"Hello, Nico," he said as soon as he was face to face with his son.
"Hello, sir," Nico responded, his tone tight and oddly formal.
"Is this your plus one?"
"Hello, sir, I'm Will," I said, stretching out my hand. I gave Nico's dad a strong handshake and he seemed to approve, giving me a tiny nod. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Nico give me a tiny thumbs up.
"Bonobos," he said, nodding at my suit. "You have excellent taste." Nico snorted, barely containing a laugh and his dad shot him a look.
"Sorry," Nico muttered, glancing away. I could see him fighting to contain a smile.
"Come, you two, the limousine will be here shortly," Nico's father announced.
"I've never been in a limo," I whispered to Nico as the maid opened up the door for us. Nico's dad swept through and Nico murmured a thank you as he passed.
"It's not as glamorous as you might think," Nico responded. Nico's father slipped into the front seat, leaving the back for Nico and I. I couldn't help but stare at the beautiful interior, every inch shining. I heard the gentle purr of the engine and we were moving, the massive house getting smaller and smaller as we drove on.
"There are drinks in there, if you want," Nico said, gesturing to a mini fridge that Nico's father was resting his elbow on. I reached over, grabbing a coke.
"It somehow tastes better," I mused after I took a sip. "Maybe it's that I got it out of a mini fridge in a limo."
"You're ridiculous," Nico said, rolling his eyes, but I could see him smiling.
------
The remainder of the ride would have been awkward, with Nico's father in the front seat but Nico was cracking jokes the entire time, his smile lighting up my entire world. If you saw him on the streets you would think of him as dark and brooding but in reality he was full of happiness and laughter, and I loved that about him. I could see Nico's father toss us annoyed glares from the front seat but to me it didn't matter because I had Nico by my side.
------
The gala room was the biggest room I had ever seen. It had to be at least twenty feet tall, with about a hundred golden tables scattered across one side of the room while the other side seemed to be reserved for dancing, a string band setting up on a podium at the front of the dance floor. Through two wide, swinging double doors I could see cooks and waiters rushing around as they prepared for the hoard of people about to swarm through the doors. "This way," Nico's father instructed, leading us across the ballroom with a sweep of his hand. "Tonight we will be dining with Octavian and his family." I heard Nico groan.
"Who's Octavian?" I whispered, quiet enough so that Nico's father wouldn't hear. "Is he bad."
"Trust me," Nico sighed, eyeing a pale, bleach blond boy at a table with immense disdain. "You'll see."
------
Octavian was the worst person I had ever met. As soon as we sat down I was met with a smirk and a once over from a boy roughly my age who reminded me greatly of a weasel. "This is your plus one, Di Angelo?" he said. "He looks like you pulled him from a dumpster."
"Nice to see you again too, Octavian," Nico sighed. "Glad to see you've matured." Octavian's upper lip curled but it was clear that he didn't have a comeback so he slumped down in his seat, hitting his spoon against his cup so that the sound echoed through the hall. Throughout the rest of the night he screamed at the waiters and spit his food into his cup but Nico's leg gently resting against mine gave me the strength I needed not to lash out at Octavian and make a scene.
"Just remember that this is the same kid who peed his pants at one of these when he was eight," Nico whispered into my ear. "Whenever I feel like strangling him I remember that and all my anger seems to disappear." I laughed and Octavian shot me a glare.
"What?" He snapped. "Is something funny?" Nico shook his head, but I could see him smiling down at his dessert.
------
When the dancing portion of the night came around, I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do. I glanced at Nico, blushing a tiny bit. I couldn't deny to myself that I liked him, but I knew I would never act on the crush. Being gay was hard at times, when there was only a small chance that your crush was gay too, and there was no way to find out.
"Do you want to be here?" Nico asked, and I could tell by the mischievous tone of his voice that he was planning something.
"Not really, why?" He nodded at the food table, a display of candy spread out on the extravagant cream colored table cloth.
"Grab as many of those chocolates as you can and follow me," Nico instructed. He expertly weaved his way through the dancers, and I awkwardly followed in his wake. Without even glancing around he grabbed a handful of chocolate and shoved it in his pockets, and he gestured for me to do the same. He then grabbed my hand, sending sparks through my body and lead me through the crowd.
"Hey, where are you two going?" Octavian called.
"Bye, Octavian!" Nico said, waving goodbye. He brought me through a set of shiny, golden doors, letting them slam in Octavian's face.
"Where are we going?" I asked, Nico still holding my hand. I could feel the chocolates jiggling around in my pocket.
"You'll see," he promised. "I want it to be a surprise." We went up three flights of stairs and through the windows I could see the city getting smaller and smaller beneath us and when he finally pushed open the door to the roof the city was nothing but a mass of twinkling lights and a mess of sounds merging into one. It was a cloudless night, and from our perch I could see the stars twinkling above us, a rare sight in the city. Nico slipped his jacket off, laying it down like a blanket. He laid down, and I settled down next to him. We emptied the chocolates in between us into a pile, slowly eating them as we stared up at the stars twinkling above us.
"This is probably one of my favorite places," Nico explained. "I can't remember when I figured out how to get up here. It must have been years ago but ever since I did I've been coming up here whenever I'm forced to go to these things. I love seeing the stars."
"It really is beautiful," I said. "Does anyone else know that you go up here?" I glanced over at Nico just in time to see him shake his head.
"I don't really have any friends in that crowd. I think this is the first time I've ever had fun." I couldn't tell if it was because of the cold air or the sentence Nico had just said, but I was blushing. "I knew that about you the first time I stepped into your cab, you know," Nico said. "I could tell that you were the type of person who could make anything fun, the type of person who could brighten a life just by being there." I don't know what made me do it, but I did. I rolled over, kissing Nico on the lips. I could see his eyes widen in surprise for a millisecond before I could feel him kissing back. We broke apart, and I sucked in a breath of the cool air.
"I'm sorry," I gasped. "I just- couldn't help myself, I guess. It's just that-" Nico put a hand on my arm and I stopped talking.
"Relax," he laughed. "I like you too, or I wouldn't have kissed you back." I must have looked ridiculous, with my giant smile but Nico's smile must have matched.
"What do we do from here?" I asked. "Do we date?"
"I'd love to," Nico said, his dark brown eyes connecting with my blue ones. Above me a shooting star whizzed past but I didn't need to wish for it. I had everything I needed staring me in the face.
Hi guys! That one ended up a little bit longer than expected, just over 2,000 words, so I hope you liked it!
Nina
Just Drive (part 3)
Start from the beginning
