December 31st,
With a sigh, Nova stared at the paper in her hand. Actually, she wanted to throw it away, but she never did. And now, three days after meeting him, she was actually considering texting him.
She didn't want to spend New Year's Eve with her family only to look pathetic at midnight, thanks to being the only single person, again.
And the person, she actually wanted to spend New Year's with, was sick. Her best friend Katie got the flu on Christmas Day, because her little sister was sick. And even worse, Nova's boyfriend Jake broke up with her two weeks ago.
Nova was making a bouquet for a customer at the flower shop, and after that she just decided to do it.
She took out her phone, saved his number and texted him,
'Hi Javier, It's Nova. From the mall.
Are you still looking for a holidate tonight?'
And only a few seconds later, she regretted texting him.
Shit, she should have written something else, right? Because that was fucking embarrassing.
Maybe she shouldn't have texted him at all. He probably already found another plus-one. And since she can close the shop at 3pm today, she could have just spent the whole night watching her favorite movies.
So she put her phone in her jeans pocket and went back to the flowers. And after just a few minutes, she felt it vibrate. She immediately took it out of her pocket again, and saw his reply.
'Hi Nova, you really made me wait a long time,
but yes, I'd still need a holidate for NYE.
Weirdly enough, nobody thinks
that's a good idea except for your aunt'
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
At 8 pm, Nova stood nervously in front of the hotel, where the rooftop party was to take place.
"Nova! Hi" she heard a familiar voice behind her. And when she turned around, Javier was standing in front of her.
"Hi, thanks again for the invite" she told him with a smile.
"Thank you for accepting" he replied with a charming grin.
Once inside, Javier went straight up the stairs. "Uh Javier, if you don't mind me asking, why did you get an invitation for this?" Nova asked as she followed him upstairs.
"Well, uh, a friend of mine was dying to spend New Year's Eve here. I think he's dating a waitress here. So we decided to all celebrate here, so he doesn't have to go alone, you know?" he replied.
"Oh okay, I see"
"Yeah, you'll get to know them soon. They're all nice, don't worry about it" he told her as he opened the door to the rooftop.
"Thank you" Nova told him while he held the door open for her.
"Come, Benny's over there" he then said and laid his arm softly on her back.
When the two arrived at a slightly younger man, he immediately began to grin.
"Javi! Hi, nice to see you" he said to Javier.
Then he turned to the woman next to him, "You must be Nova, right? Didn't think you were coming. He was talking a lot bout you but we thought he's imagining things and has gone crazy" he said with a chuckle and held out his hand to her.
"I'm Benny by the way" he added as he shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Benny" she replied with a smile.
"Likewise, and be nice to her, Javi. She's nice enough to go to a party with you, even though she doesn't even know you well" Benny said with a grin to his friend.
"I'm always nice" Javier replied and put his hand on Novas back again. Because even though Benny was dating one of the waitresses, Javi knew that Benny wouldn't shy away from flirting with Nova.
"Well uh, I'll leave you alone for a moment, I have to look for my date. The others are at the bar" Benny then said with a grin and left.
Javier just sighed, "Sorry about him"
"What? No it's okay, he seems nice" Nova replied.
She wasn't feeling uncomfortable, but still a bit weird. She didn't really know Javier but decided to go to a party with him anyway. Maybe she was too careless? After all, he could be a psychopath or something like that. Shit, she thought to herself. Maybe she shouldn't have texted him.
"Are you okay?" Javier then asked, noticing that Nova was getting quite nervous.
"Ah, yeah. I guess I just need something to drink" she replied.
"Sure, we can get something downstairs if you want. Then you don't have to get to know the others all at once, I don't want to overwhelm you" he said with a small smile.
"Yes, sounds good" she replied.
Down at the bar, Javier ordered a beer and Nova a non-alcoholic cocktail. She decided to hold off on the alcohol until she felt a bit safer.
And apparently, he noticed it, "Hey uh, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable" he told her and scratched the hair on his neck.
"Don't worry you didn't" she replied with a smile.
"Are you sure? We can leave and go somewhere else, if you'd like that better? Or I can take you home? Well uh bring you home, and leave then, of course"
"No it's okay. It's just that I really don't know anyone here. But I knew that from the beginning, so it's not your fault" she replied with a smile.
"Okay, well you can get to know me a bit more before you meet the others?" he suggested and took a sip of his beer.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan" she said with a smile.
"You can ask me everything you want" he said, also with a charming smile.
Nova thought about it for a few seconds. There were probably a few things she should ask him. But his age seemed most important to her right now.
"Can I ask how old you are?"
He nodded and took another sip of his beer. Because he was sure that now, he would ruin his chance with Nova. She seemed pretty young and he was definitely too old for her.
"34" he then said.
She nodded and also took a sip of her drink.
"And you?" he asked again.
Please be not that young, he thought to himself. She's definitely not a minor, he's pretty sure about that. But still, she's probably way too young for him.
"I'm 25" she told him.
He exhaled in relief. That's not too bad, right?
Wanting to know more about her, he started talking again. "And you work in the flower shop?"
"Yeah, sometimes. My parents own the shop and I help out sometimes. Mostly on the holidays tho. But if I'm not helping out, I'm still going to university, well medical school to be exact" she replied.
"Really? That's impressive" Javier said and Nova felt herself blush a little.
"Thank you, unfortunately medical school takes forever. But i always wanted to be a doctor, it's kinda a childhood dream of mine"
Javier nodded studied her face for a moment, "Can I also ask you something?"
"Yeah sure, go on"
"Why did you text me? I actually thought I scared you off" he asked with a chuckle.
"Well, since my original plans for New Year's Eve didn't work out, and I would have been at home on my own, I thought that you might be happy about a holidate, you know?" she said with a small smile.
"I am. Thank you for coming. I was really hoping you would text me" he told her and Nova felt her cheeks heating up again.
She turned away from him and stared at the table in front of her, hoping he doesn't see her blush.
"If you want, we can go to the others now? I don't wanna keep you from your friends" Nova told him.
And a few minutes later, Javier and Nova stood in front of the rooftop bar and met his friends.
"Guys, this is Nova" He introduced her.
A blond man turned around and immediately smiled at her, "Ah, yeah, Benny already told us about you. Nice to meet you, I'm Steve, and that's Connie"
Nova was a little shy but still greeted them. And she was a bit overwhelmed. Javier was a damn handsome man. Just like his friends. How can it be that this group of friends are the hottest guys at this party?
"So, you guys are a thing now?" Benny asked with a grin.
"Shut up, Benny" he told his friend with a small smirk and put his hand on her lower back again. And although she didn't know Javier well, she kind of liked the gesture.
The next few hours the group was talking about all sorts of things. Javier was glad that his friends got along so well with her and didn't exclude her from their conversations. They talked to her a lot and Nova had a smile on her face almost the entire time. He was happy that she was having fun and her doubts disappeared.
And a minute before midnight Benny jumped up nervously, "Shit, I have to find my date" he said and disappeared from the table.
"You have 50 seconds" Steve yelled after him.
Javier watched Nova for a while until the countdown started. Everyone counted happily and at midnight the fireworks began and everyone cheered.
"Happy New Year!" Connie exclaimed happily and pulled everyone in a group hug.
And after the group broke apart, Javier pulled Nova closer.
"Happy New Year Nova, thank you for being here," he said with a big grin.
"You're welcome" she replied and after a few seconds of deliberation, she kissed him on the cheek.
"Happy New Year" she whispered again.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
As Nova and Javier sat in the cab a few hours later, he watched her look out the window. She looked tired but happy nonetheless.
"Well, your aunt's idea is pretty nice. That was probably the best New Year's Eve I've had. I didn't have to stress about a date, but I still had fun and a plus-one" he told her with a smile.
"Yeah that's true. I also really enjoyed it" Nova replied.
Then it was quiet again in the car. And Nova started thinking about her ex boyfriend for the first time that night.
She was in a relationship three weeks ago. And now she was at a New Year's Eve party with a stranger.
"Nova?" he asked and snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing on Valentine's Day?"
"Huh?" she asked confused and turned to him.
"Well, Valentine's Day, you know? It's in six weeks. You wanna have another Holidate?"
She looked at him with wide eyes. Is he asking her out? Again? For fucking Valentine's Day?
But, to be honest, Nova liked that he asked her. She had a lot of fun today. But inside, she was maybe hoping to get back together with her ex.
"Oh, uh, I don't know, what if one of us meets someone in the meantime?"
"Nah, I don't wanna meet someone else right now. Im happy being single. But I really enjoyed the night with you, so if you're single on Valentine's Day give me a call, okay?" he asked with a charming grin.