-Card Game Blow Out-
"What the hell are we playing?" Nicole asked as she sat down at the table in the hotel room. Joseph was already sitting at the table and Speedwagon had sat across from her. "Spades. However, I do not like that womanizer. You need to stay away from him. If you keep allowing that man to take you away then you'll just become one of his so-called "girlfriends"." Joseph said as he picked up the deck of playing cards off the table.
The dinner the four people had together was an awkward one. Caesar was flirting and getting acquainted with Nicole, Joseph was getting angry, and Speedwagon could only watch. The elderly man felt as though he was the babysitter for the two men. "Believe me Jojo, I am not going to fall for his crap. The comments will only add onto the fire when it comes to you being pissed and me being entertained." Nicole said as she watches Joseph shuffle the cards. "You are a smart girl so you should understand that he's just saying these things." He said.
Nicole lifted up the cup of tea off the small saucer. She sips her tea as Caesar walks in the room. Joseph has a glare plastered on his face as he watches Caesar leaps into the air and land on the seat of the chair. His posture was straight and his eyes were closed. Caesar rested his cheek on the back of his hand as his elbow relaxed on the table. He then picks up the small cup of tea and drinks from it. "We are about to play spades. Do you want to join in Caesar?" Nicole asked. The man looks at Nicole. His emerald irises stare into her chocolate irises.
He places the small cup down and nods. "Yes." He answers before he pulls out a cigarette and places it into his mouth. Caesar lit the cigarette with a lighter and silently blew smoke. Joseph scrunches his nose and snorts. Obviously, he was disgusted by the man. "It is a small room and that stinks. Nicole does not handle the stench of smoke well either." Joseph said as he knew Nicole personally disliked the smell of smoke, or in this case cigarette smoke.
She had a bit of a health problem when it came to smoking, especially when other people did so around her. Caesar takes the cigarette out of his mouth and pressed the lit side against his finger tip to put it out. He did not want to be rude around the woman. "Tch. Show off." Joseph scoffs before he starts to deal the cards. Thought of beating the womanizer in a card game by using tricks ran through Joseph's mind. The thought of taking Joseph's money in the game ran through Caesar's mind. Nicole watches Joseph deal the cards.
As Caesar receives the playing cards, he raises an eyebrow in suspicion. "Hey Jojo, what are you doing? Deal the cards correctly." Caesar points out as Joseph casually deals the cards. "What are you talking about? I am dealing the cards correctly." Joseph said as he continues to deal the cards. Nicole narrows her eyes wondering why Caesar was becoming hostile all the sudden. "What the hell is going on now?" She questions in slight confusion. "I said... Deal the damn cards correctly! Stop playing stupid with me idiot!" Caesar said as he grabbed Joseph by his wrist.
A few cards fell out of Joseph's sleeve. Nicole glares at Joseph and gives him an irritated expression. "Ha ha, whoops." Joseph chuckles as he plays it off as if nothing happened. Caesar releases Joseph and leans back in his chair. "Gimmicks like that won't work on me Jojo. You will have to do better than that." Caesar grins as he brags. Nicole looks at Caesar for a moment then turns to Joseph.
"You think so?" Joseph retorts, looking down and grabs Caesar by his shoe. The shoe has a small mirror on it. "Your tricks are also busted you spaghetti-brained bastard." Joseph said as he released Caesar's shoe. "You want a piece of me?!" Caesar shouts angrily. He was done with being patient; he was ready to fight again. "Bring it you arrogant piece of shit! I know you won't do a damn thing since Nicole is here!" Joseph also shouts as he was ready to fight as well. Nicole and Speedwagon only watch in annoyance.
"Fuck it..." Nicole mumbles under her breath and flips the table over. The tea cups and saucers shatter into pieces all over the floor.
"The hell, Nicole!" Joseph yells.
"Signora, being reckless could get you in harm's way!" Caesar snaps back.
"Says the one who smokes! Your smoking could have given her a damn headache!" Joseph retorts.
"This delicate flower is someone who I would never harm you impudent monkey!" Caesar yells.
"Damn it. Call me when our ride gets here, I am going to take a nap." Nicole sighs and excuses herself to the next room. The men continue to argue until Speedwagon raises his voice to stop the argument period. Nicole rested herself on the bed and let out a tired sigh. "These boys, how the hell am I going to deal with them now?" Nicole spoke to herself. She stared at the ceiling. The other room was now completely silent. "Thank you Speedwagon..." Nicole thought.
In a half hour the sounds of a car horn could be heard. Nicole had been taking a nap until Joseph opens the door. "The guy is here." Joseph said. Nicole opens her eyes and lets out a soft yawn. She sits up and moves herself off the bed. She fixes her clothes and follows Joseph out the room. "You know flipping that table was not necessary." Joseph said as he and Nicole were walking through the hotel hallway.
"When you two try to best each other, wait, no, try to see who has the bigger dick in a damn contest...it works better for me." Nicole replied. They finally met up with the others outside the hotel. "Signorina, this is a friend of mine, Mark. He will be taking us to the site where the Pillar Men are located." Caesar introduces his friend Mark who was sitting in the driver's seat of the car. He was sticking his head out the window as he had a smile on his face.
"The hell? A Nazi! What in the bloody hell is a German soldier doing here?!" Nicole questions as she was not hesitating to do something. "Relax. I will explain everything along the way." Caesar places a hand on the woman's shoulder. He now had a smile on his face. "Do not worry Miss. I am not a bad guy." Mark said.
"I trust your word, but I am not a fan of your occupation." Nicole said as Caesar leads the woman to the car. Caesar opens the door for her and Nicole gets in the middle of the back seat, between Joseph and Speedwagon. She was not comfortable dealing with a German soldier. After what Speedwagon had gone through and what Joseph had to do to get Speedwagon out of there. Caesar got into the front passenger's seat. Once everyone settled in, Mark drove off.
"The soldiers and I have been monitoring the Pillar Men's slumber." Caesar began to explain as he leans back, "They need my abilities in taking care of them. Normally, Englishmen do not have the privilege of seeing this location. Though, you can thank me for that." Caesar grins as he reaches out and ruffles Joseph's hair with his hand. "Mr. Speedwagon, we hope to cooperate with you in researching these beings." Mark says.
Nicole sits in silence as she felt the anger Joseph had building up inside. Caesar turns around to see a necklace. He opens it to see a picture of a woman. "Hey Mark. How is your girlfriend doing?" Caesar asks. Mark chuckles at the thought of the woman and grins. He was bashful as he was turning a slight shade of pink from embarrassment.
"Well...we are engaged and we'll be getting married soon!" Mark said in excitement. "Mamma mia! Congratulations!" Caesar said in excitement also as Mark was hugging the steering wheel. Mark doing this was causing the car to swerve. He had just knocked over a trash can. "Eyes on the road fool!" Joseph said. Nicole held onto Joseph as she was easily swayed by the man's reckless driving. As Mark regains his composure, the car was steady. Nicole releases Joseph and straightens herself. She lets out a sigh in annoyance.
"I was his wing-man when he first met the pretty lady. Though, hey Jojo. Do you have a girlfriend?" Caesar said as he was teasing. Joseph did not answer and only gives Caesar an angry look. "I guess not. With your attitude and behavior, you'd only date a horse." With that remark, Caesar laughs aloud in an arrogant manner. A bit tired of the smart ass behavior, Nicole places her hands on Joseph's face.
"Forgive me, but you'll understand soon enough." She says to a now confused Joseph who was looking at her. Nicole gently presses her lips against his which made Caesar stop laughing on the spot. Everyone, except Caesar, was in shock to see Nicole kissing Joseph. Nicole releases Joseph after a few moments and turns to Caesar who was now pissed off. He was not laughing nor smirking. "Now who's the damn horse, my sweet Zeppeli." Nicole taunts as she sat down with her arms crossed. Joseph could only sit in shock. Nicole had just kissed him and in front of everyone, in front of Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli.
"You will not tell Granny about this. Never." Nicole said, directing this to everyone in the car. Caesar could only sit in silence. He did not need to give Nicole the satisfaction of the attention. Joseph could not say anything as he was still in shock. His childhood friend had just kissed him.
