Chapter 31: Pizza And Awkward Talk

"Feel better?" I asked, my eyes trailing the girl with much cleaner hair and skin than she had just a few minutes ago. We couldn't really do anything about her clothes but when she showed up at my place I'm sure we could find something for her to wear.

"Yeah, thanks E." She gave me a small smile, her finger brushing aside a damp strand of black hair clinging to her forehead.

"Don't mention it, friends do for friends." I smiled at her, the sense of worry growing in me dying after seeing her look less like a zombie.

"Hmph, did you forget about me?" Abby asked as she once again sat her ass across the countertop, her body now blocking my view of Persimmon and most of the store. Coiling my arms around her waist I pulled her tight against me, my face poking out from underneath her armpit.

"Thanks, babe, Liv should be here soon. How long has it been since you guys talked?" I was kind of curious as at least from my memory her, Rachel, and Liv used to be as thick as thieves. The pink-haired girl was kind of like a big sister to the other two.

"It's been a couple of years, college really killed any of my free time so I couldn't really hang out with anyone." I nodded, my spiky hair rubbing at the underside of her arms. The girl shuddered at the sensation, her arm rising up in the air to avoid it.

"E, you need to let your hair grow out." Her tone was stern and along with a quick nod from Persimmon, I knew they must've disliked my hair being cut so short.

"It gets curly though…" I muttered, the painful memory of having an unintentional afro in kindergarten preventing me from ever wanting my hair to get past the short length of a buzz.

"I can take you to a proper hair salon, E. You won't have to worry about looking like buff Bob Ross." Persimmon snorted at that, her hand covering her mouth as her shoulders shook from her giggling. I tried to muster a glare but I myself was busy trying not to laugh at the image of a buff Bob Ross in my brain.

"Buff Bob Ross would take beating the devil out of it literally!" I finally cracked, my shoulders jumping up and down at Persimmon's joke. The sound of my chuckle filled the gas station, my body leaning against Abby.

"S-shit, that was good." I finally calmed myself, my eyes catching the gleam of a pair of headlights pulling into the parking lot. A two-door hard-top Geo Tracker pulled in, the purple color cluing me in to who it was. On top of the car's hood was the glowing light of a triangular prism. In red cursive letters that contrasted the off-white glow of the sign, they spelled out Rivera's.

The car parked right beside the handicapped spot near the door, the driver-side door opening to reveal the Atari rainbow stripes running horizontally over the body of the vehicle. This had been the Rivera's delivery car since they started their business, the rugged little shit lasting way longer than it had any right to.

They had other drivers but they were mainly high school kids doing it for some extra cash, and labor laws meant that they couldn't work this late. Well they could, I did, but that was because I worked under the books until I reached 18. Dad was good friends with Mike so I was never really hassled about it, but Jerry always looked like he was eating crow when he handed me my cash.

My stupid thoughts ceased when a heeled foot touched the ground, the leather straps of the shoe running up her caramel-skinned ankle. Standing up fully, Olivia's head of wavy black hair gleamed under the fluorescent light of the storefront. Her Hazel eyes peered through the windows and when she saw me and Abby her eyes widened. The black-haired girl beside me gave the girl a warm smile and a big wave. From my position I could only nod my head in acknowledgment, a small grin playing across my lips.

Shaking herself from her daze the girl shut the car door, and my eyes couldn't help but widen. She was wearing a frilly white crop top, the ruffled thing did little to cover anything but her boobs. My eyes trailed across her toned midriff, the girl hadn't changed much there since I last seen her running track at school. What had change was her thighs, the doughy flesh straining against the faded denim of her jeans.

As she walked across the front of her car, my eyes watched her ass jiggle with each step. She was stacked, with an ass bigger than any girl I'd met (The old ladies at Walmart don't count). What made it even crazier was how firm it still looked, underneath that juicy layer were toned muscles giving her ass the right mixture of fat and muscle to be perfect.

"Ahem, E, are you done staring?" Abby cleared her throat as one of her fingers nudged my cheek. Looking up I could see her ebony eyes narrowed at me, a frown marring her lips.

"Sorry babe, it's been a while since I've seen her so it's kind of a shock to see her so…" The words died in my throat as her eyes narrowed further, the implied threat if I said anymore was enough to get me to shut up.

"Yes, Olivia has changed quite a bit, having parents who own a pizza joint would do that to you." Her words were biting and not all the friendly tone she used to talk about her friends.

"Damn, girl's built like a Pixar mom!" Persimmon didn't seem to notice the change in Abby's mood or maybe she didn't care, her loud words causing me to snort back a laugh.

"You two are hopeless." Abby sighed, her hand covering her mouth to no doubt hide the smile growing on her face.

We watched on as the girl rounded the corner before walking to the front passenger door and opening it. Taking out a red pizza warmer bag, she closed the door before walking inside the store.

*Bing Bong*

"Here we are, one large pepperoni pizza, an order of breadsticks, oh, and mom made you something special Ethan." She walked to the counter as she spoke, Abby hopping off of it so the girl could lay out the food. The pizza box was the normal white color, with purple trim running along the sides, and the center containing the Rivera name in cursive being the only two distinguishing features.

"Thanks, what do I owe you?" I had already pulled out my wallet, the Andrew Jackson inside ready to be busted.

"You owe us a visit to the arcade, this one though is on the house." I paused before still reaching inside an taking out the 20 dollar bill I had planned on giving her.

"If that's the case then take this as a tip, me and the boys are going to be busy Saturday night but early in the day, we can stop by. I still need to show 'em who's boss, do you still have KOF?" I can almost picture the old Neo-Geo sitting in the back corner near one of the exits the employees used for smoke breaks. A nostalgic smile grew on my face as I remembered the dozens of times I bummed cigs off of the teens, good times.

"Dad would kill us if we dropped it, he still wants a rematch by the way." I grimaced at that. Video games were supposed to be fun but it seems Mr. Rivera never got the message as he was the sweatiest player to ever live. Every time I faced him I'd have to contend with a man who'd been playing KOF since he was young, and in the many matches we had I only won once. The last time I played him I won by the skin of my teeth and he'd never let it down.

"…Tell him I'll be there." I slumped down like I'd just pleaded guilty to a crime that would lock me up for life. The inevitable defeat at his hands would spoil the fun of me curb-stomping my friends in the same game.

"Good, Mama also wants to see you play DDR again." She snickered and my face flushed, both of us remembering the disastrous attempt I made while drunk to play Dance Dance Revolution. Let's just say it involved me cleaning the floor later with a mop and bucket and several red imprints of Mrs. Rivera's flip-flops on my face.

"I won't be drunk this time," I muttered like that'd make any difference. My white ass couldn't dance to save its skin even if I was sober. Unless we were square dancing, which rather shamefully was something I loved doing as a kid I could not keep a rhythm.

"Good, good, I wouldn't want you to have to mop the floors again." She teased and once again I wished I could just bury myself in a hole somewhere. Answering my prayers was Abby, the girl mercifully diverting the conversation away before Persimmon could start asking questions with even more embarrassing answers.

"How's it goin' Liv?"

"Pretty good, how's college?"

"Good, I'm taking a gap year to catch my breath. Last semester really kicked my ass so I want to be rested and refreshed to take on my final year."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Online classes have been a real pain so I've had to cut back on my course load. It's hard, working a job and going to college, but Mama won't let me quit."

"…"

"…"

"So—" "How's—"

"…"

"…"

"Go ahead, you were first."

"Uh, well Jason was talking the other day and he said something about you guys dating. Is that true?"

"Yep."

"Oh, wow…congrats guys."

"…Thanks Liv."

"Well, this is awkward." Persimmon finally chimed in on the awkward conversation, but she did little to help the atmosphere. She seemed to like drama like this, but I was the exact opposite.

"Shut it!" I hissed as I covered her mouth, but that was a big mistake. A warm slimy thing glided across my palm as I pulled it away from her. Persimmon grinned, her pink tongue darting over her lips as she winked at me. I grimaced as I wiped my hand on my pant sleeve, my eyes narrowing at the girl.

***

(Olivia Jade Rivera POV):

"Mama, he's already got a girlfriend!" I yelled as I busted through the back door, Mama still busy cleaning away at the utensils we used. Tears streamed down my cheeks like the scalding hot water of a shower. My throat burned as I fought hard against the sobs trying to leave my lips. It felt like there was a burning lump of coal in my throat, my feet carrying me toward the hunched form of my mother still hard at work.

She had just raised up when I slammed into her, my arms looping around her back. Pressing my face against her I finally let it out, beads of tears streaming down the black vinyl apron she was wearing to wash dishes. My bare stomach was covered in the soapy dishwater staining her apron as I clung to her. A hoarse scream left my lips before I could reign it in, the pain in my throat roaring like a blazing fire.

"Calm down…" She whispered, her arms still kept at her side as they continued to drop water on the floor. "It isn't over."

"Hic…h-how can you say that?" I asked as I looked up at her with blurry eyes, pooling tears creating a distorted image of my mother. It was impossible for a woman to smile so evilly right?

"You gave him the gift I sent for him right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Because I left him a little present that will help you two get closer." She grinned, her hand wiping away the water on her pant leg before she rubbed my head. At that moment I wondered what she had done, a sense of fear accompanying my curiosity. I hope it isn't bad.