anyone like you. It’s impossible to find someone so young that’s also so intelligent, mature and ambitious.”
“I know what I want and I won’t stop until I get it,” Nikki smiled.
“Well, would you want to go out tomorrow night?” Esposito asked bluntly.
“It depends,” Nikki said. “What do you want with an 18-year-old?”
“I believe I just told you,” Esposito said. “It’s hard to find those qualities in anyone, let alone someone your age.”
“OK, you need to know that I’m not interested in being a guma or being with someone that has one,” Nikki said honestly. “Secondly, I have goals for business that I want to reach. I’ve been a part of the macho lifestyle with the club, so if anything happens between us, I won’t give up what I’m trying to achieve.”
“You don’t have to worry about any of that,” Esposito assured. “Just dinner and drinks. Deal?”
“Deal,” Nikki replied.
“Excellent,” Esposito said. “Why don’t you come back here tomorrow night and we’ll go from there? Unless you wanted to stay the night…”
Nikki took one final puff on her cigar, stubbed it in the ashtray and get nose-to-nose with Esposito, smoke emanating from her mouth as she whispered, “Patience, it’s just one more night.”
With that, Nikki stood up and headed to the door, putting her coat on and smiling at Esposito. The ride home was a whirlwind for Nikki. It wasn’t quite what she expected it to be, but nonetheless she had agreed to go on a date with a significantly older mob boss.
____________________________________________________________________________
The following day started much like the previous. With Al and Greta still out of town, Nikki lounged around for much of the morning and afternoon. Finally, she decided it was time to get ready for her date.
Once again, she peered into her closet knowing that just any old outfit wouldn’t be sufficient. So, she found a tight black top that exposed her cleavage just enough, along with a black leather miniskirt and her black leather boots with a the stiletto heel that came to her knees. She put on her jewelry and did her hair, leaving a poof in the front. She checked her watch and decided it was time to go, so she pulled out her mid-length black leather coat, same as the night before and headed for the car.
When she arrived at Esposito’s house, he ushered her inside for a quick drink. While inside, she was looking at the pictures and noticed that he had a teenage daughter. Esposito informed her that she lived with her mother in Miami and Nikki decided to move on from the topic to avoid any awkwardness. Esposito then told Nikki they would be going to one of his favorite places in East Rutherford for the night, to which she agreed.
As they stepped outside, Nikki lit a cigarette thinking they would be taking one of his cars, but instead there was a limousine waiting for them. The driver opened the door and she put her cigarette between her lips and climbed inside. Upon arrival, Esposito escorted her to a private room above the rest of the club, where there was a bottle service awaiting them. There were already ashtrays on the table, so Nikki was quite excited about the night ahead.
The night went along smoothly. Nikki found Esposito as fascinating as he found her. She enjoyed listening about his life and his thoughts, and he reciprocated. He provided an intelligence to conversations that she couldn’t have with Mark. Nikki enjoyed the expensive champagne on the table, so she spent the night talking, drinking, smoking an endless amount of cigarettes and also did the occasional line of cocaine.
Throughout the night, friends of Esposito would come and go, and Nikki would take notice of how he treated each of them. The ones he was cordial to, the ones he wasn’t and the ones he ignored completely. The festivities hit a bit of a snag around midnight when an incredibly intoxicated woman spilled a drink, barely missing Nikki’s beloved leather boots.
“What the fuck is your deal?!” Nikki shouted.
Esposito quickly stepped in and motioned for one of his men to take the woman away, almost to Nikki’s disdain.
“We’ll take care of that for you,” Esposito assured her. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get back to our night.”
“No offense, but I take care of my own problems,” Nikki said sternly as a half-smoked cigarette bounced between her lips.
“Have it your way,” Esposito said. “Let’s go.”
Esposito pulled out his phone, sent a quick text message and then put his arm around Nikki to guide her from the room and down to the basement of the club. She was a bit nervous as to where he was taken her and what they were going to do, but once down there, he led her to a back room where the woman was sobbing on the floor.
“Take care of your business,” Esposito said.
Nikki walked over to the woman, her high-heels clacking on the cement floor until she was staring down at the woman at her feet.
“Get up,” Nikki demanded.
She did as told, but she didn’t last very long, as Nikki sent her right back to the ground with a hard right hand to her gut. As she hit the ground, Nikki followed up with a stiff kick to her back, before picking her up again and delivering a knee to her gut again.
“Do you know how disrespectful you were?” Nikki whispered in the woman’s ear as she held her up by the hair. “These boots are worth more than your pathetic little life and you almost ruined them.”
Nikki finally let her slump to the floor, then give her one final kick to the face, knocking two of her front teeth out. She turned back to Esposito, who was watching the entire situation unfold with a smile on his face.
“That was quite impressive,” Esposito said. “You weren’t kidding about your ruthlessness.”
“You want impressive?” Nikki smiled as she grabbed him by the hair and kissed him as hard as she could. “Get the car.”
The entire ride home, Nikki spent with her lips attached to Esposito’s and as soon as they got to his house they made a beeline to the bedroom. She attacked him like a lion, making sure it was a night he would never forget.
When they were finally done, Nikki sat up in bed, plucked a cigarette between her lips and lit it as Esposito laid next to her, satisfied. The only light in the room was the orange glow from the tip of her cigarette.
“I could get used to this,” Esposito moaned.
“Honey, you’ll never find anyone as good as me,” Nikki smiled seductively through an exhale. “And don’t forget it.”
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