Wanderlust.

27: First Monday in May.

Benito

My alarm clock went off at 7am. I reached for my phone to turn it off, since I was already somewhat awake. Alina was peacefully sleeping next to me - she hadn't even heard the alarm because I had turned it off so fast. I had a stressful day ahead of me and I was anything but thrilled but at least it was the day of the Met Gala. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up. My movement must've woken Alina up because she groaned and turned around. A smile spread across my face, when I felt her lay her head on my crotch. She wasn't fully awake but she had definitely noticed that I wasn't sleeping anymore. 

"Morning." she mumbled into the blanket on my thigh. I started caressing her shoulder and smiled.

"Good morning." I responded, still caressing her naked skin. Alina slowly sat up - her eyes still closed - then she yawned a little. Yeah, I'm never gonna get used to this cute sight, I thought. 

"Breakfast?" I asked amused. She nodded in response and yawned again. As I was getting out of bed, I saw her lay back down in the corner of my eye. Smiling, I put on a shirt, a pair of shorts and a cap and walked into the bathroom. When I had brushed my teeth, I walked out of the room and made my way down to the kitchen. My brother was also still asleep but I knew he'd get up soon, so I decided to make some pancakes for all of us. I had some music playing, quietly humming along to it. 

"Can I help you?" I heard behind me. When I turned around, I saw Alina walking into the kitchen. 

"No, thank you. I'm making pancakes." I responded softly. She simply nodded and sat down on one of the bar stools across from the cooking island. It wasn't long until my brother also joined us in the kitchen. 

After breakfast, I started to get dressed while Bysael and Alina stayed sitting in the dining room. I got changed into some sweatpants and a hoodie and packed my bags. When I was done, I walked down the stairs again to find my brother and Alina on the couch, trying to find a movie to watch. A smile spread across my face seeing this. They were getting along and I liked that a lot. Before I went to grab my shoes, I sat down between them. 

"Okay, I'll leave now." I told Alina who then nodded in response. 

"When are you coming back?" she asked a little hopeful. It was adorable that she had no idea what the Met Gala meant. 

"The gala starts at 5:30pm. At 8pm my stylist is gonna come over, he's gonna take care of you two." I explained to her. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. 

"Stylist? I thought you wanted to keep me out of the spotlight?" she asked. 

"I do but I still want to take you to the after party. My driver is gonna pick you guys up as soon as you're ready. He'll drop you off at the back entrance and I will meet you there." I gave back. Alina looked like she was scared of it, so I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. 

"Okay... Have fun." she said and pecked my lips. I returned the kiss and got up from the couch. 

"I will. Have a nice day and don't let him annoy you too much." I responded, pointing at my brother. Alina laughed and nodded. "Oh, and you can watch the gala on TV if you want to." I told her, grabbing my bag from the floor. Alina smiled at me but started nodding. 

"Cuídala bien." (Take good care of her.) I said directed at Bysael as I started walking towards the entrance. He nodded at me, leaning back on the couch. 

It was 10pm and I was nervously waiting in front of the back entrance of the after party. Bysael had texted me that they were on their way. Raúl was waiting with me, sitting on one of the benches while I was pacing back and forth. It was incredibly risky to bring her to this party but I wanted her to see this. The Met and everything around it was my absolute favorite event - besides the Grammys - and I wanted to share it with her. 

"¿Ella es tu novia, no?" (She's your girlfriend, right?) Raúl asked, trying to distract me a little bit. I nodded in response, still walking up and down the little alley. Thank God, the paparazzi were focused on the main entrance where literally everybody was arriving. When my driver's SUV finally turned into the alley, I immediately started walking towards it. My brother got out of the car first, then he held out his hand for Alina to help her climb out of the back as well. My stylist had excelled himself; Alina looked like a greek goddess. It was right on theme since the ancient gods had been the theme of the gala. She was wearing a shimmery golden dress with a cowl neck, a golden belt around her waist and high heels in the same colour. My stylist had braided her hair to one side and her make up was also golden. I smiled at her and grabbed her hand. She was fumbling around with the hem of the dress because it was really short. 

"You look amazing." I told her quietly while leading her towards Raúl. He got up from the bench and greeted her with a warm smile and a handshake.

"I'm Raúl, nice to meet you." he introduced himself.

"Alina, nice to meet you too. You're also a musician, right?" she responded. Raúl nodded and I looked at her in amazement. How did she know that? Alina noticed my look.

"Diana's friend Petra is a fan of him." she explained to me. I nodded and looked at the security that was standing at the back door. He immediately opened the door for us. As I was leading her into the club, she was tightening her grip on my hand. She was very obviously nervous. Bysael and Raúl were walking behind us. The first few people we ran into greeted me with a handshake, we held our smalltalk and continued walking further into the venue. 

"There's some people I want you to meet." I informed Alina as we entered the bar room. Immediately, I spotted the person I just knew she was a huge fan of. 

"Justin?" I quietly asked, tapping his shoulder. It was the first year since forever that him and Hailey had attended the gala, so I needed to take that chance. He turned around and smiled, then he pulled me into a brotherly hug. 

"This is my girlfriend, Alina." I introduced her. Alina was staring at him, then at me and held out her hand, not saying anything. Justin chuckled and shook it, before he turned to Hailey. She also shook Alina's hand. I was watching her talk to Hailey excitedly, telling her that she loved her skincare line. They took a selfie and then we kept on walking. I wanted Alina to meet Blue Foundation since she loved their songs so much. 

"I like hearing the word girlfriend." she whispered towards me as I navigated us through the crowded room. A smiled spread across my face. Not one single second went by in which I regretted bringing her to the party; not even when I introduced her to Blue Foundation. She was nervous but kept her calm and let me do most of the talking. Alina seemed more amazed about the location and the extravaganza than anything else and I loved seeing her eyes sparkle the whole night.