Mafia & Miss Honey | ✓

43. 𝓠𝓾𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪­𝓽𝓻é

"Helen, please. Now you are bullying me. I understand you are trying to change your selfish ways. But this is way too much, okay." I hurried my steps toward my classroom but she kept following. Grabbing my elbow she stopped me.

"I have been selfish my whole life and NOW I have a job, a boyfriend, a car, and a roof over my head that blocks my upstairs neighbor's footfalls. Why can't you be selfish for once." She argued, perching her hand on her hips looking at me with a frown like she can't figure me out.

I shook my head and touched her arm as I spoke "You want me to go but I am not going. I choose myself over your wishes. This is me being selfish." I tried to reason with her.

"Well, that's your disguise, Zara. You are still doing this for him, to prove a point.." I avert my gaze but she cupped my chin turning my head to look at her. "Be selfish, Zara. For once forget what your morals want you to do. Follow your heart. Go on that date. And what's there to lose, I know you are the kind to split the bill-"

"You don't?" I deadpan.

"Focus, Zara. Just 2 days, one tonight today and the other one tomorrow. And I won't bother you with this thing again."

"Fine..." I sigh, she beamed at me and gave me a tight hug. Mr. Romano, Bilson's replacement shook his head in disappointment to watch us wasting our time here like this, instead of doing our jobs. I give Helen a sharp look for embarrassing me but she just winked.

*****

I chose to arrive at the restaurant myself. Tonight's date was Tucker. And he was 5 minutes late. Helen sent me a picture of him. He was a trainer at the gym she had just joined with David. Very handsome and sexy, in Helen's words but I didn't see the appeal.

10 minutes later, he arrived wearing a black shirt that was testing the strength of the seems, It was deliberate to show his bulging biceps and broad shoulders. Not like Gian whose clothes used to hug him perfectly. With sleeves rolled up, his hand showcased his inks, more of them were peeking from under the collar of his shirt. The ones on his neck were colorful, and the tattoos on his hands were an awkward greyish color. Gian didn't have a single tattoo on his body.

"Tucker" he introduced himself in a gravelly voice, giving me a chin lift like I'm one of his gym buddies. His dirty blonde hair was unruly and unkempt in a bad way. I hadn't been looking forward to being impressed but I was totally disappointed.

The manner he pulled the chair for him, screeching it like chalk in a blackboard. The way he called the waiters, didn't look at them as he ordered. The final nail in the coffin I had happily brought with me before it even stepping foot in the restaurant was this.

"Oh come on. It's your birthday, Zara. You don't happen to have any cake do you..." Tucker asked, for the first time making eye contact with the waiter.

I gave a meek smile to the waiter, he gave me a nod writing down our order, some kind of pastries, I'm sure tucker had mispronounced. I waited for the waiter to leave before speaking.

"I don't know what Helen had said to you, Tucker. But it is not my birthday." I give him an apologetic smile.

"I know." He winked at me, shrugging his beefy shoulders.

I blinked at him in shock, "So what was that for.?" I hiss.

"Free desserts for the birthday girl. Do you know how much that costs?" He lifted his brow giving me a  meaningful look.

"Well, they have already mentioned the price and-" I stop when the waiter came.

"Happy Birthday, mam. The deserts are on the house." He said with a gentle smile.