Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 17

"Angel," Niko looked at his friend. They were at another one of their lunches. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask me anything," Angel said. This day had been a quiet one for both of them. Niko had been so lost in thought lately that he hadn't really been talking much. The only thing that seemed to relieve his mind was work, and that was slowly starting to slow down again.

He had been thinking about a lot of things lately. There was something about that day at that restaurant that Niko just couldn't seem to forget about. With every day that passed, he would think about something else that would throw him off about the lunch that they had.

Like how sad those eyes had looked when he talked about his parents. Or how happy he was talking about his sister. He never knew he could remember so much of a conversation until then.

"Are you homophobic?" He asked Angel. It was a more personal question, rather than the work ones that he usually asked. But he felt like he needed to know.

"No," the man shook his head. He looked a little uncomfortable about the topic, but he still answered him. "My brother's bi actually."

"Really?" he asked. "I don't think I've met your brother, actually."

"You don't want to," he chuckled. It was nice to see him laugh a little bit. "He's crazy and sporadic."

"Seems like he'd be fun at parties," Niko smiled.

"I wouldn't suggest inviting him to any professional parties."

"Is that why dad doesn't want you to come to the dinner party this week?"

"Probably," he answered. "Your father always has a reason why he wants things a certain way."

"It still doesn't make sense that he doesn't want you to come."

"He probably wants to see how well you do on your own at those parties," Angel sighed. "Knowing him, it's probably a test."

"Great," Niko groaned. "Another test."

"All I can tell you is that it'll just be one night. As much as those parties can drone on, you'll get through them."

"Yeah, until another one rolls along."

"Just don't sit around looking at your phone the whole time, and you'll be fine."

Niko rubbed his eyes. He would much rather have a hundred deadlines due by the end of the week rather than deal with this. All these parties were for were networking and keeping relations up. And Niko did that plenty with his work. He knew enough people, and always made sure to keep up on them.

"Why did you ask me if I was homophobic?" Angel asked, cutting through the silence that they had both fallen under again.

"I was just wondering," he shrugged.

"You never just wonder something, Niko," the brunette said. "You always have a reason for a question; for everything you say for that matter. It's a good trait to have."

Niko smiled. Whenever he was having an off day, he could always rely on the man to help him feel better. No matter how many things that had gone wrong; how many mistakes he had made, Angel always brushed it off and told him that he was still doing good. It was something that he never heard from his dad, or anyone else for that matter.

"I think I may find women a little boring," he finally said.

"You've slept with enough," Angel commented, a small smirk on his lips.

"Oh, shut up, you old fart!"

"Hey," he covered his mouth with a napkin to hide the food he was eating. "I'm not an old fart until I hit fifty at least!"