The Maid: Mafia Romance (Series)

Confession

I was beaming with excitement. School had started back up, and I was super psyched to see Crispin again, after our weeklong midsemester break. He had texted me numerous times, wanting to meet up, but because I was in Singapore, I couldn’t.

I was only away for a few days, but still, what are best friends for, if we didn’t annoy each other with text messages.

What made my heart even giddier was the look on his face when he opened the present. Dawson had given me the toy figurine of Misaki and Usagi-san the minute he saw Crispin’s picture. He said since my best friend liked that couple so much, he’d offered him one of the limited-edition figurines as a gift. I was so stoked. At the door, I saw him waiting for me. I ran, halting just in time to stop myself from crashing into him.

“Jenny, you’re excited to see me?” he asked, his eyes sparkling. “You look super excited today. Did you miss me that much?”

“Totally. I haven’t seen you for a whole week.” I leaned into him and said cheekily, “I got a special gift for you.”

“A gift?” He blushed all the way to the tips of his ears. “What kind of gift?”

“Like I said, it’s a special one. Shall we find a seat first?”

“Sure. After you.” Crispin let me take the lead. I found one next to the window and sat down, waiting for him to settle into his seat first before offering his present.

“So, where’s my gift?”

I took the present out of my backpack and slid the black box across to him. The ribbon with the name ‘Junjou Romantica: Pure Romance’ tied to the box was a dead giveaway.

“Jenny…. Don’t tell me this is…”

“Oh, it is, my friend. Open it,” I urged.

And his eyes said it all. They opened wide and softened as he took in the figurine of Misaki and Usagi-san embracing each other.

I was truly happy to see his smile. Or so I thought.

“Where did you find this figurine?” he scolded me.

“A friend I know recently gave it to me. He said to give it to you since you liked Junjou Romantica so much.”

“A friend? Who?”

“No one special.”

He carefully put the figurine back in the box, closed the lid, and slid it back to me. “I can’t accept this, Jenny. This is a limited edition. On the internet it costs more than a thousand dollars. Where did this friend of yours get it? What if they stole it and gave it to you? I don’t want any association with them. You shouldn’t associate with them, either.”

I slid the box back to him. “My new friend is not an art thief. Plus, he has shitloads more of them. The guy practically owned a whole gallery full of art. Figurines, posters, mangas. You name it, he’s got it. Even our favorite yaoi series, Junjou Romantica. He owned the first edition, too.”

“Jenny, who is this friend of yours?” Crispin was skeptical. He was right. How could a girl like me, who couldn’t even pay for her rent before, suddenly find a rich friend like Dawson. Of course he would be suspecting something was off.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Look. Just know that he’s a good person. Just like you. You know how I don’t go and make friends with random people. And I really mean it. He genuinely wanted you to have this gift.”

“But I don’t even know him.”

“Don’t worry. He’s not some stranger. I got a picture of him. Wanna see?” I took out my mobile phone and showed him the image of me and Dawson inside his collection room back in Singapore.

But Crispin wasn’t even focusing on the picture. His attention was on the phone in my hand.

“Jenny, when did you buy that phone?”

“Huh?”

“That phone. It only came out last week. How did you get ahold of it?”

“Really?”

“You mean you don’t know? That phone costs over two thousand dollars. I wanted one, but all I do is dream about getting it. Don’t tell me that your friend gave it to you, too?”

“Huh…” Crap, I was in a pickle. How did I tell him that Giovanni bought it for me, without telling him about Giovanni at all? “Yeah. My rich friend gave it to me.”

“I don’t trust your rich friend. He must be manipulating you for something. Tell him I don’t want his gift. Take it back.”

“But Crispin. He wanted you to have it. Look, he even gave one to me. Except mine is of Nowaki and-”

“It doesn’t matter, Jenny. Take it back. Unless I physically see him and know him face-to-face, I don’t accept gifts from strangers.”

“Fine. I’ll tell him that.” I reluctantly shoved the gift back in my backpack. Turning to other matters, I asked, “So, what did you want to talk about? You kept messaging me nonstop during the break.”

“Um.” He was suddenly flustered. A second ago he was all macho and angry, and now he was reduced to a whimsical boy who couldn’t even say a word.

No, I was wrong. Maybe he needed to pee. He was fidgeting nonstop in his chair.

“Crispin, you all right? You need to go pee? The bathroom is over there. We can talk after you’ve done your business.”

“I don’t need to pee, Jenny.” He fidgeted again.

“You look like you do,” I said. “Go relieve yourself.”

“Would you stop talking about peeing?” He gasped in exasperation. “I just peed before I got here.” He took out his handkerchief and patted his perspiring forehead.

“Now what? Why are you sweating like that? Is the room too hot? Should we move closer to the air conditioner?” I swung my head around to locate their air conditioner.

“I’m really fine. We don’t need to change seats. I… I want to talk about something.”

“Okay, I’m listening.” I waited.

And still nothing. Instead, he drank his water. He put his glasses down, then picked them up and drank some more.

“Look, are you going to talk or keep drinking water? Drink any more, and you really might need to go pee.”

“Jenny, please.” He sounded desperate.

“So, tell me then. Don’t leave me in suspense. Is something troubling you? I can help.”

“Can you really help me?”

“If it’s something within my capability, of course I’ll help.”

I sat up straight, giving him my full attention. I was prepared to help him out in any way I could. Crispin had been my good friend since day one. He’d helped me through some tough times. There’s no way I’d turn my back on him and let him suffer alone.

“How long have we been friends?” Okay, where did that come from? I thought it might be some exam problems. I wasn’t expecting that one.

“Um… Let’s see now. We met in middle school, and now we’re at first year university. I’d say about five or six years now, give or take a few months.”

“Seven years, four months, eleven days, and eight hours.” He reeled off the number from the top of his head.

My eyes danced like sparkly stars. “Wow, you even counted the hours. What a good memory you have. I’m sure you’ll get one hundred percent on your exam results, for sure. Now I don’t have to worry about consoling you when our results come out.”

“Do you remember the first day of middle school?” he asked again, bringing us back to that subject. I was curious. Why was he talking about how we first met? “It was during spring, and the cherry tree was in full bloom. I was standing next to that cherry tree.”

“Hahaha,” I laughed, scratching my head and feeling embarrassed when that memory struggled to flood back. “Now that you say it, I do remember. You were that tall, gangly boy. I thought you were a female model, posing for the school magazine. You were so beautiful with your long legs and lustrous wavy hair. I went to say hi, thinking you were a girl. That was so silly of me.”

“I’m glad you came to say hi.”

“I’m glad you weren’t a girl, ’cause, man, those girls in middle school sure were bitchy.”

Just then, Lily walked by and placed a love heart croissant on the table beside Crispin. I eyed the delicious pastry with interest.

“You ordered a love heart croissant?” I asked him, and suddenly my curiosity kicked up a full notch.

It finally clicked. The reason why Crispin had asked me out was because he was about to confess to the girl he liked, and that girl was sitting right here inside this very café. Of course. How stupid of me.

I almost squealed, doing a three-sixty spin to check out all the girls and guys in the café. A majority of them were people our age. That was a good sign. They were all so pretty and handsome, too, so that was a bonus. But most importantly, they must be faithful and love Crispin to the bone.

Goddammit, which one was it? And was this person a girl or a guy? The suspense was killing me.

“Jenny, you know I like someone, right?”

“Yeah. It just only occurred to me now.” I nodded, getting giddy again. “So, tell me, who is the person? I checked out most of the girls and guys here. They are all pretty hot.”

“First of all, it’s not a guy. I’m not gay.”

“Okay, then that eliminates thirty percent of the people here. So, who is she?”

“You once told me I should confess to the person I like, using this love heart croissant, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. I suggested it here in this very café. Glad you took my advice seriously. So, tell me. Who is she? Who are you going to give it to? Gosh, there are so many cute girls here. I can’t tell which one. Quick. Tell me quick. You’re keeping me in suspense here.” I couldn’t hold in my excitement any longer. My eyes were scattering from left to right, searching for the one girl that had captivated my friend’s heart.

“Jenny, look at me.”

My eyes were like a light beam. They swiveled back to focus on Crispin as soon as I heard his command. And they grew even more confused as I saw him moving that plate of croissant toward me.

I alternated my gaze between Crispin and the plate of croissant sitting in front of me, silently asking what the meaning of all this was. He understood me very well, without me having to articulate my question.

“We’ve been friends for seven years, four months, and eleven days now,” he stated, his voice pitched high as if struggling to oust his feelings. “You’re the only best friend I have. I’m very fortunate to have known you. But I realize it’s not enough. I’ve been fighting my own feelings for a while now. Maybe since high school. I know I can’t keep this up any longer, because not seeing you for just a week had me going nuts. I feel that now is the right time to tell you.” He cleared his throat. “Jenny, can you insert the word boy in front of friend, when referring to me from now on?”

I blinked, my heart thumping wildly.

Crispin.

He…

He wanted to be my boyfriend.

But how? We’ve always been close, but I never sensed that he liked me. Well, not romantically, anyway. Unless I was so dense, I couldn’t decipher his body language.

“I know it’s out of the blue,” he said, trying to convey his thoughts and feelings to me, “but your family had abandoned you. You kept telling me that they went to live somewhere else and you chose to live here by yourself, but I knew you were just trying to protect them. I know you, Jenny. You would never cause trouble for anyone. You prefer to suffer by yourself. But I want to share your burden. Let me help you. Jenny, I like you. No… that came out wrong. I don’t just like you. I love you. For a long time now.”

“Well, too fucking bad, she doesn’t love you. She loves me.” A deep baritone voice descended from somewhere on my right. My skin tingled in response, and I recognized that voice immediately.

I shifted my gaze to the right and saw him, my lover, my mafia boss, the man who ignited all my passion. Our eyes locked, and he sent me a silent message.

You can’t fucking love him, because you fucking love me.

“Who are you?” Crispin cut through our gaze, shifting my focus back to him.

Giovanni smirked and grabbed my wrist, jerking me up until I stood right next to him. Strong fingers clamped around my waist, tugging me to rest against his chest cavity. I was now bound by his strong masculine arms.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Giovanni Dente, the mafia boss of the Dente clan, and Jay is my lover.”

Giovanni was never one to be predictable. And this was one of those moments. Through my hazy mind, I felt his finger on my chin, tilting it up until all I saw was his face. A split second later, my world was filled with him, his touch, his taste, and most of all, his tongue in my mouth. He was kissing me in public.

Through my dazed state, I caught a glimpse of Crispin. All I saw was the look of shock on his face as he stared back at me, being kissed by my lover.

I pushed Giovanni off me, said to Crispin, ‘Wait here. I’ll be back,” then stormed outside, dragging Giovanni with me.

I rounded to the back of the café until we were isolated and pushed him against the wall. “Boss, what are you doing here?”

“That’s a question I should be asking. What the fuck were you doing here with that twerp?”

“He’s not a twerp. He’s my best friend. And you shouldn’t be kissing me in front of him.”

“Why not? You’re my girl. We’ve fucked countless times before; why can’t I claim you as mine? If I want to kiss you, I will fucking kiss you.” And he did, kiss me, right there, me against the wall, until I had no way out. He sucked at my mouth until I was literally out of breath. I pushed him back, only for him to bounce back harder. He tugged at my chin, nibbling at my lower lip. My knees went weak. At a moment of quick respite, I breathlessly said, “Boss, stop it. This is not cool.”

“Well, you should have thought about it before playing a game behind my back. Tell me, Jay, what were you planning to do behind my back?”