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Everything between Nico and I were just starting to get better, and I was starting to get afraid that it was only the calm before the storm.
The next day, started really great. I woke up in my bed, with Nico’s arms wrapped around me from behind. It was such a beautiful feeling that I decided to savor it a while longer.
I turned around and faced Nico, He adjusted his arms and pulled me closer. “Good morning…” He said in a gentle voice as he snuggled me.
“Did I wake you up?” I asked as I tilted my head upwards to meet his half-opened eyes.
“Not at all.” Nico replied. “I’ve been awake for quite a while, but I didn’t want to wake you up, and I like snuggling you, so…”
I chuckled. “I like it too…” It was my turn to put my arms around Nico.
It was such a nice feeling. I could feel Nico’s breath against my forehead. I could feel his heartbeat as our bare chests touched. His skin was soft and it felt so good against my own. It was a great thing that we didn’t have work that Saturday, so we could stay in bed like that for quite longer.
“Do you want to have breakfast?” Nico asked.
“Later, I want to stay like this longer. Can we?” I asked as I moved lower and then buried my face on Nico’s bare chest. He smelled so nice, his scent was simply so intoxicating.
“Sure, anything you want.” Nico replied, sounding very happy and proud. Then he moved closer and kissed my forehead.
We stayed in bed for about an hour longer, wrapped in each other’s arms. I was in a complete state of bliss that whole day. There are a lot of great things that happened in my life, but being with Nico is surely the greatest of them all.
I had a very huge smile on my face as I prepared breakfast. I was frying bacon when Nico suddenly appeared behind me. “Mmm…. Smells nice…” He said as he moved his head beside mine.
“Don’t blame me if you get burned by the oil,” I said.
“That’s right, there’s a lock room beside your bedroom, what’s inside?” Nico suddenly asked.
I suddenly became a bit nervous, because that room was my writing room. If Nico enters it, then he would surely find out my deepest secret. A secret that I was not ready to tell any soul yet.
“It’s my work area.” It’s not totally a lie. “It’s all messy, so I locked it, so you won’t have to see it.” That was a lie, my writing space was always brightly clean. “I’ll show it to you, some other time. Right now, I’m not ready to show it anyone yet.”
“I see… Then, show it to me, when you’re ready,” Nico said sweetly and wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder. “I always wanted to do this. Hugging someone from behind, resting my head on their shoulder, as they cook,” he said cheerfully.
I blushed at his words, somehow it made me really happy. “Ehhh… so you’ve never done this before?” I asked. Part of me genuinely wanted to know and part of me didn’t, because I was afraid that I might just get jealous.
“Never…” He said nonchalantly. Honestly, I am not surprised. Nico and Emily had been together ever since they were in highschool, so I knew that it was her who Nico was talking about. “What about you? Have you done this before? Were you the one being hug or the one hugging?” Nico’s voice sounded curious, but somehow there’s a certain seriousness mixed with it.
I was really hesitant to reply, because I could feel that it was trap. “Not really…” I wasn’t really lying, I never hugged anyone from behind before. Well, Brent would stand behind me and rest his head on my shoulder as I cook, from time to time, but he never hugged me.
There’s no way I can tell that to Nico! He already doesn’t like Brent that much, if he finds that out, then he’ll definitely get angry.
“Ahhh!” I shouted when I suddenly felt Nico bite my earlobe. “What was that for?” I asked as I tilted my head.
Nico was frowning at me, he looked like an angry little boy. Instead of getting scared, I actually thought that he was adorable. More than being angry, Nico looked like he was sulking. “You’re lying…” He said, pouting.
“I-I’m not…” I stuttered a bit. “Ahhh…” Nico nibbled on my ear.
“You’re not a good liar, you know,” Nico demanded. “So, you’ve done this before…” He was sulking again.
“I haven’t,” I repeated. “Well… technically…” I conceded at that end.
“What? Technically? What does that supposed mean?” Nico sounded impatient.
“Hey! Wait…” I said as I hurriedly turned the stove off as Nico forcefully turned me around.
“Tell me honestly, what does that mean?” Nico asked with sharp eyes as he looked down on me. His arms were still wrapped around my waist. I tried avoiding his eyes, but Nico would follow my eyes. “Why aren’t you answering?”
I was in a really dangerous situation. Should I come clean? No, things might get worst between those two. What about me? What would Nico do to me if he finds that I let Brent do that? Wait, it’s not like it means anything, Brent and I have been touchy with each other ever since we were young.
“Drew.” Nico called my name seriously. “I’m getting angry.” He said.
“Fine…” I said, defeated. “Promise me you won’t get angry first, Nico.” I added.
“I’ll try,” He said in very serious tone.
I sighed. “Technically I haven’t done that before. I mean, no one had hugged me from behind like that before. It’s just that when I cook, sometimes, Brent would stand behind me with his head on my shoulder,” I said those words quickly, special the last part.
“What? Brent? That guy? Really… Hey, why do you even let him do that? How can you? Wait, are you two always that chummy and touchy?” I’m so dead. Nico sounded really irritated. He also removed his arms around my waist. “Doesn’t he have any respect for personal space? Tell me honestly, that guy, does he like you?” He asked.
“Hey, what are you talking about?” I answered back. “That means nothing, the two of us had always been touchy, ever since we were young. Brent is like a brother to me, just a brother,” I said.
“Come here.” Nico placed his hand on my waist and then pulled me closer again. “Now that we’re together, you shouldn’t let any other person be so touchy close and touchy with you. Do you understand, Drew?” Nico said.
“Any other person? What about my…”
“Your parents are fine.” Nico interrupted. How can he know what I was thinking? “Do you even think you’re in the position to be cheeky right now?” He asked.
“I’m sorry…” I said.
“Now, I need to mark my territory, so that no one would come so close to you,” Nico said.
I had no idea what he was talking about, until he leaned closer and started kissing me on my neck. “Hey, what are you doing?” I said, a bit ticklish.
“Marking my territory,” Nico said as he begun sucking and biting my neck, leaving kiss marks all over my neck.
Nico was an expert; that I could tell. It didn’t hurt at all, instead it felt really good. Holding back my voice was really hard to do, and I let out a few moans, which only motivated Nico even more. In the end, Nico left me with countless marks on my neck that it was definitely impossible for anyone not to notice it.
I was in front of the body mirror in my room, trying different shirts that would hide the kiss marks Nico left. Nico was sitting on the edge of my bed, with a proud smile on his face. “Could you wipe that smile off your face? It’s really irritating,” I complained as I threw the eight shirt I tried towards Nico.
It landed on Nico’s head. “Why do you have to hide it? I think it really suits you,” he said as he removed the shirt form his head and revealed a proud grin.
“If I get in trouble because of this…”
“I’ll take full responsibility,” he said with a smirk.
“Take full responsibility…” I sighed. “That doesn’t make me any less irritated right now, you know.” I said and then frowned at him.
Nico’s smirk faded and was replaced by a worried expression. “Fine,” he said and then laid down on the bed with his arms outstretched. “Come at me, I’ll let you do anything you want,” he said.
This guy, he’s not taking my predicament seriously at all. “Really?” I asked, feigning interest.
“Yeah, do whatever you want.” He said in proud tone.
“Then, can I…” Then, I looked sharply at him. “…kick you until my irritation subsides?”
Nico instantly covered his chest with crossing his arms above it. “Tsk…” He clicked his tongue. “How very unsexy…” He complained.
“Then, do you think having all these hickeys is sexy?!” I complained. “Why do you even have to leave so many…?”
“Because…” He said as he sat up again. “If I didn’t do that, then you would just go back to your flat with Brent and be oh-so-friendly-and-touchy with him,” he said, sulkily.
“Nico, are you, probably, jealous of Brent?” I asked suddenly. It was just a hunch though, I was not entirely sure of that, but if I was right, then I would be really happy.
“Drew,” Nico said seriously. “I’m a really jealous type of guy, so even if I shouldn’t, I get easily jealous of anyone and everyone around the person I really like. So, sure, I am jealous of Brent.”
“There’s no reason for you to be jealous of Brent, Nico, or anyone at that, because there’s only one guy I’ll ever like. You,” I said as I looked at him with a smile. “In fact, I like you so much that I just let you put all these hickeys on my neck.” I added.
Nico suddenly blushed. He covered his mouth with hand and then looked down. “If you keep on talking like that, then I might end up putting hickeys all over your body.” He said.
I chuckled at his reaction. “Some other time, maybe,” I said. With that, Nico blushed even more.
Going back to the flat wasn’t easy at all. Basically I had to find a perfect timing where Brent wasn’t around, and when he came home, I wrapped a towel on my neck and told him that I had a cough and sore throat. I’m not sure if he bought the story entirely, but he didn’t question me any further.
The following week was an eventful one, and it all started on Monday. I was in my office, having a coffee break, when Perry stormed. “Hey, turn on your TV right now.” He said. “This is big.” He said.
I was surprised when I turned my TV on. The news was about the big movie I was working on with Nico, well, it was actually about Emily, and our movie was just unnecessarily dragged into it.
Apparently, someone leaked the info about Emily auditioning for the female lead. And with that, the creative minds of the reporters started working and accurately connected her audition with Nico.
The news was saying that the sole reason why Emily auditioned for the role was to be able to work with Director Jovan Bellard, in what they call a cleverly disguised tryst by secret lovers. They continued on speculating that Emily and Stephen’s relationship was already going sour, that’s why the rumored engagement haven’t happened yet, and that Nico was the reason behind the rift between the two stars’ relationship. They concluded that Emily and Nico were finally deciding to be officially together.
They also speculated that Emily’s audition for the role was a clear sign that she wanted to break away from Stephen. In the end, Nico was portrayed, yet again, as the bad guy, as the villain trying to break those ideal couple apart.
Just when I thought that everything was going smoothly, something like that had to happen. I wasn’t really affected by that news, personally that is, but I know that it would have some effects on our movie, but more than that, I was worried about Nico. Yet again, his name was dragged into a mess, and I was quite sure, that people would see him as the villain, something that is really far from reality.
I wasn’t worry about people thinking that he was with Emily, because I knew the truth, I ‘m worried that because of the news, fans of Emily and Stephen would start saying hurtful things about him, that everyone would think that he was a bad person.
“Are you alright?” Perry asked me. I suddenly snapped back to reality.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I replied.
“I don’t know. I just thought that maybe you’re affected by the news, after all, Nico was involved in it,” Perry said.
“If it’s about the movie, I’m sure…”
“It’s not about the movie, Kyle,” Perry said. “We both know that. I haven’t said anything, but those things on your neck, I’m quite sure how you got them.” Perry said with a meaningful smile.
I was taken aback, I couldn’t speak. Perry had always been very insightful, but for him to find out about Nico and I that easily, am I really that easy to read? “Perry, about that…”
“You don’t have to push yourself, Kyle,” Perry said with a smile. “You can tell me anytime you’re ready, but let me tell you this; no matter what, I am still your friend, alright, and that would never change.” He added with a smile.
I was really happy to hear Perry’s sentiment. If my relationship with Perry changed because I started going out with Nico, because I started liking another man, then I would be really devastated. Perry is the son of Mom’s bestfriend, he’s like a second son to my parents, and so he’s like a brother to me.
“I like Nico,” I told Perry. It actually felt good, saying it to another person. “We like each other, and those hickeys…”
“Ahhh…. Stop!” Perry reacted. “I’m really happy for you, because you seem happy nowadays, but please, spare me the details. I don’t want any visual images in my mind.” The way Perry reacted was actually pretty funny. “Does Brent know?”
Actually, there was an episode between Brent and me yesterday. We were having breakfast together when Brent spoke in a mellow voice. “Kyle, you seem to be really close to Jovan Bellard now,” Brent said in quite a serious tone.
“Brent, actually, Nico and I…” I wanted to tell Brent the truth about Nico. Keeping a secret from him doesn’t feel right at all, I felt guilty, and I felt really bad about it.
“I don’t trust that guy, Kyle. I don’t like him at all,” Brent said seriously. “If you’re close to him, I wouldn’t stop you, I wouldn’t tell you to stay away from him, as long as you’re happy being his friend, Kyle, just a friend.” Brent’s tone was somehow foreboding. It was a sort of warning for me.
When I told Perry that, he sighed heavily. “That guy, he’s really stubborn,” he said. “You should still tell him, though, but you should probably wait for a better time. Knowing both Nico and Brent, I’m sure chaos would ensue, if Brent knows now.”
“I know that…” I sighed.
My phone suddenly rang, and on the phone’s screen was Nico’s name. “Drew…” Nico sounded really worried when he called my name. “Have you heard the news…?” He asked. I see, so he’s worried about that.
“You don’t have to worry, Nico.” Perry smiled when he heard Nico’s name. I shook my head and gave a small smile. “I am not bothered by that news at all, because I know the truth. And if it’s the movie you are worrying about, it will be fine, a news like that wouldn’t affect the production negatively at all. What I am concerned about, though, is you. Are you going to be alright? With that news, people might think and speak badly of you…”
“Thank you, Drew, for understanding, for trusting, and for worrying for me,” Nico sounded a lot better, and it was great relief for me. “I don’t care about other people, I only care about what you think. And now that I know that you believe in me, there’s really nothing I worry about anymore,” Nico said.
Not everyone knows that about Nico; he thinks about the feelings of the people he cares for more than he thinks of his own well-being. In that sense, I could say that Nico is far better person than I am.
“I’ll make everything right, Drew. I promise you,” Nico finally said.
With Nico’s personality, I was actually worried what he would do. Up to what length was Nico willing to do to make everything right? I just hoped that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt himself or his reputation in the process.
I got my answers the following night. Nico told me to meet him at Hotel Lumiere that night, although he didn’t say why. I thought that we would just have a simple dinner, I never imagined that he had something else planned.
The whole news about Nico became really big in matter of hours. Many people started talking bad about Nico and how he stole Emily from Stephen. I guess, Emily and Stephen’s fan base was that big that it was not improbable for them to cause the big mess for Nico.
When I got at the hotel, I saw a lot of reporters at the lobby, and that’s when my instincts kicked in. My suspicion only grew further when Jacquelyn Winston, Nico’s executive assistant greeted me at the lobby.
She brought me to a room, and Nico’s team were all there. “Drew.” Nico stood up when he saw me.
“Nico, what’s all this?” I asked him.
“I’m having a press conference, Drew. I’m going to end the issue with me and Emily, once and for all,” He said with a slightly nervous tone. “And I want you to be there when it happens.” Nico added and then took my hand.
Nico’s serious voice made me nervous. I had no idea what he was thinking or planning at that moment. “Nico, what are you planning to do?” I asked him.
“My whole team thinks that I’m going to formally deny every allegations tonight, they think the reason why everything snowballed into this whole mess was because I kept quiet the whole time. I’m tired of staying quiet, Drew, I’m tired of all the secrets, this time I will tell the truth. That way, I could shout to the whole world the person I like is you, that the only one I want to be with is you. Just you, Drew, and no one else.”
I smiled at Nico. All I could do at that moment was to support him and share my strength to him. “Are you sure about this?” I asked him one last time before we enter the conference room.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say your name, that way the reporters won’t bother you. You could still live your life normally,” Nico said, reassuring me.
“No. Tell them my name. I’m alright with that,” I told him.
Nico turned his head and looked at me with his eyes wide open. “Drew…” He muttered.
“I can’t let you shoulder all the burden by yourself. I’m going to help you, and be by your side, all throughout,” I told him with my widest smile.
“But… everything is because of me, it’s not right to involve you into this mess,” he said.
“Nico, when we decided to be together, we were already involved in each other’s life. I won’t bail out on you, especially when you’re having such a hard time. Let the reporters come at me, I would like to see them try,” I said confidently with a smile.
Before Nico finally entered the conference room, Nico gave my hand one last squeezed.
As soon as he entered the room, all the reporters went into frenzy. Camera flashes went crazy, and the whole room was noisy with buzzing reporters.
Nico sat down in front of all the microphones, he said his greetings and then finally he started talking. “Thank you all for coming here tonight, on such short notice. As you all know, there are rumors flying around about me and Emily Green. And to clarify things, there’s nothing going on between Emily and me right now. We’re not dating, and there’s no plan of us dating in the future. She did auditioned for the movie I am working with Diamond Sky, but I presumed that it’s simply for the advancement of her own career, I have nothing to do with it. Not everyone knows this, but Emily’s family has been long time business partners of my family; the Bellard Conglomerates and the Genesis Hotel Inc., had been partnering for years, so Emily and I had known each other ever since we were young. We’re friends, and that’s the extent of our relationship.”
“Is it true that you’ve dated when you were both in highschool?” One reporter asked.
“That is true,” Nico answered and subtly turned his head to me. “But that was in the past, and right now, Emily is dating Stephen Jacobs, and I’m happily seeing someone as well,” Nico said and then looked back at me with a smile.
My heart fluttered when he said those words. I couldn’t help but feel really happy.
“Who is it? Who are you seeing?” Another reporter asked.
“A very beautiful person, inside and out,” Nico replied.
Those words made my heart go even faster.
“Is that true? Aren’t you just making that up to cover up your relationship with Emily?” Another reporter asked. “Aren’t you just afraid that your reputation might get affected because of this controversy and that Stephen and Emily’s fans might call for a boycott of your upcoming movie?” That reported continued aggressively.
The manner of his questioning was really aggravating, and I could feel the anger in me growing. How could he attack Nico like that? To my surprise though, Nico looked very composed.
“This movie is really important, not just to me but to someone really special to me,” Nico replied as he looked at me again. “That’s why I called for this press conference, to clear things up, because I don’t want the movie I am making to get dragged into this whole issue involving me. And no, I’m not making things up.”
“Then why can’t you tell us who you are dating?” The same reporter followed up. “You said that the movie you’re making is important to someone special, is that someone special the person you’re dating?”
What’s with this reporter? Why does he keep on asking questions, why can’t he just shut up? He’s really irritating me.
“The reason why I am not telling you who it is, is simply for privacy, I also do not want that person to be troubled, or be burdened by reporters on every corner,” Nico replied.
What are you doing? Why don’t you just tell them my name? That way that reporter would stop attacking you, I told you already, I’m fine with it. I looked at Nico intently, but he just shook his head lightly as he looked at me.
Until the very end, even if he was already being pushed in the corner, Nico was still thinking of me. He was still trying to protect me, and there I was, doing nothing.
I felt so terrible, just standing there and doing nothing.
What can I do to help him? I want to help him, I really do, but I don’t know what to do.
“Why can’t you just tell us who it is? Are you ashamed of that person?” The same reporter asked aggressively. Why does he kept on doing that? I had a bad feeling about that reporter, it was as if he was doing things on purpose. “Why, is there anything shameful about that person?”
“Watch your mouth,” Nico suddenly said impatiently. He was looking sharply directly at the reporter. “I don’t care what you say about me, but I would never forgive you if you insult that person.”
The whole room got quiet for a while, but then the reporter grinned. I see, so that’s what he’s after; he’s trying to provoke Nico to capture him going berserk on screen. He’s trying to destroy Nico’s reputation, after all.
I’m pretty annoyed by all the cameras in that room, but I didn’t care for any of them. Nico needed me at that moment, and there’s no way that I could just leave him hanging like that, I won’t let them provoke him just to get the scoop they want.
So, in the end, I found myself walking towards Nico. When Nico realized what I was doing, he looked at me and shook his head and mouthed the words “Don’t…”, but it was too late. He can’t stop me anymore.
“Goodnight everyone. I’m Kyle Andrew Stevenson. My apologies, but I think that this interview is going out of control and turning into an unfair interrogation,” I said and then grinned, especially at the reporter who kept on attacking Nico. “So why don’t we just end it here? Director Bellard had already said all the things that he wanted to say, so I’m sorry, but this press conference ends here,” I said with a smile.
“Let’s go,” I told Nico in a whisper.
Nico looked at me hesitantly, but I nodded reassuringly at him. In the end, Nico stood up.
“Are you leaving just like that, aren’t you going to answer my question? Who are you dating?” The same reporter insisted.
“He’s dating me. Do you have any problem with that?” I finally said and then grin. Everyone in the room fell silence in surprised. No one spoke for a moment, even Nico was pretty surprised. He looked at me worriedly. “Now that you got your answer, can we leave?” I asked with a grin. “Ahh, that’s right, if you want to dig into my past, then by all means do so, I’m pretty sure you’ll find out some pretty interesting things,” I said.
Sometimes, love would leave you helpless, but it is in that helplessness that you would gain strength to do things that you would never imagine yourself doing. It is in that state of helplessness would you find yourself getting stronger than ever before.
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