Party Boy

A Boy and a Beach

Nico opened the front door and held it open for me. I smiled weakly in thanks and headed to the car. He caught up with me, then approached the driver's side.

I blinked. "You can drive?"

"Yeah," he replied casually.

I squinted my eyes at him in suspicion. "We've been friends for months. How did I not know this?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It just never came up."

"You're telling me I've been driving you around this whole time, and you can drive?"

"I don't have a car; you do. It would be weird for me to ask to drive your car, no?"

"Well..."

"I thought so. Now c'mon, get in," he said as he opened the car door and sat in front of the steering wheel.

I got in the car and buckled my seatbelt. "Why don't you have a car?" I asked. "Your dad's loaded. Or you could use Anthony's."

Nico turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway. "I don't do any activities, nor do I have any friends, until recently, so he thinks I don't need one. He's not wrong. And then Anthony is never not using his car. Anyways, I like walking everywhere."

"I can stop giving you rides home, if you like walking so much," I teased.

"Sorry, I didn't finish. I like walking almost as much as I like riding with you," he said with a smile.

I smiled, too. I leaned my head against the window, fixed my eyes on the straight road ahead that seemed to stretch on forever, and sighed.

"You alright?" Nico asked.

"Yeah. That was a good sigh, not a bad one," I answered.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. I could tell being around your dad was stressing you out."

"I almost forgot I was stressed out in the first place," I told him. "I guess you have that effect on me. You make me forget that I'm upset. This helps too, though. The scenery. It's simple, but it's beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?" he said. I moved my eyes from the window to him. He watched the road musingly. I couldn't help but smile.

"What?" he asked, smiling as well, but with a questioning look.

"Nothing," I said, still smiling.

"Liar."

"You're thinking about something."

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Are you going to ask me?"

I giggled softly. "What are you thinking about?"

He took a minute to respond. "I'm happy to be here."

I looked at the road again. "I'm happy you're here too. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't."

We spent the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence.

Nico parked in a small, empty dirt parking lot. We both got out and walked down a steeply declining trail leading to the beach. I stepped slowly and cautiously, but he went ahead at a quick pace.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" he yelled while looking back at me. Just then, he slipped.

I laughed loudly. "Are you okay?"

He stood, dusting himself off. "Fine. Just completely embarrassed, that's all."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," I told him, trying to stifle my giggles.