Diamonds to Dildos

From Diamonds to Dildos. It’s Been a Week.

Chapter 7 of Hold Fast opens on a Sunday morning, and for once things are easy.

Jason is in Rami’s arms. Rami is at peace — genuinely, quietly at peace — in a way that clearly doesn’t happen to him often. And then Jason opens his eyes, says good morning, and proceeds to make absolutely certain Rami starts his Sunday right.

That may never get old.

After that, brunch. Mo drives them into SoHo, Bloody Marys arrive, and they talk about the week ahead like two people who have quietly, without making a big deal of it, started building a life together. Rami tells Jason to take Friday off — there are things to do to get him ready for his debut at Il Ponte, Rami’s restaurant.

Jason considers this. Then mentions he might just take the whole week, since he’s not exactly burning vacation days on Fire Island anymore.

Why would I spend money and vacation time on Fire Island when I have you?

He also hasn’t cleaned up the bootprint Rami’s guys left on his coffee table. He mentions that too. Casually. Over avocado toast.

Before Jason gets out of the SUV at his apartment, Mo hands him a small black device — press the button if you’re ever in trouble, Danny or Mo will be there in thirty seconds. Jason just nods. He’s adjusting to this life faster than anyone expected, including Rami.

Then Rami pulls a bag from behind his seat and hands it over.

Dildos. Several of them. Varying sizes. For the titanium contraption Jason is now locked into and has to figure out how to live with.

Jason kisses him, climbs out of the car, and delivers the line of the chapter:

In the course of a week, you’ve gone from giving me diamonds to dildos. I’m not sure what to feel about that.

Rami, for his part, is completely certain about one thing: Thursday cannot come soon enough.

Chapter 7 is available now for subscribers at romanhenrystories.com — get on the mailing list so you never miss a Thursday drop.

Similar Posts

  • Venice

    He Wasn’t Supposed to Say That. Chapter 15 of Hold Fast takes Jason to Italy. First stop: a stone farmhouse in the Veneto, olive trees in the yard, a kitchen that hasn’t changed since Rami was a child. Rami’s father is waiting. He pours three glasses of wine without asking and sits across from Jason…

  • Dressed for the World

    Sempre Mio. Always Mine. Jason Clarke walked into this story sweating through his only decent shirt, wearing five-dollar county fair earrings, hoping he could afford a second round of drinks. Chapter 9 of Hold Fast is what Rami does about that. Friday starts at Cosimo Conti’s tailor shop, where Rami’s family has been getting fitted…

  • Cybersleuthing

    He Didn’t Clean Up the Bootprint. He Built a JSON File. Jason Clarke took a week of vacation. He told his boss it was a personal emergency. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Chapter 8 of Hold Fast is Jason alone in his Queens apartment with his laptop, a full pot of coffee, and a tech…

  • A Man Like That

    He Wasn’t What I Expected. That Was the Problem. Hold Fast is live on Ream — and Chapter 1 just set the bar. Jason Clarke is twenty-three years old, freshly transplanted to New York, and deeply out of his element. He’s the kind of guy who sweats through his only decent shirt on a blind…

  • The Breakfast Table

    “So When Were You Going to Tell Me I’m Getting Fucked by a Mafia Boss?” Rami Moretti has been running operations across three continents for years. He has a fixer, a butler, a private chef, and a driver whose full name nobody can pronounce. He has scrubbed his digital presence so clean that a casual…

  • The Range

    She Was Just a Little Off Today. Sunday morning at the farm means Nonna’s marinara on the stove, a table that sags under the weight of Sunday supper, and a shooting range lesson with a former Special Forces soldier named Sal. Jason grew up on a farm. He knows how to shoot. A shotgun, Rami…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *