Impress Me Not: The Architect

Chapter 38

"And you want to do this together?" Valentino raised an eyebrow at him.

"It'll be fun," he said, pulling him into a hug. He couldn't help it. The man was too easy to wrap his arms around. And it felt too good having him relax in his hold.

"Isn't the whole point of Christmas shopping not doing it with others so that they don't see their presents?"

"Are you saying that I'm going to peak?" Casimir whispered into his ear. He liked teasing him more than anything. Valentino always acted like he didn't want all the sappy things that Casimir did, but it was clear that he did by how he leaned into him. Little things that changed about his body told Casimir otherwise, and he quite enjoyed testing it out.

"What?" Valentino asked. "Are we going to have separate carts and everything?"

"We could if you want," he told him. "Or you could just tell me when to not look. Or we could just go off in our own direction and meet up afterwards."

"That sounds so complicated," the man groaned, burying his face in his chest. "Why do the holidays have to be so stressful?"

"Then I promise I won't peak," Casimir kissed the top of his head. "It's nice to have some company Christmas shopping anyway."

"Where are we even going to go?" Valentino sighed. Casimir knew that he didn't like going out too much. But he also knew that once he was able to get him to go out, he enjoyed himself a lot. Sometimes it was good to push him a little to get out. As long as he didn't do it as much, it was good.

"Which place do you want to go?"

"Don't make me pick," Valentino groaned. "I suck at Christmas shopping."

"Alright," Casimir laughed. "Why not start in downtown then? Maybe that will give us both some ideas."

"Who do you need to get presents for?" he asked as they walked to the garage. Casimir was eventually going to convince the man to take a ride in his car, but for now he could enjoy the classic sportscar. Valentino spent a lot of free time to wax and maintain it. He really cared for it.

"Besides you?" he pecked him on the cheek before they strapped themselves in. This car had some fun memories already tied into it. That was another reason why he quite enjoyed riding in it. From a speedy surprise to a heated welcome back, it always seemed to leave his heart pumping in all the fun ways.

"If you're going to get presents for me, then this trip is going to be even more difficult," Valentino said, starting up the car. He would just park it by Casimir's apartment and they'd start walking from over there. That was one of the smaller dates that they would go on, when neither really wanted to go out to eat. A short walk through the city could be just as romantic as a fancy restaurant.

"That's what's going to make this fun," he told him. "But I do have a few others to find presents for."

There weren't really many, if he were being honest with himself. When he lived in Miami, he always had presents to get for everyone. There were so many friends he had over there. They even had a Christmas party where they would exchange presents. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of stress.

This time he didn't have all those presents to get. He used to be able to find the perfect one for all of them. But now none of them really wanted to talk to him. He supposed he already burnt that bridge. They all decided to choose his ex over him, and he guessed he could accept that. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter. Besides, he wasn't exactly a saint.

"Who?"

"Well, there's this one old man that I've talked to a few times," Casimir said. "I was thinking about getting him a twelve pack just because I always see him drinking."