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"Gia, look who I found in the lobby!"
Gia looked up at Allison, then noticed the three people with her. "Mom! Dad! Evan!" She took turns hugging her friends. How did you get here? I thought you would be at the airbnb and Evie would be hanging out with you. And where's Matt?" She looked back towards the elevators.
The woman she had called mom, laughed. She was a beautiful brown skinned woman, with dark curly hair that she left free, and it was obvious she was Evie's mom. "Slow down. We already dropped our things at the airbnb, then we went by your place and got Evie to do some touring and meet you for lunch. She and Matt are downstairs. We figured 5 people huddled around your desk might be too much. Three people still might be." She chuckled again. "Allison recognized Evie and was nice enough bring us up." She paused and looked at Nick, who was standing next to Gia. "And who might this handsome young man be?"
Gia felt her face heat up at the reminder that Nick had been standing there all along. When she glanced his way she could tell he was thoroughly confused and on edge. "Everyone, this is Nick, my internship mentor. Nick, these are Evie's parents, Barb and Brent Walker, and her brother Evan."
Nick's expression eased and he greeted the group.
Brent's face lit up. "Nick, it's good to meet you. Gia speaks so highly of you. She's like a daughter to us, so it means a lot for us to meet who she's working with."
Evan was leaning up against Gia's desk, eying Nick. Over the past few months Evie had been giving Evan the play by play of the Gia and Nick saga, and it was clear Evan was not sure that Nick deserved any accolades. Evan moved closer to Gia and through an arm over her shoulder. "Basically we're here to rescue the fair maiden and take her to lunch." Evan winked at Gia.
"You should join us, Nick!" Barb gushed. "We would love to get to know you."
~~~
"This is where Gia ran into Nick for the first time." Evie chuckled. "Literally ran into him and he had to keep her from falling. It was before she even met him at work or knew who he was."
The whole table seemed to find that amusing, particularly Evan. "That sounds about right. Gia's not exactly known for her gracefulness." Evan budged against Gia's shoulder and grinned.
Nick looked between the two and his smile vanished.
"Hey, hey," Gia shot back. "I clearly remember eating flan with raspberry sauce at that restaurant on the square," Gia smirked and and wrapped a hand around Evans's bicep. "You remember, I'm sure, when someone," she cleared her throat, "Evan, dropped their glass of iced tea into the sauce and it splashed all over both of us. Hmm? Sound familiar?"
"Now you've done it!" Evan wrapped an arm around Gia's neck and pulled her to his chest, while mussing her hair.
Gia could practically feel the tension emanating from Nick on the other side of the table as his eyes narrowed at Evan. Hers searched out Evie's, looking for moral support, but Evie was thoroughly engrossed in whatever tale Matt was spinning. She fidgeted with the fork and knife in front of her, lining them up perfectly. When she looked up, Nick was watching and holding back a smile. Heat rose to her cheeks.
"So, Nick, do you have family close by?" Barb asked.
"Um, no ma'am."
"You should join us for thanksgiving tomorrow.. I have to admit I've ordered it all, but the caterer does get good reviews. We just couldn't come up here and miss the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, but that of course doesn't leave much time for cooking."
Nick's eyes held Gia's while Barb spoke, and he seemed to be considering the offer, before turning back to Barb. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm expected at the home of some friends." His eyes found Gia's again. "Heath and Sabrina."
Gia nodded and smiled. "Tell them I said 'hi'."
With a sad smile Nick responded, "I will."
"Well, you're welcome to come with us to the parade if that works." Barb recognized the tension and was unsure how to ease it.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Nick responded noncommittally. He was immediately distracted by Gia's giggling.
"Stop that, Evan. No fair. I can't help that I'm ticklish." She squirmed as Evan poked at her ribs.
Nick watched them with a stony gaze.
Once they ordered Evie stood. "Gia, come to the restroom with me."
"Why is it that women have to go to the restroom in pairs?" Matt chuckled.
"Right?! Maybe we should try it to see what all the fuss is about."
"I'll pass, Evan." Matt fought to keep a straight face.
Evie rolled her eyes, and pulled Gia behind her. "I thought Nick was insisting you guys are just friends, and pushing you towards Brian?"
Gia topped off her lip gloss, then turned to her friend looking flustered. "He did... he has. I... why do you say that?"
"Have you seen the way he's been this whole time? He can't keep his eyes off you, and he's clearly bothered by the attention Evan has given you."
Gia opened her mouth, then shut it, and furrowed her brow. "How can you even tell? You've been so busy with Matt."
A small smile came to Evie's face. "Not so busy that I can't see what's right in front of my face. Seriously, Gia, I think he's still interested in you."
Shaking her head Gia looked down at the sink. "As much as I'd like to believe that, I have to move on." Her eyes drew up again. "He may be interested, but he's made it clear on more than one occasion that he can't do relationships." Her frown twisted into a smile. "But you... you and Matt? What's going on there?"
"I don't know yet. We've been texting some, and...". Evie bit her lip. "We're just getting to know each other better, you know, as more than him just being Evan's best friend and me being the sister." Her smile dimmed. "But back to you. I'm sorry. I can see that you still care a great deal for Nick."
Gia's heart began to race, and she felt tears threaten to emerge. "It is what it is. And I'm dating Brian now, so... I shouldn't be feeling things for Nick."
Evie reached out and squeezed Gia's hand and the two women looked at each other, understanding passing between them. "You're only human Gia, feelings don't just disappear because someone tells you they don't have the capacity for a relationship. I'm sorry for him, but I hurt for you. I want you to be happy."
Gia forced a smile. "I'm working on it."
The rest of lunch passed mostly uneventfully, other than a few questioning glances as Nick watched Gia and Evan. When the waitress brought the check, Nick grabbed it before Brent could get it.
"I'll take care of this, Nick," Brent offered.
Nick shook his head. "No, no, you guys are visiting. Let me."
Gia watched on, once again admiring his generosity.
Nick finished paying, and the group worked their way outside, back to the hustle and bustle just off the square.
Brent moved towards Nick and held his hand out. "Thanks again for lunch. And thank you especially for taking care of our Gia. She means the world to us. When our girls came up here we were worried, but knew we had to let them spread their wings. We heard about how you helped her out of the situation with the first mentor. You're a good man."
Nick winced at the last comment and shook his head. "It's the least I can do. She deserves more." His eyes drifted to Gia.
~~~
Nick was silent on the elevator to their floor once Evie's family left, but the moment they stepped off, he huffed out, "I need to speak to you in my office."
"Okay, let me just put-"
"Now!" His voice was firm and demanding.
Gia's brow furrowed. "Yes sir."
Not looking back, Nick stormed into his office and stood by the window. "Close the door." His voice was cold.
"What's wrong?" Gia had never seen Nick with so much anger directed at her.
"What's wrong? What was the meaning of that?" Nick swung around and glared at Gia, while pointing down towards Times Square. "You...you were flirting with Evie's brother the whole time!"
"Flirting? With Evie's brother?" Gia chuckled, not believing her ears. Was he jealous?
"Yes, flirting, when you have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who begged you to go to his parent's home with him for thanksgiving. But now it's clear why you insisted on staying here the whole, long weekend. It's only a two hour drive, and he was willing to just go up for one day if that was all you could be away." He shook his head and paced.
"We've only been dating for two and a half weeks!" Gia scoffed. "Under normal circumstances that's fast, but this is me we're talking about. It's too soon to 'meet the parents.' And Evan? Evan is like a brother to me!" She laughed dryly. "I can't believe we're having this conversation!"
"You think this is funny? And that down there, by the way, didn't seem like just brotherly, sisterly affection!"
"You know what I think? I think that you're jealous!"
"Jealous? Of what?" He scoffed.
"I don't know? Of me with other guys? Of other people being able to have real relationships? You tell me."
"Yeah, right. You don't know what you're talking about. No one can fix this! No one can fix me! We've discussed this, and I'm over it." Nick's face looked like he was anything but over it, and his hands were fisted by his side.
"You're right, we've discussed it, but you're clearly not over it. You carry it around like it's some badge of honor. You're broken! I get it. I get it more than I want to. But you know what? 'As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.' God, he does that, and doesn't need any help from you. That's in Psalm 103 by the way." He looked at her skeptically. "Since our discussion before, I've looked up scriptures. And you know what else I found? 1 John 1:9 says 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' And what's more, 'If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.' He knows you sinned. We all have. Let him move you past it." She wanted to say "so get over yourself" but that didn't sound very Christian-like.
Nick's hands relaxed, but his face was still tight as he turned to the window and shook his head. "You should go work." His voice was softer. I won't say anything to Brian, but I'm still not convinced there's nothing on Evan's part."
Gia rolled her eyes and sighed. He was back on that. "I stand by what I said, he's like a brother." She quickly turned and left, feeling hurt and confused by all that transpired. A loud thud came from inside Nick's office, causing her to stop in her tracks. When no other sound followed, she hurried to her desk.
"Why don't you go on home, Gia"
Nick's voice startled her, and she looked at the time on her computer. "It's only four." She wondered where the time had gone, it felt like she'd just sat down after their argument.
"Evie's family is waiting for you." Nick glanced around the room. "There's hardly anyone left, and I'm not a slave driver. This can wait. Go ahead and start your holiday."
She stared at him in bewilderment. How could he act like their disagreement earlier had never happened?