"I need to get away from here. I'm serious, I can't take this anymore."
Nick looks at me in surprise when I say this. Realizing I've lost my temper, I lean my back against the wall and close my eyes. I open them again seconds later when I hear his footsteps approaching me.
"And where would you like to go?"
I look at him for a moment and sigh. I wasn't too clear about that, honestly.
"I don't know... but I've never been downtown at night."
When I tell him this, he smiles softly at me and takes my hand. Fifteen minutes later we are in his parents' car, driving into town. He has his gaze fixed on the road, so he doesn't notice me staring at him. After analyzing his every feature, I look away and lean my head against the window.I realize I've fallen asleep when I notice him carefully shaking me and whispering that we've arrived.
"Haven't you ever seen the lights?" he asks me. I shake my head. "Well, then close your eyes."
After hesitating for a few seconds I close my eyes and take his hand, letting him guide me. We walk for a couple of minutes and suddenly, we stop.
"Open your eyes." He whispers to me.
When I open them, for a moment I think I'm going to cry. The city comes much more alive at night. More magical. I stay for a few minutes looking at the avenue full of light and color.
We walk slowly through the streets. I watch every single detail, every single person we come across. Out of the corner of my eye I notice that Nick is looking at me, and has been doing it for a while now. Without looking at him or saying anything, I reach out to take his hand. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't pull his hand away either, so we continue walking holding hands.
A good while later, we stop abruptly and he looks at me. "Do you want me to show you something?"
After all the time we've been wandering around the city I doubt I have anything important left to see, but I'm still curious, so I nod. "Sure."
Then he grins mischievously, and I know he's had one of his ideas "Good, then follow me!"
He suddenly takes off running at full speed, laughing like a maniac. I blink a couple of times before I take off running after him "Nick wait!"
I struggle to keep up with him, because on one hand I'm wearing heels, and on the other his legs are quite a bit longer than mine. I finally stop and press my hand against my side, trying to get rid of the flatus. At that moment, Nick steps out of the shadows, wrapping his arms around me as he screams.
"You idiot, scared the hell out of me!" I yell as I punch him in the arm.
He continues to laugh as he rubs his arm. "Sorry, I had to. But I think the jump scare will have been worth it." He whispers as he points off in the distance.
I look to where he's pointing, and realize we're on the boardwalk. It's beautiful. On one side, the beach is illuminated by city lights, and then there's the water, totally obscured except for the slight reflections of the moon.
"It's gorgeous." I whisper before turning to him, moving a little closer. "Thank you for bringing me here. I needed it."
He smiles, taking a strand of my hair and hiding it behind my ear. "You're welcome."
We stare at each other in silence for a few seconds. I notice my eyes travel from his eyes to his lips, and his do the same. Nick sighs before pressing me against him and joining his lips with mine. It's a short, tender kiss. He looks into my eyes, as if waiting for a response.
Even though my voice doesn't work, I giggle and caress his cheek. He chuckles too before placing his hands on my cheeks and kissing me again. This kiss has nothing to do with the previous one in terms of intensity. My fingers tangle in his hair, and his hands slide to my waist. We stay like this for quite a while; lip to lip, very close to each other, letting ourselves be bathed in the night lights.
