There had been a time in Lenora’s life when her mother would constantly tell her that she had been born with an old personality. Even though the redhead was able to get along with just about anyone she came across, she associated more with the maturity of older people. She supposed that’s how she found herself with a best friend that was nearly a decade older than she was and she really didn’t think twice about it. Why should age matter in any type of relationship, especially friendships? Merlin, she considered people who were well into their years to be her friends, though she supposed that’s because she called everyone she even said hello to as one of her friends. The redhead definitely regretted not owling Gino more often, truly missing spending time with him and his unique sense of humor. Too many blokes around here had treated women like they were either dirt or like they were precious gold, neither of which settled well with Lenora. If she could list the number of decent blokes she had met, Gino would certainly, by far, top that list, even if he didn’t have a great track record with his dating life. It wasn’t like SHE was going to date him. As if he could possibly be interested in someone nearly a decade younger than he was, which was of no concern to her at all.

“Oh, well if it’ll guarantee me to have you for life, I’ll do it right now,” she joked, smiling wide. Well, she had been interested to see other hair colours, and it did help that he would at least like it…but she didn’t want to look like a fool, going from her beautiful shade of red to a much darker color that would stand in stark contrast against her pale skin. “Hey, I don’t recall getting any owls from you lately, so watch yourself, Ricci,” she shot back, giving him a playfully stern look. She was finding herself rather glad that they had bumped into each other here, regretting to admit the length of time that would have passed before either of them had owled each other. “Just you wait, love, soon you’ll be rubbing that fat arse of yours when it’s out on the sidewalk,” Lenora grinned, shaking her head lightly in amusement.

Going over for dinner sounded like a great idea, getting to meet his family and finally able to put faces to the names in the stories that she had heard. His family sounded wonderful and she was really excited for that opportunity. Perhaps she’d get to convince some of them to share some stories of Gino that she hadn’t yet heard about, even if he hadn’t been with the family all that long. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied. “What should I bring over? I can’t go over empty handed…” she trailed off, wondering what she could buy at the store for the event. It was rude to just go over somewhere, expecting to be fed, and not bring something for everyone. “Perfect, I’ll consider that a yes, then,” she nodded sincerely, winking at him. It would certainly be great to have her good friend there, informing them of some of the sites to go to and some to avoid.

Gino grinned widely as she mentioned having him for life. ”I hate ta tell ya but ya stuck with me fa life whether ya like it or not.” He chuckled. He was an extremely loyal person. His friends and family meant the world to him. Once someone was his friend they were his friend for life. It didn’t matter what happened, he would care about them regardless. It was one of the traits he had picked up from his sister’s family that stuck pretty quickly. ”Seriously though, don’t eva fuckin color it. I love ya hair, plus how else am I supposed ta stalk you?” He teased.

She had a good point. He never really did send owls out though it was mostly him being forgetful more than anything else. Hell, he was absolutely horrible at sending them. He snorted at his friend and shook his head in amusement. He narrowed his eyes and glanced over his shoulder as if trying to look at his rear. ”Eh my ass is not fat.” He retorted pointing at her. ”Why don’t ya get up so we can take a look at ya fuckin wide load.” He said with a quirked eyebrow. He paused for a moment wondering if she would actually do it. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want a peek at it. Only because he was a guy… of course.

When she had agreed to come to dinner Gino had the urge to jump out of his seat in excitement. He was sure the family would love her. She was definitely an old soul, and she had been dealing with his ass long enough to be able to deal with a literal mansion full of his family. He shook his head and waved his hands in front of him. ”No, ya don’t need ta bring anything. I swear we have enough food already to feed a small fuckin country. You’re a guest, jus bring yaself.” He said picking up his glass and taking a long drink. He chuckled loudly as she said she would take his answer as a yes. She already knew he would go, and it always amused him how she always just went with it without missing a beat. ”Well I guess if a have ta go…” He said with a fake pout.

Lenora groaned jokingly in response, feigning an annoyed look. “Why are you so obsessed with me? I’m going to need a restraining order, aren’t I?” the redhead accused playfully, quirking her eyebrows at him. She most certainly didn’t mind in the slightest, wanting to have him in her life. Gino had been such a great friend to her throughout their time knowing each other and a part of her was jealous, wishing they had been closer in age as she certainly would have enjoyed going through Hogwarts with him. It was nice to be friends with someone who was just as in love with their family as she was with hers. “Well in that case, I’m definitely going to dye it…I’ve been trying to lose you for years,” she exaggerated, taking a sip of her drink. Lenora really hadn’t known just how much she had missed Gino until they were together again, scolding herself for letting too much time pass between meeting.

The redhead laughed as he defended his arse, shaking her head in amusement. Whenever they were together, she always found herself deeply amused, comfortable in his presence. “Hey, I’ve been told I have a nice ass,” she pouted jokingly, jumping out of her seat. Slowly, she twisted in a circle as if she were modeling her pants, before plopping back down on her seat. “I think I win,” she grinned.

A large part of Lenora, if not the whole part, was so excited to go over for dinner to meet his family. She was certain she would love them just as much as she adored Gino and especially after hearing some of the stories he had shared with her. “Not even a dessert?” she pressed, sighing lightly. Her mother was the exact same way, always refusing to allow others to bring food over, wanting to serve others completely. “Fine, fine. I guess my presence will be enough,” she stated dramatically before laughing lightly. “I’m really excited,” she admitted. “And yes, you HAVE to go. I’ll even consider letting you stay in the same place as us,” she shrugged, winking at him.

He sometimes wondered if he thought of Nora as ‘just a friend’. It had actually been weighing heavily on him lately, and maybe it was the drama happening in his family at present that made him feel that way. It was a reminder that if one didn’t act in a timely manner they could ultimately lose their one window of opportunity to be completely happy. ”How can anyone not be obsessed with ya? Ya act like a piece a fuckin paper would do much of anything.” He chuckled jokingly. ”And like changin ya fuckin hair is going to make ya annoyin loud ass mouth any less noticeable.” He teased. She actually had quite the nice voice to him, almost melodic in a way. He was sure he could probably notice it anywhere.

Gino tried to play in smooth as Nora stood to do a slow turn. His eyes moved over her entire body, taking in every single beautiful detail he could, and of course admiring her backside in the process. He had always found her extremely attractive, even with the age difference it never seemed to bother him. To him she seemed perfect in every sense of the word. ”Nah, ya got a fuckin shovel butt. Seriously… did someone take a fuckin shovel to that pathetic excuse of a ass?” He chuckled shaking his head though that entire statement was most definitely false.

”Nothing but yaself. Don’t ya know how ta fuckin listen or have ya gone temporarily deaf?” He asked her with a quirked eyebrow. It seemed like his friend was happy about his invitation which only made him more excited at the prospect of her meeting them all. He was sure his sister would have a conniption that he had waited so long to bring her over. She was stickler about bringing friends to meet the family. His smile widened as she spoke of the impending trip to the States unable to stop himself as his mouth opened to speak again. ”Ya don’t have to make a excuse ta get me to share a room with ya… I mean if ya can convince me I might even give ya a cuddle.” He said with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

Gino was definitely someone she compared all potential boyfriends to. Sure, he had his flaws, but he was her best friend and she absolutely adored him. Any man could only hope to be half of the man that Gino had been and she supposed she would be forever single at this point. How could anyone possibly compare to him when he was on a whole different league? Dating him herself was out of the question as obviously he didn’t look at her like that. She was young and it would definitely ruin their friendship. It was always amusing to go home and hear her stepmom ask about him and ask when she was bringing over ‘that nice, handsome gentleman’ around again. Lenora would always laugh and act clueless on bringing home a gentleman. Of course, as it came with getting older, she was getting all of the questions from the older adults in her life as to when she was going to settle down with a nice man and have children of her own. It was what she wanted…when she was ready. Children were definitely something that she wanted, and she definitely wanted to marry someone, but she also really needed to stop comparing every bloke with Gino. Perhaps she would accept that date from…whatever his name was.

“You’re right. I need to get myself a personal bodyguard,” she nodded in agreement. “Know anyone?” she asked him curiously, raising her eyebrows in his direction. “You know you love me, just admit it,” the redhead laughed, rolling her eyes at her friend. Twirling for her male friend to check her out didn’t seem out of the ordinary as they were very clearly only friends. They had been friends for so long that anything different might just be weird. “A shovel butt?” she asked incredulously, giving him a look. “Now I’m going to have to go out and get a second opinion,” Lenora stated dramatically. “Can’t be embarrassing you by walking around with a shovel butt,” she winked.

“Fine, fine. I’ll just bring myself,” she conceded. “But if that leads me to set a bad first impression, you’re in for it, Ricci,” she stated. “Oh, a cuddle? Now you’re just spoiling me. You make me swoon,” Lenora stated sarcastically, giving him a humorous look. “I knew you missed me.”

Gino had definitely needed this and he was kicking himself for not sending Nora an owl sooner. Running into her had been the highlight of his day if he were to be honest. Why he hadn’t contacted her for a while was beyond him. Maybe it was all of the chaos happening in the family that kept him too preoccupied to think much of anything else. He supposed the murder of his nephew’s family coupled with his estranged niece coming back from Russia married to a man the family didn’t know had a hand in it. He was still upset over the whole ordeal. It didn’t help that his youngest niece Bells was going through hell and with her at school there was not much of anything he could do but to write to her.

”A bodyguard? I prolly know a guy.” He laughed with a shake of his head. He arched an eyebrow as she said that he knew he loved her before breaking out in loud laughter putting his hands on his knees as he doubled over. ”I ain’t admitting shit.” He said in between breathes though now that he thought about it he knew he loved the redhead, at least he knew he did like family. But part of him felt that he was right on the outskirts of something more. ”Don’t they have fuckin charms ta solve ya little shovel butt problem?” He asked raising his eyebrows at her with a smirk. ”I wouldn’t mind getting anotha look… I’ll give my second opinion.” He said with a wink before taking another sip of his coffee.

Gino rolled his eyes at his friend. ”Unless ya show up lookin like a fuckin whore they’ll love ya. Though they might try an fatten ya ass up. Ya lookin kinda scrawny these days.” He teased though it wasn’t close to the truth. She was quite pretty. ”I have that affect on people.” He chuckled. ”I think ya missed me more.” He said with a grin.

Things had certainly been much quieter without Gino around and Lenora was finding that she had missed this big mouthed friend of hers. She really did hope the best for him, wanting him to settle down with a nice witch and have a family, if that was what he would have wanted. He would have been a really great husband and a fantastic father, she noted to herself, glancing over at him. She briefly wondered if that was something he ever wanted; if so, he really needed to start dating women that actually showed potentially. Thus far, every woman he brought around seemed to be only about their looks, or something bloody ridiculous like that. She was glad to see the smile on his face, despite the year that he had had. “Fine, fine, don’t admit the truth. But we all know of your obsession…that caused you to follow me here, of all places,” she smirked. “It’s inevitable; we will always find each other. Just get over yourself,” she joked lightly.


“Give you a second look? No, perhaps I’ll get a second opinion from another bloke,” she shrugged, returning his wink. “I’m overdue for a date, obviously,” she laughed jokingly. For some reason, dating was so far from her mind at the moment, finding no real rush in trying to marry off to the first bloke to give her attention as everyone her age seemed to be obsessed with….her family, included. “I don’t even think I own any whore-like clothes in my wardrobe…not even Halloween costumes,” she mused, shrugging. “Scrawny? Maybe you need to come over and cook something with that Italian skill you obviously have,” she pointed out, giving him a look. She laughed at his comment, shaking her head. “I ain’t admitting shit,” she mimicked him from earlier, laughing.

Gino rolled his eyes at his friend with a laugh. She really did have a great sense of humor. That was one thing he hadn’t really expected the first time he met her. She was of course pretty, and he had expected a girl that pretty not to have a fantastic personality. It wasn’t like he thought all attractive women weren’t capable of having a good personality, he was just used to witches that through themselves at any attractive bloke that looked their way. It seemed like a good bit of his male family members had the same problem. ”Yeah, I’m so fuckin obsessed I can’t stand it.” He chuckled. ”I’m not tha one with tha ego problem, Dollface.” He joked running a hand through his hair.

He arched an eyebrow at the redhead as she said she would get a second opinion. ”Any guy is jus gonna be happy ta see ya ass regardless of how flat an boxy it is.” He said shaking his head. ”Whoeva is brave enough ta date you deserves a fuckin medal.” He added in amusement. The thought of her dating made him feel odd, almost as if it bothered him. No, it definitely bothered him though he wasn’t sure exactly why. He looked her over chuckling. He couldn’t see her dressing like a whore… but he would like to. He shook the thought from his head. That was extremely inappropriate to think about a friend. ”Nah, that’s the women in my family’s department. I get kicked outta tha fuckin kitchen every time I try ta help, and I don’t argue with those fuckin crazies.” He said still chuckling. He was decent at cooking though he did rarely get to do it himself. His cousins were convinced he didn’t know his way around the kitchen. It seemed like his apartment was the only place he had full reign of the kitchen, and it wasn’t nearly big enough to use properly. ”I’ll take that as a yes.” He said with a wink.

“I beg to differ,” Lenora pointed out, laughing. “I happen to think you’re much cockier than I am…even though I have all the reason in the world to be…since I’m clearly awesome,” she joked, winking at him. The longer she stayed here, the more she realized she missed him. It was crazy to think that she had known him so long and hadn’t even met his family…though, they were just friends, clearly, so it wasn’t like she had ever needed to meet his family. He was thirty…friends meeting the family hardly was something that people did, she supposed. Meeting his family shouldn’t even be crossing her mind right now, she realized, refocusing her thoughts on the current conversation.

“Brave enough to date me? And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him amusedly. It was definitely a good thing she didn’t suffer insecurities or she was sure his comments wouldn’t go over very well. “Oh great, and you want me to come over to meet them? You do realize cooking isn’t my strong suit, right?” she asked, giving him a slightly nervous look that she covered up with a laugh and a shake of her head. No, she had nothing to be nervous over, obviously. They weren’t dating so it wasn’t like they would judge her for not being able to cook. “Take it how you will,” she shrugged, grinning. “I think I did miss you, but this conversation is showing me how very wrong I was,” she teased.

Gino didn’t know the exact reason why he had never brought his friend around his family. Maybe it was the fact that every time a single family member brought a friend over of the opposite sex that they liked they insisted that they were supposed to be dating. He had seen this happen several times, though he had to give it to his sister Tessa, she had an eye for things like that. A good bit of the younger couples were ‘matched’ by her and those that didn’t listen would be reminded of it constantly which amused him to no end. Maybe part of him was worried she would get uncomfortable if Tessa deemed them suitable for each other, though part of him knew she would be able to handle it. He chuckled loudly at her comment and shook his head. ”You’re about as awesome as a fuckin hole in tha head.” He joked putting his fingers up to his head as if it were a gun.

”Ya fuckin crazy is what I’m sayin. Fuckin bat shit crazy.” He laughed before pointing a finger at her. He shook his head at his friend knowing that there were still quite a few women in the family that hadn’t gotten the ‘cooking gene’ as others had. There were only a handful of them but namely it consisted of his sister Tessa and her daughter. ”They’ll love ya… unless ya go into tha kitchen and try ta help. My olda sista an her daughta typically kick everyone out when they’re in there.” He said with a grin. ”Hell my younga sista Vita stays outta the kitchen too.” He added with a chuckle. His grin widened as she said she missed him. He had missed her terribly, but hadn’t realized just so much until they had bumped into each other. ”I would say I missed ya too… but then ya opened ya mouth an I remembered why I avoid ya.” He teased.