“That’s it.You brought this on yourself.”Lola turned to face Katy, stopping her friend in her tracks.She reached out, grabbed her nipple, and twisted as hard as she could.It’s also not weird that I’m touching my best friend’s nipple.Lie.Itwasabsolutely weird.But desperate measures and all that jazz.
Katy slapped at Lola and then shoved her away as she screeched like a banshee.“Dammit, you little twerp.We agreed boob torture was off the table!”She finally pushed hard enough that Lola stumbled back, releasing her grip.
“If I recall correctly, there was a clause allowing for boob torture in case of extenuating circumstances.”Lola turned on her heel and continued walking.“And you’re the one who wrote the clause.If the offending BFF doesn’t stop torturing the defending BFF, all bodily harm is fair play.”She’s lucky I didn’t have a knife.I kind of think I would have used it.Thankfully, nipple-twisting is much less bloody, and there’s pretty much no chance of causing death.I seriously need to stop talking to myself.It’s becoming disturbing.
“I was talking about real torture, you short-as-shit, Pixie Slut.”
Lola waved her off.“You’re an inch taller than me, so that’s not really an insult.”
She noticed Katy rubbing her chest out of the corner of her eye and smirked.Lola knew all the abuse they dished out to one another was done out of love… mostly.If Katy didn’t tease you, then she didn’t like you.She was kind of like Lola’s cat, named Dog– yes, that was really his name.If he didn’t bite you just for the heck of it, he had no cares to give about you.The harder the bite, the more he liked you.The same could be said for Katy, both literally and figuratively.And just like she had to knock Dog off the bed every once in a while when he bit too hard, she also had to pinch Katy’s nipple occasionally when her friend teased too much.“Your boob going to be okay?”
Katy huffed.“I’ll let you know in a decade when I have a kid and try to boob-feed it.”
“I think it’s called breastfeed, genius.”Although boob-feed could catch on.It had a hipster sound to it.
“Tomato, potato,” Katy said dryly.Then she added, “I’m sorry I teased you about your book boy-toys.It’s just so easy.And fun.You know I’m going to get you back when you least expect it.With girls like those,” she motioned to Lola’s chest, “you’re an easy target.But for now, I’ll call a truce.”
“Truce accepted.”See?I was right.We do love each other.“Until you decide to retaliate.Then all bets are off.And you might want to start wearing padded bras.”But that love definitely has conditions.
No Name Pizzeria, or NNP for short, was only four blocks from Lola’s apartment.Their boss, Sal, had once told Lola he’d decided to name the placeNo Name Pizzeriabecause he wanted his pizza to be so good his place didn’t even need a name.Apparently, he’d succeeded because the place stayed packed, becoming one of those hole-in-the wall restaurants tourists went out of their way to visit.
The four-block walk went by quickly with Katy at her side, pointing at people and voicing what she decided they were thinking as they walked passed.She said things like ‘Oh, look at me with my fancy briefcase,’ when pointing at a well-dressed man in a suit, or ‘Oh, no, I think I left the oven on,’ after pointing out a stressed-out soccer mom.Lola reminded her that pointing at people on the streets of New York City was like waving a red flag at a bull.Some psycho would make you their target simply because you brought attention to yourself.Rule one of Big Apple Etiquette: Keep your head down and walk fast.Only tourists looked around, meandering and pointing, making them easy pickings for the less than savory patrons of the city.
Lola pulled the door open toNNPand the smell of warm dough, spices, and tomato sauce, assaulted her senses.It was as familiar to her as the scent of her own home.In the three years she’d been working at NNP, she loved the smell, but her taste buds were long ago pizza’d out.
As she and Katy zig-zagged through the checkered tables, familiar faces nodded and hands waved at them.A few patrons even called out greetings.For those twenty seconds it took to get to the EmployeeOnly door, Lola feltseenin a way that was not brought on by her skin disorder.Living in a city the size of NYC had a way of making a person feel invisible and insignificant.But living in NYC with a disorder as obvious as vitiligo made her feel like a zoo exhibit.Even with her two best friends, loving parents, and the people she worked with daily, taking up space in her heart, Lola still felt like something was missing.I need to get past that feeling.I’m just wasting away my life waiting for something to happen.But the idea of giving up on thatsomethingmade her feel bereft of the thing she somehow knew was essential to her life.
“You’re both late,” Maddie called out from behind the counter.“And fired.”
“You can’t fire us, you closet freak,” Katy hollered back.She was unconcerned about who heard her.“We have seniority.”
Maddie shook her head as she took a few bills from the customer across from her.“Working here a week longer than me does not mean you have seniority.”
“I’m with her.”Lola gestured at Katy.“We’re practically management.You’re a lowly, serving wench.”
“You’re all three lowly, serving wenches.Now, don’t start on each other today, or so help me, I’ll pull whatever hair I have left out of my head.”Sal barked at them through the order window.“I can’t handle it today.I really can’t.”
Lola gestured at Katy and Maddie.“I didn’t even start it.”
“Guilty by association.”He shrugged.“I told you to get new friends, Little One.These two will corrupt your pure heart.”
Lola rolled her eyes.“I work with them every day and they follow me home like stray cats.It’s kind of hard to get rid of them.”And I sort of like them.Most days.
“I keep telling you to run away with Antonio.”Sal’s brow bounced up and down suggestively.“He could take you to Italy.”
Hell to the no.Lola mentally shook her head.
Katy pushed Lola toward the employee door.“I wouldn’t let your man-whore of a son, no matter how hot he is, nearmy little onewith a fifty-foot pole, Sal.And if you’re so protective of Lola, then you wouldn’t either.”
Regardless of his words, Lola knew Sal adored all three of them, which is why he tolerated Katy’s insubordination.That and she was a hard worker, which was hard to come by nowadays, even if she did get mouthy with Sal and the occasional customer.
“Some women are for fun,” Sal said.“And some women are for forever.Little One is the latter.”
Lola pretended not to hear what her boss had said and hurried into the back room where their lockers were located.She shoved her backpack into the space and then tied her sauce-stained apron around her waist.Sal had been trying to fix her and Antonio up ever since she’d turned nineteen.And as Katy said, Sal’s son was indeed good looking.But the problem was, he knew it.The ladies liked him, and he liked the ladies.Not to mention he was twenty-eight.That just seemed like a bit too big of an age gap.The whole thing would have been harmless, except Antonio didn’t dismiss the idea as easily as she had.
At first, she’d been flattered because most guys were put off by her skin.Lola noticed that older men weren’t as focused on what made her different.If anything, it made them more intrigued.She only wished guys her own age felt the same.And if Antonio’s relentless flirting was any indication, he was completely on board with his father’s idea.If his flirting wasn’t bad enough, anytime a male customer acted a tad bit interested in her, Antonio would appear out of nowhere, to lay some sort of claim on her.It was irritating, but Lola usually just laughed it off.She certainly didn’t encourage or reciprocate it.Antonio, however, wasn’t dissuaded.Apparently, Italian men were quite relentless when they’d set their sights on someone they considered a ‘forever’ kind of woman.
“I swear if I didn’t love Sal like a dad, I’d slit his throat with a pizza slicer.”Katy huffed as she tied her own apron on, her motions jerky and rough.“He just won’t give up with the Antonio thing, not to mention, if you haven’t noticed, said Italian Romeo has been showing up here every day you work.He’s getting ballsy.”
