Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
“I’m okay. It’s hard, not that it isn’t every year, but this year it seems heavier. I’ll do something productive later today to keep my mind preoccupied.” Mom coincides the date of the charity function with Aunt Katerina’s birthday. While it should be a happy moment, it still brings back the memories of how horrible her last day was. It probably has to do with the fact that she’s been gone for almost twenty years now. We’re all older and missing her being with us like she was on those rare occurrences when she could escape without bringing her douchebag of a husband. Usually, I’ll keep myself busy—volunteer at the shelter, go through my closet, purge my heart out. At least that’s what I did last year before the whole Nico and Journey thing became a thing. Not that we’re keeping it a secret because we aren’t, well, not when it comes to my brother and his now fiancée, Celeste.
“You want to talk about it?” Oh God, that had to hurt him to ask. I laugh, , push my bowl away, and drop my spoon inside said ceramic dish as a snort bursts from inside me, followed by giggling. “What, you think because I’m a guy I can’t listen to a woman talk about her feelings? Woman, it’s like you haven’t met my ma and sister.” I use my thumbs underneath my eyes to wipe away the tears from my laughter. There’s one thing about Nico: he’s not a man of many words, and in order for women to talk and let all the things out, well, we usually need someone to respond to us.
“Oh, I know them; I also know you, and while that is very thoughtful, I’ll be okay, promise. It’s just going to be one of those days.” As much as Nico tried to wring every last bit of energy out of my body in the middle of the night as well as earlier this morning, once we woke up, everything came slamming back.
“You’ll call me tonight. I might be busy with my shit, but I’m not too busy for you.” One sentence, that’s all Nico has to give me. His words are better than any flowers, chocolate, nights out at fancy restaurants. What he said, it means more than anything.
“I’ll call you,” I reply, knowing he was telling me what he wants instead of asking. He may be playing it off as it being for my own good, but that’s not the case. He’s doing it because he’s worried about me, while chipping another layer off of his hardened heart.
“Good, let’s eat. I’ve still got three more hours before I need to head back to my place to shower and change before I need to get to work.” I’m not sure why he hasn’t taken to bringing a change of clothes with him when he comes to me in the middle of the night, although it’s not something I’ll bring up to him just yet either.
“I can think of a several things to do with those hours,” I playfully tease. Judging by the dark circles beneath his eyes, I’m thinking Nico could use a few hours of sleep. Maybe I can convince him of lying on the couch, watching mindless TV until he drifts off to sleep.
“Eat up. You’re going to need your energy.” Or maybe I won’t. Either way, we’ll both come out winning.
FOUR
Journey
I noticed the tightness around Nico’s mouth when I walked him to my door. Him stopping at the thermostat on the wall to kick it up, back to its normal temperature that I keep it at, also didn’t go unnoticed. The Nico I had early this morning and throughout the day is like a well-kept secret, which sucks because one day, I’ll grow tired of the secrecy, of not having a normal relationship with a man who means so much to me. He lingered, glancing at his watch every now and then, kissing me more than once, then waited until he heard the sliding of the security bolt on my condo door before telling me again to call him. Nico Donotello is a freaking conundrum, which is why I’ve called Delaney over to help me. Not to talk because even that’s off-limits. The only people who were safe in our circle to know about Nico and myself are my brother and his fiancée, Celeste, my parents, his parents, and his sister. Though, his mom was impressed when he told her that we were together, but not with the fact that Nico wasn’t bringing me out in the open. She was a boss’ wife until Emilio handed the family reins to Nico.
“Keep or donate?” Delaney asks from his spot on the floor, where the clothes have been strewn every which way. I called him the second Nico walked away, knowing being on my own well into the evening wasn’t a great idea while feeling this way. I enjoyed every minute and hour of having Nico here, but the thought of sitting idle in my own head was not appealing. Thankfully, Delaney is a gem, didn’t have plans, and has a penchant for organizing a closet like nobody’s business. There is something to be said about having a gay best friend. He’s the absolute best, and his style is ten times better than mine. If only he didn’t dive headfirst into real estate, he could have taken Instalook by storm and probably make just as much if not more than he does now.