Page 70 of See Me

He claps and points at me. “Yes, that.”

I walk to the end of the bar and grab an apron. “Dating apps not very fruitful this time of year?”

“I’ll have you know I have a date this weekend. But, it doesn’t hurt to have a little tradition induced wingman to help break the ice.”

I wrap the apron around my waist and tie it behind my back. “What’s the point of going through all the trouble of connecting with someone online, scheduling a meet-up, and then only seeing them once?”

“Blow jobs, Ella. Blow jobs are the point. We’ve been over this.” He stands up, victorious. “Aha! I found it.”

“Where are you going to hang that? On your belt?”

His eyes light up. “You’re a genius.”

“And you’re an idiot.”

He smiles warmly at me. “I missed this.”

I shake my head and laugh. “You missed me calling you an idiot?”

Luca comes out of the hallway and walks toward the bar. “I call you an idiot every day.”

Enzo claps him on the back as he walks to the register to run his morning reports. “Yeah but she does it with love.”

I was going to start straightening tables and chairs but I can’t get past Luca without brushing bodies so I’m stuck back here. His eyes flick to mine for a split second before focusing on the register.

Enzo grabs his phone and starts tapping away at the screen. “Hey, I was thinking. You know how some businesses havenames for the month to gain attention, or run specials? We should do something like that for December.”

Luca swings his eyes toward Enzo and gives him a raised eyebrow. “Christmas not famous enough for you?”

“No, not like that. Like Octoberfest, No Shave November, or Toyotathon.” He rubs his chin as he scrolls through his phone. “We need a Toyotathon.”

Luca turns back to the screen. “How about Shut the Fuck Up December?”

“Aww, look what I found. It’s a picture of Ella.” He turns his phone screen toward me. It’s me, sleeping, with a wad of hair in my mouth and drool running down my face with a puddle soaked into my pillow.

My mouth drops open. “Enzo! Delete that right now.”

He puts his phone protectively behind his back. “Absolutely not. This is my insurance policy.”

I cross my arms over my chest and turn my glare to Luca. “That’s what you sent?”

He tries to hide his smile. “What was I supposed to do? Pose you? You weren’t giving me much to work with.”

“You couldn’t pull the hair out of my mouth. Or use a different angle to maybe miss the drool?”

Enzo twists and turns his head looking at the photo. “I really don’t think there’s much he could’ve done, Blaze. But your cheeks are a really pretty shade of crimson.” He zooms in on the picture and squints. “From what I can see anyway.” They both laugh and fist bump.

I push my way past both of them and stomp to the other side of the dining room. “You’re both buttholes.”

“Would it help if we told you embarrassing stories about us?” Luca turns sharply at Enzo’s offer and narrows his eyes at him.

I saunter back over to the bar and sit on a stool. “That’s fair, I think.”

Luca looks from me to Enzo and back to me.

“One time I hid shrimp in Luca’s football pads. He had cats chasing him all over the field until the coach made him leave so they could continue practice without… his pets.” Enzo holds his side as he bends over laughing. “He had to run home so his car wouldn’t stink. They chased him the whole way. It must’ve been every cat in town.” Enzo has tears running down his face.

Luca punches him in the arm. “That wasn’t funny. They called me crazy cat lady for a year.”

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