"I was thinking Hawaii," Tony grinned, his miraculously white teeth gleaming. He'd been smoking for years and I envied those pearly whites, almost as much as I longed for his deliciously serene, sky blue eyes. Dark hair and light eyes had always been a turn-on for me. Tony's hair was perpetually bleached, but I had forgiven him this cardinal sin years ago. So I just smiled back and nodded my head. Hawaii, sounds nice.
"Maui?" Paul inquired, raising his eyebrow slowly, suggestively. This was the move he did when he was trying to intentionally drive me wild; or when he was stoned out of his mind and overreacting to someone else's words. Like, say, now.
Put the blunt down, Paulie, walk away,
I thought with a childish grin. He coughed just at that moment, and made me feel guilty. But he laughed it off and ran a hand slowly through his dark hair. It had become overgrown, and I wanted so badly to cut it. He wouldn't let me though. He said 'sloppiness' was 'hot' this spring. Whatever that means. My Paulie has never been much of a fashion plate.
It was my turn to interject, so I shrugged and offered, "It all sounds wonderful, boys, send me postcards." There. I hope that makes them feel immensely guilty. Making lavish vacation plans in front of their poor, destitute friend. They should feel ashamed for talking about fucking Maui when I can barely make my car payments.
"But we want you to come," Tony offered, breaking me from my chain of bitter diversion.
"Excuse me?" I sputtered, coughing on the blunt and passing it back to Paul.
Tony reached for it, and smirked. "Yeah, we discussed this already. Right?" Paul nodded and continued to stare off into space. Fuck, he was gone. "In fact, we agreed that if you'll agree to it, we want to go in fifty-fifty on your ticket."
"I can barely pay my rent and car payments, Tone," I sighed. I wanted to wrip his snide little balls off for toying with me like this, but after ten years of friendship, you learned never to jump to conclusions when it came to Tony Lovato. "I can't pay for a trip to Hawaii, even if it's only fifty percent. I appreciate you thinking of me, but-"
"You wouldn't pay anything," he interrupted and I glared into those amazing eyes. "We'd be splitting your ticket and expenses, Paul and I. Not you, dumbass."
I stared at my best friend of the past ten years and simply gawked, open mouthed. "And you'd want to take me to Hawaii...WHY?" I practically screeched. I wasn't sure why I was so mad, but I was. I didn't appreciate Tony fucking with my head. 'Oh gee, V, let's just fly off to Hawaii and stay in a posh hotel, it won't cost a penny.' Right. Fuck you, Anthony John. Fuck you.
"I don't want to go to Hawaii without you, V," Tony spoke softly. We were sitting next to each other on the floor, and it wasn't much of a shock when he ran his hands slowly through my black hair. He did that, you know. That was Tony. He liked to touch, liked to feel on the people he loved. Especially when he was portraying his sincerity, which was often times questioned. Even by those of us lucky enough to truly know and love the guy. He was just like that. You never knew if he was being real, or trying to shit talk you. "I can't imagine a vacation without you, V," he continued. "And I don't want to."
I bit down on my lipring and stared into Tony's eyes. Was he being sincere? Fuck if I knew. So I simply went along for the ride. "I can't afford a trip to Hawaii, Tony. I can barely afford a trip to the supermarket, and fuck, I have to get new contacts and a new suit for work. Hawaii is just out of the question."
He nodded sympathetically and pushed a strand of my hair from my eyes. "I told you, kiddo, it's covered. We already had this discussion." He stared at me for a lengthy amount of time, and I knew this was a sincere moment. There was no dicking around, no let's play a prank on V. This was the real deal, Peter Steele.
"We had this discussion, huh?" I retorted, trying to lighten the mood, or at the very least, shake that unbending stare that he was fixing on my lips. He did this all the time: he'd get drunk, then get high, then he'd try to makeout with any girl in the proximity. I was the only girl tonight, so lucky for me. He was staring at my lips, licking his own. Tony wanted a kiss and I wasn't going to give it to him. Even if it meant Hawaii.
He licked his lips again and took a slow drag. "Well, 'we', as in Paul and I. Not you and me. Paul and I had this discussion." His words came out slow, as though he'd worked hard at conjuring his sentence; at communicating his point. I ignored the effort and turned to see Paul's reaction, but of course, Paul was passed out on the floor across from us, mouth hanging open, drool formulating on his chin. Lovely. Isn't he precious?
"Paul looks like he's done a lot of serious talking," I offered, trying to be sarcastic but the truth was, I knew I sounded biting and snide. I didn't want to offend Tony, though, so I retracted the statement with a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a bitch."
"It's okay," he smiled. "So what I meant was that Paul and I talked, and we really want to do this for you. You need a vacation more than the two of us combined. We both know that, V. We know. Fuck it, everyone knows. I don't want to go to Hawaii without you, so please say yes. I'll pay for one hundred percent of your ticket, fuck, if that's what it takes. You deserve to come." And that last statement traveled off his lips with a gigantic smirk. I slapped him and laughed softly. Only Tony could turn the most heartfelt of pleas into a perversion.
"It's a nice thought, Tony, but I can't," I sighed, still reeling at the words
you deserve to come
.
"Yes, you can," he countered, again running his hands through my hair. "Just say yes, V. You know you want to." He grinned with this, and began to slowly nibble on my neck. Fuck, I was fucked, literally and figuratively. He knew I couldn't resist his touch; and he knew that we'd always been much more than friends. I didn't say no to Tony Lovato often, and he knew this very well. He liked to use it to toy with me; his power. He was a fuckhead.
He IS a fuckhead
, I thought and tried to shake my head. He pulled away, gazing up at me with puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sorry, Tony," I offered as I stood up and tried to walk away from him. He grabbed my arm, and I turned to face him. "I can't just allow you to fly me to Hawaii, wine me, dine me, and then-"
"69 you?" he smirked. There it is. That smirk. That look. Why does he always do that? I fucking hate that. I hate him. "Alright," he sighed, pulling me towards him and wrapping his arms around my back. "What if we pay for your ticket and you do something for us, in return?"
"Like?" I spat and I knew that a statement that had stemmed from a '69' joke was not going to be anything too shatteringly brilliant. This was Tony on weed, trying to get some pussy.
He chewed on his lipring for a moment and then smiled, as though he'd discovered the answer. "You do everything we ask for that entire week. We pay for your ticket to Hawaii, and you-"
"Are your slave?" I finished with a frown. "I don't think so, Tony."
"Well, why not?" he demanded, tightening his grip around me and beginning to sway slightly. "Why not? I'm not saying that you'll have to do my laundry, but like, if I want a little-"