Playing Cupid

Chapter 5: Changed Dinner Plans

"I'm sure I can. I just need to know how Nina is doing right now. I can't wait to talk to him. I haven't seen much of him so far," Luna got excited at the prospect of seeing Matteo's best friend. 

She liked talking to him during the time he was abroad. Matteo didn't know but they often talked over the phone. It was fun talking to him about Matteo, especially when he did something stupid again.

Luna gave him a last quick kiss on the lips before she left. She couldn't wait to get to Nina's house.

***

Luna rang the doorbell but no one answered, she tried a few more times but she still had no luck. She was contemplating on whether she should use the key Nina gave her or not but she was too worried. If Nina isn't answering the door, it can't be good.

After she unlocked the door, she entered the hallway and called out for her best friend. She still got no answer and this made Luna's worry grow tenfold. What's going on? She wondered.

Eventually, she made her way to Nina's bedroom and the sight that greeted her made her gasp. Nina was sitting in her bed, holding a book in her hand and she seemed to be crying. Luna made her way to Nina silently and whispered: "Hey."

Nina got startled and looked up from the pictures she was looking at with tears in her eyes: "Oh, hey."

"What's going on?" Luna frowned and sat down on the bed next to Nina to look at what made her cry so much and once she got a look at the pictures of her and Gastón, she immediately understood, "Oh, Nina." Without hesitating she wrapped her arms around Nina and held her tight, "Are you okay?"

Nina only answered with a hug. Her tears were flowing freely now. She just couldn't stop crying.

They sat there for what seemed like hours but it was only a few minutes. Luna slightly pulled back to look at Nina: "Seeing Gastón again can't have been easy."

Nina looked down at her duvet and played with it: "It just happened unexpectedly."

"From the looks of it, it brought up a lot of emotions," Luna observed.

"It was weird seeing him again and I guess it made me think back on the times before he left. I miss him more than I thought I did."

Luna stroked Nina's hair in a comforting gesture: "What do you want to do now? You can't stay locked up in your room forever."

"I know but I'm just lost here. I mean, I really want to talk to him but I don't know if that's such a good idea. It could cause more pain than I could handle," tears were welling up in Nina's eyes again. Why does all of this have to be so hard? Nina thought.

"I don't know, maybe having a conversation would do you some good. You know, to see how he is. Maybe he still has feelings for you or you could talk to him to have closure because you haven't really had that ever since you broke up with Eric," Luna suggested. This talk gave her an idea but she was afraid it might be too soon for both of them.

"I don't know," Nina really was clueless on what to do next.

"I don't want to hurt you more but you can't avoid each other forever. You're bound to meet face to face sooner or later. I don't want you to feel like this forever." 

This was a hard situation, Luna realized but she was determined to make it easier for everyone.

"You're right. I need to get this over with," Nina breathed in deeply, "Do you think he'll want to talk to me? And when should I talk to him?"

"Look, Gastón is coming over for dinner tonight at our house. That might be a good time to talk to him. Matteo and I are going to be there so it might be easier but if you're not ready, we can wait," Luna suggested and waited for Nina's response. She hoped she wasn't pushing Nina too much.

"No, I need to get this over with and it might be better if it's not just me and him, it would be too hard. Would Gastón and Matteo be alright if I come over tonight?" Nina looked up at Luna, she didn't want to invade their plans.

"I'll call Matteo to see if it's alright. I'll be right back," Luna leaves the room to make the phone call.

***

Matteo and Gastón were playing video games. They were having fun and they were laughing together. They missed doing things like this and were both happy to have their best friend back in the same country.

Gastón seemed to be in a better mood today. Matteo tried to talk to Gastón about Nina but he seemed to avoid the subject as much as he can. It took a lot of tries but Matteo eventualy convinced his best friend to open up and Gastón said he was still processing it all. 

Seeing her made him realize everything he missed out on and secretly, he hoped that he could talk to Nina soon. He didn't just come back for Luna and Matteo's wedding, he came to see if there was still a chance with Nina but he didn't want to tell Matteo. He was afraid of how he would react.

They got interrupted by Matteo's phone ringing and he paused the game to answer: "Hello, Luna."

"Hey, chico fresa. Is Gastón there?" she answered and Matteo frowned.

"Yes, why?"

"Can you go to another room? I need to discuss something with you."

"Okay, sure," he stood up and turned to Gastón, "I'll be right back."

Gastón was confused but nodded in answer.

Matteo went to the kitchen and continued: "I'm in another room. What's going on?"

"Nina wants to talk to Gastón and she wants to do it tonight over dinner."

"What?"

"I know it's sudden but Nina needs this, she's been crying for the past few days and she wanted to get it over with. Their meeting is inevitable and she didn't want to wait any longer," Luna let out in a rush.

"Oh, wow," he was speechless, he didn't expect this. 

"Do you think Gastón would be alright with this?" she sounded worried.

"I don't know. It might be good if they talk now but I'm not sure Gastón should know before she arrives. I think he might want to avoid this." 

"That can't happen, especially when they're going to be working together soon. They need to talk and we need to tell them that they're both in our wedding."

"You're right. Let her come over," he took a deep breath, "I hope this doesn't explode in our faces."

"I'm willing to take that risk," it was the last thing Luna said before she hung up, she was too nervous to say goodbye.

Matteo went back to the living room and he acted like nothing happened but Gastón noticed he was nervous and Gastón decided not to pry. He had a feeling he would find out soon anyway.

***

As soon as Nina heard she could come to dinner tonight, she got out of bed and got ready for tonight. She was a nervous wreck and had a hard time figuring out what to wear but Luna gave her an outfit and helped her with make-up and hair. They were both nervous but they both couldn't wait for dinner any longer.

Luna drove Nina to her house and as soon as they arrived, the nerves kicked more in. Nina was shaking. Tonight was really going to happen and she had no idea how it would go but she couldn't wait. They walked to the front door together.

When they entered the hallway, Luna greeted everyone with a loud hello. The guys were setting the table and when the girls entered the dining room, they turned around to greet them but as soon as Gastón turned around, he froze. He immediately knew this was going to be an interesting night.