Page 25 of Tony

I’m not jealous of Soshee. I’m not. He can flirt with her all he wants. I do not care.

But the reason I don’t care is because I know he wants to fuck me. He followed me home last night. He kissed me. And we would’ve fucked—right there, against the garage—if I hadn’t stopped him.

And if I wanted to, I could walk over to that table and make Tony ignore Soshee Ameci.

The front door jingles and I turn to look.

Vann walks in.

“I thought you weren’t hungry?” I ask.

But his eyes immediately dart to the table near the window where Tony sits with Soshee. He stares at them for a moment, frowning. And I can’t tell if he’s frowning about Soshee or Tony.

Then, for the first time since he dropped me off on Mulberry Street, he looks at me. “What the fuck is going on there?” He nods his head towards Tony and Soshee.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” I say, turning my back to him and walking back to the takeout counter. “Why are you here, Vann?”

“Because I came out of the fucking shop and saw them staring at me through the window. I think she’s trying to make me jealous.”

I scoff. “You don’t even like Soshee. What do you care?”

He doesn’t answer me right away. So I turn back to him, trying to get a look at his arm, curious about the tattoo he’s been working on all afternoon. But he’s got the whole inside of his forearm covered in Saniderm and the edge of his long-sleeve thermal shirt has slid down to cover it.

He’s not looking at Soshee and Tony anymore. He’s looking right at me.

He says nothing. I say nothing. And the moment becomes awkward immediately.

“What?” I finally ask.

He glances at Tony and Soshee, who are now looking at us, then glances back at me with electric-blue eyes all lit up with… what? Anger? Excitement? Longing? “I think you two deserve each other,” he says.

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Because you both like to play games.” Then he takes a step towards me. Several steps, actually. Until he’s so close I have to tip my head up to keep our eyes locked. Suddenly his fingertips are threading through my hair, gently touching my scalp.

And then he leans down and kisses me. Right on the lips.

I’m stunned, and embarrassed, and unable to pull away.

So I kiss him back.

His mouth opens and I respond by opening mine. And the next thing I know our tongues are twisting together, and we are making out in the waiting area of Anna Ameci’s Restaurant.

He pulls back first. Grins at me. Touches his lips with the tip of two fingers as he smiles.

“What the hell was that?” I whisper.

“You’re gonna make a big mistake, Belinda.” He whispers this back at me softly, no anger in his voice. “Very fucking soon. I just want to make sure you know what you passed up when that happens.”

He turns away and walks out of the restaurant.

“Here we go!” Annabelle says, plopping a brown takeaway bag on the counter. “Sorry for the wait. You’re all set, Belinda. I’ve put it on the Sick Boyz tab.”

I look over at the dining room and see Tony glaring at me. He gets to his feet.

And I’m like… nope. No fucking way am I in the mood for the fight that’s coming. I’m not able to process what just happened and if Tony Dumas thinks he can force me into some kind of public emotional outburst when he confronts me, he’s mistaken.

I grab the bag and head for the door, calling out, “Thank you,” to Annabelle as I push through it. And then I head across the street.