One Direction - Perfect

I might never be your knight in shining armor

I might never be the one you take home to mother

And I might never be the one who brings you flowers

" I have told you before , I don't want you around at this time."

" Why because these poor citizens get scared of us ....??? Bullshit .! These fucking parasites make a show in the morning. And at night, they snort up the shit we sell through our kids ."

" What they do behind closed doors is not my problem . You're ruining the ambiance , Matteo ." Ari said calmly .

" Ambiance ..." Matteo snorted . " ... the tattoo parlor and the garage closed and suddenly , this place becomes holy. " Matteo chuckled ,mocking Ari .

"They did not close , their owners were caught selling drugs , those shops were a cover , I'm not gonna let your filthy hands in here ." Ari said coming on to Matteo's face .

" That's because that motherfucker Finley did not comply . Sooner or later we will break him . Every man has a price . And you better watch you mouth , little Vitali . We still respect your old man.Otherwise you would be six feet under already The moment we find out who tipped the cops ,we will forget your late father was our leader." Matteo spat and stormed off, slamming the door behind.

Ari sat behind the counter of the empty cafe. It does good business but every once in a while when the local MC gang ,which ran under Ari's father's reign until a year ago, the customers avoid the place. It sells the best Italian food . Arrigo inherited the place from his ancestors .His grandfather ran this place with his wife and had plans to pass the heritage .Their son ,Ari's father, had other plans however. During school time he started mingling with the wrong crowd, by the age of 22 he became their leader .He had an ' Old lady ' too, After his parents requests, he married her . She left her husband and two little boys and never came back . Armano, Arrigo's elder brother spent his time with his father . And Arrigo chose to help his grandma .

During high school , Arrigo was forced to sell drugs to his classmates . While Armano loved living in the edge ,while Ari only dreamed of living his life like a free, honest man . At 24 , Ari is now the sole owner of 'Ambrosia' .

☆★☆★☆

Ari was going back to his apartment , when he heard a girl scream . A local girl would know better than to roam around here , at this late hour. Ari threatened Thomas , Nino or his father would never appreciate a girl being treated like this. Sure they sold drugs, but they had their own idea of having scruples.

" You okay." He asked her. She is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen .

" Yes, I am okay and thank you for helping me . I'm Brianna Morris." 'A beautiful name for a beautiful girl ', he thought.

" Nice to meet you , Brianna . I wish we met differently . I'm Arrigo Vitali . But my friends call me , Ari ." He wants her to call him Ari and be more than his friend .He wanted to offer her to come inside his place but she won't accept it .

" That's my cafe .How about we go inside there . And treat your wound." he said nervously.

" It's not that deep, just a scratch ." She said but winced ,stepping up in the cafe .

" Just a scratch bleeding uncontrollably , Let's go." He said ,leaving no room for arguments. He came back with a first aid kit and gently removed the small pebbles and made sure it does not get infected. And gently covered the wound with a bandage .

He came back with two cup of coffees. When she did not make any move to take it , He said. "If you came here on your own, you would have accepted the coffee. So let's start a fresh like we did meet under different circumstance . I'm Ari the owner ,the chef , the server . and you ." He said bowing to her .

Brianna blushed , "I'm Brianna Morris. And this coffee is delicious. I also add a dash of cinnamon and cocoa. "

" Wait.. Wait.. Wait did you say cinnamon and cocoa... Nobody gets it and I call it my secret recipe ." He gasped in amazement .

" Your secret is safe with me , Ari ." She giggled . That's the first time she took his name . When they finished the coffee ,they knew it was time to go . But none of them wanted to . It was better if Brianna left now . It is already 1 am.

"I should go." She whispered sadly . Ari had to nod in understanding .He knew something must have happened so he didn't ask if she had a ride .

"Can I call you a taxi .?" A taxi won't be readily available in this part of town , this would give him more time to interact . She had no idea where she was .But she knew she was far away from her home. And she won't be able to cover the fare.

"Or I can drop you home." He didn't even wait for her to answer and went to the alley to get his motorcycle.

"Come on ." He gave her a helmet. She took it without hesitation . He liked the fact that she trusted him . When she sat behind, he took her hands in his and rested it across his waist ."Hold tight." he said and she did .

Brianna never felt so happy , so free ... Since her parents died. She felt ....alive , not because she did something rebellious like riding in motorcycle with a stranger but just being with him made her happy.

When she reached home . She asked for the address for his cafe . Ari just wanted a sign that would clear that she is feeling the connection too, and that was it.

☆★☆★☆

On Sunday, she was restless to meet Ari . But for a change, Brandon was home . She hoped to hear the roar of a motorcycle but it didn't happen. Bran didn't ask her about anything , And She didn't say anything about Julian either .

Monday morning , Bran left with a his briefcase and a duffel bag that means he is gonna stay the night with Marion . The night before ,she thought a lot about Ari . She might look desperate but decided to take a chance anyways . She baked some cupcakes for him , If he acted like he doesn't want her there, she would hand him the cupcakes as a gratitude and leave.

Brandon's old car was in the garage , Since he got involved with Marion he used the car she gave him or as he likes on put it , the company did .

When she reached the cafe , Ari was talking to man in a uniform . She built up her confidence on her way there , But she was second guessing, now that she has already reached .

A customer went inside and small ring chimed. Ari looked up and saw her outside . His face lit up. Ari spent his Sunday debating over , if he should go see her ,without looking like a stalker .

" Morning , Ari ." She said meekly .

" Morning ... this is Captain Finley. Cap. My friend Brianna." Ari said.

" Nice to meet you ,young lady ."

"Likewise ." She offered him the box of cupcakes . He took one and left after thanking her .

" I thought .I should bring something as a thank you ." She said, looking at the interior . Last night ,she was too spooked to check out the beauty other than Ari's face .

" That was not needed but if you really want to help me , You can spend the day with me . If you like to...." He said holding the counter to support himself , her floral scent was hypnotizing him .

" Okay. " She replied a little too early . But It was a waste to hide that the were feeling a mutual pull towards each other .

" Just give me ten minutes . I'll close after the last customers leaves." He said , feeling ecstatic to have her to himself .

" Why would you do that , I can spend the day here too, Preferably in the kitchen If you allow me." She said boldly .'Can she get any more perfect .?'

That's all he needed to hear . They spent whole day talking , cooking , serving customers ,like they had been doing this for years .

" Where did you learn to cook so well." she asked, while he was cleaning the table .

" My grandma and grandpa ran this cafe . I learned from them ." he shrugged .

" Don't get me wrong but you should add desserts too . It will complete the menu ." She suggested , gawking at his muscles, flexing through the thin white t shirt.

" My grandma tried to teach me ,but she said I didn't have the necessary patience ." She chuckled .

During closing hour , Captain Finley came back . Ari had a takeout ready for him . "Thanks Ari. And Brianna , that cupcake was delicious . You should think about selling it." Brianna's face fell at that . But she smiled anyways . however ,Ari noticed the change .

☆★☆★☆

Brianna came next day with more cupcakes .As Ari asked her to. He put them under the glass cloche and within 3 hours, they were sold out . Mr. Finley came again for the takeouts , Ari saved two cupcakes for him and added it in the bag .

Ari wanted to spend more time with her. So he asked ,If she wanted to go to his place upstairs . They spent the night together, in separate beds.

Next day they followed the same routine. Ari brought the ingredients for her cupcakes .She taught him baking and he taught her how to cook Italian .

Brianna had to go home the next day. If her brother's concious awoke, then he would be worried about her. Ari gave her the shares for the cupcakes , she refused but after much persuasion , she agreed .

Mr. Finley came when she was leaving "Arianna , I mean Ari and Brianna . My wife loved the cupcakes . I hope you have packed one again ." He said.

" We did ." they say in unison .

A month went by with them following the similar routine . They grew more and more closer everyday. But each and every romantic moment was always disturbed by something .

On Saturday Mr. Finely came " Are you two free Sunday night because my wifey wants to invite you two for dinner . It's after 9 So you can close the cafe too. What say.?" they both agreed.

On Sunday morning . Both Brianna and Brandon slept til afternoon . In the evening , Brandon came holding a dress. " Wear this to the party tonight ." Brandon said.

"Which party ." She asked, confused.

"Which party ...??? I'm getting married next Week . This is our combined bachelorhood party ." He shouted ,throwing the dress on the floor .

Brianna had read about Marion's party norms on gossip columns. Before her third marriage ,during her spinster party, Marion hooked up with 3 guys. The pictures hit the gossip everywhere . And her wedding was called off.

" I'll take my car . I don't want to stay there for long." She said.

' Whatever . ' he muttered .

Brianna tried leave the party early but Julian always stepped in her way . By the time she reached, it was 11:30 PM. She went to Ari's place , dreading his reaction .Ari opened the door and kissed her deeply . She was shocked by his eagerness but soon she kissed him back.

They melted into each others arms and that night, they made love .

☆★☆★☆

"You okay , Brianna . I wasn't too rough, was I. Are you sore, Can I..." he rambled .

"I'm good. Never been better actually " She smiled hiding her face in his chest .

" Don't go shy on me now." he teased .

" I'm sorry . I was held back at this party...." She began to say .

" So you were not here ....thank God." Ari said kissing her .

" What happened.... Tell me, please." She asked.

" I am afraid how you will take this, I should have told you this before .. before we....." His voiced trailed.

" Ari, look at me. I don't regret this. Whatever you're going to say next, I won't regret it after that either. Trust me." She said holding his hand.

" My father, he was the leader of a MC gang. My brother followed his footsteps. I never wanted to be a part of it. But, I still did. I sold drugs in high school, my brother and his friends bullied people, While I stood there watching.

Last year, he died of a drug overdose. My father always refrained us from using the stuff we sold . After Armano's death, he changed . He held himself responsible. He died a month later, in a motorcycle accident." He was in tears talking about it . Brianna held his face and kissed him sweetly , "It's okay, Ari. You don't have to tell me now." She murmured against his lips.

" No, Brianna. I want you to be with me. And I can't do that if I'm not honest with you." He said .

" Okay " She whispered.

Ari took a deep sigh. "I was supposed to take my father's place but I obviously refused. My brother's friend Nino took his place. They often came to the cafe. It was not really a nice place to be in. When Captain Finely came , things changed. He was on a mission to wipe this place free of gangs and drugs. He presence in my cafe worked well for me. We became good friends, I never told him anything. But I was doubted to be a snitch. When I was waiting for you in the cafe they came in and started breaking things. Mr Finley came with back up, on time. I thought you saw everything and got scared. "

Brianna kissed him ,She was happy that he told her and trusted her. In all honestly Brianna actually forgot that she was also supposed to tell him about her engagement.

🎀🎀🎀

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