I shake my head and laugh, but he gives me a scathing look. He’s getting anxious, which I really don’t blame him for. He’s never been to an airport, or on an airplane, or to California, or on anall-expenses-paid trip funded by a potential employer. And even if it’s not busy by my standards as an inexperienced airport-goer, it’s a lot for him just to be here.
I reach my hand out to him, and he frowns but takes it, our fingers intertwining. I bring his hand up to my lips and kiss his knuckles. “No, we won’t have time to catch my mom, I’m sure she’s already out at her truck.” I’m reallynotsure, and I bet if I turn around, she’ll still be there, watching us from the other side of the security lines. But I continue anyway. “And you’re only wearing the sling while we travel—at the recommendation of Dr. Carlisle and your physical therapist—because having it in the sling will keep you from overusing it. They both said you can take it off when we’re not traveling.”
He scowls but doesn’t argue, and then he looks up and around the airport. “We’re flying out of the North Terminal?” he asks, tipping his chin to my left.
“Yeah. Gate B14.”
He swallows hard and nods, and together, we make our way to the gate. Our flight doesn’t leave for an hour and a half still, and we already ate an early dinner on the way here, so we just buy a couple of bottles of water and some snacks for on the plane, then find a place to sit that’s not crowded.
“You okay?” I ask after we get settled. He shrugs but closes his eyes and leans against me.
“I’m nervous.”
“About the flight?”
“Yeah, but also...” He takes a slow, deep breath, and when he exhales, his whole body seems to shudder. “Tomorrow’s important,” he says quietly. “I don’t wanna fuck it up.”
His interview with Vera is tomorrow morning. After his initial phone interview three weeks ago, on the same day that Patrick attacked him at the library, and another interview last week viaa Zoom video call, Vera requested an in-person interview at her office in San Jose. She’s paying all of his travel expenses—flight, transportation to the hotel, hotel for two nights, even a “per diem” for his meals. He couldn’t believe it when she offered. And he’s been bouncing back and forth between hopeful and anxious ever since.
I don’t blame him. I’m actually a little anxious myself—not because I’m worried about him doing well at the interview but because of what it will meanwhenhe gets offered the job.
Veradoesin fact pay well, as my mom expected. The position is a full-time positionwith benefits, including health insurance, and starts at twenty-six dollars per hour. Nico would have a lot to learn, but my mom was also right that his experience at the library is giving him many of the skills he would need.
Tomorrowisimportant.
But I justknowhe’s not going to fuck it up.
I slip my arm up around his shoulders and rest my cheek against the top of his head, even though what I really want to do is kiss him. “You’re perfect for this job,” I murmur, “and tomorrow’s just going to prove that. You can do this. I know it.”
He sets his hand on my thigh but doesn’t say anything right away. It’s pretty quiet around us, generally sort of low-key and calm, with only a few other passengers coming and going. Finally, he breathes deeply again and then asks, “What time is your meeting tomorrow?”
“Ten. Ten to about noon, Dr. Ellis said. Maybe a little later. He’ll give me a tour of his lab, and then one of his grad students is giving a presentation to the department at eleven. It’s going to be about how stars gain mass. Dr. Ellis said it’ll be good for me to come and listen.” I try to not sound too excited, but I know I’ve failed when Nico sits up and turns to me, grinning for what might be the first time today.
“You’re going to be in fucking heaven there, all that nerdy space talk,” he teases, nudging me with his shoulder.
His eyes are beautiful, gleaming with a hint of silliness that I just adore, and I can’t help it. I give into the feeling I’ve been fighting since my mom and I picked him up from work about an hour ago, and I lean in and kiss him. It’s a brief kiss—short, sweet, and soft—but he meets me in it, kissing me back with a quiet longing and need I can feel.
Warmth spreads from my chest down into my groin, and I pull back with a muffled groan before I do something I very much should not do in the middle of the airport. The look on Nico’s face doesn’t really help my predicament. He’s smiling at me with a crooked, knowing grin as though he can read my mind, and when he gives my thigh a subtle but deliberate squeeze, I nearly groan again.
His smile turns into a smirk, and I shake my head. “You’re awful, you know,” I say.
He leans back in, his fingers sliding up my leg a little higher, and he whispers in my ear, “Yeah, but you love it.” Then he straightens up as I inhale to hide the heat rushing to my cheeks.
I do love it. And I love him.
He’s still grinning as he holds my gaze for a few more seconds, and then he winks at me and reaches down to his backpack.
“Wanna help me beat Absolute Radiance?” he asks, completely casual, pulling my Switch out.
It takes me a second to reset and steady myself. Then I shake my head. “Bro, you don’t need my help.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he quips with a laugh. “Wanna watch me kick Absolute Radiance’s ass?”
Severalhours,onecross-countryflight, and a short drive later, I hold open the door to our hotel room in downtown San Jose, California. Nico steps in ahead of me, his shoulders tight and hunched. He lets his backpack fall from his shoulder just inside the entryway, and then reaches out to flip the light switch on as I follow him inside. The door shuts with a decisive click just as the light flickers on, and Nico shakes his head and huffs a laugh.
“Wow. Wow. Holy shit, this place is nice,” he says, stopping just at the edge of the large king-size bed.
Itisnice, maybe even the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in, and the room is huge—easily three or four times the size of my bedroom at home. In addition to the fancy kitchenette behind us, there’s a cushy-looking sectional in one corner opposite a small dining table with two chairs and a full-size desk situated in the far corner. Hanging on the wall across from the bed is a massive TV positioned over a dark-wood dresser.
