All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(31)
“Did Mr. Dombruso pass?” Danny asked solemnly.
“Yes and no. He’s dead to me, but technically he’s shacked up with a hussy in Florida. I recently filed divorce papers against that son of a bitch. That’s why I’m hoping to find me a honey at the party tomorrow night. I haven’t been single in sixty years and got some catching up to do!”
I glanced at Luca while my grandmother was talking, to see how he was taking the news that my family was fairly notorious in Viladembursa. He didn’t react to it at all, his expression remaining neutral as he swirled the ice in his whiskey and focused on Nana. Well, good.
Meanwhile, Jessie flirted with a cute dancer named Giorgio, who didn’t speak a word of English. The language barrier didn’t seem to be much of a deterrent, though. They were making each other laugh with hand gestures and pantomime, and proving that words weren’t really necessary when attraction was involved. It was nice to see him enjoying himself.
Eventually our companions said they had to go, since a couple of them had to get to work (a couple others had called in sick, since they were so excited to actually have a gig). Luca and I said goodbye to them, and Nana said, “I’ll walk you out, and I’m looking forward to seeing you boys at the party tomorrow night. It’s gonna be a real humdinger!” She linked arms with Rafael and Danny, and they all held their heads up and paraded out of the hotel on their high heels as everyone stopped and stared. Three of the other dancers did a choreographed routine on their way through the lobby, as if they were in a parade. Well, why not? They had everyone’s attention anyway. Jessie and Giorgio followed, exchanging numbers. I kind of wondered how that was going to work, and imagined them texting nothing but emojis to each other.
“I admire people who are comfortable in the spotlight,” I said as Luca and I headed to the front desk. “I’m just not like that at all.”
He grinned and said, “It’s such a losing battle. You try to blend in with your khakis and your uniform, but you never, ever will. And you know why?” When I shook my head, he turned to me and pulled me into his arms. “Because you’re absolutely beautiful, Nico. My God, look at you! You completely take my breath away, and you do it effortlessly! You can’t be a wallflower, no matter how hard you try.”
I chuckled self-consciously and dropped my gaze. “You’re really good for my ego. Then again, you also walked right past me without seeing me that first day.”
“That first day, I kissed you and pulled you into a fountain. The second day, I was too busy being an idiot and staring at my cellphone to notice my surroundings at all. Once I saw you, it was game over.”
“Why did you pull me into that fountain anyway?”
“I was desperate. You were leaving and I needed a few more minutes with you. I wasn’t exactly smooth when I was sixteen.”
I began to lightly massage his shoulders. “I thought you were plenty smooth. Actually, I’m surprised I was your first kiss. It seems like you would have gotten around to it at an earlier age.”
“Before that moment, I was kind of grappling with being gay. I mean, I knew for a fact that I was,” he said, “but I didn’t know what to do with it. I was pretty sure trying to kiss a boy would result in getting punched in the jaw. I’d never seen a guy trying to get with another guy on TV or in the movies, and certainly not in real life. I had no examples to follow.”
“But then you met me and went for it.”
“Well, yeah. I had to! You’re just…that guy.”
“What guy?”
“You know, that one guy special enough to make me want to take a chance, no matter the consequences.” He said that so sincerely.
“Oh, come on. I’m just ordinary.”
“There you go, trying to pretend you can blend in again. It’s not working, Nico, because I see you. I see not only your beauty, but your sweetness, kindness, gentleness, and a million other good things. Hell, just look at what you’re doing right now.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I said.
“Yes you are. You’re massaging my shoulders, and you’re doing it without a thought. It just comes naturally to you, trying to make others feel good.” He was right that I’d barely noticed what I was doing. “I also love the fact that even though you hate being the center of attention, you’re standing in a public place right now in the arms of a man, and you well and truly don’t give a shit that people are staring.”
“I decided a long time ago that I was never going to hide the fact that I was gay. It might make me uncomfortable when people stare at me, but that’s not enough of a reason to hide who I am,” I said.
“I totally respect that.”
“Okay. Well, thank you for all of that,” I said, taking his hand and continuing our walk across the lobby.
“You suck at taking compliments. We’re going to work on that.”
That made me smile. “Good luck.”
When we reached the front desk, I asked if I had any mail, and when the clerk handed me a shipping envelope, I exclaimed, “Yes!”
I thanked him before tearing open the package, and Luca asked, “What is that?”
“My wallet got lost at the dry cleaners, so I had to cancel my credit cards. My bank overnighted me a replacement, for a fee of course, but it was totally worth it. Now I don’t have to keep mooching off my friend and grandmother. It’ll be nice to be a functioning adult again.” As I put the card in the new wallet Jessie bought me, I asked, “What are you doing this afternoon? Since you’re all dressed up, I assume you have work to do.”