◈A D R I A N◈

"He was kissing a man." There. I dropped the bomb. I took a peek at her and saw Kara's jaw dropped open in total shock.

"That's..." Her eyes blinked rapidly and I could see that she was lost for words. "That's impossible. I never knew he's bi. I mean...I've never seen him showed any interest in guys. He was the straightest man I know!"

Her voice grew shrill as her agitation rose and it was starting to get looks from nearby booths.

"Shhh! You need to keep your voice down!" I hissed as softly as I could. "I shouldn't have told you this if I know this is how you'll react," I glared at her.

"No, you did the right thing. Trust me." Her hand gripped mine to assure me. "Not a single soul will know I heard this from you. Definitely not Logan."

I stared straight at her. "I hope you will keep your pro-"

"Fuck, it took forever for this to dry! I just made a total ass of myself gyrating under the hand dryer," Logan grumbled as he strode to our table. His gaze dropped to Kara's hand on top of mine.

I pulled my hand away quickly and cleared my throat awkwardly. With a suspicious look on his face, Logan motioned for me to scoot over. I slid my butt nearer to the other end of the seat. He slumped back to the seat and looked at us both averting our gazes.

"What's wrong? Why did you two looked like you got caught with your hands in the cookie jar?" Logan asked, his eyes fleeting between Kara and me.

"Fratello! I hope you didn't wait for long." The chef's bubbly voice cut through the tense air. A plate of bombolone piled high was placed on the table followed by a pan of sizzling magherita and three shepherd's pie. The cannoli was the last to join us, the ricotta filling oozing from both ends.

Logan let the matter slid away for the time being and turned to grin at his friend. "I could wait for a whole year just for this delicious babies." He rubbed his hands together in delight.

Giù's lips curled in distaste. "Been here for ten years and I still can't understand American's choice of words, fratello. You made my restaurant sound like a cannibalistic fest!" He shook his head in disapproval.

Logan laughed heartily. "Well, get used to it. You're about to hear more explicit comments once I dig in."

"And I shall retreat back to my sanctuary, the kitchen." He turned to Kara and straightened his polka dot bow tie proudly and bowed, "Gustare, bella signora."

The corner of Kara's eyes crinkled and she thanked the chef, "Grazie."

The chef returned to his fort while I was reaching for the second piece of the pizza. As hard as I tried, I couldn't resist the charm of tomatoes and mozzarella.

Logan reached for the pizza too, the stringy cheese pulled into thin threads before breaking off. He used his fingers to gather the stray ends and piled them on the slice. "So, what's the deal?" he asked with his mouth full of dough and cheese.

Kara chuckled a little unnaturally, her eyes was shifty and couldn't look straight into Logan's eyes.

She picked on a cannoli and nibbled on it. "We were just plotting on how to get these yummy food for ourselves. With your giant appetite, we doubt we can even get a crumb when you're finished."

I groaned inwardly. Nice job, Kara. He totally bought it.

Logan didn't look convinced at all but he didn't press any further. He popped a whole bombolone into his mouth and munched on it, his mind distracted.

Kara took a sip of her coffee and leaned forward. "Guess who I bumped into yesterday. Marlene!" she exclaimed.

Logan hummed dismissively, tearing into the third piece of the pizza.

Kara wasn't affected by his disinterest and continued, "We met at the salon and she told me the biggest news ever. Remember Johnny, the star player from senior year?"

"What about him?" Logan asked.

"Well...he got married last month. The whole walking down the aisle thing..." Kara trailed off, her eyes studying Logan closely.

"Isn't that the standard procedure? We walked down the aisle, too."

Kara flipped her hair back and huffed, "Yeah, but here's the thing. He's married to a man."

I choked on the thick cannoli filling and fumbled for the water to wash it down my throat.

Woah, that woman really didn't know how to play it cool!

Logan shook his head at me and pushed the jug of water to my side. I gave a small smile of appreciation and refilled my glass. Downing on my second glass of water, I glared at Kara hoping that she'll get the clue and shut up. Instead, she gave me a look that said I've got this.

"I don't see how sensational this news is. He got married, well good for him. I wish him a happy married life. You and Marlene need to calm your..." he gestured at Kara's generous bosom.

Kara rolled her eyes. "Don't you remember how he used to be back in high school? He fucked nearly all the girls in our grade! I always pinned him to like tits, not dicks."

Logan held up his hand to stop her. "Okay, that's enough. We have an underage here so let's keep this conversation family-friendly." He shot me a look and pushed his share of shepherd's pie to me, urging me to eat more.

I would have ravaged that pie if only my stomach wasn't tied in knots. I swear another word from her mouth and we'll be screwed over and over!

"I was just...surprised, you know. Sexuality is a funny thing. One day you wake up and boom! You're gay." She glanced at Logan meaningfully as if expecting him to open up to her.

Kara placed her hand on Logan's forearm and squeezed. "I'm all ears, if you ever need someone to talk to."

Logan took a sip of his water and put down the glass a little harsh. "Okay, spit it out. What's going on? Why are you telling me all this?"

Fuck fuck fuck! A fucking matchstick shouldn't play with fire, I cursed myself.

Kara looked a little hurt. "I was just trying to help. I know it's not easy to be a bi-"

"I need to poop!" I slammed the table and shot up. A couple of girls giggled behind us and I grew red from the embarrassment. Panic got the better of me and I just blurted out anything that will stop Kara's stupidity.

But I never expected anything to be something as stupid as poop!

Logan was dumbstruck while Kara had a look of disgust. "The loo's at the end of the hallway to the right," Logan provided helpfully.

"T-thanks," I stammered and shuffled out of the booth. Squeezing my fists, I took a calming breath and asked Kara, "Can you come with me?"

She looked a little uncomfortable. "Uh...why? I don't need to poop," she replied with a laugh.

"You said I could trust you." Come on, get a clue already!

Logan's brows furrowed in confusion. "To poop?"

It took a minute for her to catch my drift before her eyes widened with realization. She got up from her seat and placed a slim hand on my shoulders. "Oh yes. I told him I could help him with his constipation problems. The boy wanted to keep it a secret. Oops, guess the cat's out of the bag," she chuckled.

She steered me away to the end of the hallway, leaving Logan speechless in his seat and stopped, "What's up?"

"What's up?! You almost gave us away!" I whispered angrily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she whined. "I promise I won't get carried away again."

Yeah, like I'll believe her for the second time. Her promise means jack shit to me.

"Whatever," I grunted and walked towards the loo. I needed to stay in there for at least a few minutes to play the part.

"Wait, I need you to keep a lookout for me." She groped around in her bag and took out a pen. Grabbing my hand, she flattened my palm against the wall and wrote on it. "This is my number. Call me if you see the man again."

I frowned. "Why?"

"You don't need to know why. A favour for a favour. I help you keep this secret and you will call me if the man shows up again. Fair deal?" she smiled and turned in her heels clacking against the hard floor back to Logan's side.

My jaw tightened, biting the inside of my cheeks until they bled, the rusty tang tingling on my tongue.

That fucking bitch!

✈

Author's note

I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote this. Hope you enjoyed this poopy (?) chapter lol.

If you enjoyed this chapter, click on the little star at the bottom and share this story to your friends. Cheers!

{Song: Trouble by Cage The Elephant}