Once Upon a Delivery

Chapter Five

Emilia

I don’t know why awkward things seem to happen to me. If something embarrassing is going to happen to anyone, it will always be me.

So, of course, the very second I got back to the shop after that delivery, I spotted Alessandro.

He’s been in my face for months, although he hasn’t really said much, but I could tell he was going to hit the nail on the head soon and ask me to be his girlfriend; he has just been sticking around because he doesn’t have enough courage yet.

And I pray he never gets that courage.

Aside from him always being at the shop, he texts me “Ciao bella” at random hours, with copy-paste compliments all the time. As if that’s not enough torture, I still have to force myself to laugh at his silly jokes because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.

I’m already pissed and fed up, but I don’t know how to keep him away. He is one of Aunt Gianna’s favorite customers, and I wouldn’t want her to lose him because of me.

Now, tonight, of all nights? He is here.

I almost screamed when I saw him sitting at one of the tiny tables, smiling and leaning back in his chair comfortably. I knew he had come to see me as usual.

Luckily, Lilia was already waiting for me outside as well, so I quietly walked from the car and hid behind her like a five-year-old hiding from the dentist.

“What are you doing?” she laughed as we managed to drag ourselves toward the kitchen. Everyone knew Alessandro ate here every day because of me.

“Shh! Please, just cover me. I’m not in the mood.” I whispered, still to be out of sight.

She laughed quietly this time. “Why are you hiding from your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I snapped, a little too loud.

Alessandro turned his head at the sound, and my heart sank. I ducked so fast I almost smacked my forehead against the counter. We stood still for a moment and then continued.

Lilia managed to smuggle me inside. Maybe he had seen me, maybe he didn’t—I didn’t care. I was just glad he wasn’t in my face.

Maybe some other time, I’d be patient enough to fool around with him, but not today.

“Why do you act this way toward Alessandro? That guy likes you,” Lilia asked, looking at me with her hand on her waist.

“I told you earlier, I’m not in the mood for all that,” I groaned. “Please, not tonight.”

My brain was still doing backflips from the rough delivery. The last thing I needed was Alessandro popping up like a bad penny.

Of course, Lilia was not going to let me sulk in peace. She crossed her arms, smiling wide enough for me to see all of her teeth.

“So, how did it go, finally?” she started. “Wait, let me tell Rita.” She hurried away to find her.

I sighed, covering my face with my hands. “Do you have to?”

“Oh, I have to. She’s going to die when she hears that she missed out on an eventful delivery,” she said, eyes sparkling mischievously. “How much did they tip?”

I laughed because there was no way I could have stayed there, looking him in the face after I had shamelessly bumped into him, and calmly asked, Would you like to add gratuity?

Nope. Not happening.

As soon as we saw Rita, she looked at me, and I looked at Lilia. Both Lilia and I started laughing.

“All right,” she said, dropping the bag of flour she was carrying onto the counter. “What is it? It was a guy, right?” She said pointing at me, as if she was about to say, ‘I told you so’.

Lilia clapped her hands together. “Oh, you won’t believe what happened.”

“No,” I tried to stop, but it was useless at this point. Lilia was a runaway train when she had gossip, and I was about to be flattened.

“She delivered tacos to a mansion,” Lilia announced, eyes wide for dramatic effect.

Rita sighed. “I know. Was it a guy? Did you get his number or something?” she asked, looking at me.

“Yes, it was a guy, and he has a girlfriend, but that’s not all,” Lilia added.

“What?” Rita asked innocently. “You won’t believe it—they were having s*x when she arrived.”

Rita gasped, holding her chest like she had caught her own boyfriend in bed with another girl. “No way.”

“Yes way,” Lilia grinned.

I kept the other embarrassing details to myself. Lilia and Rita would make fun of me until I passed out. I couldn’t risk it.

Lilia turned to me. “And you saw him, right?”

I felt my face heat up like an oven set to max. “I did.”

Rita leaned forward expectantly. She was waiting for an exact answer.

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. He was… cute.”

“He was?” Rita looked like she was going to cry. “If I’d been the one there instead, he would’ve forgotten all about whatever girlfriend he had inside. How could he have withstood such beauty?” she said, moving her hips slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Rita, stop being delusional.”

“Maybe I am,” she said, slicking on another coat of lip gloss. “But I bet he wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Lilia leaned closer to me. “So what did he look like, exactly?”

I tried not to sound like I’d been daydreaming about him for almost an hour. But who was I kidding? His image was stuck in my brain.

“He was…” I started slowly. “Tall, dark hair, and small eyes—really cute eyes. And the way he smiled…” I shook my head, embarrassed.

The girls were quiet for a second. Rita and Lilia stared at me, matching grins spread across their faces.

“Oh my God,” Rita whispered. “You’re already in love.”

“No, I am not!”

“Yes, you are,” Lilia said, slapping my shoulder. “Look at you. You’re blushing.”

“Admit it,” Rita said. “You’re wishing you could see him again, aren’t you?”

“No,” I denied it, but that was the truth… she wasn’t wrong. My heart had done a little skip at the thought.

There was actually no need for all this talk; the dude clearly had a girlfriend.

Rita waved a hand. “I said what I said. If he saw me, girlfriend or not, it’d be over. He’d be mine.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re impossible.”

She walked away, swinging her hips.