Impress Me Not: The Architect

Chapter 24

This was going to be awkward. It wasn't exactly every day that he went on dates. If he was honest with himself, he only really went on a handful of them. It just wasn't his thing. The first date was always awkward and he just couldn't connect with them. He couldn't really connect with anybody, whether they be lovers or just people in general. That was probably one of the main reasons why the only friends he had were from school.

So, why did he agree to go on this date? Valentino had absolutely no clue.

Brittany had messaged him Sunday night to tell him she owed him one. She had to spend the whole weekend recovering from that night. He knew she must have drunk a ton if she had to spend that long getting over a hangover. It was a fun night, though, he'd give her that. Even though she ditched him, he couldn't really complain much. Brittany was always a blast for a good night out or a party.

But now, it was a Thursday night, and Valentino was sitting in the parking lot to a Chinese food place, contemplating why he agreed to come in the first place. Casimir had been messaging him every now and then throughout the days that week, and he always seemed to find him at lunch still. But this was the official 'date' night that the man had somehow convinced him to do.

Was he really ready for this? The man was addicting and gorgeous. That weekend was proof of that. But he hadn't exactly been in a long-term relationship before. And it looked like that was exactly where this thing was headed. While a part of him was excited about it, the rest of him was all nerves.

Well, if Lou were there, he'd probably tell him that going on one date wasn't going to kill him. It was free food and decent company. He could practically hear the nagging from his brother in his head. He would have called him, but he was busy that night with another concert.

He still hated that the house was so empty. It was too quiet. He did enjoy silence, but not that much of it. That house was too big for just one person. Now he understood why Lou would never buy a mansion or anything.

The silence also wasn't helping him get this man out of his thoughts. Even at work. He could be so focused on it, and all it would take was a simple text and he would be gazing off in the distance, trying to keep himself from day dreaming.

He hated it. It made him want to toss his phone on the road and run it over. But he didn't and he wouldn't. That would be dumb. That would mean that he couldn't talk to Lou and see how he was doing with his tour, or check up on Sunshine and Nikita about any wedding planning.

It also meant that he wouldn't be able to call Casimir, or talk to him. And, as much as he didn't like how obsessed his thoughts were about it, he couldn't deny that he wanted to keep talking to him. As idiotic as that sounded.

"Fuck it," Valentino opened the door to his car and got out. "Might as well be on time at least."

The Chinese restaurant was pretty nice. He had been there once or twice before. He was actually the one who recommended it. It wasn't like Casimir had been in Amor for too long. He was happy letting Valentino be the one to pick what it should be. He just figured that Chinese food was a safe place of choice. He hadn't met someone who hated it.

"Oh, good!" Casimir jumped up from his seat right as he got in. "You're here!"

He was sitting in the lobby area of the restaurant for him. Judging by that look on his face, he had a feeling that the man was worried about him not showing up. Valentino supposed he would have to give the man that one. He was bad at showing up to dates. And even though Casimir didn't know him for that long, he seemed like he read Valentino better than most. It was weird. He hated how much he actually liked that part of him.

"You could have found a table while you were waiting at least," Valentino frowned. He felt a little guilty for waiting in the parking lot for so long. But he was still here on time. So, there was no need to be guilty....