Over the years, he’d seen more betrayals than anyone else. Women were weak. They were vulnerable, and a lot of them worked with their pussy. He didn’t need a woman in his life. He visited a couple of regular women who had no problem servicing his cock when he needed it.
There were no attachments, and he was under no illusions that they saw many men, most of them members of the mafia. He didn’t have a problem with that. He wasn’t possessive. No woman had ever made him feel possessive in the least.
“Come on, man, one go. If you win, I won’t ask again. If I win, we go somewhere else, and we can eat wherever you want for the next month,” Daniel said.
This man was the closest thing he’d ever had to a friend. He’d stuck around for two years, which was longer than the last one, who he ended up putting a bullet in after only a day. He went through a lot of guards, which was his argument that he didn’t need one.
Daniel was different.
He didn’t look at him like a freak, nor was his loyalty focused elsewhere. He was part of the Galiza family and had no interest in killing the men that fed him.
They were … friends.
So, instead of beating him at rock, paper, scissors, Vincenzo let him win, and lo and behold, he decided to pick a greasy, old-fashioned diner as somewhere to eat.
He hated greasy food.
“You complain about your weight and we’re eating here?” Vincenzo said.
“Come on, pasta is full of carbs.”
“Burgers and fried chicken aren’t?” he asked.
“Okay, there’s a girl I like and she works here. Also, I like the fried chicken and the pecan pie. It’s to die for.”
“I could just kill you now,” Vincenzo said.
“Come on, pretend to be human for one minute.”
“Fine. Fine. Let’s go and eat your precious food.” He didn’t mind going to the gym tomorrow. It was his off day.
Climbing out of the car, he walked up to the diner that had a lot of people inside. This was a surprise. Diners were … old. He didn’t expect them to be so popular. Entering the diner, he had to admit it smelled really good, which again, was a surprise.
He followed Daniel’s lead, aware of people staring at them. They were well-known wherever they went. Working for the mafia there was always a crowd of whispers. He didn’t mind and rather liked that no one would mess with him.
Taking a seat in the center of the diner, he picked up the menu.
“Don’t worry, the waitress will come and read out the specials,” Daniel said.
“What is this waitress’s name?” He didn’t give a shit about the woman. All he wanted was some food.
“Rachel.”
Daniel was clearly pussy-whipped, as he was spending more time looking around than paying any real attention.
“Hi, guys, sorry about the wait. I’m Arika, and I’m here to take your order.”
Vincenzo looked at the young woman with sad brown eyes and long brown hair that was pulled up into a ponytail. She didn’t have any makeup on, and to many, he figured she looked kind of plain. There was nothing striking about her. Nothing to make men give a second look, only, Vincenzo liked looking at her. There was something about her eyes.
There was a darkness swirling in her gaze as she waited to hear what they wanted to order.
“Where’s Rachel?” Daniel asked.
“She doesn’t work Wednesday nights. I’m sorry,” Arika said. “Would you like me to tell you the specials?”
Vincenzo saw Daniel had lost interest, but he hadn’t. He wanted to eat, and he wasn’t about to be moved because his friend hadn’t gotten what he wanted.
“What’s the specials?”
“We’ve got our house special fried chicken, the three-meat burger, and also the lasagna is pretty good too. The pecan pie is the best and award-winning as well,” she said.
Her voice.
It was so soft.
He could gladly listen to her all day.
“That’s okay, we’ll take cof—”
“I’ll have the three-meat burger please,” Vincenzo said, cutting off his friend. Giving him a pointed look, he waited for his friend to order, and once that was complete, he watched her walk away.
She was on the bigger side, but that was more than okay with him. He liked women with curves; nice full tits, rounded ass; perfect body for him to grab onto and fuck. It had been a long time since a woman made him feel this way, and certainly never a plain woman.
“We could leave,” Daniel said.
“Why would I do that? I want to stay and eat.”
****
Arika Jane tried to hide the wince as she grabbed the large coffee jug and made her way around the room, filling coffee, taking dishes back and forth. She’d been on a twelve-hour shift, and it was close to the end. Her feet were killing her. She just wanted to curl up, eat some noodles, and do the last of her English essay for college. If she got lucky, she’d find the extra energy to also start studying for a final as well.