Nico (The Rossi Mafia)

Chapter 3 - Kennedy

I couldn't believe it was actually him! I was sitting beside Nico Rossi and he remembered my name!

Six years was a long time. It wasn't like I'd thought about him often in that time. I'd dated casually since then, lost my virginity to a guy in college who barely lasted a minute inside me. Over the years, Nico and that kiss had faded to the background, but I hadn't forgotten him.

I'd always wondered what happened to him, and sometimes I thought about how hot he would have been in bed. After that kiss, I waited for him for several weeks. To turn up magically in school again. I had my heart set on giving him my virginity. But he was gone.

Now, he was here and he still looked hot as hell.

"What are you having?" he asked. I ordered the beer myself and I could sense his eyes on me the whole time. Nico was watching me, assessing me. I turned to him, feeling the back of my neck burning up.

"What happened to you? You seemed to vanish into thin air suddenly," I asked.

Seeing Nico again, talking to him...had transported me back to those teenage years. When I was too shy to talk to guys. When I didn't think I was good enough to be asked to Prom. Nico lit those feelings in me again. I was back to being a giddy teenager around him.

I watched as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Personal shit. My granddad got really sick and my dad needed me to help him look after the family," Nico said. He was looking at his glass of whisky as he spoke. I felt this irresistible urge to just reach for him and throw my arms around his neck.

What was wrong with me?

Technically, I didn't know this guy at all!

He kissed me once, at a drunken house party. Okay, he remembered my name, but so what?

Get it together Kenni!

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Nico. Is your granddad all right?" I asked. He looked up at me again, his gray eyes had darkened.

"He passed away some years ago. It's fine, we don't need to talk about it," he replied and I smiled.

A silence fell between us. How was I supposed to jump to a different subject now? Right after we'd spoken about his dead grandfather!

I cleared my throat, trying to come up with words to say. Nico spoke up instead.

"You really have my name on the back of some diary?" he asked.

I bit down on my lip and shrugged.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I thought I was really into you," I told him.

I didn't know why I was admitting this to him. Maybe I was scaring him away. He didn't need to know about my stupid teenage angst!

But he smiled. It was the most devastatingly handsome smile. Some of his dark hair fell boyishly on his forehead and I could feel myself melting into a puddle.

"That's sweet," he said and I shook my head.

"And then you disappeared."

"Were you heartbroken?"

"Into a million pieces. I'm still picking them up. I stalked you to this bar, if you haven't figured it out already."

Nico stared at me, there was a grin on his face. We broke into laughter at the same time. Thankfully, he knew I was kidding. He hadn't taken me literally. I was beginning to really enjoy this conversation. It reminded me of that evening when we'd spent hours gossiping and complaining about all our school-mates.