Puente. The only contact he’d had so far with her was their damn texting still. She was home now, and h e was dying to see her . H e still hadn’t even asked if he could use the restaurant ’s car , which Sal had let him use to get to and from work , to drive out to see her.
The last few days she’d been busy packing because she was moving : n owhere far , just out of that scum my building she lived in now . Rose had asked Vince to share as little as possible with Sal about anything her sister was up to. He’d already blown it by letting Sal know they were in Laughlin , but fortunately Sal hadn’t asked much about it.
Finally , Rose said she might be able to see him tonight , only she had to convince her sister. Apparently , thanks to Sal , even though he wasn’t with her sister anymore , she was still holding on to the advice that Sal had given her before they broke up that Vince shouldn’t be trusted.
He walked into the dining room of the restaurant where Sal was chatting with his friend Romero. Vince had been around Romero before. He liked him. He wasn’t wound nearly as tight as Sal was. And from what he’d heard , he was a bit of a hothead himself so Vince could relate.
Vince hadn’t even finished tying his apron when Sal was already asking if Rose was still in Laughlin.
“Nah, they got back a few days ago , but she’s been busy packing for uh…” S hit ! Vince finished tying his apron and tried to recover from the slip and changed the subject. “You think maybe it’ d be okay for me to drive out tonight and see her for a couple hours after my shift?”
“You mean un packing right?” Sal asked and Vince could feel his cousin eyeing him as he pretended to concentrate on tying his apron.
He gave a few vague answers to relieve Sal’s further curiosity with the whole packing/unpacking thing. Vince thought they’d gotten past it. He was even relieved when Romero started in on him about Rose.
“You and Grace’s sister, h uh?” Romero asked tossing his napkin on his plate with a smirk then burped.
Vince was about to respond when Romero added another irritating comment. “She’s straight jailbait, man.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t believe it when Grace said she was only fifteen.”
The smirk on Romero’s face was so annoying Vince couldn’t help but give in to his obvious riling. “Jailbait?” He was t rying not to glare but knew he’ d failed miserably. “What the hell does that mean?”
Oh, he knew what he meant al l right , but that would only be true if Rose were promiscuous and tried to pass herself as older than she was.
Obviously this amused Sal’s stupid friend because he smirked even bigger now. “Means you’re gonna have your hands full, fighting off older guys who might mistake her for an eighteen-year-old.”
To his own surprise , this really pissed him off. Rose was his friend and one of the sweetest girls he’d ever met. “No I won’t,” he said raising his voice , “ ’c ause she’s not like that.”
Practically laughing now, Romero lifted his hands in the air. “You wanted to know what I meant. I was just explaining.”
What an asshole ! Maybe Vince didn’t like this guy so much after all. Of course Vince knew what he’d meant about jailbait , but what he really wanted to know was what Romero was insinuating about Rose. Before he could recover , Sal added his own two cents.
“Romero is right. She did already get asked to that prom by an older boy.” Now even Sal smirked. “I dunno ; you really think she was busy for days of unpacking? That’s kind of odd. Isn’t it? You sure maybe her prom date wasn’t keeping her busy?”
Completely ignited now by these two assholes , the words flew out before he could think it through. “She was packing, okay? I wasn’t supposed to say anything , but they’re moving.”
Seeing Sal’s smirk fall flat gave Vince some satisfaction. Who was irritating who m now?
“Moving where?”
“They’re not
The last few days she’d been busy packing because she was moving : n owhere far , just out of that scum my building she lived in now . Rose had asked Vince to share as little as possible with Sal about anything her sister was up to. He’d already blown it by letting Sal know they were in Laughlin , but fortunately Sal hadn’t asked much about it.
Finally , Rose said she might be able to see him tonight , only she had to convince her sister. Apparently , thanks to Sal , even though he wasn’t with her sister anymore , she was still holding on to the advice that Sal had given her before they broke up that Vince shouldn’t be trusted.
He walked into the dining room of the restaurant where Sal was chatting with his friend Romero. Vince had been around Romero before. He liked him. He wasn’t wound nearly as tight as Sal was. And from what he’d heard , he was a bit of a hothead himself so Vince could relate.
Vince hadn’t even finished tying his apron when Sal was already asking if Rose was still in Laughlin.
“Nah, they got back a few days ago , but she’s been busy packing for uh…” S hit ! Vince finished tying his apron and tried to recover from the slip and changed the subject. “You think maybe it’ d be okay for me to drive out tonight and see her for a couple hours after my shift?”
“You mean un packing right?” Sal asked and Vince could feel his cousin eyeing him as he pretended to concentrate on tying his apron.
He gave a few vague answers to relieve Sal’s further curiosity with the whole packing/unpacking thing. Vince thought they’d gotten past it. He was even relieved when Romero started in on him about Rose.
“You and Grace’s sister, h uh?” Romero asked tossing his napkin on his plate with a smirk then burped.
Vince was about to respond when Romero added another irritating comment. “She’s straight jailbait, man.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t believe it when Grace said she was only fifteen.”
The smirk on Romero’s face was so annoying Vince couldn’t help but give in to his obvious riling. “Jailbait?” He was t rying not to glare but knew he’ d failed miserably. “What the hell does that mean?”
Oh, he knew what he meant al l right , but that would only be true if Rose were promiscuous and tried to pass herself as older than she was.
Obviously this amused Sal’s stupid friend because he smirked even bigger now. “Means you’re gonna have your hands full, fighting off older guys who might mistake her for an eighteen-year-old.”
To his own surprise , this really pissed him off. Rose was his friend and one of the sweetest girls he’d ever met. “No I won’t,” he said raising his voice , “ ’c ause she’s not like that.”
Practically laughing now, Romero lifted his hands in the air. “You wanted to know what I meant. I was just explaining.”
What an asshole ! Maybe Vince didn’t like this guy so much after all. Of course Vince knew what he’d meant about jailbait , but what he really wanted to know was what Romero was insinuating about Rose. Before he could recover , Sal added his own two cents.
“Romero is right. She did already get asked to that prom by an older boy.” Now even Sal smirked. “I dunno ; you really think she was busy for days of unpacking? That’s kind of odd. Isn’t it? You sure maybe her prom date wasn’t keeping her busy?”
Completely ignited now by these two assholes , the words flew out before he could think it through. “She was packing, okay? I wasn’t supposed to say anything , but they’re moving.”
Seeing Sal’s smirk fall flat gave Vince some satisfaction. Who was irritating who m now?
“Moving where?”
“They’re not
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