CHAPTER 9: Win some, lose some

A few more weeks passed and it was now January 25th, when Enzo was making his way to the location of the Carnival. He had spent nearly 2 days driving from Cleveland to Houston. He promised to himself that he'd never make another drive like that again unless he was with others to keep company.

As he pulled up into the parking lot, he was surprised to find that Cass and Carmella were already there. "A yo C!" Enzo shouted as he quickly parked his rental car. "Whatcha doin' here?" "Mercedes invited us-well me" said Carmella. "Weeks ago and I decided to bring Will along. What are you doing here?"

Enzo turned off the engine and exited the car. "Uh I'm goin' explorin' like uh…Dora." He pressed the button to the keys to make sure that the car was locked. Carmella laughed. "Come on Eric now that was the worst lie you've ever made up. No seriously what are you doing here? You know Alexis and them are here and she hates your guts."

"He isn't here to see her" said Cass. "Well then who's he here to see?" Carmella asked. "Alright" said Enzo. "I'll tell ya the truth. I'm here to see Mercedes." "Why would you wanna see her?" Carmella asked. "She invited me" said Enzo. "She invited you?" Carmella said as her eyes widened in surprise and it was at that moment did she noticed that Enzo was holding a bouquet of red and pink roses.

"Oh my GOD!" she squealed. "You like her?" "Yeah somethin' like that" Enzo sheepishly said as he rubbed the back of his head. "But what about Mandy?" asked Carmella. "He'll deal with her later" said Cass. "I'm just surprised" said Carmella. "When did this happen?" "The elevator" Enzo and Cass said at the same time.

"Oh my Gosh that's so sweet. Man have I missed a lot" said Carmella. "Yeah you certainly did" said Enzo. "So what's your plan?" asked Carmella. "I don't needa plan" said Enzo. "My charm is always foolproof." "Yeah but Mercedes is a different girl" said Carmella. "And not all women are the same." "Eh…" Enzo trailed off. "I'm serious Eric" said Carmella. "If you want her, you're gonna have to tone it down…a lot." "Been said that" said Cass.

"You guys? Have my charismatic ways ever failed me?" Enzo asked. "Actually…yeah" said Carmella. "But not in the beginning" Enzo said. "Yeah but the point of what I'm trying to tell you is that don't you want something more…permanent?" asked Carmella. "Oh Leah you know he does" said Cass. "He's just not gonna admit it because you know…he's got commitment issues."

"Hey I'm workin' through 'em!" Enzo said. "Anyways I happen to think that you two would look cute together" said Carmella. "You two would definitely balance each other out. I ship it." "Ship what?" asked Enzo. "Never mind" Carmella chuckled. "Let's go on in. I'm ready to try to see what kind of cool stuff I could win." As the two made their way up to the ticket counter, Alexa noticed that Enzo was there.

"Who invited you?" she asked. But before Enzo could answer, Carmella stepped in. "I did" she said. "I wanted them both to come along with me for the fun." "Mercedes didn't spent the last year saving up to rent this whole place out just to have an idiot show up and ruin it" said Alexa. "Lay off me Alexis" Enzo said. "You don't own the carnival."

"Speaking of who technically owns the place tonight…" said Cass. "Have you happened to know where she's at?" "Mercedes could be anywhere" said Alexa. "I'm just glad your idiotic friend here isn't invited to her birthday party tomorrow." "Birthday party?" Enzo asked. "There's a birthday party for Mercedes tomorrow?" "Well it is her 25th birthday stupid" said Alexa as she walked away. "By the way Eric, nice letterman jacket. Too bad it looks dusty as hell…but it suits you."

Enzo remained quiet as he rolled his eyes. "What's the matter Eric?" Carmella asked. "Didn't you know it was her birthday tomorrow?" "Yeah well of course I do" said Enzo. "It's just that…I didn't know she was gonna have a party." "So then I suggest you find her then and ask her for an invite" said Carmella. "Yeah man" said Cass. "It shouldn't be too hard. This place isn't that big." "Meet up later?" Enzo asked. "Of course" said Cass. "Go get her tiger!" Carmella teased.

Enzo walked off and began his search for Sasha all while maintaining a sense of nervousness but excitement at the same time. After about 15 minutes, he finally found Sasha but what he saw left him with a feeling of dread. She was talking to Finn and based off of what he saw, he knew that there was something going on between the two.

"Forget it" he said solemnly. "What a waste of time." He threw the flowers down onto the ground and he walked away as fast as he could in search of his friends.

"Hmm this tastes so good" Carmella said. "I haven't had cotton candy in ages." "Well a sweet woman like you deserves something sweet to have" Cass said as he continued to feed her the pink candy. "Hey-em-Eric" Carmella said with a mouthful. "How'd it go?"

"Shitty as fuck" Enzo grumbled. "My guy you look hella down. What happened?" Cass asked. "She's fucking taken man" Enzo said as he sat down beside them. "What do you mean she's taken?" Carmella asked. "Since when!?" "Since now" said Enzo. "She's busy with Fergal." "No flippin' way" said Carmella. "Surely you're mistaken." "Leah, my eyes ain't neva lied to me" said Enzo. "And by the looks of it, those too are more than just close."

Cass shook his head. "I'm sorry man I really am." "So am I" said Enzo. "Now you know you're not the type to give up Eric" said Carmella. "You have way too many exes/flings to attest for that." "Yeah" said Cass. "Claudia, Jasmine, Tatianna, Keisha, Chloe-"

"Ok, ok I get your point" Enzo interrupted. "No need for me to be reminded of my horrid past." "If you want her then go get her" said Carmella. "There's still a chance. I have a feeling if what you say is true, then it has to be in the beginning stages." "Really how do ya know?" Enzo asked. "Because Mercedes isn't the type of girl who would just dive into something" said Carmella. "She likes to take her time getting to know them. She'll date them for months before she allows it to become official-key word: allow."

"You like this girl way too much to give up on her" said Cass. "I'm just worried that you're just using this as a way to get away from Mandy instead of dealing with her the right way" said Carmella. "That's all." "Well I'm not using her" said Enzo. "I'm done with livin' like that."

"If you like her than you're gonna have to end things with Mandy the proper way before you get with Mercedes" said Carmella. "That way you don't start this relationship or any at that with baggage. This way you can ensure yourself that you won't be putting yourself in the pain that you've done to yourself so many times before." Enzo nodded at his words as he stroked his beard. "This will be quite the challenge."

"Thank God you're the type to love them" said Cass. "Just go find her" said Carmella. "Go talk to her." "Have you seen her best friend?" Enzo asked. "Oh about 5 feet tall? Blonde and she really hates me?" "You've never let anything stopped you before man" said Cass. "Not even when you got chased out of that girl's house half naked by her father." Cass started laughing.

"Wait huh?" Carmella. "I'll tell you the story" said Cass. "So I bet this kid right over here $300 that he couldn't fuck our classmate with her parents downstairs and one not to ever turn down these things, Eric sneaks into the broad's house in the middle of a fucking blizzard to do her but of course, her father finds out and he chased Eric outta the house with a shotgun and he's wearin' nothin' and I mean NOTHIN' but boxers."

"True story" Enzo said. "That's one of the reasons why they call me New Jersey's finest." "How old were you guys again?" Carmella asked. "17" said Cass. "We was just 4 months away from graduating high school."

"It was the funniest shit I've ever did at that age" Enzo laughed. "Well…one of 'em." "Ok, enough reminiscing you two" Carmella chuckled. "Eric's gotta go find his next girl." Enzo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his iPhone to begin texting Sasha to meet him by the Ferris wheel and luckily for him, she agreed to.

Meanwhile, Sasha was standing by the gates engaging in a conversation with Finn. "So you sure want extra sauce on your chili fries?" he asked. "Yes dear" said Sasha. "And please take your time. We'll be here all night…well actually at least for another hour. I wanna ring in my 25th birthday at the hotel and stuff."

Finn smiled as he walked away and as he did, Enzo decided waited for the right moment to approach her. For a moment he thought about his friends advice to tone it down, but he decided that he much rather to continue to live by his no risk, no reward motto. After all, he saw no need to alter his ways since it always paid off for him, one or another.

"Yo Mercedes Benz how ya doin'?" Sasha looked up from her iPhone and chuckled. "What are you white chocolate or something?" she teased. "Nah this is me" said Enzo. "100% of the time." "How cute" Sasha said. "Oh so you think I'm cute?" Enzo said. "You're putting words in my mouth now?" Sasha teased. "I mean if that's what you want" Enzo said.

"What is that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sasha asked. "Let's take a walk" said Enzo. "I won't take long." The two walked over to another set of picnic tables and took a seat across from each other. "So seriously what's up?" Sasha asked. "Nothin'" said Enzo. "I just really wanted to talk to the birthday girl that's all."

"How sweet of you" said Sasha. "But my birthday technically isn't for another 3 hours." "I know but I just thought I'd get a head start" said Enzo. Sasha smiled as she put her phone down. The two quickly found the other quietly gazing into each other's eyes. "Goddamn she's so beautiful" Enzo thought. "Hmm why does he keep staring at me like this?" Sasha thought. "It's kind of making me nervous…and uncomfortable…I mean shit…I don't know." As Enzo continued his gaze, he noticed that Sasha was beginning to shiver.

"You're cold" he said. "No I'm fine" said Sasha. "Believe me I am." "No you're not" Enzo said as he stood up. "Here." He removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "Thank you" Sasha said. "You didn't have to do that." "I wanted to" said Enzo as he took a seat next to her. "I don't like seeing you freeze." "It's really sweet of you" Sasha. "Really it was."

"Hey uh Sash can I ask ya somethin'?" Enzo asked. Sasha nodded. "So uh what's the deal between you and Devitt?" Enzo asked. "What do you mean?" Sasha asked. Enzo shrugged. "Well I think he's a great guy" said Sasha. "It's not official yet." "What do you mean?" Enzo asked. Sasha laughed. "It's not official yet Mr. Journalist. I'm just having a good time because well I'm young and I can do so….why?"

"I'm just askin' for a friend" Enzo lied. "Ya know?" "No I don't" said Sasha. "But you can tell your friend that I'm not interested because I already have my mind set on someone else." Enzo instantly became disappointed at her words but he remembered that since she wasn't officially dating Finn, that there was still the possibility of having a chance with Sasha and he was willing to take any chance he had.

"I like this jacket of yours" she said. "It is nice and warm. Where'd you get this from again?" "It was my football jacket" said Enzo. "From college." "Oh yeah" said Sasha. "I forgot that you used to be a player." "Well I hate to break it to ya baby but uh…I'm still one" Enzo said. "What did I tell you about calling me baby?" Sasha said as she playfully shoved his arm.

"Sorry I can't help it" said Enzo. "You can't help it or you choose not to help it?" Sasha asked. "Which one is it?" "Eh I'm not really sure" said Enzo. "It could be either or it could be both." He playfully tapped her nose causing her to giggle.

"Ok Eric why are you being extra nice to me?" she asked. "You definitely want something from me." "Ohhh you got that right" Enzo said enthusiastically. "I wanna know somethin'."

"What exactly is it that you want from me then?" Sasha asked. "So I am gonna be invited to the party or what?" Enzo asked. Sasha's smile immediately dwindled. "No Eric" she said. "What do you mean no?" Enzo asked.

Sasha let out a brief sigh. "Alexis will be there and I sort of don't want any drama on my birthday" she said. "It's nothing personal to you Eric, it's just that my birthday is usually the one day I have off if I'm not taping a show or doing an event." She placed her hand on his wrist. "I'm sorry Eric." "No" Enzo said disappointingly. "Don't be."

Finn spotted the two over at the bench and approached them "Sorry I took so long Mercedes" he said. "The staff members really ought to be reported. They took their time and it's just unprofessional when there's still people here giving them business." "No it's alright" said Sasha. "Eric man what's up?" Finn asked. "Will we be seeing him tomorrow in Corpus Christi for the big shebang?" But just as Enzo was getting ready to answer, Sasha chimed in.

"Actually no Fergal. He'll be busy." "That's a bummer man because I heard it was going to be a blast" Finn said as he put his arm around Sasha. "Not that I'm allowed to give away any details."

"Yeah it's quite too bad I can't make it at all" Enzo said flatly. Sasha removed Enzo's jacket. "Here you go" she said. "No you keep it" Enzo said. "You need it more than me." "Ar-are you sure?" Sasha asked. "Positive" Enzo said. As Sasha stood up, she placed the Letterman onto the blue wooden table before him. "I didn't earn it" she said softly. "You did."

With that, Enzo watched as Sasha and Finn walked away and it was in that moment he became determined more than ever to figure out a way to get into the party.

"But how?" he thought. "There's gotta be a way. There just has to be."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and let me know what you think…

~Emerald loves Sapphire~