Thin Ice

Adelaide

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I spotted a few targets at the end of the room and decided that instead of working out, I would release my stress by target practice. I swaggered to the other side of the room and picked a small set of knives off the wall where they had been hanging. I put one in the palm of my hand, feeling the weight of it, then I dragged my finger across the blade. It was sharp.

"Carota, will you indulge me in a game?" Romano asked from across the room.

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I snapped my head up to look at him. There goes my alone time. He slowly strode over to where I was standing and picked up a knife from the set I had grabbed.

"A game?"

"Si, porro, a game. To get to know each other better."

I thought it over. I liked games but only if I knew I was going to win. Losing just kinda pissed me off.

"What kind of game?" I questioned him, intrigued.

He smirked at me, "You seem to have taken an interest in the targets so we will do a game centred around that. Whoever gets closest to the centre either gets to ask the other person a question or can ask them to do something for them. Each round the winner will get to choose the weapon for the next round."

I nodded, taking it in.

This was truth or dare with higher stakes.

If we played with knives, I would surely win, but if guns were involved I would be at a disadvantage. This guy was a mafia don so he had some experience and from prior research, I knew that he was exceptionally skilled with guns. I didn't know his capabilities with knives or any other weapon for that matter.

He was at an advantage here.

"Who gets to pick the weapon for the first round?"

If I could choose, I would just keep picking different models of knives for each round and in turn, keep my advantage.

"We will use these knives here." He gestured to the knives that I had taken off the rack earlier.

Perfect.

"I accept your challenge."

Romano's smirk grew into a grin. He picked up one of the knives and weighed it in his hand like I had done not so long ago.

"I'll start, cavolo."

He sauntered in front one of the targets before bringing his arm back and letting the knife go.

A metallic sound rang out in the room as the knife clattered on the floor.

He hadn't just missed the centre of the target, he had missed it entirely. The hilt of the knife hit the target instead of the blade, sending it flying to the ground.

I burst out laughing at his pathetic attempt at a hit, not able to hold back.

"Si, haha very funny." He said, a small smile playing on his lips. How long had it been since I've laughed this hard?

I calmed down my laughing and wiped tears from my eyes. I picked up a knife and made my way over to him.

"Watch and learn, mafia man." I confidently said, lifting my arm behind my head and steadying my body. I looked at the centre of the target before breathing deeply.

I powered my arm forward and let the knife slip from my grasp, flying straight into the centre of the target.

Bullseye.

I looked over to Romano with a smug look on my face. His face was twisted into one of disbelief. That's what you get when you try and test me.

"So I get to ask a question right?"

He nodded his head, "What do you want to know about me, cavolo?"

I had two options here. I could ask him about his fighting style and what guns he preferred or, I could ask him about himself.

I wonder what he would look like flustered?

"Are you kinky in bed, Acerbi?" I alluringly asked him.

He levelled his eyes to mine with a serious expression. "Non hai idea delle cose che voglio fardi."

(Translation: You have no idea about the things I want to do to you.")

His voice was low and gravelly.

I furrowed my eyes in confusion. He said that so fast that I couldn't pick up on what he said. Latin may be a close relative to Italian but that didn't mean they were the same. They were quite different.

"You can't answer in Italian because I don't understand it and that's not a nice thing to do."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Not nice? Are you still in third grade?" He questioned me, slowly moving closer.

"I never went to school." I stated simply, "And you avoided my question meaning that the answer is most likely yes. Do you prefer being called daddy?" I teased him, smirking slightly.

"Do you want to find out?" His deep voice boomed as he continued to slowly make his way toward me.

"Ah ah ah, not too close mafia man. Do you remember what happened last time you broke my bubble of personal space?" I continued to tease him, wagging my finger back and forth just like how one would do to a child.

He grunted, clearly annoyed. "What weapon do you choose next? Can't be a knife because we just had that."

I scanned the rack of weapons that was mounted on the wall. I spotted some axes that looked like they wanted a good throw. I plucked them off the wall and handed one to Romano. He rolled his eyes at my choice but still stood before the second target, prepared to throw.

I watched as he put his weight onto his back foot and twisted his body, letting his axe go a second too late. The axe wedged itself just outside the big red dot in the centre. At least this time it hit the target.

"Getting better, but still not good enough." I moved to where he was previously standing and with precision and accuracy, launched my axe at the target like it was about to kill me.

Bullseye.

I turned back around to him.

"What to do, what to do." I mused. What should I ask him? My question last time didn't work in getting Romano flustered.

Maybe I just needed a new approach.

"What's your favourite colour?" I innocently asked him.

"Excuse me?" His face was one of pure shock.

"You could've asked me anything you wanted and you want to know my favourite colour?"

I nodded, "No answering in Italian anymore. I may know Latin but that doesn't automatically mean I know Italian, okay?"

He stood there staring at me, his shocked face hidden.

"It used to be purple but I've had a change of heart recently," he looked into my eyes, "green is now my favourite." He stated before making his way to the rack of weaponry, pulling off a gun and shooting at the third and last target, hitting right in the middle.

"My turn." He said dryly, looking over to me.

He just broke a rule so that should count as disqualification right? "You broke a rule. I was supposed to pick the last weapon. I haven't had my shot yet either."

There was no trace of humour left in his face. He turned into the same Romano that I saw when he pushed me against the wall, attempting to seduce me.

"My house, my rules. I've already hit perfectly so I automatically win, you literally can't get better than my shot. My turn to command." His voice demanded.

I hated losing but I hated arguments more. I only got involved if I knew I would win and I don't think Romano would let me win this no matter what I said.

"What's your question?"

He took a step toward me

"Kiss me."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "Wait a minute, I thought you could only ask questions." I stammered out, taking a step away from him.

A slow, lazy grin grew on his face. "Then my piccola patata, you weren't listening well enough when I was explaining the game. I said that you could ask a question or," he took another step towards me, "you could ask the other person to do something for you. Kiss me, carota. Right here." He brought his finger to his lips.

I sighed. It was just a kiss right?

"Just one?"

He nodded, his smile growing bigger.

"A proper one." He said, closing the space between us.

His arm snaked around my waist, bringing me closer. His left hand cupped my face, tilting it up to his. I looked into his eyes and was met with pure lust. Maybe I shouldn't have provoked him with my invasive questions about his sex life. I didn't have anymore time to think about it though, as his lips collided with mine.

Surprisingly, his lips were soft and gentle before turning aggressive and passionate. I kissed him back and he nibbled on my lower lip. I brought my hands up to his hair, letting my lips be free for a few seconds before kissing him again. He tasted of strong coffee and quite weirdly, oranges.

I gripped his hair tighter and he moaned into my mouth, jolting me out of the trance like state I was in. I pulled away, panting slightly and wide eyed. What the hell?

I awkwardly cleared my throat.

"I should go. I, uh, have something to do." I pushed past him and briskly walked to the door.

"Adelaide, wait." He called after me, but I ignored him, quickly opening the door and finding my way to my room.

I sat back down in my chair and let out a long sigh.

What the hell just happened?

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