"Where the hell are we?" I asked.
After dragging me around all day, we finally stopped outside an Italian restaurant. We stood there for almost ten minutes, and every time the door opened, the scent of delicious foods would waft out into the streets, tauntingly leaving my stomach hungry.
Instead of answering me, he just dragged me through the door, past the dining area, and toward the back of the restaurant. We approached a small hallway guarded by two nasty, bulldog-looking men. He 'placed' me into a chair beside the men and gave me a stern look.
"Do not move from this spot. I believe I have proven that I can quickly hunt you down." When he was done lecturing me, he turned towards the men standing next to Nico, who were quickly reduced to looking like harmless puppy dogs. "You don't let her out of your site. If you do, you'll have to answer to me. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." They both responded simultaneously. Creepy.
Nico disappeared behind a door labeled staff only. He said he was attending to some 'business,' but if you asked me, I'd say he did a little too much 'business.' Maybe that wasn't what he was doing at all. I mean, I wouldn't put it past him to have me sit here while he's off screwing some blonde bimbo. He's a scumbag like that.
"Hey, you guys don't have to watch me, I'll be fine." No answer. "I'm just gonna stretch my legs and go to the bathroom quickly." I went to stand up, but the guy on the right spoke up.
"Don't move." I waited for him to elaborate or make eye contact, but nada.
"That's all? Well, hello, Mr. Cryptic." I muttered while I sat back down in a huff and crossed my arms. I noticed the corner of the left guy's mouth twitch briefly before it became neutral again.
"I'm just expected to sit here?" I complained.
"Yes." Again, the right guy wouldn't look at me.
"Well, thank you for defining that so clearly for me. I mean, you should invest in making a dictionary." I said sarcastically. He continued looking ahead while the left guy tried to hold back a smile.
"Got any names at least?" No answer. "No? Okay then. Who's in charge between the two of you? Is it Mr. Cryptic or Mr. Smiley?" Still no answer. "I bet it's Mr. Smiley; he seems like the take charge kind of guy."
Mr. Smiley finally smiled a full smile while Mr. Cryptic scoffed like it was the most obscured thing he'd ever heard.
"You don't agree?" I asked Mr. Cryptic.
"The boss is the one in charge." That was all he said; this guy needs to learn how to elaborate.
"That's real descriptive. Should I keep calling you guys your nicknames, or do you plan on filling me in on your real identities anytime soon?" I asked while staring them down. Mr. Smiley was the first to break.
"I'm Luigi, he's Monte. What's yours?"
Luigi was cute, I'd give him that, and he looked to be in his late twenties with brown hair and a nicely fit body, but nowhere close to Nico. On the other hand, Monte looked older than him, maybe in his mid-thirties, with dark hair and sunglasses covering his eyes. I mean, who wears sunglasses inside at night? I hesitated for a moment before answering his question.
"Callie, it's so nice to meet you two fine gentlemen on this lovely evening," I said sarcastically, then gave a fake smile.
"I'm sure," Monte muttered. "Now, why don't you just shut up, sit your pretty little ass on that seat and don't move." He made brief eye contact with me before looking away.
"Listen here, bucko, I don't take orders from the likes of you or anybody for that matter, especially when used in such a derogatory tone. How about you come march your pretty little ass over here and sit in this seat while shutting up?" I mocked.
Luigi's face held a look of shock while his partner slowly turned his head towards me. I swear you could almost see the steam blowing out of his ears. "What did you just say to me?" His voice was deadly.
"I think you heard me unless you're deaf now? Didn't your mother ever teach you how to speak to a lady?" I scolded.
"I do when I see one." He smirked.
"That's just plain rude." I huffed.
"Besides, my mom's dead."
"Well, that's awkward," I commented.
Just then, Nico walked out of the staff-only area and stopped when he noticed the building tension. He stared back and forth between Monte and me as we glared at each other, and Luigi tried to stifle his laughter.
"Everything okay out here?" He asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, just your girl's got a big mouth," Monte commented.
"That she does. Come on, Callie, let's go before you piss off someone else." He started walking away, but I quickly caught up with him.
"That was offensive." I teased. He looked at me and smirked before sitting at a table semi-close to the windows.
I stared at Nico in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to eat."
"But why?"
"Because I'm hungry..." He said it was an excellent conversation change; I was the crazy one.
"But—"
"But nothing, I'm hungry. Come sit and join me; you're far too skinny anyways." I am not. I thought while sitting across from him, keeping my back towards the window that overlooks the street.
"You should tell that to my mom," I mumbled.
"She doesn't think so?"
"No. I'm just a never-ending cycle of disappointment for her. Especially with my latest decision to become my own person; I don't have to listen to her anymore, and she can no longer berate my life." I complained while looking over the menu, damn this place is expensive.
"How did you do that?" He asked while looking over his menu as well.
"By breaking up with my boyfriend and moving out into my apartment. Considering who my neighbor is, I'm rethinking the whole apartment thing as a good idea."
"And what's wrong with him?" Oh, he wants to play? Well, Mr. Italian, God, I can play too. I placed my elbow on the table and used my hand to hold my head up.
"Well, for starters, he's arrogant, egocentric, a bit of an asshole—"
"Just a bit?"
"A lot of an asshole, smart-ass, crude, has obviously never been taught manners in his life, and is obsessed with all things sex-related."
"Is that all?" He smirked.
"He's also extremely annoying, especially when he gives me that stupid smirk and he's sex eyes."
"My sex, what?" He laughed. Dear lord, that sound was like music to my ears. The waiter came over and placed bread and water on the table.
"Would you like a few more minutes to order?"
"No, I'm good. Nico?"
"Yeah, me too."
"I'll have spaghetti and meatballs." He scoffed at me.
"I'll have the linguine frutti di mare with a side of beard, grazie." Wow, I didn't even know what it was on the menu or what it was exactly. The waiter shortly left, promising our food would be out shortly.
"What the hell was that?"
"Language, gattina."
"Now, what does that mean? Are you calling me fat?" I raised my eyebrows.
"What? No. Don't worry about it."
"Whatever," I said before taking a sip of my water.
"Tell me about your ex." It wasn't quite a question as it was a command.
"Why?"
"I want to hear about the idiot who let a girl like yourself get away." I choked on my water while my face blushed red. Once I calmed down and took another sip of water, I noticed that he was calmly waiting for my answer.
"It's not that interesting of a story." I looked away from him and took deep breaths to calm my body from his heated stare. I took a deep breath when I realized he wouldn't move on from this. "There was a girl who was crafted by her mother, and her own needs and desires took a back seat to 'what was right for the family.' The girl took all of it because she trusted her mother knew what was best for her. So when that girl's mother told her to date a good friend of hers, who also happened to be a family friend, she did. She was blind to everything and believed whatever her mother told her; she must marry a wealthy man, always look her best, have the man care for the money, always obey men, and never make them angry. So basically, she wasn't allowed to have a mind. Nothing was ever good enough for her mother, though; she always found something to be disappointed in. Her mother was furious when she refused to move in with her boyfriend and get married at such a young age. She still lived her life blindly while always believing in the best in people and being able to fully be herself. She went to her boyfriend's apartment on their fourth anniversary and found him fucking her, supposed to be a 'friend' on his bed, a bed they sometimes shared. At that moment, she started seeing the world for what it was, what her mother saw her as a big, fat disappointment."
"His loss...their loss." I shrugged in discomfort at how empathetic he seemed. "So, how did she end up at the apartment?"
"Daughter finally had enough of everyone dictating her life, so she cut off the money with her mom and moved into a crappy apartment while paying for her own way."
"Sounds brave."
"More like stupid."
"Or impulsive, but in a good way."
"Maybe. So what's your story?" He just stared at me. "What if I tell you my life story, and you say nothing? That's not fair."
"The world's not fair." I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by the waiter placing down our food.
"Took you long enough." Nico huffed, annoyed. I kicked him under the table.
"Thank you so much; this looks delicious," I said to the waiter with a smile. I could feel Nico's harsh glare on the side of my face.
"Grazie." He said before walking away.
"If you ever kick me again, I will personally—" I interrupted him before he finished whatever Neanderthal thing he was going to say.
"I'm sure you were about to say something threatening and leave me quaking in my boots, but I'm hungry, so let's skip over that part," I said before digging into the delicious meal that caused me to moan. I glanced at Nico, and his glare soon turned to a smirk.
"Good?"
I glowered at him. "Delicious," I said before running the tip of my tongue along my bottom lip to wipe off the excess sauce. Nico's eyes darkened as they followed my movement.
"That it is." He whispered huskily.
"You know—" I noticed his eyes weren't focused on me anymore, but behind me towards the street. "I once made out with an elephant."
"That's interesting." He mumbled.
"Yeah, his skin was rough, I could've definitely used some lotion."
"You know, I am actually listening to you." He said this, but his focus was still behind me on whatever was happening in the street.
"Well, usually when two people are having a conversation, they tend to look each other in the eyes while doing so, just saying." I held up my hands in surrender, but he still didn't spare me a glance. Rude much? "I don't mean to encroach on what you're doing—actually, what are you doing?" I went to turn around but was stopped by a warm hand on mine.
"Wha—" I stopped turning and looked back at him.
"Don't turn around." He interrupted in a low voice that indicated he wasn't messing around. I gave him a confused look. "Just keep your eyes on me and—GET DOWN!" He suddenly knocked the table over and threw me on the ground behind it right before the glass window blew up toward us, closely followed by bullets. "Stay down and don't move, okay?" I shook in fear and started hyperventilating.
"Callie! Look at me. It's going to be okay, just breathe and stay here." I watched as he pulled out a gun from the back of his pants. Was that there the whole damn time? "Do you understand?" All I could manage was an unsure nod, but it must've been enough because he was gone the next thing I knew.
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