Impress Me Not: The Architect

Chapter 54

"I think you're just psyching yourself out, dude," Leo told him. Valentino had decided to distract himself that day by calling him up while he was doing his shopping. "It's probably just because Casimir's gone and you're worried about the whole ex thing of his."

"I never get a feeling like this that doesn't mean something, Leo," he said, throwing things into the cart. He had a lot to get that time, which was why he wasn't using the hand basket like he always did. "Not for this long."

"Has anything weird happened?"

"No," he frowned.

"Then it's probably nothing," he said. "You just got freaked out after you heard about his ex trying to get him back and throwing him in jail."

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. It had been almost two full weeks of him getting those feelings on and off, and he wasn't enjoying it at all. It was giving him nothing but anxiety at this point and he barely wanted to leave his house most days. Even Lou was starting to notice it, and recently he had been so focused on his new relationship that he hadn't really been paying mind to him.

Valentino understood that. He was the same way when him and Casimir first got together. That and Lou was somehow having to find a medium with it being a long-distance relationship and all. He was thinking about trying to convince her to move to America, but he wasn't sure whether she would be willing to completely uproot her life just to be closer to him. They had just started their relationship, so Valentino just told him to take it slow. He was starting to act like Dad and rush into love like a moth to a flame.

Noel.

He meant Noel.

Dammit, his nerves were getting to him again. It was making him revert back to when he actually liked his father, before the man just up and left him behind of course. It had just been such a stressful time recently that he longed to be a kid without any cares or worries, like when his mom was still alive. He still missed her so much. She was a ray of sunshine, always happy, and always there on days when he needed her the most. Noel stopped being that kind of parent as soon as she died.

He still hadn't forgiven him for it.

"I wouldn't blame you for being nervous," Leo interrupted his thoughts. "You said that Casimir's last name was Wiater?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked. His best friend now had his full attention.

"He's got a pretty big reputation over in Miami," Leo told him. "I didn't notice it until you told me his name. It's not like I'll ever need a wedding planner. But he's helped a lot of people with their weddings."

"And did you find anything else out, Sherlock?" he rolled his eyes. Leave it to Leo to point out the obvious. Of course, Casimir helped out a bunch of people in Miami. The man wasn't poor and he was from there.

"You can actually look him up in Public Records, dude," Leo told him. "It's super easy to find that restraining order. But that's the only issue he has with the law. The guy doesn't even have any traffic tickets."

"Well, that's partially because I drive him everywhere now," Valentino said. There was no way he was going to go in that Kia of his. That thing was too cramped.

"Dude, there's no way you always drive him everywhere," his friend said. He could hear the sound of keys clicking in the background. Leo was probably writing an article as they spoke. Working in the gossip column was easy for him. Valentino swore he could write an article in his sleep if he needed to. That paper really needed to take him off from the gossip column. He was too talented for it.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Anything else you can find, since you've already decided to look into the court records of my boyfriend?"

"I told you he has a clean slate."