Read Pizza My Heart 1 for Free Online

day,” she said. “I hope you get to deliver pizza to Devon Ray again.”
    “I doubt that’ll happen,” I said, laughing uneasily. “You want me to drop you off at the senior center, Nana? It’s on the way to the pizza place.”
    “Are you calling me a senior?” she asked, giving me the eye.
    “No,” I said. “But I’m pretty sure it’s bingo day, and I know how much you love that.”
    “No amount of bingo would make me want to hang out with those old idiots,” she sniffed. “Senile, the lot of them. They all tell the same stories over and over again. You’d think only one thing happened to them in their entire lives.”
    I had a brief but vivid vision of myself at a senior center, old and gnarled, telling anyone who’d listen about the time I almost kissed Devon Ray. I shuddered.
    “Okay, Nana. I’ll see you tonight, then. Who’s coming this afternoon?”
    “It’s my free day,” she said, grinning. I felt even worse that she’d be alone until the end of my shift.
    “Well, you enjoy yourself,” I said. “I better not find out that any of my coworkers are delivering pizzas here today.”
    “I’m smarter than that,” she retorted. “I call the rival pizza place.”
    “You traitor.” I gave her a kiss and left the house.
    Getting to work, I discovered that I wasn’t in too much trouble with my manager for skipping the rest of my shift the day before.
    “There wasn’t anything I could do,” I said, shrugging. “I was sick. What did you expect? That I’d traipse up and down sidewalks, puking while carrying people’s meals to them? That wouldn’t reflect very well on the company, now, would it?”
    “The pizza that you failed to deliver,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That customer was waiting for delivery for more than ninety minutes.”
    “I said I was sorry. It was an emergency. I’m back, though, and ready to work. Let’s set some sales records today, right?”
    I grabbed an order that was already set to go and practically ran out the door. I’d learned the trick to working my manager within a couple of weeks of starting my job. Disagree quickly, and then beat it. He couldn’t argue with me if he couldn’t find me, and as long as I was making deliveries efficiently, he wouldn’t bother too much.
    I was surprised that he hadn’t tried to deduct money from my pay as retribution for the lost pizzas.
    The day passed like most of them did. I counted exactly five naked people peeking out from behind doors as I delivered their meals, no more than usual. My routes took me past the hotel where everything had taken place yesterday, and I wondered if Devon was still there. I supposed I could always swing by and at least shake him down for the money he owed me. If things had gone differently, maybe he would’ve given me a huge tip.
    That thought, of course, led me to consider all various definitions of “tip.” God. I couldn’t stop. I was convinced it was that stupid dream. I couldn’t have really wanted to do something with him, could I have?
    At last, my wallet heavier now than it had been at the beginning of my shift, I turned toward home. I was so tired that I knew I wouldn’t have any energy to dream tonight, which came as a huge relief as I pulled to a stop in front of the house. It was probably all that manic cleaning I’d done early this morning.
    I opened the door and sucked in a breath to announce that I was home, but I paused. Nana was talking excitedly with someone. Was there someone here? I hadn’t noticed a car on the curb, and I parked in my usual spot in front of the house. Maybe she was on the phone.
    I shut the door softly and then stopped in my tracks. A very familiar male voice was responding to her, though it was hard to make out the words. This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t possible. I knew that voice. I cringed to hear that voice again.
    Creeping quietly to the living room, I observed a very animated Nana talking with none other than Devon