Chapter 6

Gemma

I kept my eyes low when I pushed open the diner door, aware that the bell on top was going to jingle anyway and give away my entrance. I could sense Luke behind me; he reached over my head to hold the door open and we both stepped in.

As usual, there were only a handful of people at the diner and the din suddenly broke. Everyone had looked up. Nobody was looking at me. Luke had caught all their attentions.

The ringing bell had brought Big Mike out. The man hadn’t aged in years. As long as I could remember him, since I was six or seven, he had looked exactly the same. With a shiny bald head to match the bulging belly that always looked like it might burst through the constraints of his white half-sleeved shirt. No matter the weather outside, Big Mike never wore anything other than a thin cotton shirt and white pants, and almost always had an apron tied to his back.

“He’s made of lard,” Mom used to joke about him when I was a kid, and back when she still had a sense of humor. Dad told us stories about how Big Mike used to come into the local bar where Dad used to work, in the same clothes, including the apron tied to his back.

His big round face was red as a tomato. Dark thick hair, like his eyebrows, stuck out from both his ears and his nostrils. He was breathing heavily, impervious to the stains of coffee and ketchup splattered down the front of his apron. He had come out of the back kitchen with a massive spatula in his hand. When he saw me, his eyes widened with fury.

“You’re looking well rested,” he snarled, from behind the diner counter. He had said it loud enough for everyone to hear. All this had happened in a matter of seconds, before I had even had the time to walk around to him. Luke was still standing behind me. I knew my face was turning a bright pink from embarrassment. Big Mike smelled like fried chicken and grease, and I gritted my teeth.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Big Mike. I got a flat tire on my way,” I mumbled, walking toward the counter now. Everyone in the diner was looking at us. He was famous for his screaming matches and his short temper. He loved taking his anger out on his employees.

“You’re sorry? Sorry doesn’t cut it, girl,” he spat out at me, as I reached for my apron and hat behind the counter. I was trying to ignore him, hoping his anger would die down soon enough. This happened so often that I was used to it now. But it still stung. Especially now that Luke was in our presence, too.

“I said I was sorry; what else do you want me to say? I haven’t been late in months; cut me some slack,” I said dejectedly, walking around the counter toward him. Despite the anger welling up in me, I tried to maintain some decorum because I didn’t want to lose my job. I knew how easy it would be to make matters worse for myself. Big Mike looked like he was ready to burst a vein any moment now anyway, without any help from me. His shoulders were heaving and his fat fingers clutched the spatula tightly, turning his knuckles white.

“Cut you some slack? You get your way too much around here. Now you think you own the place. Waltzing in here whenever you please!” he was screaming again as I pushed past him toward the till.

“Calm down, Big Mike. We have customers. We can talk about this later, can’t we?” I tried to sound chirpy, like I was brushing his words off my shoulders. But I knew I’d be up thinking about this all night. Not that it mattered; I’d heard it all before. But I was embarrassed that Luke had to witness this. Especially after he knew what my plans were. He would find it funny that I had such big dreams. He would know that these were only castles in the air. I could never escape this life.

“Fuck the customers. Look at me when I’m talking to you, girl,” Mike screamed again.

I looked over at him in trepidation, just as Luke’s body came hurtling into my vision. My hand flew up to my mouth.

Luke had thrown himself over the counter, grabbing Big Mike by his shirt collar and yanking him forward.

“She said she had a flat tire,” Luke said through gritted teeth.

The handful of customers in the diner sat up straight in their seats now. An actual fight was ensuing in front of them; it was time for some fun. I, on the other hand, was too shaken up to do anything.

“Who the hell are you?” Big Mike thundered, choking slightly now that Luke was holding him tightly by his collar. The two men were glaring at each other, straight into each other’s’ eyes. Big Mike looked like he was at least triple Luke’s weight, but Luke had caught hold of him and held him in position with ease. The man was just as strong as his shoulders looked.

“I was going to be one of your paying customers, but that’s changed now because of the way you treat your employees,” Luke growled at the older man. Big Mike struggled to get out of his grip, but he couldn’t. Luke still had a hard hold on him and was clutching him close. Big Mike’s belly flopped against the edge of the counter.

“Luke, let him go. It’s okay, I’m used to it,” I said and he turned to meet my eyes.

His were jet black and piercing. His face had darkened in anger, and I was almost afraid of him. I had misjudged him earlier when I thought he couldn’t possibly ever lose his temper. Luke, in his anger, like someone who could send chills down your spine with just one stare.

Even Big Mike looked shaken up, despite struggling to get away.

“You’re used to it? You shouldn’t be accustomed to this kind of treatment, Gemma. What a terrible employer,” Luke said and finally let Big Mike go.

The man toppled to the floor, knocking his back against the wall. I could see the thick angry vein running down the middle of his forehead. He wasn’t happy. Luke was not exactly teaching him a lesson; he was making matters worse.

“I asked who the hell you are. Get out of here before I call the cops,” Big Mike thundered again, and Luke looked back at him. Big Mike had now pasted himself to the wall, keeping his distance from Luke as much as possible.

“I’m not going anywhere till you apologize to her for your behavior,” Luke said, straightening up.

“Luke, really, this isn’t needed,” I said from my corner, eyeing both the men alternatively. I wasn’t sure what Big Mike was capable of, and for that matter, I didn’t even know what Luke was capable of. It’s not like I knew him at all.

“Apologize to her, now,” Luke repeated, without looking at me.

“What? You two are like new friends? Where’d you find this jackass anyway?” Big Mike looked at me with a cruel forced smile on his face. I noticed Luke flinch and clench his jaw.

“I asked you to apologize, sir,” Luke said, for the third time.

Big Mike looked at him and scoffed. “I don’t have to do anything. Get out of here before I call the cops.”

Luke bunched up his fist and punched him straight in his belly, making Big Mike double over. I saw it happening in slow motion. Big Mike pressed himself against the wall, looking terrified, I had never seen that look of fright on his face. He had nowhere to go. Luke was too quick for him.

He was clutching his stomach tightly; his face was red in pain. My shriek rang out around the diner, while some other people stood up to get a better view. I knew what everyone was thinking—Big Mike had gotten what was coming to him, what had been coming for decades. But I had other thoughts in my head, namely the security of my job.

Big Mike was on the floor, scrunched into fetal position, pressing his arms over his belly. Luke was looming over him, looking down.

“You need to watch your mouth around women. And stop treating your employees like slaves, bastard,” Luke said in a low guttural voice, which was just as scary as his expression.

“Call the police. Someone call the cops!” Big Mike screamed. The only other kitchen staff, a wiry boy of sixteen, came running out with a phone in his hands. He didn’t know any better.

“Get out of here, Luke!” I cried, afraid, excited, crazed all at the same time. I wasn’t thinking straight, and for some reason I thought that making a run for it would be a good idea. Luke didn’t move an inch. He remained standing over Big Mike, breathing heavily.

I rushed to Luke’s side. “Luke, you have to go, now,” I told him, and he finally looked over at me with bloodshot eyes.

“You better leave, too, you bitch. And never think of showing your face here again,” Big Mike called out from the floor. I knew then that he wasn’t going to call the cops. Nothing had really happened. It was just a punch to the stomach; he wasn’t hurt.

“Let’s go, c’mon.” I tugged at Luke’s arm.

He breathed in and then conceded, allowing himself to be pulled in the other direction.

“Stupid tourist. Fucking tourists!” Big Mike was yelling, over and over again.

I exchanged nervous looks with Luke as I pulled him toward the door. Some of the customers were looking at us with solidarity. Nobody liked Big Mike. They were silently applauding Luke in their heads.

I pushed open the diner doors and pulled him outside, and finally I let go of him. I had felt those chiseled biceps in my hands. The strength of them had taken me by surprise again. I could already feel myself growing hot under my clothes. Why was I turned on by him, in this moment? I had just lost my job. I had just been in the middle of a loud public scene. Probably nobody would want to hire me when they got word of what happened. And yet, here I was, standing in front of Luke, thinking about how sexy he was, how pleasing his body was to stare at.

He had finally recovered his senses it seemed, because his eyes looked less vacant now. The softness in those lava-black pupils was returning.

“I’m sorry, Gemma, but you have to come with me now,” he said and turned and walked toward his car.