It was like a whole different place when I was finally able to spend time with Lena. It felt like I had two lives- one on campus and one where I was free to be myself. We had exams the week before our short Thanksgiving break and then there were three and a half weeks before Christmas break. Right before break were our finals and right after finals, we had our Winter Formal. Some classes were only one semester before we'd be shuffled around for our 'Spring' term classes and Victoria's group was already talking about Prom which took place right after Midterm exams.

I was brimming with happiness when Lena told me I wouldn't have to spend Thanksgiving at the dorms with some of the other unlucky sots who lived too far away to go home for the week or didn't have enough money to afford to go home for the week. Instead, I packed up and Niko drove me to New York City. Lena and Gia were driven separately and Marco and the others followed along.

We had a large loft apartment with two floors in New York City where I had stayed before. We often used it when we spent summers at our Hampton's house and wanted to do some shopping and more fun clubbing in the city rather than being bored on the beach all day.

"Aw, I missed you so much, baby." Marco said to Gia when his girlfriend arrived and flew into his arms.

"I missed you too. It sucks you're so close yet we can't see each other." She sighed, with a pout. Lena came trotting in to throw her arms around me where I stood in the tiled kitchen while one of the guys made me some food. The two security guys 'Lion' and 'Nero' were going to stay in two of my brothers' rooms while Marco and Gia were staying the third. There were a couple guest rooms for Niko and the other driver that weren't as big and extravagant as my brothers' rooms, but they were glad to get to stay with us and not in one of the other apartments which is what they tended to do if Papi and the family were in town. I had a bedroom and Lena was fine sharing with me.

"Bel Capo, Piccolo Spia." 'Pretty boss, Little spy.' Lion chimed as he spun from the stove to place two plates down on the counter for us. Lena shot him a brilliant smile and we both took seats at the bar stools.

'Lion' was just a nickname. His real name was Leonardo, but there were two other Leonardo's in the Valenti family, so most took to calling him Lion. He was broad and muscular like all the security guys in the 'family'. While he wasn't related to any of the Valenti's, he was still treated like a family member and given the same amount of respect. 'Nero' was too. His real name was Alessandro and he had begun working for us after he saved one of our own during a shooting. He took a bullet for one of my brothers in Italy because they were friends in high school and he had since been adopted into the family and pulled out of his crappy foster home to live in luxury like one of us. His nickname 'Nero', meaning black in Italian, was because he literally only wore black. In high school, he was one of those kids with chains and piercings that wore all black like a Goth. His naturally brown hair was dyed a pitch black as well. It was Papi that never learned his name and had given him the nickname, but it was only ever used endearingly and he took it as an honor to have a nickname from Papi.

*

I woke up to Gia's moaning from my brother Miguel's room. It was the closest room to mine. I got along the best with Miguel out of my three brothers, despite being closer to Lucas in age who was only a year or so older than me. Miguel joked that they got my age wrong because he said I acted like I was a few years older than I was. Lena, who was also twenty-one, always agreed. My eldest brother Tommaso was the responsible one out of the four of us, while Miguel and I were a little rebellious and more likely to get into trouble for the fun of it. Lucas was the weird one in the family. Usually Valenti men were serious and imposing, but Lucas was kind of sweet and goofy. I guessed it could just be his age, but I was technically younger than him, so my theory wasn't really proving right. Miguel was the only one of the three that was single and he had been for a while. Like me, his significant other had cheated on him and he was still going through a phase of one-night-stands like Lena with no luck.

"They're doing it already?" Lena groaned tiredly, putting a pillow over her head as Gia's voice went high-pitched as she called Marco's name.

"I can't believe the walls are so thin..." I laughed, sitting up and looking around the familiar room. It was a dark blue and I had picked furniture that was all black and matched the contemporary design of the building.

"That explains your brother's face every time Derek came over." Lena's muffled voice had amusement in it.

"God, I feel terrible now..." I answered as I thought back to Miguel's expression the last time I had visited NYC.

*

"Hey, do you want to join us for dress shopping?" we called to Gia after opening Miguel's door a few hours later after getting dressed to go out and covering our tattoos. She was sitting there naked with a surprised look on her angular face while Marco was laying on his back with a thin strip of the sheet covering his privates.

"Uuuhm, do you want me to come?" she asked, scratching the back of her head. Marco just moaned happily with his muscular tattooed arm over his eyes.

"If you want. I could use another female opinion." I shrugged, seeing the interest in her eyes.

"I'm naked. I don't want you to have to wait for me to get dressed..." She insisted.

"We don't mind." Lena told her nonchalantly.

"Okay. Yeah, that sounds fun. Is it for a party or...?"

"It's for the 'Winter Formal' at my school." I explained, making her nod absently.

"Yeah, just give me a couple minutes to clean myself up." She said, getting up from the bed and patting Marco's thigh. "You should come too so we're not alone." She insisted. He huffed out a deep breath and gave another lazy groan, making her laugh. "We'll be ready in fifteen minutes!" she called brightly.

"Don't forget to cover your tattoo just in case." I advised, my eyes sticking on her solitary tattoo down her forearm.

"Right. I almost forgot." She nodded, before we closed the door and went scampering down the stairs to wait in the lounge with our shoes and bags already waiting.

*

Against my better judgment, I hit Victoria's contact. We had been standing in the dress section at Saks on 5th for only a few minutes, but I didn't know if there were rules about color or how revealing I could go. I was drawn to a red dress with a deep V- but the V was really deep, like full sternum past both my breasts deep.

"Hello?" I heard her answer sounding both super confused and not happy that I called.

"Hey, Victoria. Where are you right now? You're not in New York City, are you?" I probed with a bright voice despite her sour attitude.

"Uh, no. I'm at home. In New Jersey." She answered in confusion.

"Oh, I thought you were from New York City." I said distractedly. "Well, anyway... I'm at Saks and... I need to buy a dress for the Formal, but I literally don't know where to start."

"Saks in New York City?" she asked, sounding still grumpy, but interested none-the-less.

"Yeah, on 5th avenue. Anyway, I guess I'll start simple. Long or short?" I asked.

"Oh, uh. It's a formal so most people go long." She sounded in a better mood now. I guessed getting her advice wasn't a totally bad idea after all.

"What are you wearing? You have a dress already." I assumed.

"Yeah, It's a red Chanel. I went with floor-length, but it's a high-low, with a short front and a long back."

"Hah, I call those mullet dresses." I laughed. "Okay, damn, so I shouldn't wear red." I frowned at the V-neck dress in front of me. "Black's too boring with my hair." I mused, nixing a sequined black ballgown right away.

"You should get a light pink dress." Victoria insisted with a sneaky edge to her voice. I just laughed at her lame attempt.

"Oh, god, my skin would look awful and orange in a pink dress. I'm so not a pink person."

"What about white? It is winter." She mused, sounding back to helping rather than trying to hurt.

"That could look good. At least it won't match my hair. It is a little ironic though. I'm not an innocent white dress person either." I spent a moment peering around the store for a white dress only to find a few hidden behind others. "Are there rules about how revealing it can be? I don't want to get kicked out..." I asked, hoping she'd be sincere.

"They're pretty lax actually. Tia usually wears a dress so short she flashes people when she dances." Victoria said, sounding fairly honest.

"Okay. I won't get in trouble for cleavage? And sternum?" I asked unsurely.

"I doubt it. If it's by a good designer, they'll probably turn a blind eye." She sounded honest and I was inclined to go with it.

"I guess if I get kicked out, I'll just ditch. It's not like it'll be fun without alcohol." I relented, hearing her laugh.

"So true. The real fun is when the dorms are empty and we can drink and party in the rooms with the boys." She informed me.

"Oh, that sounds fun." I nodded. I heard a woman's voice yelling at Victoria on her side of the phone. I guessed it was her mother by the sound of it.

"Ugh, I have to go. Send me a picture of the gowns! I can text you my opinion!" she said excitedly.

"That's a great idea. Okay!" I said before we both said good bye and she hung up not before I heard her screaming at her mom about something.

"Is that a friend from school?" Lena probed.

"Frenemy, but she has good taste. I don't totally trust her, but I did get some good information. She's wearing a red dress and I don't want to match her, so I'm going to branch out. I might try a white dress." I explained.

"I don't know why you keep frenemies." Lena sighed. "I hated Genevieve." She said in distaste.

"I wonder how she's doing." I said thoughtfully, thinking of my old rival at my school in Miami. I guessed without me to challenge her she was getting bored and acting out against others. Maybe she chose a new target that she was wearing down. I found a sparkling white version of the deep V dress and another gold dress that was even flashier with a sweet heart neckline and a corset bodice. Like Victoria's the gold dress was short in the front and long in the back. Not my favorite style, but the gold was breath-taking and metallic.

"I think it looks too much like a wedding dress, Cort." Lena frowned when I stepped out.

"A risqué wedding dress." Marco swallowed as they joined us with a clump of clothes on hangers. Gia tilted her head as she looked me over and I spun, revealing the low back.

"I love it, but you'll have to remember your wings and cover them." Gia said, nodding.

"Oh, shit, you're right." I grumbled, looking back at the mirror at my monotone bronze back. It looked odd without my wings and I almost wanted to show them off at the Formal.

"Ooohhh." Lena breathed as her eye caught something. "Try thiiiiss one." She said in awe, pulling a sleek dark violet dress.

"Yes. It'll look good with my hair." I agreed, analyzing the halter-top and glittering expensive fabric. It too had a low back, but I was willing to cover my tattoo or maybe just not give a crap since no one would care anyway.

It was clear after the gold dress was a little boring and cheap-looking that the sexy, floor-length violet dress was the winner. It was more of a mermaid than an A-line and Lena decided it made my ass look good so I couldn't say no. A lot of the dresses were one-shoulders or had that flappy front for girls with no boobs and those were both no-go's for me.

*

It was our third night in New York City and after staying in for a few nights after dress shopping, Lena and I were dying to get out and go to a club. I just wanted to dance to the beat and forget about dumb boarding school for a moment. Papi had let us know that we wouldn't be able do much for Thanksgiving because he was in Italy trying to draw the Lucianos attention and most of the family was with him there.

I spotted a Russian club and decided at the last minute to change our taxi-driver's course. Lena looked at me like I was crazy.

"What? It's fine. We're Lisa and Kate. No one will see us." I assured her as we stepped towards the bouncer and I gave him my most charming smile, dropping my coat off my shoulders to show my slinky dress. Lena did the same and our well-practiced sexy poses and innocent smiles were enough to get us in before the long line. The ones in the line groaned as we trotted by with giggles. Once in the misty, dark club we presented our fake ID's- Lena's was only fake because of the fake name and address, while mine was complete with a fake birthday. They stamped our hands with a stamp I realized in alarm was a well-known Morozov symbol – a wolf's head. Lena sent me a cringe that I couldn't really see in the dark and we ran to check our coats. Fortunately, we had already had a few shots at home so the grunginess of the club didn't bother us so much. It wasn't like the clubs we owned. The interior was old with Victorian accents like detailing around the bar and up the dark walls. The music, however was just to out taste and the DJ booth was completely modern and bass pounded through the giant speakers as colored lights flashed across the crowd and mist-machines filled the dancefloor.

"Will you buy our drinks?" I heard Lena's cute voice over the music before a guy in his thirties looked over and Lena scooped me to be next to her. I pouted my bottom lip and batted my curled black eye lashes. He grinned and happily paid the bartender after we ordered our favorite drinks. We were served before the other grumbling men and a couple women who waited at the bar way longer than us. Lena was so good at finding the guys that were closest to the bar tender and next in line. To me, it just looked like a clump of people. I could never decide who to approach. Once I had asked a guy with a girlfriend and his girlfriend came after me, trying to attack me. She had to be escorted out of the club. Miguel thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen and still describes the look on my face when the guy was buying my drink because he was too nice to say no.

"What're your names?" the guy who bought our drinks called, before we rushed away like we didn't hear him. Lena was still laughing as I scanned the club and my eyes stopped on a familiar couple of faces.

"What?" Lena called over the music where we stood on the balcony above the dance floor with our drinks on a tall table.

"Alexi's here." I murmured close to her ear.

"What?!" I could tell she understood me. I was glad he hadn't seen me yet, because in her buzzed state with our easily viewable position, she was obvious about following my gaze. He was sitting with four other men on one of the couches watching the dance floor with eyes like a predator. The lights flashed across his face and I almost felt like his grey eyes were glowing. What bothered me the most was that even where I was across the club, I knew I had seen one of the men before. I was sure it was him. His ugly neck tattoo was visible over the collar of his red shirt.

"Let's get drunk and dance." I insisted, gulping down my drink after my tattoo hadn't turned from where I had my hand over the top of the glass. Lena agreed with a gulp of her drink and we had to avoid a few pushy guys as we finished our drinks and then ran out on the dance floor. We tried to stay on the opposite side of the milling mass of people so the Russians didn't notice us, but as we slipped out of grasp of a few more ugly men, we ended up in view of them. I turned my back, but I felt like I could feel eyes on me and took a chance to look over my shoulder. I saw him blink like he didn't believe his eyes before I turned back to Lena. She found a guy she could tolerate who was dancing behind her without touching her.

"Hey, can you buy us another drink?" Lena asked over the music, turning to face him while I came up beside her. He nodded stupidly, his eyes going back and forth between the two of us in sheer disbelief. He was a skinny lanky guy and the poor thing had no idea that we had no interest in going home with him. He led us to the bar to order a couple more drinks and we went to one of the tables with our hands over the top of our tumblers.

"I'm James." The guy shouted over the music as he joined us. It took him a bit longer to get his drink after ordering ours and he joined us at the table.

"I'm Le-isa and this is Kate!" Lena answered, as James sent me a friendly smile. By the time we had taken a sip of our drinks, another two guys joined the table, one of them brushing by my shoulder to stand too close. None of them were attractive and the man next to me was fat and sweaty. I always tried to tell myself 'he's probably a really nice guy', but when men were drunk they were more like pigs. They were untrustworthy even if they were great when they were sober, I knew I always had to be careful.

Lena and I were like psychics when we spun our backs to the table to look out at the dance floor. The guys around the table had greeted each other- it was clear they were friends, and they had begun to phrase questions for us that we did not want to answer. The man next to me tapped my shoulder, making annoyance rise in me. It was always harder to cover my irritation when I was drunk.

"Are you sisters?" He asked, his horrible breath wafting unfailingly into my face as he leaned too close. I inched back, pressing closer to Lena, who put her arm protectively around me and just nodded to the man. He tried to send me a polite smile, but couldn't come up with something else to say. I turned back to the dancefloor, but the pull to look for Alexi was too strong and I found him with the others as one of them handed him a drink and said something to him. More men came over when some girls tried to talk to the men behind us and Lena and I looked at each other before gulping our drinks down and slipping back onto the dance floor before the guys could corner us.

An especially pushy guy was going around touching girls butts and earning some insults hurled at him as he pretended he didn't in the most unconvincing way. I could tell I was next and purposefully kept my back to him, but when I felt his body heat close to my bare back, I snatched his hand like a cobra and twisted his finger back, making him spill his drink on himself as he contorted to prevent further pain.

"That's not how you get a girl, dumbass!" I growled over the music. I twisted harder and he relented immediately.

"Ow! Ow! Okay! Okay!" He cried. "I'm sorry!" he croaked. I let go and wanted to kick him in the balls, but I didn't want to get kicked out. Instead I stomped my heel onto his toe, before Lena and I escaped into the crowd.

"I would've kicked him in the balls." Lena joked in my ear.

"I wanted to." I replied as we found a group of girls having a good time and the welcomed us into their dancing circle.