AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey. Who’s the girl working here?” I ask.
“That’s my cousin, Katerina. I call her Kat,” Darius tells me.
Yes, the cat does have my tongue. And my brain. And my dick. And any other body part this girl wants.
Katerina returns, and she and Darius hug, exchanging something in Greek. She hands him a bag and turns to me. “Would you like something to go?”
“Uh,” I stammer, my neck heating with embarrassment at my inability to string words together.
“Get my buddy a Greek salad and a piece of baklava,” Darius saves me.
“Coming right up.” Katerina walks to the back, and I sneak a peek at her cute little ass.
“You ever had Greek food?” he asks me, and I snap my attention to my friend.
“No.” But that wasn’t the reason for my tongue-tied moment.
“I’m not into sweets, but my aunt’s baklava is the best,” he tells me.
Katerina returns with a smile and another bag. “Here you go.”
I reach into my pocket, but Katerina shakes her head. “On the house for friends of Darius.”
“Thank you,” I somehow manage.
“You in town for just the day?” Katerina turns her attention back to her cousin.
“A few days.” We’ve been sent from Newark as extra muscle to oversee a big poker tournament in the basement of Sergio’s restaurant.
“Do you need a place to stay?” she asks.
I hold my breath, not sure if I want Darius to say yes or no. Yes, I get to see more of Katerina. No, I don’t have to make a fool of myself in front of Katerina.
“Nah, we’ll find a place to crash. But thanks.” Darius turns to me. “Let’s roll.”
“Bye.” She waves at us.
“Bye,” is what I mean to say to her, but the cat really does have my tongue, because nothing comes out.
Every chance I get to sneak away from Sergio’s, I’ve been hanging around the bakery. Not inside the bakery, but watching Katerina safely from a distance. She’s so beautiful it makes me ache. Dumb, considering a guy like me has a snowball’s chance in hell with a girl like her.
Even so, today’s our last day in AC, and I’ve decided to shoot my shot. If it is a snowball’s chance, that’s better than no chance at all.
I stopped at the florist down the street and got a bouquet of purple chrysanthemums. Not knowing a fucking thing about flowers, I do know from watching Katerina her favorite color is purple, and these were the only purple ones the shop had.
I’m about to get out of my car, when I spot Katerina exiting the back. A big, good-looking guy a few years older than me leads her by the hand. They stop abruptly, him pushing her up against the wall and kissing the fuck out of her.
I squeeze my hand around the bouquet so hard, it causes the stems to snap.
The guy removes his tongue from Katerina’s mouth, leading her to his motorcycle. He places a helmet over her wild curls as she gives him a sultry smile—the kind of smile I’ll never receive from someone like Katerina.
Rolling down my window, I toss the flowers on the sidewalk before driving away.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Fabio
