"Let's take a walk and get some fresh air. When we're feeling up to it, we'll come back in and dance."

Standing, he dropped some cash on the table and led his wife outside, where the sun had set and the stars had begun to appear overhead. They walked quietly for a while, first looking back to where the ship had been before they walked the long deck to the bow. Inside, it was easy to forget one was on a ship at all, but outside with the sea air blowing through your face and the water sliding past, it was impossible to forget. They rested their forearms against the rail, looking forward as the ship steamed east toward Europe. Sliding his jacket around Bella's shoulders, Gavin grinned.

"I think I had ancestors on the sea. Fishermen. Maybe a pirate or two. I dunno, it just feels right."

He shrugged.

"Maybe I could find out someday. Trace my parents' family back."

Bella snuggled down into Gavin’s coat, pulling it tight around herself.  The sea air was cool and refreshing and out here she could see how fast they really were moving.  She liked that part best of all.

“I can imagine your ancestors out on the sea, drinking and singing sea chanties.  Coming home with a boat load of seafood, to houses full of kids and a lovely wife.  Boring most days maybe, but full of unexpected surprises from a merciless sea.”

She glanced over to him, “The Luciano family was fishermen.  I can’t imagine living a life where you’d be gone on the sea for long stretches. Our life suits me fine ... but maybe we could buy a boat to live on when you’re ready to retire?  You could live out that pirate fantasy of yours until the end.  I’ll be your salty sea beer wench.”

She chuckled and then listened to the sea a while.

Gavin pushed back against the rail as they headed inside together.

"Pirate fantasy? More like a retirement plan. Shit, we could probably take this one, except it'd be too much of a pain in the ass to keep the crew in line. So, some dancing? Drinks?"

"How about we find some gambling and save our energy for other endeavors later?"  She smirked.  "Didn't you say the flyer indicated they had gambling here?  Well... I say you and I go give these children a run for their money.  Maybe make a friend or two at the tables or just shamelessly flirt with each other from across a poker table like the old days ... you know... a few months ago before life got nuts."

She chuckled and squeezed Gavin's arm.

"When we run out of money or double what we bring to the table, we call it a night?  Then, either we fall asleep in our big comfy bed from exhaustion and have a lovely early morning romp... or ... if you're feeling adventurous, Captain Byrne, maybe we find some dark corner of this vessel for you to brazenly claim me in.  As I recall from the Sun Life Building you are a man who seems inspired by interesting locations."

She laughed.

"Besides... how good of gamblers could there really be on this tourist's vessel?  Hell, maybe I'll even win a few hands and I'm a terrible gambler!"

Gavin raised an eyebrow.

"From what I've heard, a lot of the best gamblers in the world spend their time on ships like this. Rich tourists can be easy pickings. You might run into some real pros... fortunately, I've only met a handful of men... and one woman... who are just flat out better than me at poker. Let's just hope none of them are on this particular boat..."

He grinned.

"I like my odds. With the poker and... how'd you put it? Brazenly claiming?"

A devilish smirk grew on her face, "Very brazenly even.  Whereever you like." 

Then she said near his ear in a conspiratorial whisper, "However, you like."

Bella chuckled and squeezed his arm and rested her head on him as they walked.  "When we get off this boat, Gavin Byrne, I intend to have you thinking yourself the luckiest man alive... or maybe running for a lawyer hoping for the mercy of divorce.  Which path you take solely depends upon your creativity and stamina."

She laughed loud enough to be heard some distance away.

"How much money should we go in risking?  How BOLD are you feeling tonight?  I mean... if you like your odds maybe we should set a big number.  Imagine the fun cashing out will be when you win all that money and take me back to our room."

"Of course, perhaps you're just bragging?  Men do talk a very big talk at times ... and this time you won't have me to stab a man at the tables to bail you out if we can't tip the odds in our favor by distracting these alleged professional gamblers."  She stuck her tongue out playfully at him.  "Seriously though, if you think they might be good, maybe we shouldn't go too overboard on our first night at the tables.  I strongly suspect you're going to want to do this more than once after all." 

"This doesn't seem like the sort of crowd where we'd end up stabbing someone. Unless some other guys get a little too friendly with you; you've been catching looks all night."

As they returned inside, Gavin deftly slipped his jacket off her shoulders and back on.

"And please, how many years have you known me now? I've been able to back up everything I've ever said..."

He grinned as the walked into a large room; there were several round tables where card games were taking place- a couple had stacks of bills on the table and Gavin was drawn toward the largest pile like a moth to a flame.

"... well, mostly."

The buy in at this particularly table was steep: 25 grand. Grinning, Gavin called the official overseeing the games, mentioned his name, and showed his I.D. After checking his book, the man handed Gavin and Bella a stack of chips each. As they moved toward their seats, Gavin winked at his wife.

"Good luck."

There were few things in the world that felt so comfortable to Bella than this.  It wasn't that she was great at poker or even loved the game or the money she won.  It was, in truth, watching Gavin in his element.  As confident as if he was hunting a man, as ruthless at times as if committing murder, and as smooth as he ever was at seduction -- and the whole tale told with the smallest changes of his facial expressions.  

He was incredible how he hid his emotions from the world but under the table, his foot found hers and would occasionally stroke her leg to remind her that his stone face did not actually reflect his true mental state.  Of course, in recent years she'd begun to find his tells ... the irony was, the more she learned about Gavin, the less it seemed to matter even in a moment like this.  She didn't need to win.  She'd won already in every way that mattered.

Thus it was that Bella was out of chips first.  Gavin tried to buy her back in but she refused, insisting she wanted merely to watch and she did.  Drinks kept coming and Gavin, as he normally did, slowly wore his opponents down by outlasting them at the table.  More than once he was so far down after a major loss that Bella thought it was done for sure... and then he'd come crawling back.  

Nearing ten o'clock Bella whispered, "I need to visit the powder room, I'll be right back."  And with that, she wandered off disappearing into the bathroom behind a busty platinum blonde who was wearing impossibly high heels. 

After what seemed like a long trip to the restroom, Bella and the blonde returned to the room chatting with one another.  Both were smiling brightly and seemingly had found something very funny to pass the time talking about before parting ways.  Bella returning to Gavin and the platinum blonde finding her place beside an older, beer-bellied, man in a cowboy hat.  

It was almost midnight when, with only two other men left at the table, Gavin's luck hit an all-time high ... a royal flush.  This table ended the night to the applause of several who had taken to watching the men play.  Even the gentleman that had lost to Gavin had a hard time being annoyed at seeing such a hand revealed.  As the cowboy, who turned out to be a true Texan stated, "You see those rare enough, but to have it come up here at the end... why hell, son, seeing you play that was worth the price to get in the damn door!"

Bella said goodnight to the blonde, whose name turned out to be Faith as if they'd been friends for years - even hugging at the door as she went separate ways from everyone else, including the Texan.

"Well, that was... fun."  She said smirking.  "I've never seen anyone get a Royal Flush before.  That was pretty damn impressive, Captain Wolf."  

When Gavin gave her a look she explained, "Well when we retire we'll need good aliases.  I figure we can take the last name Wolf.  You'll be Captain Wolf of course... owner and master of a grand vessel yet to be named but we'll figure that out.  We've got years yet."

Poker was a game of skill, but it was also a game of will, and Gavin grew more cheerful as the other men seemed to tire. It wasn't his greatest night ever; a good player could win with few good cards, but no one could repeatedly win with nothing. Fortunately, he hung around long enough for his luck to turn. 

Even Gavin gave some sign when his Royal Flush hit, glancing at Bella and giving her a look that said "watch this". As he collected his chips, Gavin winked at the group.

"Shit, that was lucky. And it was impressive, but that didn't have anything to do with me, other than suckering them in a bit more. Seems like you made a friend, though. Could be good, considering we've got another three days on board after tonight."

He grinned.

"What can I say? I'm just happy to get lucky tonight."

Lucky.

Gavin was lucky alright.  In dark corner, some distance from their room and later in the middle of the night when he woke for a glass of water he returned to his bed to find his wife half-way through a bit of luck and the two finished their luck together.

It was a lucky night, indeed - followed by a lucky next day for Gavin as well... 

Bella slept late into the morning skipping out on her normally early wake-up time which she kept to make sure the Godfather had all she needed on information from the previous night, getting her daughter off to school, and her other routines.  By the time Gavin and she came out dressed for activities, they really only ate a very light brunch knowing there would be a massive amount of food to be enjoyed later.

After a stroll around the boat the two found their way to the parlor games which Bella had described to Gavin the previous day.  Charades was the game and couples teamed up against each other. 

Faith Bacon and her friend, Bill Farmer - the Texan, were there.  It came out to Gavin that the two weren't a couple but were both single and getting to know each other.  The Texan, however, was very obviously taken with Faith's appearance - as was every man around her.  She was an exceptional beauty who moved with the grace of a dancer.  She laughed easily and made others laugh too which matched her boisterous and loud companion completely.

A Jewish couple, Ariel and Abram Federov, from New York were there on their honeymoon as well.  The husband was Russian if Bella wasn't mistaken, but his wife had the look of the Mediterranean about her... perhaps that was why they were on the trip?  They were a bit more serious and didn't talk quite so much.  Both had strong accents and it eventually came out they were first-generation immigrants with ties to the Canadian steel industry. 

And there was a Chicago businessman named Simon was there with his wife Tina Bentley who were celebrating 10th anniversary.  The businessman was a short man with wavy hair and glasses who played aggressively but had a good spirit about him.  His wife, however, had all the real talent for the game and helped them win soundly.

Bella had no problems being social with all of the other couples but it was Faith that Bella seemed to spend most of her time chatting with.  Perhaps because it was easy to be friendly with another friendly person?  But the longer the day went on, going from one parlor game to another working towards dinner, and the tipsier they became from afternoon beverages - the more physical the two were becoming.  Gavin watched as Bella and she laughed and touched on no less than a dozen separate occasions, sitting so near to each other they were nearly embracing.  The familiarity was too much to be a coincidence.  Then... he caught it.  

The whole group was laughing over a very humorous failed attempt on the part of Ariel to get Abram to guess that she was playing out the children's song title of Rock-a-Bye Baby when Faith elbowed Bella and doubled over with laughter said, "Just like Amber!"  And the two laughed harder at a shared joke about a person they both seemed to know.

Clearly... Bella knew Faith long before meeting in the powder room last night.

It wasn't long after that, on a trip to the men's room, that Gavin caught a small bit of a conversation between two men talking in hushed tones just outside the parlor.

"Faith Bacon?  The dancer?"

"It's her.  I'm sure of it.  I saw her in Chicago a few years ago doing that fan dance of hers!"

"Wow.  If she's performing, count me in."

"Don't think so.  I think she's a guest."

"Damn."

The men's discussion slowly went away from the sexy blonde and on to other less interesting things and so Gavin rejoined Bella in thanking the other couples for a pleasant few hours.  Promises were made to see one another tonight at dinner - maybe they'd sit near one another!

Bella was in high spirits as the two went back out onto the deck to take another walk before going to get ready for supper.  "I hope the parlor games didn't drive you too batty?  You seemed to be having a bit of fun with them.  I caught you smiling and laughing a few times at least."

Gavin felt more relaxed on the ship than he had in a long time- perhaps more relaxed than he ever had been in life. Perhaps it was the salt air... but, more likely it was simply the fact that he had nothing he had to do. The burdens of being an enforcer, a don, and a father were responsibilities that he had enthusiastically embraced for both his families... but it was nevertheless a breath of fresh air to have them lifted from his shoulders.

They were with a strange, but fun, group of people. Faith had certainly made an impression; she was hard to miss, and Gavin enjoyed speaking to her poker playing companion, who knew the game well. The Federovs and Bentleys, celebrating a wedding and anniversary, seemed to be quiet, but friendly on the whole. There were others they saw joining up for occasional activities, but the eight of them seemed to have formed a small cohort.

Gavin had had far more to drink than usual at this point in the day- well, at least at this stage in his life- and he found himself downing another glass of wine when he caught Bella and Faith out of the corner of his eye. Bella... Faith... he'd talked about her making a new friend, but apparently she was an old one. Prior to when Gavin had known her, and he didn't recall seeing her name in connection with Detroit... a friend from school, perhaps?

Gavin felt pleasantly lightheaded as he walked with Bella before supper, glancing out at the waves.

"I'm having fun. It's not my usual scene... but who knows... it's sort of freeing. No one here knows who I am, unlike you."

He grinned.

"Faith a friend from that boarding school of yours? Or did you work together in your early years?"

"Figured that out did you?"  She looped her arm around his. 

"Frances is a friend of mine and Ellie's from back in the day.  She used to be my roommate at school for my last couple of years.  She's the one responsible for my 'hot rod' nickname, actually and the stories she could tell you about my young antics would probably ruin your good opinion of your wife forever."

Bella, chuckled and color rose in her cheeks.

"Well, these days she goes by her stage name.  See that's how we reconnected.  Right after I moved to Philly, when Joe Ligambi took over as Godfather in Vegas?  Well, I went looking for a burlesque dancer to hire for his party and I got a list sent to me with photos and there Faith Bacon or Frances Bacon as I knew her, was smiling back at me clad only in feathers."

She hugs Gavin's arm a little tighter.  "Of course I didn't hire her to dance for Ligambi but I did call her and we had lunch in Chicago where she's living and working most of the time.  Turns out after she left school she traveled for a while.  She went to Paris and there she saw the burlesque shows they're so famous for and she just had to try it.  She's always been sort of crazy and impulsive... but this, it thrilled her.  She told me all about how much money she was pulling in and she just knew she'd never find anything in all the world that would make her as happy as dancing did.  So... she became a burlesque dancer and, if what she says is true, she's one of the best-paid dance hall girls in the world right now."

"I, of course, am not surprised.  She's gorgeous and smart ... hell, not every girl can grow up to be a mobster so, I wish her the best.  In fact, I'm doing more than that - I'm funding her next project."

Gavin nodded; he wasn't far off with his guess. He hadn't picked up on anything that first evening- perhaps his focus was too much on the game- but it'd been clear today that there was something there. Unless they'd had a chance to make a friend named Amber on the cruise when he wasn't looking, but that didn't seem too likely.

"Oh? I highly doubt anything you did in school could scandalize me more than my first couple years traveling with Tara and setting up in Philly. I'm lucky I didn't get shot. When I was on duty, I was shaking down, roughing up, or taking out guys who often had guns... and when I was off duty, I was dodging fathers, husbands, brothers..."

He grinned.

"If you'd told me then I'd be married, I'd have been shocked. In fact, I would've been shocked if you told me I was still alive at this point..."

Gavin chuckled, waving off the past with his hand.

"So what's this project of hers you're funding?"

Bella stops, pulls Gavin gently out of the way of other passersby, and turns towards him.  "Faith and I were very close when we were younger.  There's... not much we haven't shared... so, I've paid for her to go on board a cruise ship sailing for Sicily."  

Bella doesn't even try to contain her smirk or the devilish look in her eyes as she continues, "Where she's hoping to give a private performance for a wealthy married couple - who I have it on good authority might really enjoy her artistic talents?"

Her heart racing so fast she was nearly trembling, eagerly watching for Gavin's reaction so she could either back peddle or just enjoy his pleasure, shock or whatever else he might be feeling upon hearing that his wife had arranged for another woman to join them in their bedroom.  

"I gave her an extra key to the couple's room so that she could be waiting for them one night when they come back to sleep, so that it's something of a surprise for both of them.  Two chairs will be set in the middle of the room when they enter and once they sit down the show will begin..."

"She's is hoping that once she shows off her talents that maybe the couple will consider investing in a Cabaret Theater in the vein of the Moulin Rouge of Paris?"  She arches an eyebrow, "The sort of place where very highly trained courtesans perform nightly both on a public stage and behind closed doors to the very wealthy men AND women of the world.  She thinks maybe such a place could be opened out in Las Vegas.  Their laws are somewhat more progressive than in other areas of the country.  Of course, she couldn't possibly ask the couple to invest without demonstrating the very skills that she'll be using and teaching other women how to use in the business so... that was my plan."

"Unless..."  she said timidly, worried Gavin might be upset.  "You think I've gone too far?  Maybe you think a demonstration isn't necessary and she could get the funding for her theatre without it?  Have I gone too far?"  She arches an eyebrow hesitating, almost holding her breath waiting for her husband's reaction.

Gavin raised an eyebrow; Bella could tell he was surprised, which was a rarity considering his poker face. As was his way, he grew quiet, turning the situation over in his mind. Gavin had been a serial philanderer once, but he'd renounced other women for better. It had been difficult for him to do so, but it'd been over half a decade since then. In the years since, while obviously appreciating the beauty of some of the women who crossed his path, he'd not pursued another woman outside of what his missions had required since that night in Chicago with Bella.

"the stories she could tell you about my young antics would probably ruin your good opinion of your wife forever"

"there's... not much we haven't shared"

Gavin retracted his eyebrow before it hit the stratosphere and grinned at his wife.

"Well, you can definitely still surprise me. I suppose my answer would be entirely dependent on your motivations. If you thought that this was something you had to do to shake things up, then I'd tell you we didn't have to do this. But if you were excited about this? Turned on? Well... then who am I to deny funding for the arts?

Bella stepped into Gavin and kissed him slowly and purposefully for a long while before pulling back to look into his eyes, "Excitement - yes.  Have to... no.  I know I don't have to, but I wanted to.  I thought it might be fun to share the experience ... so long as you don't get the idea that it's okay to have other adventures without me being involved."

She caressed his cheek with her fingertips - her eyes predatory, "You're my Wolf and maybe I want to brag about that with more than words at least once in my life - to know someone absolutely gets why I smile every morning I wake to find you in my bed.  But like this cruise, it's not something I want to do all the time... but maybe on special and rare occasions, it's okay to be a little bold and show off?"

She kissed Gavin again, this time shorter due to her inability to contain her chuckle, "But you have to promise your feelings won't be hurt if she focuses a little more one me than you."  

She gives a very quick glance downward.  "Are you going to be able to walk back to our room to change for dinner... or should we stand here a while so you don't cause some old woman to faint?"

Bella continues to nervously chuckle.  "I'm so glad you're not upset."

"But you have to promise your feelings won't be hurt if she focuses a little more one me than you." 

"Challenge accepted. Is it safe to go back and change for dinner?"

"She won't be there yet, we set a few guidelines since surprising us too much would be hazardous to her health.  If we come into the room before the dinner hour is done and find something odd -- don't assume it's her.  Protect yourself for God's sake."  She chuckled.

"But when we come back at any point after dinner it's entirely possible bubbles, flowers, feathers, or fans might be there to greet us..."  She took hold of her husband's arm.  "She absolutely was delighted last night when I told her our news from New York.  She has no want to be a mother, but she knew I always wanted a family.  The last time we spoke I, of course, told her what we all believed ... she's very happy for us."

Bella sighs as they begin to walk.

"There was a whole group of us that used to spend time together in LA, skipping class, smoking, drinking, and stealing cars."  She shook her head.  "We were like a gang of bad girls... honestly so many things could have gone wrong back then.  We're lucky we didn't end up dead from our sheer ignorance of how things really are.  But most of us were angry with our families, lonely, and ... starved for attention.  So, we did things to get attention and to pass the time.  And at night, when we were alone, well ... we were all each other had."

"When I told her about Mattie taking my virginity and then sleeping with my supposed best friend... good Faith wanted to gut him like a fish.  It was good he was on the other side of the country from her.  Faith has a heart of gold ... she's a true artist.  Despite what my invitation to her on this trip might look like, I do think highly of her skill.  I saw her perform and I was stunned.  I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it all is.  She has this way of looking so beautiful, sexy really, and she shows nothing more than I do in a swimsuit.  You'll see what I mean though..."

She shook her head.

"This started out with her giving me a lesson or two in how to do it... but honestly, I felt a clumsy ox next to her talents.  I knew that if I was going to be good enough at it to make it worthwhile, well, I was going to need to practice more than I had time for.  So... I asked her if she'd dance for you.  She refused and said she'd only dance if she could dance for both of us and then she told me about her cabaret idea.  Well... that did it of course."

Bella blushed, lowered her voice and said, "I'll tell you this out of a desire to see you smirk and to be forthright with you. I had to turn her down for a private performance of my own the day I had my first and only lesson too.  I thought you wouldn't have minded so much having her and I ... reunite .... for old time's sake if you were there; but without you, it felt wrong.  Still, I'll let you have that little tidbit to stew on because... well, I can't say it wasn't flattering after all these years."

She laughed.

Gavin rarely laughed loudly, but he barked a laugh when Bella mentioned how surprises could be hazardous to her health. Good point.

"Sounds like your 'gang' in school forged some close friendships. Among other things. And you've told me about a lot of people, but 'Mattie' isn't one of them, actually. I'm glad you didn't do anything just the two of you, for what its worth."

He winked.

"I promise not to steal her away from you."

She rolled her eyes.  "I don't understand that lifestyle really.  Stella... Faith... it's a brave new world and maybe I'm just too old fashioned for it?  But, she is dear to me.  And I HAVE mentioned Mattie to you before.  The asshole in the church... the one I shot and put in a trunk?  Do you not remember the story I told you on the beach in Jamaica when we talked about first times?"

She shook her head, "It's okay you don't remember, honestly, I wish I didn't either and it was MY first time."  She stuck out her tongue.

"Clearly my tastes in men got better with age."  She gave his arm a squeeze and went inside the suite to change.

She spoke as she pulled off her clothing, "Did I ever tell you that the Ivory Tower's first Don took a cruise like this to Sicily with the man who became her husband... Frank DiCaprio?  The story was a hoot to read.  Hell, it was something like one of those dime store romance novels.  Two people together who were attracted to each other, uanble to be together and yet, forced to travel in the same small cabin on board a ship.  Hell, their vessel even ran into a cyclone of all things!  Glad I'm not in her shoes in more ways than one - but I can't help but reflect on the things she said about their trip now that we're on ours."

She pulled on a red dress, this one more shameless than any other one she'd worn before ... this one wasn't an evening gown so much as it was one of those more modern cocktail dresses.  It showed off a remarkable amount of legs and despite being a short woman, it made her feel as though she had something to show off especially once she put on her heels.

"Speaking of, I've... um... got a few places I hope to pop by in Sicily while we're there.  Nothing really business related so much as personal really.  Respects I'd like to pay and a friend I need to check in on if you don't mind?"