Nerve [Wattys2016]

Chapter Twelve

I help Ian tear off the tape as he then rips the box open with force. On the inside there are two black bags stacked on top of each other. He pulls them both out and hands one to me. We tear our open. I look up to him in amazement, "Ian, this is your suit from the store." He looks over to me with a big grin on his face, "I have your dress." We swap bags and pull the clothes out completely.

"How did they get these? Better yet, why didn't they just give us back our regular clothes?" I question.

Ian shrugs, "I don't know, but I'll take a five thousand dollar suit over my jeans and jacket any day."

I smile widely, "Me too."

I unfold the dress to see it in all its green glory. Gorgeous. I can't believe this is mine. I pull it up, realizing now, how nice it is to have clothes.

We leave the box in the room, but take the note to deposit elsewhere. We step into the hall to see paparazzi and journalists milling about in the lobby. I don't understand why streakers are so interesting. You'd expect NYC -of all places- to have quite a few.

Multiple people turn and involuntarily start taking pictures, but I'm sure once they realize we were wearing clothes- that's why they stopped. I can't help but chuckle. Ian smiles at them and adjusts his suit. We slip out the door without anyone following us.

"This has been so insane..." I begin. "From the moment I met you until now, I could write a book on the things I did, that I never dreamed of doing."

Ian looked over to me and smiled, "You've done great... It's not easy to get out of your comfort zone."

I nod in total agreement. "I think we'll be able to win this." He says.

"Really? You think we can win?" I ask.

"I think we make a great team, and we've already done some pretty insane things... I think we definitely have a chance at winning this."

I smile at what he's saying. It makes me feel like now I'm actually doing this for something. I've never thought about winning before, but I agree with him. I think we have a chance.

"So what do you say; to accommodate our previous victories, we go down to the water and relax." Ian offers.

I nod, "I think that sounds great."

I can see him smiling out of the corner of my eye. We walk in a comfortable silence. Well, about as quiet as it gets in the city, which isn't very quiet.

"So is Vee your name, or is it a nickname?" Ian asks once we reach his bike.

"It's a nickname." I answer.

He hands me a helmet, "So what's your full name? Full first name, that is."

I look down at my helmet and shift it in my hand, "Venus..."

Ian puts on his helmet, "You're kidding me."

I shake my head a bit confused. "No." I respond awkwardly.

"I love it. Why didn't you introduce yourself as Venus when we met?" He swings a leg over the bike and starts it. He motions me on. I tug my dress down with precaution, and slide a leg over.

"I.. uh, I'm not fond of my name... So I just have people call me Vee." I shout over the engine. Ian pulls out into the street, but once we hit the stoplight he turns his head to me, "I like it.. It suits you."

He turns back around just in time to go.

I feel the wind blowing my hair into a wild storm. The people on the streets bustle with a buzzing need to go somewhere. Everyone has a place to be, everyone has people who rely on them to be there. We pull up to a stoplight and my phone buzzes. I slide it open.