Smirk: A Stepbrother Romance

by Wilde, Ora

  “No, no... it’s not pizza anchovy,” Joshua tried to explain while chuckling. He was remarkably patient with the waiter who was clearly unfit for the job. “It’s combo pizza... you know... the one with all the meat and veggies?”

  “Oh... you mean the ref?” the waiter remarked as he pointed towards the kitchen.

  “What the...? No, no... I’m ordering pizza,” Joshua told him. He was getting really confused with their discussion.

  “Yes, boss, you’re ordering pizza,” the waiter replied. “That’s why you’re here, right?”

  I saw Joshua’s thick eyebrows curl in frustration as he tried to keep his patience. He displayed so much tolerance. I would’ve reacted more strongly if the waiter was talking to me like that.

  “Just... just tell the kitchen to prepare this,” he said with a tone of resignation as he pointed to the picture of the combo pizza on the menu.

  “Oh, right! You got it, boss!” the waiter answered as he moved his imposing figure towards the counter.

  Joshua gave me a startled look. “What was that?” he mouthed, before laughing it off.

  We talked about a lot of things while waiting for the pizza. He narrated how he, as a young boy in South Carolina, grew up in the company of farm animals. I was very amazed by the little known facts he shared about cows and pigs and chickens.... like how pigs are considered as the fourth most intelligent animals in the world, which made me regret eating all those pork delicacies I have come to enjoy... or how chickens are the closest living descendants of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which made me wonder why they weren’t in any of the Jurassic Park films... or how cows can sense the coming of a storm, and they would lie down on their tummies to brace themselves for the tempest that may be thousands of miles away.

  Our conversation gravitated towards more personal stuff.

  “Are you seeing someone?” he asked.

  “Nope,” I answered rather enthusiastically, which I belatedly realized.

  “I’m sorry, that was a stupid question,” he shyly admitted. “If you were, you wouldn’t have... you know... be with me right now...”

  “What makes you so sure of that?” I was intrigued to know.

  “Because you’re not that type of girl,” he answered with a boyish smile that made him even more gorgeous under the yellow glow of the lamp hanging above our table.

  I may have blushed but I was quick enough to change the topic of our conversation.

  “So... why did you choose this place?” I asked. It may sound shallow, but it was a question that kept bugging me since we alighted from his car and walked towards the pizza parlor.

  “Well... the pizza here is good,” he enthused.

  “It is,” I agreed.

  “Oh... you’ve been here before?”

  Errrr...

  “A few times,” I lied.

  He tapped his fingers on the table as he stared at me in a strange way... like he was happy we were together that night but he wanted to say something that he wasn’t comfortable to utter just yet.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he finally spoke. “You’re probably wondering why I brought you to a pizza place on our first date.”

  “Uhm...” I wanted to be careful with my words, as a careless one might hurt his feelings.

  “And the answer to the other question is yes,” he continued, “I do know that you may appear overdressed in this kind of a restaurant, what with your pretty self wrapped up in a lovely dress that makes you even more beautiful... more than usual, of course.”

  Wow! He has a way with words.

  “Well... the thought didn’t really enter my mind,” I lied again. “But now that you’ve mentioned it... why?”

  “Because, Phoebe, this is who I am,” he confidently answered.

  It was a kind of confidence that was so much different from Hayden’s. Joshua’s belief in himself stemmed from the fact that he knew who he exactly was, and he was happy about it. Hayden’s... well... he just didn’t want people to see how anguished he was inside.

  “I can take you to a fancy restaurant,” he continued, “but honestly, places like that make me feel uncomfortable. Plus, the prices are way out of my budget...”

  “Not to mention unjustified!” I sternly added.

  “And unjustified!” he agreed with a chuckle.

  We laughed at that idea for quite some time, contented with the fact that we shared a common belief about something that was peculiarly funny.

  “You seem so... perfect,” I admitted to him. “Guys like you are rare. There should be catch. Tell me. You have a girlfriend, right? Married maybe? Are you gay?”

  He sniggered at every question I threw at him, shaking his head in denial and disbelief.

  “There’s no catch, Phoebe,” he told me. “This is me. This is all I can offer.”

  I smiled at him, thinking that what he can offer was more than what I ever expected.

  “Sure you’re not hiding something?” I asked again.

  “Nope.”

  “You’re not a secret billionaire?”

  “Oh God... I wish I was!”

  “A vampire?”

  “What? No!”

  “A werewolf?”

  “Ha! We’re going all Twilight now?”

  “A werebear?”

  “I’m sorry... a what?”

  “Never mind...”

  “There’s no catch, Phoebe.... nothing at -”

  His statement was disrupted by a splash of cold soda over his white shirt, followed by a large plate of pizza that smeared his immaculate top with streaks of red and yellow and green.

  “Oops... sorry, boss...” the waiter halfheartedly apologized.

  “What the... what... why?” Joshua muttered as he extended his hands to his sides and looked at the mess that was made on his previously spotless garment.

  I looked at the waiter once again and it seemed like... like... like he was smiling.

  I quickly stood up and pushed the waiter aside. I went straight towards the counter where Alvin, the proprietor, was usually stationed.

  “Hey! ‘Sup Phoebe girl?” he asked as he saw me walking towards him.

  “Alvin... who’s that... that... that freaking new waiter?” I asked him furiously. “That big guy who looks like a football player?”

  “Oh... Zack?” he replied as he kept counting the money on the cash register. “Yup. He’s new. He actually just started a few minutes before you got here.”

  “Just started? On a Wednesday? Alvin... since when did you start hiring people on the spot?”

  “Since tonight?” he answered dismissively. “Zack just came by and asked if he could take over Sheila’s shift.”

  “That’s it? You hired him just like that? How much are you even paying him?”

  “Paying him?” he asked confusedly. He turned to look at me. “I ain’t paying him anything. He’s so under-qualified for this job.”

  “He’s doing this for free?”

  “Basically, yeah.”

  “Is that why you got him, just like that?”

  “Well, yeah... and he’s also paying me to let him wait the tables for tonight.”

  “What?!”

  I looked back at our table. The giant of a guy was still apologizing profusely to Joshua. He didn’t seem sincere, though. It wasn’t only because of that smile he had when he dropped the plate of drinks and pizza all over my date. It was in his body language... the way he stood with what looked like a satisfied pose... the way his hands moved ever so slowly despite the chaos he has caused... the way his body remained calm, never restless, never fidgeting, as if he was completely unaffected by what he has done.

  This Zack fellow left our table as Joshua was still busy wiping off the bell peppers and the tomato sauce and the anchovies from his shirt. I went back to him, but before I could reach my seat, I saw the big fellow grab his cellphone from his pocket. Giddily, he dialed a number and talked to someone whom he kept referring to as boss.

  “A
re you alright?” I asked Joshua as I handed him some napkins from my bag, though my eyes never left the large dude who was just a few steps away from us.

  “Yeah, yeah... no harm done... it was just an accident,” Joshua assured me. His calmness was, indeed, very admirable.

  “Let’s... let’s just leave, Joshua,” I requested. Our date wasn’t off to a good start. I thought that, maybe, a change of scenery would change our fortunes.

  “Okay,” he agreed. “Should we pay for....” he looked at the stains on his shirt, “this? We ordered them, after all.”

  “No, no need,” I said. “I’ll talk to Alvin and I’ll have this sorted out.”

  Alvin was kind enough to offer us some takeouts, but I refused. I just wanted a fresh beginning for our night, and the sooner we could leave that place, the sooner we could move to another location.

  “So, where do we go now?” I asked Joshua as we stepped out of Alvin’s Pizzeria.

  “I know this amazing place I want to share with you,” he excitedly exclaimed.

  “Nice! I can’t wait to get there!”

  Before we could reach his car, however, two strangers approached us. One small and rather frail, the other was big and powerfully built, though he wasn’t as large as Alvin’s new waiter.

  They looked awfully familiar...

  “Whoa! Joshua, mah main man!” the smaller guy called out.

  I looked at Joshua and saw his face filled with bewilderment and shock.

  “What’s happenin’ bro?” the stranger asked, as if he has known Joshua for a long, long time.

  While he was talking, however, the bigger guy kept tugging at his arm, whispering something I couldn’t hear. He had a look of concern and alarm on his face.

  “Do you know them?” I asked Joshua.

  “No, I don’t,” he firmly said.

  “Joshua, methinks we have some unfinished biz’nez to take care of,” the smaller guy said as he dismissed his bigger companion’s worries.

  Unfinished business?

  With those unscrupulous looking people?

  “What are you talking about?” Joshua asked, his anger quickly devouring his confusion.

  “What am I talking about?” the smaller guy repeated his question. “Pshhh. You heard that, Tommy Boy? This guy can be very funny sometimes.”

  When the bigger guy, Tommy Boy, spoke, I immediately recognized his voice and identified who they were.

  “Really funny, Estregan, really funny,” Tommy Boy replied, as he continued to eye me with much unease.

  It was then when I remembered exactly who they were! It was quite dark when I first encountered them, but their figures and their voices... they were unmistakable!

  They were the thugs who tried to steal my Dolce & Gabbana purse when Hayden and I went out! The same purse I was carrying that night! Oh my God! Joshua was associated with these goons?!

  “Joshua, can you explain to me what’s happening?” I asked him furiously.

  “I don’t have anything to expl -”

  He was cut off by the guy named Estregan.

  “Why do you owe this broad an apology, Josh?” he asked. “That’s so unlike you. You don’t treat your other girls like that, right?”

  “Other girls?” I questioned as I turned to look at the smaller stranger.

  “Yah!” he confirmed. “Other girls he’s been pimpin’. What? You think you’re the only hooker he be doin’ biz’nez with?”

  My eyes widened and my jaw almost fell on the pavement.

  “Hey, hey, man,” Joshua stepped forward in a protective stance, swinging me behind him. “Don’t talk to her like that, okay? Listen... I don’t even know you.”

  Estregan clapped his hands.

  “Joshua baby, I always knew you were a great actor,” he said. “Look, let’s just get this over with so that you can bring the broad to whoever your client is for tonight, aight?”

  He pulled out something stashed in plastic from his back pocket.

  “What the fuck is that?” Joshua asked. It was the first time I heard him cuss.

  “Oh... what the fuck is that he said,” Estregan snickered. “This be the merchandise you supposed to be deliverin’, boy.”

  “What?!” Joshua responded.

  “The mer-chan-dise!” Estregan reiterated. “The Mary Jane. The ganga. The 420. The grass. The skunk. God! Do I have to spell it out for you? This is the fucking cannabis, bro!”

  Cannabis? Marijuana?

  Joshua was a drug dealer?

  He took a step back. He didn’t want to touch the package that Estregan was extending to him.

  “I think we should talk to him another time, Estregan,” the big guy whispered. “She’s with the girl... you know... the girl who kicked my ass...” he added, covering his mouth with his hand, hoping that I wouldn’t hear.

  “Oh! So that was you!” Estregan yelled, surprised. “Listen lady, sorry for mistakin’ you for a hooker. We don’t want any trouble okay?”

  “Yeah lady, we don’t want any trouble,” Tommy Boy reiterated with a fearful voice.

  “We just wanna finish our biz’nez with Josh here and we’ll leave you two alone, aight?” Estregan continued.

  Wow!

  I knew there was a catch.

  There was always a freaking catch!

  That much I should have learned from Hayden, but I didn’t. I’m so freaking stupid!

  “Yeah, you go finish your unfinished business,” I said enraged. “I’m going home!”

  “Phoebe, wait!” Joshua pleaded. “I’ll bring you home...”

  “No!” I sternly screamed. “Go do what you have to do, Joshua. I’m taking a cab.”

  “But... but... but I don’t even know who these motherfuckers are...”

  “I’m sure you don’t,” I told him as I turned around and walked away.

  I hailed a cab and told the driver my address. Throughout the ride, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking how idiotic I was to have fallen for his charms. I should’ve known better.

  Guys... they can’t be trusted... at all!

  There’s always a catch. Always!

  I couldn’t wait to get back to my room, lock the door, and just waste my time looking at the ceiling and ruminating about my darn naivety.

  Maybe I was meant to be single my entire life.

  Maybe it would be better that way.

  So much better...

  Chapter 47

  HAYDEN

  “Bad date, huh?”

  I waited for her until she got home, which was earlier than I expected. She went inside the door and she looked like a little girl who just lost a catfight with some bully who teased her about her looks. She seemed so down and angry and exasperated and exhausted. She still looked pretty in her tight, black dress, though. And the way she carried her heels, which gave her a night of total discomfort I was certain, was rather cute.

  “You have no idea,” was her fatalistic reply.

  “Actually, I do,” I said with a self-satisfied grin. “I told you, something was off with that Jason guy...”

  “Joshua... his name is Joshua...”

  “Joshua then... as if it would matter as you’d rather forget him, right? Anyway, there’s something odd about that guy. It’s like he’s... he’s... he’s hiding something.”

  Her eyes lit up, giving me a great view of those wonderful beads that perfectly reflected her childlike innocence and her alluring sense of wonder.

  “That’s right!” she keenly agreed. “There’s something wrong about him.”

  “Well... wrong is too strong a word, Phoebe,” I tried to be subdued about the matter. I didn’t want her to suspect anything. “Bizarre, maybe? Queer? Weird, even?”

  “Yeah! He...” she paused and thought about whether she should share the details of her date or not. “He just seemed so perfect.”

  Her eyes started to swell. She was at the verge of tears.

  “Hush now,” I told her as I placed my arm around her shoulder. “M
any fishes in the ocean, and you’re quite a fisherwoman.”