Page 72 of See Me

Luca comes out from behind the bar. “I did.”

“I just flipped over my bike. You’re not supposed to park there!”

“This is my business; I’ll park where I want.” He crosses his arm as Enzo comes to stand next to him.

“Well, I, I almost cracked my helmet.” He stammers over his words at the site of the Russo boys staring him down.

Enzo points to his crotch. “I know, we can see it through those tight ass pants.”

The guy takes in a shaky breath and covers his crotch with his helmet. “Yeah, well, I don’t have a carbon footprint, so suck on that.”

Luca and Enzo look at each other and both quirk an eyebrow.

Tight Pants takes a step closer and points a finger toward Luca’s chest. “And I can pick up and move a car, by myself.”

Enzo makes a face like he’s impressed and nods. “Cars move themselves; you’ve wasted your life.”

Tight Pants sighs and puts his hand on his hip. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

Luca reaches back and pulls his wallet out. “For what? I can give you eight dollars for the spandex.”

“Eight dollars?” He pulls at the spandex covering his chest and gestures to his knees. “This is top of the line, water wicking, breathable fabric designed for optimal performance.”

Enzo pulls his wallet out. “I bet you shave your nipples, huh?”

The guy throws up a middle finger and storms out.

I shake my head. “What a weird start to the day. If I hadn’t taken my temperature this morning I would swear I still have a fever.”

The boys go back behind the bar and resume half working and half wrestling. I straighten tables and chairs and set out menus. The door chimes again and I paint a smile on my face and turn to greet the patrons.

The smile slides off my face and my hand covers my mouth.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

I blink several times. “Charles?”

Enzo and Luca look up. I look at both of them and put a hand to my forehead checking my temperature. “Can you guys see him,” I whisper, pointing at Charles. They both nod.

“Who are you?” Enzo asks.

Charles grabs my shoulders and leans in to kiss me on the cheek. “I’m her fiancé.”

TWENTY-ONE

DIS-ENGAGE

The old mewants to feel ashamed of him finding me here.

That’s not even close to what I feel.

Betrayal, rage, nausea, just to name a few.

He juts me on the chin and smiles. “You look beautiful.” He reaches out and tugs on my apron. “A little,” he cocks his head, “blue collar-ish, but beautiful.”

I snatch my apron out of his pinched fingers. His blond hair looks gelled to the point of plastic, and the light blue suit makes his fake orange tan stand out more than is flattering. “Why are you here?” I glance over his shoulder and Luca and Enzo aren’t even pretending to not pay attention. Their eyes are gluedto me.

The arrogant asshole grabs my chin to turn my attention back to him. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

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