3. Matteo
Chapter 3
Matteo
N oir was rocking, and I literally meant that. The place was so crowded, I feared that it was nearing capacity, but I’d managed to snag the last booth in the place.
I’d come to work anyway and enjoy a beer not the scenery.
My laptop was already open and illuminated when Jill, one of the servers came over and plopped my beer down with a glass and a napkin. She was a cute older woman with curly red hair that had streaks of grey shooting from her temples. I knew she worked on the weekends trying to help her son pay his way through college because we’d had a deep conversation about tuition hikes a few months ago.
“Whatcha working on Sweet Pea?” she asked casually, pulling the serving tray up to her chest.
I grinned back. “Official FBI business.”
“Anything good? Serial killer stuff? I just love a good serial killer documentary,” she raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss,” I winked before she let out a loud deep laugh.
Jill sashayed off and I picked up the beer, pouring the amber contents into the clean glass that immediately started to sweat with condensation. The beer foamed up at the top of the glass turning white and I could barely contain myself as I took a big swig of it.
Surveying the room, I saw couples dancing out on the floor while some played pool. Even the bar seemed to be completely full. Finally, I reached into the computer bag, and dug around looking for a pair of earbuds.
Stuffing them into my ears, I took one last sip of the beer before I started my deep dive into the Ito crime family. I wanted to know who every single player was. There was no way in hell I wanted to look stupid again in front of Director Dracula.
Within twenty minutes, I’d jumped down a rabbit hole. The Yakuza itself had been in operation for over three hundred years. They’d been able to infiltrate small businesses that included gas stations and restaurants. It hadn’t been until after the second world war that the Yakuza had started to target politicians in order to solidify a stronghold.
Something very loud crashed nearby, causing me to pull out an earbud. Beer had spilled everywhere, and the waitress was leaning down to clean it up. Patrons seemed to just be staring not bothering to help.
“Son of a bitch!” I heard her murmur.
She took the white rag now in her hands and began mopping up the mess she’d made.
Scrambling, I stopped what I was doing and bent down to help her.
“Here let me…”
“I don’t need your help!” The woman snapped, before looking up.
A sly grin rolled over my face. “Rain?”
The woman before me let a deep sigh fall from her lips. Rain was easily one of the most beautiful women I knew. She never needed any makeup as far as I was concerned, her complexion was flawless. Right above her perfectly pouty lips sat a tiny dark beauty mark making her mouth even more irresistible.
“Agent Zacharra,” she rolled her eyes.
“Now Rain, why you gotta call me by my government name,” I chuckled throwing a few pieces of large glass onto the serving tray.
“I said I got it,” she snapped.
This woman did not like me, and I’d even tried to get her to go on a date. We had a little bit of history considering her sister and my brother were pretty hot and heavy. I would even go so far as to use the words, in love.
She stood up then, all the glass collected, and I noticed she had a few tendrils of hair loose. Absentmindedly, I swept them behind her ear.
“Hey what in the hell buddy…” Her eyes had started to shoot off sparks.
Feeling foolish, I stuttered out an apology. “Ah…I…I… I’m sorry.”
Rain raked her eyes over me as if she were ripping my skin to shreds and then finally stormed off.
Watching her go, I sat back down in the booth and pulled a long swig of beer down my throat. Something had just happened to me that hadn’t occurred in years.
I couldn’t explain it.
I didn’t quite understand it.
As a child I’d had a severe stutter, it was to the point that my father would often yell at me, and other children would make fun of me for it.
Taking a deep breath, I counted myself down.
I hadn’t stuttered in fucking years.
Since freshman year of high school, my brain felt suddenly tired.
Rain Ellis-Allan had made me fucking stutter like a goddamn schoolboy. When the beer was drained from the glass, I slammed it down.
Watching the last of the sudsy remnants slide down the inside of the glass, I decided I wanted another beer. For just a moment, I’d thought about fleeing.
Nope she’s just gonna have to deal with me being here, I thought.
Closing the laptop, I maneuvered over to the bar to order another beer. It was nearly impossible to slide in between people, the crowd was thicker than Texas Toast. Managing to get between a few people, I waited.
Rain had gotten behind the bar, making drinks and I could see a little sheen of sweat on her brow. She spotted me and came over, rolling her eyes as she did.
“What?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Have I done something to you this evening?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Agent Zacharra, please tell me what you need.”
Your cute mouth on my hard and waiting dick…
The thought seemed to shock me, and something seemed to tingle at the base of my neck. Raising my hand, I rubbed at the spot on my neck. Rain crossed her arms and started to tap her feet, I guessed I’d taken too long.
“Beer, please.”
“What kind?”
“…pale ale, Stizzoso .”
Her eyes turned up slightly, her gaze becoming angry, and she leaned forward on the bar. “What did you just call me?”
I grinned, leaning a little closer. “Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!”
We were inches from each other’s faces and I didn’t know if she was going to stab me or slap me.
Maybe she was going to do both.
“It was Italian,” I said finally, continuing to challenge her in her little staring contest.
“What?” She blinked.
“I called you feisty… in Italian…”
She took a deep breath and finally stepped back, muttering, “Oh.’
Her cheeks became flushed with embarrassment, and she strode away to get my beer. I watched her, her ass cheeks giving a slight bounce. Rain must’ve worked out because she was tight in all the right places but her thighs could have crushed a lesser man between them.
I watched her work, noting the way she moved quickly to keep pace. First, she grabbed a glass and then reached under the bar and into a cooler for a bottle of beer. She walked back over, full of attitude and sat the items down gently.
“Anything else?” She crossed her arms, annoyance laced her tone.
I shook my head not daring to press my luck with her feisty ass. “Nah.”
Gabbing the items, I headed back over to my booth, ducking and dodging the people. Logging back into the government property I’d left unattended, I grimaced.
“You’re asking to lose this job,” I mumbled out loud to no one.
Shoving the earbuds back into my ears, I leaned back in my seat scrolling. Occasionally, I would lift my head and look towards the bar keeping Rain in view.
It was like watching a sunset in the far-off distance. I wasn’t the only man in the bar that had taken notice either, every single man in a ten-mile radius seemed to be itching to climb her like a tree.
Jealousy shot through me as if someone had dashed a bucket of ice-cold water on my face. She had her head thrown back laughing at some moron.
My head felt kind of heavy and the sensation from earlier, that buzzing feeling in my neck had started up. Rubbing at the back of my neck, I picked up the glass of beer and finished it off. I’d hit my limit with the alcohol, and I was done researching anyway.
Watching Rain flirt with every fucking customer in her brother’s bar wasn’t doing me any good either. Standing up, I closed my laptop and shoved it inside my bag. As I was pulling the bag onto my shoulder, Jill the waitress came walking by.
“Heading out handsome?” She asked, her kind eyes smiling.
I nodded looking down at her. “Yeah, I think I better get some rest.”
She looked over her shoulder and towards the bar. “For what it’s worth, you two would make a cute couple.”
I coughed a little bit, before clearing my throat. “Huh?”
Jill patted my shoulder with a few gentle raps, before walking away. “The beer isn’t that good in this place, Sweetie. Have a good night, Matteo.”
My face began to turn as red as a tomato and I knew I needed to get out of this bar.
I didn’t even so much as look in Rain’s direction when I left.
It was only when I felt cool spring wind hit my face, offering some sort of relief, that I started to breathe easy.