The Art of Life and Love: The First Spark Chapter 4[mm](Book 1 of 8)

July 8th, 2010: Thursday
~~~~~~~
Dillon reached under his bed and pulled out first a medium black duffelbag, and then a larger blue suitcase. He rolled over and up off the floor, and flung the bags onto his bed. Where should he start? It would be wise to include warmer clothes, too. Dillon reached peak excitement levels, which caused him to momentarily space out. Just then, he remembered something important. He walked out of his room and called up the steps.
“Hey mom! Did we get sunscreen?! I think I forgot!”
“Got’cha covered!” She threw a spray can of spf 50 down to him. “What time will Tony be here? You haven’t even started packin’ yet?”
“Around ten he said!” He shouted up. “And I wasn’t lazy, I just forgot!” Dillon smiled.
“Then get yer ass movin’! It’s eight thirty!”
“W-what?! Eight thirty? But I woke up with my alarm at six! It should be six!
“Yes, you must have snoozed it too many times and fell back asleep. Dad went down to see if you were still alive. Don’t you remember?”
“Ugh… I’m a heavy sleeper, ok! If I dont sit up quick enough I’m asleep again! It’s not my fault! Shit, I’m so late!” Dillon ran back into his room but rammed into the doorframe. He heard mom snicker at the top of the steps.
“That’s what ya get for bein’ a teenager and not wantin’ to wake up! I told you to set two or three alarms! You have no excuse and you know it hahaha!”
“Very funny, ma! I’ll be ready, just you watch.” He grumbled.
“Text Tony and tell him you’ll be late! It’d rude as hell to make him wait! Idiot son!”
“Fine, but it isn’t necessary! Now lemme get ready!” Dillon shot her her a half grin.
“Men.” Mom scoffed.
That took too much time! Dillon mentally kicked himself. He should’ve just packed the night before, but he was so comfy while his parakeets and gerbils climbed all over him. They even watched a part of a Law and Order episode together, but he started to get pecked and bitten so he put the critters to bed. He didn’t even remember when he fell asleep. Must’ve been when his head hit the pillow.
Whatever the reason, it matters not. In an hour and a half, Tony would be there in the Bronco to pick him up for their trip to Wildwood, New Jersey. Just he and Tony would be at the apartment by themselves today, tomorrow, and part of Saturday. Then Saturday afternoon Kat and Brenden would come and stay until they all left Sunday evening. They had pooled their resources together to rent a three bedroom apartment for a few days. Dillon was so hyped up over it, he couldn’t stand it. A year ago, he never would have dreamed he’d ever go on a beach trip with friends. Hell, he’d never dreamed he’d have such awesome friends. It’s like Tony was the last piece to the group puzzle. Everyone liked him. He definitely didn’t act like a stuck up older guy.
It was still a surprise to him that his parents were ok with it. Dillon and the folks had discussed it at length for weeks beforehand, and they finally worked out a compromise. There were three criteria Dillon must meet, and if he met and maintained them, he could go. Firstly, Dillon needed to have at least five hundred dollars saved up in whatever form. They wanted him to work to earn it, to prove he can be responsible enough to save it up and not blow it on dumb shit. Secondly, he needed to have perfect blood sugars for the same amount of days he would be gone for in the weeks beforehand. That meant he needed to keep his sugars between eighty and one hundred fifty all day for four consecutive days. Finally, Dillon had to invite Tony to the Fourth of July, and at least one other dinner. Dillon understood the reasons behind all the criteria and found them to be reasonable.
Probably the most difficult part for him to complete, which he almost didn’t, were the perfect blood sugars. He would get so close, three, three and a half days in, but would have a random spike or dip because he miscounted a billionth of a carb. Dillon’s parents were dead serious, though. If all three criteria were not met beforehand, no trip for him. It wasn’t hard to save up the five hundred dollars, fortunately. In his neighborhood, there’s lots of kids that need to be watched and dogs that need to be walked. Also, he got the opportunity to work a few days in his tech school’s restaurant’s catering business before school let out for the summer. Now and then, their culinary class would cater events and such, and students could volunteer to work on the books. He had managed to save almost a hundred eighty dollars just from that.
The last one, surprisingly, had gone the smoothest. What Dillon thought would be a horribly uncomfortable and awkward situation turned out to be alright. Dillon invited Tony over to dinner a few weeks before the Fourth of July so he could meet just his parents. Despite the fact that Dillon was in the kitchen a large portion of the time, Tony held his own beautifully with his parents. When he came out with all the food, mom had her chin propped on her hand. She looked bored to tears as Tony and dad jabbered on excitedly about transmissions. Dillon cracked a grin and cocked an eyebrow at mom, and she just rolled her eyes.
“He’s an Aries, too! Kill me now!” She grumbled.
“Hey, Trace, even body mechanics should know this stuff! Although he seems to pick it up pretty quick. I’m impressed m’boy! You got a good head on your shoulders! Ahh, food time, Dillon?”
“What’s an Aries?” Tony asked innocently, which caused dad to crack up. Mom wasn’t amused.
“Jack, you shut it, or I’m gettin’ the skillet!” She pointed at him. “Men!” She went into the kitchen to help Dillon bring food out.
The night had gone very well from there. The food was awesome, and Dillon was happy to see Tony had thirds of most of it. Less leftovers to have to put away. They talked around the table for a couple hours, and after mom made coffee, they saw Tony off. Afterwards, Dillon’s parents sat him down, and gave him their decision on his friendship with Tony. He had been really nervous, worried they may have somehow found out about that. Every single time his parents summoned him to talk to him, he worried that that was the time they figured it out. It was stressful.
Dillon was unbelievably relieved when they both said they thought he was a great dude. Dad said Tony and Dillon reminded him of he and his buddy Scott in highschool. He had been several years older than Scott, so dad didn’t care much about his age. Mom was a bit concerned, especially because Tony was a smoker. Dad reminded her that he was as well, but Dillon wasn’t the kind of kid to fall to it. She still wasn’t sure how much she liked her kid around a twenty year old. Eventually though, she decided to give him a chance, because she liked him and he seemed to be a good enough influence.
They told Dillon that provided that July fourth went well and he met the other criteria, they’d let him go with Tony. He had already invited Tony to July fourth over at his place, which he accepted, and set to work to finish the other criteria. Dillon had been elated, and texted Tony as soon as he was alone.

Dillon 9:42 PM: Yoooo they loved you! You even impressed my dad which is a hell of an achievement. If the 4th goes well, we’ll set for wildwood BABY!!!!! :D
9:44 PM: Oh yea, mom told me to tell you that you have nice eyes. She said you’re very polite and respectful.
Tony 9:53 PM: Haha nice brother i look forward to it! Your folks are cool too. Talkin’ to your folks is fun. Mrs. Vera makes bomb coffee and your dad knows his cigars well i love it!

Dillon haphazardly tore through his closet and drawers in the search of clothes. Whenever he struck upon something that looked good to pack, he’d throw it over his shoulder into a pile on his bed. He did the same thing with his pants, socks, and underwear. Next he started to round up his toiletries. No way he would buy them there, way too expensive. He had little bottles that he seperated shampoo and conditioner into, which he packed with some Irish Spring and washcloths in a gallon freezer bag. In a second gallon freezer bag, he packed his toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, Old Spice aftershave, and hair putty.
After he folded up all the clothes, he neatly folded and packed them in the blue suitcase. He loaded the toiletries bags into the black duffel, along with sunscreen spray, water shoes(to protect his diabetic feet from shells), sandals, and a pair of Timberlands. On top of the sandals he loaded up a couple big beach towels and his swim trunks. Dillon looked around the room a couple times. That seemed to be the bulk of the stuff he’d need. Any other miscellaneous things, such as insulin, chargers, sunglasses, and the like he kept in his drawstring Phillies bag. It had never been a difficult affair for Dillon to pack for things. He didn’t need much.
After he set the blue suitcase at the top of the basement steps, he climbed back down and snapped up his duffel and Phillies bag and brought them up, too. There was one thing he could not forget. Dillon ran back downstairs and entered his room again, and said goodbye and petted each of his animals individually. The critters really were his friends too, and he treated them as such. Once he’d fed everyone and gently closed the door, he bolted back upstairs. Luckily he was ok on time. It was the right call to take a shower the night before.
With his bags by the door, Dillon took his Phillies bag with him into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed his Eagles themed insulin case, and put it in the bag. Then he went in the pantry, where he kept his diabetic supplies. Syringes, test strips, lancets for blood samples, alcohol wipes, an emergency glucagon injection and glucose tabs. Dillon split them between the blue suitcase and the Phillies bag. Done! With twenty minutes left to spare. Just then he heard someone clap behind him.
Tony stood behind him with mom next to him with her arms crossed. Dillon inwardly groaned at what his mother had planned this time. Tony wasn’t supposed to be here for twenty minutes! Dillon was on time! He won!
“Good job, but yer mom texted me and asked me to come early, since she knew you didn’t listen to her and tell me you were runnin’ late. That way you couldn’t win, ’cause I had to wait. Very rude, Dill, to make someone wait for you, tsk tsk.” Tony explained and shook his head.
“Idiot son! When yer parent tells you to do somethin’, ya do it, ’cause life throws things like this at you! Hahaha!”
“…” Dillon couldn’t even respond. His mother read him right and went this far to prove him wrong. He narrowed his eyes at them.
“Hope now you’ll listen to your elders, twerp!” Tony snorted.
“Only I can call him twerp, twerp.” Mom grinned and smacked Tony upside the head with the magazine she had rolled up in her hand. Tony grumbled a “Yes ma’am”. “Now that you look like a fool Dill, I hope next time you will listen to yer folks! Love ya kiddo.” She winked.
“Y-you two are insane.” Dillon said in awe. “Mom shouldn’t you be at work?!”
“I came to see Idiot Son off on his trip! I’m goin’ in after lunch.”
“I… can’t with you two!” He said irritably. “Can we just go?”
“Yea yea, let’s head out. It’s a couple hour drive looks like.”
“Alright you two be safe, ok? You both have Jack and I’s number. If you need anything or anything goes amiss, Tony, I want you to tell us immediately, got it?” Mom said, with a nervous edge. This was the first time Dillon would be without his parents for over a day.
“Yes ma’am. You have my word.” He shook her hand.
“Ok Dillon, have fun alright? And be careful. I love you sweetie.” She hugged him. “Aww don’t be like that. You should be excited!”
“Yea, love you too.” Dillon grumbled and half-hugged her back.
Tony and Dillon headed out and loaded the Bronco up once they finished their goodbyes. Dillon was in a foul mood after his mothers stunt. She always pulled stuff like that in an effort to prove him wrong. He was on time! It was established that he had to be ready before Tony got there at ten. Why the hell did she get to change the rules like that and steal the win? If it were a fair contest, Dillon would have won. He was just as pissed at Tony. He conspired together with his mother. As his friend, Tony should have said no! ‘Bastard!’ he thought venomously.
They got in and buckled up as Tony turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. After he did his usual check through all the mirrors for cars, he pulled out and away. Dillon pulled out his phone and started to look through the fishing gear he’d need. He fished every year when he went to Wildwood with his dad and he loved it. Last year though, their shed had caught on fire, and all the fishing gear his dad and he had spent years to collect was destroyed. Therefore, Dillon had to invest in at least some passable stuff for this year. As he flipped through the options on Wal-Mart’s website, Tony spoke up.
“Yo you want the radio on? Here you pick.” He handed Dillon his phone. Tony never let the passenger chose the music.
“Nah that’s ok I’m checkin’ out fishin’ stuff.” Dillon didn’t look up from his phone.
“Nice you fish?! I’ve always wanted to try it. I’ve never been to the beach before.”
“Yea, it’s cool.”
“Dill c’mon, don’t be a spoil sport. We’re goin’ to have fun. It was a prank, man.
“That was a shit thing to do. I was on time. I won that shit fair n’ square. You coulda said no. Fuck you.” Dillon grumbled resentfully.
“Let’s not get nasty man…”
“I don’t think it’s cool for my friend to conspire with my damn mother to play dirty!” Dillon put his phone away, put his knees on the dash, and looked out the window.
“Dillon yer bein’ a shit. Let it go. Ok- fine, I’m sorry, ok? Won’t happen again.”
“Great start to vacation.” Dillon frowned and rolled his eyes.
All of a sudden, Tony floored it on the breaks and pulled over on the shoulder. Dillon was startled by it and grabbed the side of the door and the center console. What the hell? He looked at Tony, who had his jaw clenched and gripped the steering wheel hard. He looked pissed.
“I’ve treated you with respect since I’ve known you. I get yer upset, but you will show me that same respect. Got it? You are not a child anymore. Get over it.” Tony bit out. Who the fuck was this bastard to talk to him like that? Dillon narrowed his eyes.
“Who the fuck do you think you are? You think yer my parent? I’ve known you for like two months. Fuck off, Dad.” he grumbled in response. Tony looked at him with a look of calm fury.
“We ain’t goin’ ANYWHERE until you reign in yer shit attitude. I ain’t puttin’ up with it for four days. You wanna go back, or you wanna SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE, and grow the FUCK UP?!” He snapped.
Dillon wasn’t sure how he should respond to this. He was angry, sure. Infuriated? Absolutely, yet when he looked Tony in the eye, he saw he was dead serious. For some reason, when he looked him in the eye, he was intimidated. Not because Tony would hit or otherwise hurt him, no. He wasn’t that kind of person. No, Dillon feared that look in the biblical sense. Dillon respected him. In that moment, he conceded. Those intense eyes made his respect for Tony skyrocket. After he looked at Tony for a few moments, Dillon broke eye contact and looked down. He felt his eyes sting and a lump form in his throat.
“Sorry… yer right…” Dillon said quietly.
“We both need to cool off. Put yer headphones in or some shit. We’ll talk later.” Tony said evenly. Dillon looked out the window, his eyes blurry with tears as he nodded and pulled out his headphones.
“Oh come on Dill… don’t do that… I just want you to let it go.” He said as he tapped Dillon’s leg.
“S’alright. I’m g-gonna be under my headphones. S-sorry again. I was a jerk.”
Dillon put his headphones in and looked out the window again. He heard Tony say something but he didn’t hear it. Dillon felt him gently squeeze his leg a couple times. The reaction he had to Tony’s reprimand was unexpected. That air of calm fury he had… Tony deserved respect. He gained a lot of credibility in Dillon’s eyes in that moment, since it was fueled by his desire for Dillon to enjoy himself. Tony did so much for him and he payed it back with a tantrum? Unacceptable. He’d have to apologize to mom, too. His behavior towards both of them was terrible. They only meant to have a little fun. Why did he have such an issue with his temper.
A little over an hour later, they were almost at the Atlantic City Expressway, which they would follow for a good hour at least. Dillon had Marilyn Manson’s Tainted Love nearly at max volume in his ear and just watched the world pass them by. He vowed to himself that by the time they got there, he would be over everything. He really did feel rotten about it. He blocked out Tony’s presence out of shame this time, not anger. They had just reached the expressway when he felt Tony shake his leg. He took out his left ear bud and looked at Tony.
“Y-yea man?” He asked. His voice was a little rough from an hour of silence.
“You ok?” Tony asked softly.
“Yea I’m fine… Tony, I-I’m sorry for earlier… uhm yer right, uh my disrespect was not ok. Please f-forgive me, man?” Dillon felt that signature sting behind his eyes again, and he screwed up his face a couple times. Why was he such a little bitch sometimes?
“Aww shucks Dill… I’m sorry, too. My temper can be an issue… I uh hope… yer not afraid of me now.”
“N-no! Don’t ever think that you’d ever push me away. It came from a good place… you were justified. I’d never fear you. Yer my friend. C-could we forget about earlier?” Dillon asked shakily.
“Of course, brother.” Tony said warmly. “Yo, we goin’ to the fuckin’ beach dude! I’m pumped. Like I said, I never been to the beach before. I’ve been to a beach on Lake Erie near Cedar Point, but that’s it.”
“Oh shit there’s beaches on the Great Lakes?” Dillon’s grinned and wiped his eyes. “What’s Cedar Point? Is that the town that the beach is at?”
“You never heard of Cedar Point?! It’s only one of the largest amusement parks in the world! It’s on a manmade island in Lake Erie. You gotta drive a ways on a manmade path to reach it. It’s wild dude. Some of the tallest coasters in the world!” He explained excitedly.
“Holy fuck! Yer a coaster junkie, too?! Dude we’ll have a blast on the boardwalk piers. We gotta go to Cedar Point sometime, too!”
“Absolutely! I’ve only been there a couple times, but I’ve ridden most of their giant coasters. Awesome, my guy. Awesome. Cedar Point definitely outdoes yer boardwalk coasters.” Tony smirked with a wink
“I see what yer doin’. I won’t fall for yer bait.” Dillon said with a crooked grin.
“Uh-huh, well we’ll see when we get there and compare them! Although I’m sure it’s nice on the inside!” Tony snickered.
“Ha-ha so funny, tee hee.” He said sarcastically. “So what are we gonna do when we get there? Kat won’t be here till early Saturday morning she said.”
“Well, the second we get there, we take all our shit up and throw it through the door, and floor it to the beach, of course!”
“But what about changing and shit?”
“Fuck that. We change in the ocean. Are we bitches or are we high rollers?” Tony snorted.
“Yer nuts. Haha you can change in the ocean if you want, but you’ll end up completely naked when a wave washes yer shorts away! Don’t expect help from me, neither! I’ll be cookin’ in the sun.”
“Hey, everyone would get a mighty fine view when I got out! I’m quite the specimen, as you can see.” He gestured to himself.
“Sure whatever dude hehe. Yer passable at best. I’d say yer a solid six outta ten.”
“Fuck off, yer just jealous of my Godly body and the fact I’m a chick magnet!”
“Mmmhmm. Keep tellin’ yerself that, it might come true.”
Dillon started to get nervous. Tony shirtless in nothing but shorts would be hard to not stare and drool at. He’d never seen him totally shirtless before either, but he could guess he was Godly under that shirt. It wasn’t fair! Right off the bat, that had soured part of his trip. Hell, he couldn’t even have an innocent back and forth with his friend. That made him nervous now, and gave him something to worry about the whole time.
At the start of their friendship, Dillon had been really good at his suppression of that, and he had enjoyed his friendship with Tony more than ever. Over the last few weeks though, it had been exceptionally difficult to deal with. With the weather warm now, all the men wore less, and Dillon’s imagination went into overdrive. It was worse than last summer even. It was the worst with Tony. When Tony had started to wear shorts everyday, Dillon had gone through a several day stint of near constant need. His libido was off the charts.
To be honest, he had reduced the amount of time he spent with Tony, at work or otherwise. It wasn’t by a lot, so he must not have noticed. Dillon did it knowingly, however. It broke his heart, that he had to push away this friend, too. He already kept everyone else in his life but Dominic and Kat an arm’s length away, too afraid of the unknown. He was disgusted with himself. He had to do it, especially with Tony. That, he realized, was something that he wouldn’t be able to handle by himself anymore. Of course, he had Dominic and Kat, but just two people weren’t enough to make up for the pressure. When one realizes how lonely it is to be alone, one gets closer to their breaking point. Once they do break though, they become stronger and kinder people.
That wouldn’t happen for Dillon, though. Once he broke, he would just be broken, and even more alone. His mom had told him that there was nothing he could tell them that would make dad and she not love him, but they didn’t know about that. They didn’t know about how twisted and abnormal he was. His parents, along with almost everyone else would shun him. It wasn’t acceptable in their community. Dillon didn’t want to get beaten like the others that were sick with that. He would be able to handle that kind of physical pain, but the pain that Tony’s reaction would be too much. Dillon would be devastated by the look of disgust and disappointment he’d have. The disgust from the knowledge that his best friend had thought of him in a sexual context countless times.
Dillon would have a blast on this vacation. He’d totally cut loose, and just have fun, because it would be his last hoorah. When they got back, Dillon would start to pull away from Tony. He needed to cut his losses before he got even more attached and he wouldn’t have the heart to. It was the best thing for both of them. Tony didn’t need a fucked up kid. Since they lived so close to one another, Dillon wouldn’t be able to completely cut it off, unless he did something to destroy the friendship. However, he would never be able to bring himself to do something so cruel. No, Dillon would be his acquaintance. Not close enough to be friends, but close enough to not be strangers. Maybe he’d visit him at work a time or two a month.
That exhausted him. He needed this trip. There was nothing that would stop him from his desire to make good memories to get him through all of this. Nothing would stop him from the allure of the ocean. The excitement of the boardwalk and all the food would make him forget for a while. There was absolutely no way that he would let a shirtless Tony ruin this trip. No way in hell. Yet, even though he was disgusted with himself, Dillon couldn’t help but be a bit excited to see what he looked like.
About twenty minutes into their drive on the expressway, Tony got a call from Adrian about a problem with one of the machines at work that they needed for a project. He plugged in his headphones and put his phone in the cubby in the dash so he could use both hands to drive. A few minutes after Tony started his conversation, his voice made Dillon tired. He put his knees back up on the dash and closed his eyes and just enjoyed the timbre of Tony’s voice.
Next thing Dillon knew, Dillon was jolted awake when the Bronco’s horn blasted and Tony growled a “Fuck you too, pal!”. Dillon looked at him, then out the windshield. They were there! Lovely Wildwood, NJ and its fake, ghetto metal palm trees and ridiculously styled motels. He must have been really dead to the world. Dillon saw too that the traffic was horrendous. By Tony’s horn blasts, someone must have cut him off. He could get pretty bad road rage if he was pushed far enough. Especially if the perpetrator has a bad paint job. It semed to be a pet peeve of his. It was kind of cute. He shouldn’t think that lest he blush right in front of Tony. That would be fun to explain away.
Dillon took a deep breath of the salty ocean air. He wanted to change in the ocean now that they were there, too impatient to go to the apartment and unload first. There was no way to avoid it though; he had to put together a mini cooler for his insulin and for drinks and snacks. Just then, he panicked because he thought he’d forgotten the sunscreen again, but then he remembered that mom threw it down the steps and he packed it. He’d have to remember to spray up before they went.
“Yo, everythin’ good?” Dillon asked, still half asleep.
“Oh yea yea. Sorry to wake you up. I wanted to wake you when we arrived, but some asshat cut in front of me and almost hurt Bertha.” He glared at the beetle in front of them. “Such ugly-ass cars…”
“Nah yer good. It’s fun to drive through town. Yea, they ain’t the most visually pleasing of vehicles.”
“That’s right, I changed my mind. Apartment, then food, then beach. Sorry man, my stomach won’t make the ten mile trek through that desert to get to the ocean.”
“Yes! Food, I’m down! Ain’t no better place than Mack’s on the boardwalk. Best breakfast pizza probably in the entire observable universe.” Dillon said excitedly. “Unless, of course, yer little delicate snowflake feet wouldn’t make it the four blocks from the crib to the boardwalk heheh!”
“Bitch please! You try walkin’ the length of that long-ass beach on an empty stomach!”
“Damn it, yer right. I’m starving now that food’s been mentioned.” He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips.
“Hahahaha dude, yer appetite might be crazier than mine. Love it!
“Are we there yet? Can you hurry the fuck up please, gramps!”
“Ahh shaddap, we’ll get there when we get there.”
“Weren’t you the one saying that your stomach wouldn’t make it for long? That’s an emergency! Floor it! Bertha’s a tank, ain’t she? Just ram yer way there!”
“Have I told you how much of an irritant you are?”
“Yes, this’ll be number four. Don’t ask why I count. I don’t know myself.” Dillon shrugged.
“I can’t with you man! Ahahaa” Tony laughed.
Ten or so minutes later, they finally made it to the apartment. Once they had walked up the flight of steps with their luggage, they dumped it all in their rooms. They both immediately shut their doors to change. Dillon had always been the champ of speed showers, so to speed change is not that big of a sidestep, so he won. By a whole eighteen seconds, in fact. Dillon had a cynical joke on his tongue as to whether Tony would conspire with Kat this time to steal his win. He nixed the idea, however. They were both supposed to have forgotten this morning. To be honest, Dillon couldn’t help but be the tiniest bit resentful of mom and Tony still. Not enough for him to be overtly bothered by it, but enough for him to need to bite his tongue. There was also the fact that he didn’t want to disrespect Tony again.
Down the steps they went, Dillon in his fire and ice themed swim trunks and a white beeter, Tony in his American flag ones and a black beeter. They made it to the sidewalk at last. The excitement that they were there reached critical mass, which made Dillon momentarily space out, again. They had so many options for fun here! First things first, they headed in the direction of the boardwalk for much needed sustenance. After they finally reached the boardwalk, they were nearly dead of hunger. They weren’t sure where or what they wanted to eat, but then Dillon remembered he brought up Mack’s for their pizza. Naturally, since since Dillon thought of it, he needed it. Mack’s pizza was essential for him to not die in total agony due to starvation.
Finally, they reached Mack’s, where they ordered a large sausage and pepperoni pizza, and a large cheese fries. While they sat in one of the booths to wait, they gulped down the first of their free soda refills. They didn’t bring enough to drink on the way down, so that first diet coke really hit the spot. For some screwed up reason, Tony got a black coffee after his soda. It’s infinity degrees outside! Dillon discreetly looked at Tony with a fond smile, which he turned off with not a second to spare as Tony turned around to him. Naturally, Dillon saw there were a few ‘hot’ foreign girls that Tony had admired when he had been turned around. It was equal parts adorable and envious. ‘Dumb bitches.’ Dillon thought with no small amount of animosity.
Dillon wasn’t able to focus on his jealousy or the stupid whores in the back once their food came. The smell was too incredible. He did spare them a couple nasty looks, which Tony seemed to have caught as he shoveled down pizza. Tony looked at him, concern in his eyes. Great.

Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/i38q28/the_art_of_life_and_love_the_first_spark_chapter