Nico finishes with his shift, untying the apron from around his waist and putting it behind the counter. The restaurant is still thriving with life as we walk towards the exit.
"Is everything okay?" I ask when Nico lets the silence stretch between us. He's acting weird, different to his usual charming self. His hand moves to rest on the small of my back as we squeeze between two tables before finally reaching the outskirts of the restaurant.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Nico shrugs as we turn right and head down to the beach. A large golden light can be seen in the distance and I presume it to be the bonfire.
"You're acting weird," I state upfront and I hear him let out a small laugh.
"I just want you to be careful... Jacques is not the kind of guy you want to be surrounding yourself with," he explains and I nod my head in understanding. I'm guessing that Jacques is the guy I spoke to earlier.
A soft breeze washes over us and I let his words sink in.
"Why? What has he done?" I ask, hesitantly. It makes me wonder if he has some kind of past with Jacques, so I tread lightly.
"Let's just say he's been a real stronzo," Nico says and I stifle a laugh. My Italian may be limited but if there is one thing I do know, it is asshole. That then reminds me of our bargain.
"You're still yet to hold up your end of the bargain," I say as we near the beach and Nico sends a confused expression my way before his brows soften and he realises.
"Our bargain. You'd go to the best gelateria in Vernazza so long as I taught you the basics in Italian," Nico smiles, his hand moving to my hip and I try to keep my focus on the conversation. "Your first phrase is pezzo di merda."
"And what does that mean?" I ask and, annoyingly, he smirks.
"It means piece of shit. So, you could say that Jacques is a pezzo di merda," Nico explains and I roll my eyes before swatting his side.
"Not very helpful," I say and his hand squeezes my hip as we near the crowd gathered around the bonfire. It's much larger than I had anticipated. Large amounts of logs are aglow - standing, leaning into a point. We're only slightly close to it and you can already feel the large swarms of heat projecting from the lit wood.
"Oh, but it's very helpful," Nico leans down to whisper in my ear and I feel much warmer all of a sudden. As if I have been set on fire instead.
It's when the familiar face begins inching closer to us, cup in hand that I figure it may come in handy after all.
"Hey, you made it," Jacques says, not even acknowledging Nico. "I didn't catch your name earlier. I'm Jacques," he introduces himself, holding out his hand for me to shake.
"Tieni il cazzo nei pantaloni," Nico cuts in and Jacques turns to face him.
"Ah, I didn't see you there, Nico. Sorry, but I was in the middle of a conversation before you rudely interrupted. Does he always do this? Says mindless things in Italian and leaves you out of the conversation?" Jacques turns to me and I furrow my brows.
"The setup looks good, I was expecting something more low-key but it looks great," I change the subject of the conversation just as Nico moves closer to me.
"Yeah it's getting there... come grab a drink," Jacques says.
"I'm okay for the moment, maybe later," I suggest and he nods before walking back to the bonfire and grabbing a girl by her waist. She grimaces before pushing him off her, Jacques only laughs before taking another swig of his drink. "Stronzo."
"Exactly," Nico laughs. "Do you want to sit?" he asks and I tug him towards the bonfire.
Sitting down on the sand, I ignore the fact that my dress is going to be covered by the end of the evening. I fiddle with the end of my braid as I look out to the ocean. The moon shines beautifully down onto the crashing waves, forming a layer of glitter over the water.
"I was thinking... there's a bookshop in town and I think you'd love it," I turn to face him, giving him a bright smile.
"I would love to. I saw it in passing the other night and I had to force myself to not go in just yet," I explain and he gives me an all-knowing look. "The restraint it took," I laugh.
"I can imagine... but when you step foot in there, I'm sure every inch of restraint will slip between your fingertips. It has books from all around the world and I'm sure it even has some classics," Nico says and I want to burst with anticipation.
"Stop talking or I'm afraid I'm going to have to be arrested for breaking and entering," I say, another laugh escaping from me.
"Your laugh..." Nico says, those eyes intent on mine.
I'm about to ask what he means until a high-pitch, grating voice slices through our conversation. "Nico!" a girl shrieks before wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. "It's been too long, piccola," her voice softens.
Her hair is bleach-blond and she's wearing the tiniest dress known to man. She may as well take it off, I'm sure it will not make much of a difference. I ignore the sour taste of jealousy.
"Gia," Nico clears his throat, pushing her hands away from his body.
It's when I notice a presence on the other side of me that my head swivels in their direction. Jacques, of course. "Nico has quite the reputation with girls," Jacques states and I feel a pang of something I cannot decipher in my chest.
"Who is Gia?" I ask, not truly wanting to know the answer. But, curiosity gets the best of me.
"One of Nico's many hookups who got too attached. He's a no-feelings kind of guy. Lures you in, gets you invested, then throws you to the side for the next one," he shrugs, taking a swig. My brows knit together in confusion, Nico sounds like nothing of the sort. "I see he's already got his claws dug deep in you."
"But, that sounds nothing like Nico. Maybe, it's you that I shouldn't trust," I shrug and he laughs.
"But I need you, Nico. Let's go to the rocks..." I hear Gia say suggestively. My chest burns and I hate myself for getting so attached to someone I met not days ago.
"What are you drinking?" I ask and before Jacques can give me an answer, I take his cup and take a heavy swig of the contents. Grimacing at the taste, Jacques only laughs, his green eyes bright.
"If you'd let me finish... it's a mix of tequila and vodka - lethal," he explains and I now have the reasoning behind why I now feel so ill. "Let's go get you a drink," Jacques says, his hand finding its way to my back and guiding me to stand up.
"Gia, you're drunk, chill out," I hear Nico say before Jacques and I walk towards the drink table.
"What do you want?" he asks as I look towards the array of alcohol. Bottles upon bottles. How does one even acquire this much drink?
"Surprise me," I say, my indecisive mind not being able to just pick a drink. Jacques smiles before he grabs a bottle full of dark liquor, pouring it into the red cup. Then grabbing a pink drink and what I presume to be vodka due to it resembling water.
"This is what I like to call my farsi fottere cocktail," he says proudly before handing the cup to me. I raise a brow at the colour of the cup's contents. "Try it," he presses.
Lifting the cup to my mouth, just the smell alone burns my nostrils. Taking a swig, I have to refrain from coughing due to the rancid taste. "Do you have any mixers?" I ask and he rolls his eyes in jest.
Handing me what I presume to be coke. I put in a healthy pour.
Jacques leans down as I place the bottle back. "I thought you were hardcore," he whispers and I have to refrain from grimacing.
"I'm just not a fan of liver disease," I shrug before laughing. Taking another sip, I find it to still taste putrid but not half as bad as before.
Two hands are placed on my hips and my head snaps behind me. I let out a breath of relief when I find that it is Nico. He stands glaring at Jacques. I decide on turning back around due to the fact that Nico does not look like he is in the mood for a joke right now.
"Cos'era quello, eh? Mandi Gia a me solo per avere Heidi per te? Che bugie le hai detto, pezzo di merda?" Nico says and it doesn't take a genius to figure out by his time that he is beyond angry and is talking about Gia and me. The only thing I pick up on is pezzo di merda.
I mean he did say that it would come in handy.
"Rilassati, amico. Lei è noiosa comunque. Posso dire che lei non è divertente. Perché non porti il pulcino a casa e ti diverti un po'?" Jacques shrugs and I feel extremely lost.
"Let's go," Nico says before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me along. "What's this?" he asks, pointing towards my cup.
"Just a drink," I shrug and Nico looks like he's going to tear at the seams. Nico takes the cup before pouring the contents on the floor and then proceeds to throw it into the bin. "Why did you do that?"
"You don't know what that scum put in it," he huffs.
I notice that we're going in the complete opposite direction to both Vienna and Terrone's house as well as Nico's house. "Where are we going?" I dare to ask and for the first time in what seems like forever, Nico smiles.
I prefer happy Nico.
"There's a cove I want to show you... no one is usually there at this time," he explains and I nod. Suddenly we come to a halt and Nico turns me so that I am facing him. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted back there but Jacques... he gets under my skin. The way he treats women, it's so wrong."
"It's okay, you don't have to apologise. He is a stronzo and a pezzo di merda. You were right," I try to make light of the situation but he is still as serious as ever. "What were you saying when you were arguing?" I ask.
Nico gestures for us to continue walking. "He sent Gia over, telling her that I wanted to hook up. Only so that he could be alone with you. Gia she's... she's clingy and we had a fling three summers ago that she still hopes on getting back," Nico explains and everything makes sense. "Then he made comments about you that..." he trails off, running his hand over his face.
"That's the last time I speak to Jacques," I huff as we reach a cave of sorts. "Have we gone the wrong way?" I question.
"No, we're here. You've just gotta duck," Nico explains, leading the way as he ducks under the rocky opening. Hesitantly, I follow.
I'm lost for words when we are met with the rocky, secluded beach. The waves are much gentler but the water is just as glittery nonetheless.
Looking up to the moon, I let the sound of the waves crashing smoothly against the rocks and the shore fill my mind. Holding up my hand, I close one eye and hold my thumb to the left of the moon. Same size.
"What are you doing?" Nico asks.
"No matter where you are, the moon is always the same size. If you're far away from the people you love most, you can always rely on the fact that you're looking at the same moon," I explain before turning my head to smile at him. I've always loved the moon.
Before I can take another breath, I am in Nico's arms. "What are you doing to me?" he breathes and I'm at a loss for words.