11TI VOGLIO BENE
CHAPTER 1
"Boy, I'm so tired," I commented, fumbling through the mall with shopping bags strapped to my arms and hands.
"Me too," agreed my friend Alissa. "I haven't shopped like this in like . . . ever!"
"Oh cheer up. We have to look our best for senior year," informed my friend Madison.
"Does that really matter," I asked completely tired, my shades falling from my head to my face.
"Yes. Yes it does," she answered. "Well to me that is."
"Ugh," I groaned. I'm Logan Marano and yes I'm a girl. I'm a first generation Italian-American, and I just recently returned from Italy from my usual summer family vacation. Now, I'm just happy to be home, relax, hang with my best buds, forget about everything that happened in Italia, and focus on the world I prefer best, my home. "Well, can we at least get a coffee break or something?"
"Yea, sure, whatever," she agreed reluctantly.
We stopped, finally, at a nearby café and chose a window seat.
"Oh my gosh," Alissa exclaimed leaning in. "Did you know that almost all of the waiters at this café are hot?"
"So, I'm guessing most of the waiters are male," I asked looking around.
"Yep," she said.
"Dang. I'd like to see that," Madison said, pulling out her cellphone.
"I just want some coffee," I shrugged.
"Hello ladies," A handsome waiter with dark brownish hair greeted as he approached us with a notepad in hand and a smile on his face. I froze. I know you, I thought, staring at him through my shades. "I'm Anzio and I'll be your waiter today. Is there anything you would like to drink?"
"I'll have a hot cappuccino," Madison said smiling flirtatiously. He looked at Alissa.
"I'll have what she's having," she said. When he turned to me my mind went completely blank. Madison cleared her throat and I opened my mouth. A small sound came out and his lips formed a broad, cocky smile that sparked a familiar hate in me. I suddenly found my will to speak.
"I'll have a caramel machiatto with a hint of chocolate," I said properly and his smile only grew bigger.
"Alright," he jotted it all down and winked at me. "Your menus are at the end of the table if you want to order something when I get back."
I growled after he left and the girls sent me confused looks.
"What was that all about," Madison asked.
"Nothing, just ordering coffee," I said as Alissa reached for a menu.
"That was not 'just ordering coffee', Logan," Madison pointed out. "You completely froze up!"
"In front of a guy!" Alissa exclaimed.
"It's nothing, just haven't seen hot guys in a while," I lied.
"What do you mean you 'haven't seen hot guys in a while'? You just came back from Italy of all places! And you never freeze up in front of a guy. Period!" she pointed out.
"What's wrong, girl?" Madison asked.
"I don't – Nothing, okay? Nothing," I said suddenly frustrated.
"Ok, we'll talk about this later," she said backing down.
"Thank you," I said relieved.
"Alright," Anzio said enthusiastically as he returned with our coffee. I tensed. "Here we go."
He sat our coffee on the table and smiled curiously as he slid mine in front of me. He lingered there for what felt like an eternity, not taking his eyes off of me.
"Hope you enjoy your coffee," he said softly then moved away.
"Thank you," Madison and Alissa said in unison. Madison raised an eyebrow at me as she took a sip of her cappuccino. I looked away.
After our little shopping expedition, we made ourselves comfortable in my room for the night. Immediately after I finished ordering pizza, Madison got down to business.
"So are you gonna explain what happened at the café," she asked as Alissa turned on some music.
"Madison," I groaned.
"Don't 'Madison' me," she said. "I will keep asking and you know it."
"Yeah, I know," I complained.
"So explain," she instructed.
"It's not that big of a deal, ok," I said becoming upset. "I just so happen to know the guy. That's all."
"You know him? And he makes you act like that? I have never in my life seen you act like that." She pointed out. "Is there something you haven't told us?"
"Well, I met him a few years ago in Italy," I said, slowly.
"So that's where the sexy accent comes from," Alissa said, plopping down beside me.
"Yeah, we'll go with that," I mumbled. "Anyway, I don't know why he's here! He's not even supposed to be here! He's supposed to be in Italy where he belongs!"
"And that's a problem?" Madison asked with an amused smile. "Come on! The guy's hot!"
"It's the back-story, that's the problem." I explained. "It's how we see each other."
"What happened," Alissa asked.
"Well," I started off slowly. "When I first met him he was in the kitchen eating some grapes that my grandmother gathered from her garden. He seemed like a sweet kid, you know. He was respectful, a perfect gentlemen, very easy to talk to, and very easy to fall for. I even began to fall for him, but that all changed when I returned the next summer. He became arrogant from knowing if a female was attracted to him or not. He became a heartbreaker and if I kept track of how many girls he dated and how many times he changed his relationship status on Facebook I would lose track.'
"I remember once, when I was helping his mom reel in some groceries I saw one of his many ex-girlfriends fly out of their house with tears streaming down her eyes and the way he treated girls suddenly began to bother me. I don't know why but I had to say something to him about it."
"Did you guys ever have a good relationship," Alissa interrupted.
"Yeah, before he became a jerk, we were pretty close," I answered.
"Ok, so what happened when you confronted him," Madison asked.
Mrs. Guiseppe and I were in the kitchen setting down grocery bags when her cellphone rang.
"I'm sorry, but I have to take this," she said in Italian glancing at her phone.
"Ok," I said.
"Anzio! Come and help Logan with the groceries!" she yelled as she walked away, not waiting for an answer.
Anzio reluctantly walked into the kitchen and silently began to put them away.
"So," I began, breaking his silence. "I see you broke up with number…one-hundred?"
"So, you've been keeping track of my girlfriends," he asked not stopping to look at me.
"Oh no," I chuckled continuing with the groceries. "I would never do that, but if I did…I would lose count, especially with all of the girlfriends and rebounds you've got coming out of your sleeve."
"Why do you even care!" he snapped suddenly, slamming his hands down on the counter. "Huh? Why! Are you jealous because you're not 'The Lucky Mrs. Guiseppe'? You don't even know what goes on in those relationships and you automatically assume everything is my fault? Just because you see my ex-girlfriends run crying dramatically out of the front door you blame me? Well, let me tell you something 'Little Miss Perfect'. It's NONE of your business whether it's my fault or not!"
"None of my business? None…of my business? You make it my freakin' business because you h-" I cut myself off and turned my face away so he wouldn't see my eyes. Then I recovered. "You make it my freakin' business every single time I see you ruthlessly break a girls heart into tiny little pieces and then heartlessly say, 'Oh she'll be alright. She'll get over it' like she's some balled up sheet of paper that you threw away because you didn't like the result! And you say 'she'll get over it'? No she won't! You're too much of a self-centered, stupid idiot that you can't even see that girls are humans with hearts! They have emotions! They have feelings! They're not just something you can discard whenever you feel like it! You idiot!"
"What are you some feminist now?" he asked with gestures included.
"No," I answered. "But at least I have enough sense not to fall for a guy like you."
"Heh, a guy like me," he smiled menacingly. "Baby you already fell for me. Remember?"
"Because at one point you were kind and you were a real person, a real man. But does it look like I'm falling for you now? Does it!" I asked and when he didn't respond I stormed out of their house. "I thought so."
"Wow," Madison said when I finished.
"That was so sad," Alissa said dramatically as she grabbed a tissue.
"Yeah," I agreed. "We never really talked after that and the only time he ever showed any kindness towards me was when he saved me from a guy who tried to rape me in my grandmother's vineyard."
"And that didn't change your relationship again," Madison asked.
"It made it even harder for us to be around each other or even close to each other. Thus, my reaction at the café," I explained.
"So, he didn't recognize you," Alissa asked.
"I don't think so, but knowing him, he probably saw right through my shades," I answered. A knock sounded at the door. Madison answered.
"Hey girls," my mom said peering into the room. "Did your pizza come yet? It's been over an hour."
"Woohoo! Free pizza," we exclaimed and the subject was forgotten.