Chapter 3: Envy

  After he was in and the hostess seated him, he waited until the server came around. It was a small diner, the outside paneled in steel and chrome with blue accents. The inside was actually quite cozy. A twelve seater breakfast counter was across from the entrance. There were two rows of ten grey formica tables with nice blue vinyl booths on the left hand side and on the right were a dozen or so four seater square tables with metal and blue vinyl chairs. The kitchen was behind the breakfast counter, along with a nicely stocked bar. Tony, Dillon, and a lot of the guys from the shop were on a first name basis with most of the chefs and wait staff since they went there a lot. The owner of the diner was one of Tony's clients, too. The design of the building might be horrid for an auto body guy like him, but the people were kind. Not to mention the chow was insane.

  Just then, Tony saw Bridget, a friend of his and a lot of the guys at the shop. She came from the kitchen and grabbed her pen and notepad from her apron pocket. Tony and shop-fam would often meet up at this diner before work, since it opened at five in the morning. It was a good start to their day and got socialization out of the way. That way, they could focus on work until whenever they took lunch. Dillon had met Bridget a number of times and they had dinner there often. Thankfully, they got along really well and Dillon didn't seem to be concerned that he'd do anything with her, which was a plus. Although, Dillon had told him he trusted him again, so maybe that meant with everyone(with the noteworthy exception of Lisa).

  Breakfasts between him and his friends was something Tony attended solo every Monday though. It was important to have private time alone with friends. As close as Tony and Dillon were, they needed time apart just like any other two people. Plus, Monday breakfast had always been a thing between the shop-fan since he started. He told Dillon about the breakfasts and he was relieved when he agreed and gave him his blessing. His guy was the best. Dillon was not a Monday, morning, or breakfast person anyway and they usually did their diner trips later in the week for dinner. Besides, the kid had school too.

  It also warmed his heart when he said he trusted Tony, especially around a pretty young girl like Bridget, to go out to private things with his friends. Right as he thought about her, he saw Bridget look up and smile at him as she made her way over. She was beautiful, early twenties, shoulder length chestnut hair, insanely green almond shaped eyes, and a nice rack. He could acknowledge a female was beautiful, ok? Not even the slightest bit of temptation even crossed his heart though. When he stepped out on Dillon, it changed him and he didn't want anyone else.

  "Yooo Tone! How you doin?" She asked with a bright smile.

  "Yo, how you been, beautiful?" He responded in a friendly tone.

  "Not often I see you here on a Saturday mornin'. Where's Dill?" she looked around. "Usually on the weekends you got him in toe."

  "Yea, I was hella hungry and I got some time to kill before the brat comes over later. You know him and mornin's don't mix. 'Specially with class on Saturdays. Haha," Tony chuckled.

  "So, yer always with yer buddies so I couldn't ask, but how are you two? You seem a lot happier than when you first moved here," she said in hushed tones. 

  Bridget was one of the few people outside the shop that knew about Dillon and he. What amazed him was that she had deduced it after she saw them in the same room together just once. Tony had brought Dillon to the diner for their incredible milkshakes, lunch, and dinner food. That wasn't the first time he'd met Bridget and they were already friends, but it was the first time she had met Dillon. He'd introduced him as his best friend, but when she gave them the bill, she put a hand on each of their shoulders, gave a grin, and whispered, "Tone, I'm happy you found him." Both of them were wide-eyed and nervously denied it, but as she turned away towards the kitchen she winked at them over her shoulder. 

  At first, they were both panicked. How could she tell? Only Kat, Brenden, and Dillon's best friend Dominic knew outside of the shop. Either way, he had to calm Dillon down. His eyes were glassy and he blushed furiously as he set his silverware on his plate and looked down. Before they left, Tony pulled Bridget aside while Dillon went to the bathroom to ask why she'd said that to them. Naturally, she felt terrible. She only meant that she supported them and was really happy for them. She promised she'd tell nobody and Tony believed her. Bridget was a good, kind girl that loved them as friends and people. She would never do such a thing. He trusted her. 

  "We're uh- we're really good. We work like a well-oiled engine now." Tony made the 'ok' sign with his hand. "The brat's... grown a lot. He'll leave me in the dust soon, but I look forward to seein' it happen," he replied with a fond smile.

  "Oh, don't say that, dude. I see the glint in his eye whenever he talks to you. He's crazy for you."

  "Y-yea? Hehehe, I'm glad," he said as he felt his face warm up and scratched the back of his head.

  "Without  a doubt!" Just then, they both heard a whistle and Bridget turned around. Her manager looked at her and tapped his wrist. "Stupid old loon. Sorry we'll catch up more another time. Bring Dill, too! So, know what ya' want?"

  "Yea, he'd be down for that. Oh yeah can I get a five-egg omelet, onions, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese? With rye toast and very well done home fries- burn 'em almost black. And a Pepsi!"

  "No, 'cause Pepsi is not a morning drink! Get coffee like the rest of the universe!"

  "Oh shaddup, we done beefed over this before! Pepsi is delicious and refreshing any time of day!" Bridget rolled her eyes as she wrote his order down and winked at him.

  "Gimme a few, I'll get yer stupid-ass Pepsi you nut job!"

  "Hey, ya' best get back to work before the stupid old loon gives it to you!"

  She snorted as she pushed through the double doors to the kitchen. Tony chuckled and put his elbows on the table as he rubbed his hands together. It had shaped up to be a good day. He was glad he came. The friends he had made, even in such a place as a diner, were awesome people and he loved them. While he waited, he pulled out his phone to check his messages. It was nine thirty-six, and he had one missed text from Dillon. Before he started to read, he had a smile on his face, but as he read more and more, his smile faded into a deep frown.

  Dillon 9:23 AM: Yo man, at this ritzy restaurant with the folks and Kat, and our waiter winked at me and slipped me his number, like wtf? I didn't take it don't worry. He goes to my school too but he's graduating in a couple months.

  Tony reread the text a couple of times and frowned. Why would Dillon send that? There was no way to be sure if it really happened either. On very rare occasions, he would do something to work up Tony's jealousy. There were only two other instances he could recall when Dillon had used such a tactic to get Tony to go all out and remind him who he belonged to. Though he didn't do it to upset him, the possessiveness still reared its ugly head. Tony pictured what had went down and thought, 'Some fuckin' fagboy thinks he can cast his net out and catch him?!' 

  The white-hot rage and envy Tony felt in that moment was ludacris. While he knew Dillon would never actually follow through on it, it wasn't him Tony didn't trust. The thought that what Dillon said may have really happened stressed him enough that he needed a smoke. He waved and whistled to Bridget behind the counter and gestured to her that he would be back in a few minutes. As he scrambled out of the restaurant, he pulled his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket. Each second he went without a smoke caused him more and more distress. 

  When he got outside, he pulled a cigarette out of the pack with his lips and lit up. Tony tried to clear his head and took a few drags, then went over to lean on Harley. The fury he felt wasn't at Dillon no, but at the fucker that would dare try to step in between them. Like he had the right. He looked at the text. In that moment, he fully understood why Dillon never wanted to meet Lisa. What should he say? Should he say nothing until he cooled off or should he let the possessiveness take over? 

  As he took another drag, he stared up at the sky. Still not entirely sure what he was wanted to say, he looked down again and started to type while he thought of each word carefully. It was difficult to type at times, since his hand shook considerably. Over the past few months, it had seemed as if Tony had developed a little bit of a problem with anxiety. Whether or not they could be called 'panic attacks' was still up in the air but regardless, they were no fun whatsoever. By the time he typed out the last few words, both his anxiety and anger reached critical mass and started to spill over. 

  Tony 9:40 AM: Did this really happen? Dont fuck with me Dillon i know what youre tryin to do here. DID IT FUCKIN HAPPEN? 

  Dillon 9:42 AM: Dude no I wasn't trying to make you jealous! Not this time! I just... would have felt guilty if I didn't tell you... I'm sorry Tony please don't be mad :(

 Unfortunately, Tony couldn't believe him. He'd pulled that kind of stunt in the past, though he always broke and spilled his intention when he was called out on it. That time he didn't and he seemed genuinely sorry, but Tony couldn't focus or think clearly enough to factor that into the equation. The green-eyed demon in his gut was awake and ready to sow discord.