Bittersweet Love

Chapter 2

Recommended Song For Book:
"Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey

Translation For Book:
Amico = Friend in Italian

"Love can come in many shapes and conflicting desires."
--- Michael Faudet

Chapter 2

James De Luca's POV

"Hello. I am Victoria and I will be your waitress. Now, may I take your order?" The young woman, wearing a black skirt and a purple blouse with a white nametag, asked. Her bright smile flashed at me causing me to smile back.

"It's nice to see you again, Victoria. You're looking lovely as always." Samuel smiled at the waitress.

"Samuel, you were just here yesterday and the day before that. I'm starting to think you have a coffee addiction or you're just coming here to see me."

Samuel looked down, trying to hide his red cheeks. He cleared his throat and smiled at her. "We'll take two iced espressos to go, please."

Victoria wrote down the order on her notepad and gave us a warm smile. "Coming right up, boys." She turned around and walked in the direction of the kitchen.

I watched Samuel stare affectionately at the waitress' retreating figure with a soft smile on his face.

"Bye, Victoria." I heard him mumble.

I was amused at his shy behavior, my eyebrows rose at his actions. I was on the phone, talking with my Vice President about the interviews taking place later today.

But I had enough with Samuel not being able to tell Victoria that he was madly in love with her. I turned off my phone and faced him. "Amico (translation: Friend in Italian), you have a little drool on your chin." I motioned to his chin and laughed.

Samuel glared at me and slapped my hand away from his face. "Shut up! You know I like her and I'm very serious about her."

"Then why haven't you asked her out? She clearly likes you, Samuel. You need to do something about it instead of coming here almost everyday to see her." I leaned back on the seat of the booth and smirked.

"Victoria does not like me like I love her and she's different from other women. No woman has ever made me feel like she does and I care about her." Samuel's cheeks reddened as he said the last part.

"That's even more of a reason to ask her out. You need to face your fear and ask her out on a date. Or someone could beat you to it."

His face became pale as he registered what I was saying was true. "I'm just afraid she'll reject me or realize she could find someone better."

I gave him a sympathetic smile and he just shook his head, looking out the window.

Samuel Costa, who was more than just a Chief Marketing Officer and my best friend, drove my red Mustang this morning to my favorite cafe, "La Luna." I had a hangover. I drank way too much last night. I had gone to a party with Samuel and a few other friends to celebrate a recent company deal. The club was filled with gorgeous women and luxurious drinks. It was wild! That was until my current girlfriend, Jennifer Andrews decided to show up and ruin the celebration. Long story short, her and I got into a fight over me recently not being able to spend time with her.