Almost three weeks had since passed for her and Nick. They were practically a couple. He hadn’t officially asked her to be his girlfriend. Between his busy days with the band and working on the new album and her days working on the novel, they hadn’t had much time to discuss it. They, however, had plenty of time to be caught hand-in-hand walking in Times Square or eating ice cream for magazines and websites to snap pictures of. It didn’t bother Nick, but Alex was a little apprehensive.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nick had whispered in her ear as flashes went off all around her. “You’re beautiful and have nothing to be nervous about.” He always had a way of making her feel completely perfect.
She smiled to herself as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She had planned a night out at a local family restaurant in Syracuse. It was an old Italian restaurant called Asti’s. It had opened in 2001 as a small restaurant and grew massively in 2005 due to popularity. It was one of her favorites and she had begged Nick to come in for the weekend so they could go.
Her black dress fit loosely enough where it wasn’t too revealing, but it hugged every curve nicely. Her hair was in loose curves all around her shoulders and her make-up was flawless, thanks to the help of Kerstin. “You look gorgeous, honey.” Kerstin smiled as she entered Alex’s bedroom.
“I’m going to tell him tonight just how much he means to me…” Alex smiled and bit her bottom lip anxiously. “I hope he doesn’t freak or think I’m stupid…”
“Of course he wouldn’t,” Kerstin smiled. “I’ve watched the way he looks at you, Allie. He is in love with you.”
Alex rolled her eyes and fixed her mascara a little. “We aren’t even official yet…” she sighed. “It’s been three weeks. I think it’s about time we move a little quicker…” she watched Kerstin’s perplexed expression. “Yeah, I don’t really know what I mean by that, either.” She sighed, answering her friend’s question before it was even asked.
“Are you saying…?” Kerstin trailed off. Alex sighed and shrugged. “Sweetheart, please don’t do anything you’ll regret in the future.” Alex turned towards her with a frown.
“Why do you think I would regret that? Kerstin, he is so different than any guy I’ve ever been with before,” Alex sighed and a smile graced her lips as she realized exactly what Nick meant to her.
“No offense, Al, but you haven’t been with many guys,” Kerstin said honestly. Alex almost felt offended until she realized just how right Kerstin was. “Sweetie, you can’t just decide spontaneously to jump into anything serious.” Kerstin said. Alex knew she meant sex. To be honest, she wanted Nick to be her first. She wanted it to be special and with Nick everything always felt special.
“I don’t know what I’m jumping into just yet,” Alex sighed as she grabbed her clutch from the nightstand. She heard Nick knocking at the door. “But whatever I jump into isn’t really up to you. I’ll see you in the morning.” She mumbled and went to the front door.
She swung it open and smiled to see Nick in a black button down short sleeved shirt and khaki pants. “Hi, sexy,” he winked with a smile and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. “You look beautiful.”
“Why thank you,” she smiled and closed the door behind her. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.” She winked. She tucked her arm delicately in his as they walked out of the apartment complex and to the street below.
“So, where to?” He asked her as they approached the taxi cab.
“411 North Salina Street,” Alex smiled to the taxi cab driver who nodded. “It’s this amazing Italian restaurant. It opened about six years ago and I love it.” She smiled.
“If you love it, I’m sure I’ll love it too,” he smiled and kissed her cheek. “I’ve missed you.” It had only been two days since the two had seen each other, and they had talked on the phone daily.
“I’ve missed you too,” Alex smiled and leaned into him. He was so perfect. She couldn’t stop telling herself that. “How has the album been?”
Nick sighed and scrunched up his nose. Uh oh. Wrong question. “Well. Not well, I guess,” he sighed. “New York has never had the best producing equipment for us and our managers think we should head back to Florida as soon as possible to get started in recording some more.”
Alex nodded and looked down at her lap. She knew he couldn’t be there forever. Three weeks had been a hell of a long time, she thought. She was under the impression he would be gone after a few days. He had tried to make it work in the studios offered in New York and obviously, it wasn’t working. “Understandable.” She nodded.
“But I wanted to talk to you about that…” Nick intertwined his fingers with hers. “I think you should come with me.” He smiled. Alex’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“C-Come with you?” She smiled. “Really?”
“Absolutely!” Nick smirked. “I have a huge house in Florida…guest bedrooms and all.” He added awkwardly. They hadn’t spent the night together yet and he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. “I mean, if it works with your novel and everything. I know you’re in the office once every few weeks.” He changed the subject from possibly living together to work. He realized it sounded like he was moving extremely fast. “I don’t want to weird you out or anything…” he quickly jumped back into his previous statement to try and correct himself. “I don’t want you to think I’m moving insanely fast. I just thought you could come spend a few weeks and then head back to New York. We could try to visit each other…frequently.” He shrugged.
Alex giggled and nodded. “I think it sounds like a great idea, Nick,” she smiled and kissed his cheek so he knew she wasn’t freaking out about his idea. “Let’s talk about it over dinner.” She smiled as they exited the taxi cab.
“Sounds like a plan,” he winked and held her hand tightly, thanking himself silently for not ruining the moment.
As they entered the restaurant, they were horded by many reporters and paparazzi. “Alex! Nick! Can we have a smile?” One of the photographers asked. Nick nodded and stopped for a second. Even though Alex’s stomach was telling her otherwise, she complied and smiled for a few pictures.
“Nick, how’s the album?” A photographer yelled out as he snapped a few photos and began to take notes on what Nick’s response was.
“It’s great,” Nick smiled politely. “We miss Kevin, but overall it’s going well.” He nodded.
“Alex, how’s your novel?” The same photographer smiled at her.
“It’s great,” she answered like Nick with a smile. “It’s really coming along well.”
“Nick, how do you feel about being a part of the novel?” The photographer asked. As soon as the words left his mouth, Alex froze. How the hell did he know anything? She hadn’t mentioned the novel’s main purpose to anyone except Kerstin.
Nick frowned and shook his head, glancing down at Alex with a smile. “I-I don’t understand.” He laughed nervously. “What do you mean?”
The photographer paused and frowned at Alex. “He doesn’t know?” He frowned.
Alex felt as if her world was crashing. Her head began to spin. “U-Uh…” she didn’t really know what to say. Nick’s smile fell as he looked back and forth between the photographer and the woman he thought he was in love with.
“Nick, man,” the photographer licked his lips, the smile gone. Alex knew secretly he was just thrilled to spoil the moment. “Alex is writing a novel about how she would be able to fall in love with a celebrity and make him feel the pain…” Alex couldn’t listen anymore as the man continued. Her eyes filled with tears and her hand flew to her forehead. She felt as though she was going to pass out. The look on Nick’s face nearly killed her.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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ALSO. Asti's is a real Italian restaurant in Syracuse. I learned about it thanks to Theresa, tree2583. Thank you so much for all your help!!
ALSO. Asti's is a real Italian restaurant in Syracuse. I learned about it thanks to Theresa, tree2583. Thank you so much for all your help!!
