Chapter 17 Nico
SEVENTEEN
Nico
Like I said, I’m a simple guy. There is nothin’ complicated about the fifty-four different Annie Li-related fantasies I’ve concocted for myself in the last twelve or so hours.
Annie in the backseat of the car.
Annie against a tree.
Annie bent over the kitchen counter.
Annie on top of the kitchen counter.
All right, all right, I let my imagination run a little wild with the Annie-in-the-pool scenario ‘cause it required a blatant disregard for the laws of chemistry. Water, after all, strips away natural lubrication by dissolving mucus and lipids, making things drier and more abrasive. Plus, unlike oils or silicone-based lubricants, it lacks the viscosity to reduce friction, turning smooth strokes into a struggle. So maybe in this fantasy we weren’t in a pool of water—we were in a pool of lube.
I have a new one right now, knowing that Annie is probably wearing nothing under my sweatshirt. And won’t stop looking at me, all over my body.
She looks brighter today somehow. Her eyes are animated and her body’s tense but excited, like she’s holding something in that’s ready to explode all over the place.
Much, much different from the way she left the car yesterday, frustration with a touch of regret.
Holding a different sort of explosion in. But maybe that was just me projecting.
Regardless if it’s good or bad or whatever, I just want to see her let go. To trust herself, not hide behind Sister Annie like some twisted security blanket of abstinence. To trust me. ‘Cause I’ve fuckin’ got her.
And I ain’t touchin’ her again until she gives it to me.
She’s given me little peeks at it. On Duke campus. At the restaurant yesterday. Dancing with her last night. Fuck yes, last night. But she showed me letting go. And it was fuckin’ beautiful.
So today I’ve decided to open myself up even more.
Make myself vulnerable, trust her with something big.
I’m gonna give her the last thing that’s mine.
Enough fuckin’ with her. And she might shit all over me, but that’s fine.
Somehow in the last few days, her merciless roasting has gone from semi-malicious to…
fun. Cajoling and silly. I like it, like the way it makes me feel.
Like we share an inside joke. She’s got me too.
So, in case she hasn’t seen the latest NakedReactions video, or missed all those hints I dropped yesterday about my side-gig?
“Where are we going today?” she asks me in the kitchen of the main house, barefoot and likely naked under my hoodie.
“We’re going swimming.”
The same extra-wide grin crosses our faces.
Ma calls on our drive over. I glance at Annie. “You mind if I take this?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “Of course not.”
I put her on the Bluetooth speakers. “Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, Nico. How’s it goin’? Just wanted to check in.”
“Great. The drive down’s been pretty painless.” I wink over at Annie, who rolls her eyes at me. “I’m actually drivin’ down with Annie Li. Remember her?” I hope to god Ma doesn’t mention anything about her being the crazy one.
“Hey, Mrs. Giannuzzi,” Annie says warmly.
“Hey, beautiful girl!” Ma shouts. “You the one who stood up for my Valentina when youse was all kids?”
I glance over; Annie looks confused.
“Yeah, that’s her,” I chime in. “You kicked Bobby Pinto in the nuts after he pushed my little sister when we were all playin’ Manhunt,” I remind Annie.
She smirks. “Oh yeah. Fuck Bobby Pinto.”
Ma cackles over the car speakers. “Where you guys at now?”
“In Durham now. Been hittin’ up all the old spots.”
“That’s good, honey. Get to all your restaurants?”
“Most of ‘em.” I grin over at Annie again.
“How ‘bout the quarry?” Ma asks in a softer voice.
I drum my fingers on the wheel. “Headed there now,” I finally answer. This is something I decide I’ll give to Annie, too.
Annie turns her head at my tone.
“It’s a real beautiful place, Annie,” Ma says. “You been?”
She shakes her head, even if Ma can’t see her. “No, I haven’t been.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Ma says. My throat tightens at the pain in her voice. “The last weekend we all had with Joe. Nico’s father. Spent the whole day swimmin’ there before flyin’ back to New York.” I grip the steering wheel tighter.
“Oh,” Annie says, voice delicate. “I had no idea.”
“Yeah,” Ma goes on. “We were down there visiting Duke your junior year. Joe was so proud of Nico for his grades. Wouldn’t stop talkin’ about it in those woods.
Nico’s gonna be valedictorian. My boy, the Stuyvesant valedictorian.
Nothing’s gonna stop him. No thing, no one.
He was so excited for Nico to apply to Duke.
He passed away the day after we got back. ”
Annie stares at me.
“I’m so sorry,” Annie finally says, voice thin and reedy and not like anything I’ve ever heard before. “I really had no idea.”
“It’s okay,” Ma replies more fondly. “Joe’d be so proud of Nico today.”
The twinge between my ribcage grows. “He wouldn’t,” I mutter.
Annie surprises me by reaching over and taking my hand. Twists her little fingers through mine. I glance down, seeing the heart on her finger peeking through my fist. “He would,” she says quietly, for my ears only.
I shake my head. That I make a living off of people paying money to see my naked dick? Hundreds of thousands of people? Nah. He wouldn’t.
“Nico?”
“Yeah, Ma?”
“Say hi to him for me when you’re there, yeah?”
My eyes sting. “Yeah, Ma.”
Ma clears her throat of emotion. “All right, you two,” Ma tells us. “Be safe. No lifeguards there. Text me when you get to Miami, Nico, okay? Love ya.”
“Bye, Ma. Love you.”
“Bye, Mrs. Giannuzzi.”
I pull the car into the small lot shortly after. This place normally gets crowded on weekends, but since it’s early on a Wednesday morning, there’s no one here. I take a deep breath and look over at Annie.
She’s staring at me with that look that means she’s about to cry.
“It’s okay, honey,” I say. “It was a long time ago. I still miss him, but it was a long time ago. I’m okay now. We’re okay now.”
Annie gnaws on her lower lip. “When did he pass?”
“Huh?”
“What month?” she whispers.
“Oh.” I scratch my head. “May of our junior year.”
Her face collapses. Her body folds in on itself.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Annie gets out of the car, slams the door shut, and strides into the forest.