South Mountain Pack Ch. 09

"Hey, I do NOT have a fat ass. My ass is perfect...just like the rest of me. The rest of you are jealous of this finely sculpted physique and my devastating good looks," replied Damian as he moved into a classic bodybuilder pose displaying his eight-pack and his toned and ripped arms and legs. He held the pose for several moments before he broke out in laughter as he was pelted by everyone's shirts.

"Said the man with an identical twin and identical brothers and cousins," said Anthony as he punched Damian in the arm.

"I hope your Dad has a good health insurance plan to get Damian some therapy to help with his low self esteem problem," said Alberto as he laughed.

Damian smirked at Anthony and Alberto thinking of the perfect payback, now he just had to figure out the right time to do it...

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to Frank and Rose's house. The main section of the farmhouse was built in 1859 and when Frank and Rose bought it, it was in danger of collapsing. They gutted the interior, leaving only the external walls and added onto the house as their family grew. The main floor consisted of formal living room, dining room, Frank's study, Rose's study, family room and a large gourmet kitchen. When the garage was built it was connected to the house with a mud room and the youngsters entered the house through there and knew to take their shoes off before Rose hollered at them. The garage contained sporting equipment, two extra refrigerators and three large deep freezes.

The house also had a metal barn divided into two sections. The back section was filled with two 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS muscle cars that Frank and Joe were restoring when they wanted to get away from their mates and youngsters. That part of the garage was strictly off limits to everyone unless they were invited in. The front part of the barn was basically a storage shed and held lawn equipment & tools.

As the boys entered the house, laughter could be heard from the kitchen and they hurriedly made their way towards those sounds as well as the smells of food. Ant went to Sophia and pulled her into his side scenting her neck while Alberto sat down next to Maria whispering to her as he scented her neck, "I missed you Gattina. I would have much rather come here and been with you then your family."

She blushed as she scented his neck, saying shyly, "I think I like you all sweaty, it's very manly and you smell great Leone."

"Leone? Why are you calling me lion?" asked Alberto as he tilted his head so Maria could scent him deeper.

"Well, you call me kitten and Gatto wouldn't fit you because of your size, so I picked lion," she whispered leaning back to look in his eyes, worry evident in hers. "Don't you like it?"

"I love it. So we are the lion and kitten? That's way better then Ant and Sophia, they are lug nut and peanut," Alberto said as he started to laugh then he looked into her eyes and said quietly, "Gattina, you make me so happy you have no idea."

Maria leaned in and whispered so quietly he barely heard her, "I bet in three years I'll be able to make you even happier." With that statement she got up and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder she smiled shyly at him before tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Alberto sat there with his mouth hanging open unable to form a coherent thought as he watched his intended move around the kitchen talking to her Mom, Sophia and Aunt. She continued to glance at him, staring right into his eyes before shyly looking away. 'Son of a bitch, Damian was right. She is flirting with me and doing a damn good job of it,' he thought unable to tear his eyes away from her.

Anthony came over and sat beside him saying quietly, "They are both going to drive us insane, but in a good way. Did Maria say anything more about us double dating?"

"Huh?" said Alberto just now realizing Anthony was sitting next to him and was talking to him. He continued to stare at his intended as she moved around the kitchen, getting plates out of the cupboard and the silverware caddy off the counter placing them on the breakfast bar. "Oh, yeah Friday night I have to work until 8 but if you could bring her to the Pizza Parlor we could get something to eat there then go bowling. That sound okay?"

"Sounds good, I'll make the arrangements with the guys. I'll borrow Mom's SUV so we can all ride there together and then you can take her group home," said Anthony without taking his eyes off Sophia. Without even realizing it, he was smiling as he watched her get pitchers of sweet tea out of the fridge.

"Brunch is served," said Rose with a smile. The boys loaded their plates with bacon, pancakes, Eggs Benedict, sausage and hash browns before sitting at the oversized kitchen table. Anthony and Alberto stepped to the back of the line motioning for their intendeds to join them. After getting their plates, they went outside on the patio sitting at one of the outdoor tables, grateful for the semi-privacy it provided. They were in full view of the Carlucci's, but with the security windows what was said between the two couples remained private.

Joe looked at the two couples who were laughing and talking and said to Frank, "Our girls look happy. I'm pleased with Luna's choice of mate for my daughter, even if he is almost three times her size. Every time I see the two of them together I have to laugh because they look ridiculous, but I can see he treats her with respect and adores her."

"Anthony was a good choice for Sophia. I can't say I was thrilled when it happened but I can see how much he loves her and I know he will keep her safe. I also know that little hellion will keep him safe too, did you see how the girls went after Carlo this morning?" Frank asked with a smile on his face.

"Talking about Carlo, when are we going to get the families together to discuss his proposal? We need to tell the youngsters they can't be together starting Friday at 5 PM. We should let Anthony and Alberto be involved since Sophia and Maria are their intendeds," said Joe.

"As much as I hate to say it, since Vincent and Dominic are 18, if they choose to stay here with the Millers or go with them, I would support that decision," said Frank. "They are both old enough to make their own judgment on what is best for them and their intended's. Though if I do take the Alpha position, then Vincent would be the Alpha-heir or if Todd takes the position he would be Todd's heir since he would be Brianna's mate, which would make Dominic my heir. Damn, this is getting confusing."

"Lorenzo would be mine, and Luna helps us all but Damian would be second in line," said Joe choking on his sweet tea.

"I wonder if the Alpha Council is aware of that, I'm sure if they realized that they never would have made the offer," Frank replied and burst out laughing causing everyone to stop eating and stare at him with their mouths hanging open. Joe and Frank looked at each other then at Damian before laughing so hard tears were running down their faces.

"What happened now? I swear it wasn't me," said Damian as he continued to eat. "I would never do anything wrong, well...at least nothing they could pin on me. On the other hand, if it was something good ...then yes, it was me." As he finished talking he gave his Dad and Uncle a smile he had perfected over the years that usually got him out of trouble.

Seeing that smile, everybody started laughing since they were all too familiar with it and it usually meant Damian was up to no good. Joe shook his head and said, "I don't even want to know what you've been doing, do I?"

Damian continued to smile and said, "Dad, when have I ever caused trouble?"

Vin looked at his cousin and raised his eyebrow saying, "When haven't you caused trouble would be a better question."

"I beg to differ, Oh High and Mighty Head of The Clan; there is a big difference between causing mischief and causing trouble. It's a fine line and I walk it well," smirked Damian. "It is a skill I have perfected over the years and I have it down to an art."

"The only art you have perfected is the art of bullshit," said Annie narrowing her eyes at her son as she shook her fork at him. "Don't think for a minute I don't know what you and your cohorts in crime are up to when you leave this house. I am your Mother; I know all and see all and what I don't see personally, others tell me."

Silence reigned over the table as the boys stared at each other with astonishment and terror on their faces before they quickly said, "I'm done eating" "Let's go in the pool" "Last one outside has to get the towels" "Beat you to the pool house". They quickly got up, grabbed their plates and put them in the sink before they pushed their way out the patio doors to escape the wrath of Annie.

Joe looked at Annie and asked, "What was that about?"

Annie smiled at her husband and said, "Nothing actually, though by their response I wonder what they've been up to. I just wanted them to leave so we could have the last of the cinnamon rolls. Mission accomplished." All four Carlucci parents started laughing before quickly grabbing them.

Motioning for their mates to stay seated, Frank and Joe got up bringing the rest of the dishes to the sink. After they were done putting them in the dishwasher, they walked outside to check on the youngsters and the pulled pork and brisket on the smoker. Rose and Annie got up to finish the preparations for tonight's dinner.

Twenty minutes later Frank and Joe came back inside pulling their mates tightly to their chests. "We've got to go meet the Miller's at the school. We'll be back as soon as we can," said Frank quietly as he scented Rose's neck.

"Do you need us to get anything while we're out?" asked Joe as he scented Annie.

"The Rossi's are bringing rolls, ice and sodas, the Moretti's chips, dips and a veggie tray and the Miller's desserts, Matt and Phil are bringing beer and wine. I think we're good," said Annie. "We should be finished here in a bit and then we're going to practice our golf swings."

"We were thinking of playing a round Wednesday morning at Black Rock. Since the youngsters will be in school and we've hired help for the office, it really frees up our weekdays," said Rose with a smile as she glanced at her twin.

"We were thinking about asking these men we're interested in if they would like to join us," said Annie with an innocent look but a sparkle in her eyes.

"I'd better be the only man you're interested in," Joe growled picking up his mate he pinned her to the wall and began kissing her deeply.

"You are mine, you have always been mine and you will always be mine," growled Frank picking up his mate and placing her on the counter. He looked into her light brown eyes before he kissed her gently running his hands through her hair.

The youngsters burst into the kitchen talking excitedly but upon seeing their parents kissing they stopped dead in their tracks.

"My eyes, my eyes," hollered Damian covering his face he fell to his knees before collapsing on his side, rolling around as if in agony and whimpering.

"Damn Dad, do you have to maul Mom in front of company?" asked Sal clearly embarrassed. "It's bad enough when you do it in front of us."

"Don't the two of you have somewhere to be?" asked Vin shaking his head in disgust.

Looking at the clock, Frank said, "Oh shit, we're going to be late." The two brothers hurriedly said goodbye as they rushed out the door, Carlo was a stickler for punctuality and hated anybody being late.

Rose looked at Damian still rolling around on the floor whimpering and said, "Okay Drama Queen, you can get off the floor now. Give us twenty minutes to finish up in here, then we want to practice our golf swings."

Cheers erupted from the Carlucci's as Anthony, Angelo and Alberto looked on with confusion. "You've obviously never played Carlucci golf," said Gianni. "I'm surprised you haven't Ant, but you usually work on Sundays."

"Come on everybody, let's suit up," said Dominic cheerfully as he led the procession to the garage.

"Suit up? What the hell..." whispered Alberto.

"Okay, what the hell is Carlucci golf?" asked Angelo to no one in particular.

"It's a cross between rugby, football, baseball, lacrosse, soccer and every other sport you can imagine. There aren't really any rules except make sure the other team doesn't score," said Michael. "Anything and everything goes."

"Do you have your gym bags in your cars? Get them so we can see what equipment you'll need," said Enzo.

The three boys hurried out to their cars and upon re-entering the garage burst out laughing. Maria and Sophia had on padded football pants two sizes too big and wore shoulder pads covered by a long sleeved t-shirt. Leather gloves had been duct-taped to the sleeves of their shirts and Lorenzo was holding Maria's hand while Vin duct-taped a pillow around Maria's cast. Mouth guards followed by hockey helmets with clear face guards completed their outfits.

"Gattina, put your left arm over your head for a second," said Alberto with a smile.

Maria looked at him before she complied and he said, "Yep, just like I thought. When you do that, you look like a Q-tip, a very cute and adorable Q-tip."

"Shove it Alberto," said Maria with a scowl on her face as everyone started laughing.

"Okay girls, you're ready. We need you to leave so we can change," said Vin still smiling. The boys watched as Maria picked up a bucket containing orange golf balls and Sophia picked up a bucket containing neon yellow golf balls and two empty buckets, one painted orange the other yellow. This was getting more and more interesting.

Dominic said, "Okay strip, everything off." Not sure if they were being pranked, Angelo, Alberto and Anthony hesitated until the Carlucci's, except for Damian, were naked, then they followed.

Paulo said, "First, wear your cups and compression shorts. Cups for obvious reasons and the compression shorts will keep your legs from getting tore up when you slide across the grass."

"Second, wear your practice pants and make sure they are tied tight. Sophia and Maria tend to get cranky when they are losing and sometimes pants us. I doubt they would do that to you, our Dads would kill them," said Lorenzo.

"Third, we are required by the law of Frank and Joe to wear helmets. You can either wear a hockey or football helmet," said Dominic.

"Fourth, wear leather gloves. The golf balls will sting the hell out of your hands if you don't," said Marcus. "Duct tape them to the sleeves."

"Fifth, duct tape your cleats to your pants, the pileups tend to get a little crazy, and the girls will try and take your shoes off to tickle your feet," said Michael.

"Lastly, watch out for the girls. Not that we think you would hurt them, but we're telling you because they will hurt you," said Vincent with a smile. Anthony, Alberto and Angelo looked at him with 'yeah sure' expressions on their faces.

"Since I can't play, I'll be the referee," said Damian as he frowned. "Remember though, 'No blood, no foul'. Come on, they should have the course set up by now."

Walking into the big open field on the side of the house, they noticed Rose and Annie standing midfield on the sidelines; each had a bucket of golf balls by their side. At opposite ends of the long field stood the empty buckets, and there were lines painted in the middle of the field facing Rose and Annie.

"We need to pick teams first," said Vin. "With Damian out, Alberto, Angelo and Anthony should go with Lorenzo's team."

"No, I don't want three newbies on my team, we'll take Dominic and give you Alberto," said Lorenzo.

"Okay, fair enough," said Vin. "Here are the rules; our Moms hit a golf ball every minute and our objective, to get them into our teams buckets. Our golf balls count as one point, if you get the other team's ball in the bucket that counts as two points. You do anything and everything to stop the other team from scoring. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. My team is yellow and Lorenzo's is orange."

"Arachide, are you sure you want to play? I don't want you to get hurt and it sounds like it can get rough," said Anthony with a worried look on his face.

"Bite me Anthony," said Sophia with a determined gleam in her eye. "I can take care of myself, you keep forgetting I'm not just your mate, I'm a Carlucci. I may be little but I can still whip your ass if needed." Her family broke out in laughter as Anthony growled, pulling her into his side to scent her neck but unable to because of all the equipment they had on.

Alberto looked at Maria and seeing the same expression in her eyes said, "Gattina, I know your brothers put padding around your cast, but please take it easy, okay? Promise me if you feel any pain you will stop and let us know?"

"I promise, I already promised them," Maria said with a smile.

"What are the lines in the middle of the field for?" asked Angelo.

"That's easy; we mark the field for a normal human female swing, since they can't use their natural strength. Like when we play sports and hold back our strength and speed," said Vin. "Why don't the three of you sit out the first couple of balls to see what goes on. Everybody else ready?" The Carlucci's nodded their heads and moved towards the middle of the field.

Annie and Rose nodded at each other, and took their first swing launching two golf balls into the air. Alberto, Angelo and Anthony stood quietly as the Carlucci's ran to get them. They were knocking each other out of the way before the balls even got close to being caught. Anthony drew in his breath sharply and his hands clenched when he saw Sophia knocked down by Michael and then he smiled when he saw her get up quickly jumping on his back dragging him to the ground.

The three boys had no idea who caught the balls, the only thing they could see was a massive pileup and they laughed as Maria crawled out of the bottom and took off running. Vin took off towards the other end zone followed by Dom who knocked him to the ground, both wrestling for the ball. Alberto saw Enzo coming towards Maria at an angle and he felt his heart rate speed up at the thought of her getting tackled. Enzo dove through the air but she rolled under him avoiding the tackle but he managed to grab her foot. She kicked at Enzo knocking his hand away and took off running managing to get her ball in the bucket. She stood in the end zone and did a little celebratory dance shouting, "Take that Enzo."

"5-4-3-2-1," shouted Rose as two more golf balls were launched. Vin and Dom were still wrestling for control of the first ball as the rest of the Carlucci's ran towards the landing arc of the new ones. They were shoving each other out of the way, knocking each other down, jumping on top of each other, screaming and paying no attention to the balls as they landed and rolled several feet before coming to a stop.

"It looks like a riot has broken out," said Alberto shaking his head.

"I'm not sure what the hell we're watching. I think it's just an excuse for them to beat the hell out of each other," said Angelo as he watched Vin and Dom's wrestling match.

They watched as Sophia snuck behind everyone and grabbed both balls running towards the end zone. A block by Marcus prevented her being tackled by Paulo, and as she passed Vin he threw his golf ball at her. Twenty feet from the bucket she was tackled by Lorenzo scattering the three golf balls and the two of them scrambled to get them.

"5-4-3-2-1," shouted Annie as two more balls were launched. The three boys laughed as Victor was beaned in the helmet with one of the balls and it bounced off his head and Gino caught it. The other ball was lost somewhere in the pile. Gino threw the ball to Enzo who ran unobstructed to the end zone and deposited the ball and then went to help Sophia in her fight against Lorenzo.