I’m not sure if Nico will be excited to meet my mom. He steps in, and I close the door behind him, leading the way to where Mom is sitting. She’s lost her relaxed pose, and her face is attempting to look stern. Underneath, I can see she’s hiding how happy she is about me bringing a boy over. “Mom, this is Nico. Nico, this is my mom.”

As soon as Nico smiles and starts chatting with my mom, she acts like she has known him forever.

When I started high school, Mom was asking me about boyfriends. When was I going to go out on my first date? When was I going to homecoming? When was I going to invite a boy over?

Mom asks Nico questions about school and work, and I know she’ll keep doing it unless I interrupt. “Mom, we need to leave if we’re going to make it on time. We’re picking up Jessie.”

Mom stands and walks us to the door. “Don’t worry, but make sure your home by twelve. Have fun.”

Twelve? My curfew is usually eleven. I don’t think the art show is going to be going on that late since it starts at seven.

Nico opens the car door for me, and my eyes roam over him. He’s looking more adorable than usual in a pair of jeans, a plaid button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of Converse. “Such a gentleman.”

“I would say my mom raised me right, but it was Violet. Growing up, she went through a diva stage,” he says giving me a huge grin as he shuts the door. I can totally see a young diva Violet.

He gets in the car and starts the engine. “Where’s your Dad? I wouldn’t have minded meeting him, too.”

I stiffen. Out of all our conversations, I haven’t talked about my parents. It never came up, and Jessie didn’t say anything about it around work either.

“Oh, um, my dad passed away in August.” I stare at my hands. I can’t bring myself to look at the sympathy on his face.

“I’m sorry, May. I had no idea. Do you want to talk about it?”

I look at him. His eyes do have sympathy, but his expression is saying if I need him, he’ll listen.

Reluctantly, I drag my eyes away from his. “Not right now, but maybe one day.” And I mean it. I will talk about it with him, but not today. I want tonight to be fun.

He nods. “Don’t hesitate if you want to talk about it, all right?”

“All right.”

My phone beeps and I pull it out of my purse to look at it.

Jessie: Did you forget about me?

Me: No. Mom had an interview with Nico.

Jessie: Ugh. Parents.

Me: See you shortly.

Putting the phone down, I look at Nico. “Jessie thought we forgot about her.” Honestly, I kind of did. Nico is the first boy that has ever come around the house. Over the years, I haven’t had a lot of guy friends either.

“Talk about impatient. We’re still going to arrive early,” Nico laughs.

She is impatient. All. The. Time. She’s always dependable, though. Anytime, I’ve needed her for anything; whether it was Dad, homework, helping me get my job, she’s right here.

As soon as we pull up in front of Jessie’s house, neither one of us gets out of the car, because she’s already flying out the door toward us.

“Finally,” she says. Jessie sits in the back seat and attempts to buckle her seatbelt three times when it finally clicks. “I was going out of my mind listening to the twins bicker back and forth over a video game!”

Jessie’s twin brothers are in eighth grade. One day she loves them, and then the next, she wants to ship them off to another planet.

She chatters the whole way. Nico and I give each other looks because Jessie will start asking questions, but then she’ll answer them herself. It’s quite entertaining.

“Nico, how many students are having their art displayed?” Before he has an opportunity to answer, she answers for him. “I bet there will be a lot.”

“May, what kind of art is there going to be?” I turn around to take a guess. “Oh, I bet there will be all kinds of stuff. Ceramic, paint, charcoal. What else is there, May? You’re an artist, too.”

I laugh and turn back around because she starts again.

Nico turns into the school for the art show, and the parking lot is already filled with cars.

He parks, and as we walk inside, there are people standing in every available space of the room, looking at canvases lined up against the wall in front of us. At both ends of the wall, there’s a hall on each side. Jessie walks forward and looks at a section that has stained glass. The colors are vivid and beautiful.

Walking with Nico down the hall on the left, I spot a section that displays watercolor paintings. Watercolor is my favorite, maybe because it was the first kind of paint that I remember Dad teaching me. Most kids begin with watercolor and then leave it behind as they grow and find a new hobby. Me? I could bask in it for an eternity.              

Violet pops up in front of us, pulling me out of the moment. “Are you guys going to stand here all day? Come look at mine, and then you can look at everyone else’s.”

She waves us to follow, and then turns and walks off. Her purple head drifts away as she leaves us in the dust. “Sure, sis, lead the way,” Nico calls.

We follow her farther down the hall toward the end, until she stops in front of a canvas of an old tree that she has sketched. It’s twisted and remarkable. There’s a fairy tale vibe coming from her sketch—there’s someone in a cloak peering from behind the tree, but you can’t quite make out the expression.

She points to another one that has a girl with a boa constrictor wrapped around her shoulders. The snake is looking directly at the person viewing the sketch, while the girl is staring off in another direction, so you can only see the side of her face.

The hand that’s holding the snake is covered in bangles all the way down her arm. By seeing the snake’s face in this picture, it’s as if the snake has all the control.

Last, Violet points to the canvas of Nico and me. I’m impressed and forget for a moment that it’s of us. I have seen loads of angel and demon artwork, but the emotions the drawing has me feeling are good.

She drew long horns that take root at the top of my head, and sharp claws sprouting from my fingertips. The demon is terrifying, but the expression on the face is human. My face.

Violet drew beautiful wings on Nico that are amazing, and I want to reach into the picture and brush my hand across one of those feathered wings to feel their texture.

Turning to Nico, I tug on his arm. “You look just like an angel.”

“You look just like a demon,” he grins, and pokes me on my side, right below my rib.

“Are you scared?” I taunt, and I poke him back.

He gives me a daring look. “Only if you want me to be?”

“I’ll get back to you on that,” I snicker. I want to tell Nico that he can be anything he wants for me, but I hold that in.

I tell Nico that I need to find a bathroom, and leave him standing with Violet to find the restroom—it takes me a few minutes to locate it. I had to walk all the way back to the front and take the other hall.

When I walk out of the restroom, Jessie yanks me to the side. “Don’t tell me you’re stalking me at the bathroom now? Creeping isn’t appealing,” I joke.

“I was looking all over for you, and then Violet told me that you had gone to the bathroom.” Jessie’s eyes are wide, and she’s more fidgety than usual.

“Did you find your dream college guy, yet?” I dig through my purse to find a mint and go to hand her one, but she shakes it off.

She lets out a sigh. “No. He must go to a different college. I’ll find him one day.” She shakes her head. “Stop trying to distract me.”

I place the pack of mints back in my purse. “What are you talking about, Jess?”

She looks concerned. “I know you’re into Nico. I know that look, except any other time you have been into a guy, it was never this intense.”

I pause for a minute and then raise my eyebrow. “Intense, huh?” I’m surprised that she didn’t ask me about this sooner. Jessie is more of the one that will talk about a guy she likes. I keep that part to myself.

“Quit playing around.” She looks up at the ceiling in frustration.

Letting out a long sigh, “Yeah, so maybe I do like Nico. It isn’t like I’m going to do anything about it, though. I don’t even know if he likes me.”

She straightens and slides closer to me. “Well, you better, because his ex-girlfriend is here.”

Did I hear her correctly? I have never heard him talk about another girl or an ex-girlfriend. Jessie has never said anything either.

Grabbing Jessie’s arm, I move her to the corner where no one else is standing. “What do you mean ex-girlfriend? You never said he had a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.”

Jessie gets distracted by one of the paintings, and I snap my fingers in her face. “Yeah, they broke up over the summer and had dated for three years. She used to come to the store all the time like she had no other life besides hang around at the buy and sell counter without getting paid. She’s real nice, though. Violet told me she broke up with Nico because she’s going away to college next year.”

All I hear is that she was the one that broke up with him, and they broke up over the summer. That may be months ago, but three years is a long time to be dating someone. I haven’t even dated someone for three days.

“Don’t worry. He never seemed upset about it at work or anything.” That doesn’t help me, because I never seem upset at work about things either.

I can get over crushes. I have done it plenty of times. That’s what I tell myself anyway.

“I’m okay, Jessie. Let’s head back and find Violet. Did you see her artwork?” I try to look away from Jessie’s face, so that she doesn’t see my let down expression. She moves to the side on purpose so that her face is still in mine.

Jessie looks at me like a worried parent and then snaps out of it. “No. I was too busy on a mission to find you. Show me. I want to see this demon side of you.” She takes hold of my shirt and yanks me in the direction of Violet.

We walk to the front and then back down the art-filled hall until we find her. Violet introduces me to her and Nico’s parents, Tim and Charlotte, who are standing with her. They seem nice and proud of their daughter. Violet looks like her dad, while Nico looks a lot like his mom with the same auburn hair and honey-colored eyes.

I turn around and walk to Jessie to show her Violet’s drawings. We both stop in our tracks when we see Nico talking to a girl with long, curled, black hair. She’s pretty and short with dark, olive skin, but a lot of the girls are tiny next to me. She’s taller than Violet, though, and she’s standing close to him. My stomach drops. I brush away the jealousy, invisibly holding up a white, surrender flag. If he likes her, I will make myself be okay with that.

I start sliding to the side to sneak away. Nico and the girl have their backs facing away from us when Jessie bursts out, “Oh, May, you look so beautiful. Can a demon look beautiful? You definitely make demons look appealing.”

Nico turns around and gives us a big smile. Damn it, Jessie. The girl beside Nico turns around to us and smiles, too.

Nico walks up beside me to introduce all of us. “Lanie, this is May and Jessie. I think you have met Jessie, but this is May. May, this is Lanie.”

“Hey,” I say in a small voice as I wave. What else can I say? I have a big, fake smile on my face. It’s probably too big and resembles the Cheshire Cat.

“I love this picture of you and Nico,” Lanie says while pointing at the drawing. She seems nice.

I nod my head. “Thanks. Violet was pretty intense that day.”

Lanie laughs. “I agree. Violet can be determined with her art. One time I had to hold a flower and stand in one position for what had to have been hours.”

We all talk a while longer, and then Lanie tells us that she’s leaving to meet up with some of her friends that are going to the movies. She’s super nice, and I feel bad for getting all weirded out before. But I still have that sinking feeling in my stomach.

After we look at more of the artwork for a while longer, Nico walks us to the car to take us home. Jessie looks sulky in the backseat. “I’m still disappointed about the lack of interesting guys. Of course, the ones that I did think were cute already had girlfriends.”

“What is she talking about?” Nico asks.

I roll my eyes. “Oh, Jessie is determined to find a college guy that will be on her level.”

He lifts his hand from the steering wheel to change the radio station. “Oh, is that what you’re looking for?” His eyes slide to mine, expression is neutral, so I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

Pointing at myself, I shake my head quickly. “Me? No. She may be on that level, but I’m still a couple of levels below.” His neutral expression grows into a smile.

We get to Jessie’s house and she thanks us for inviting her. Technically, she was the one that invited herself, but I would have most likely asked her to come. I would have ended up feeling bad for not inviting her.

Nico and I don’t talk a lot on the drive to my house. He turns into my driveway and puts the car gear in park. His fingers tap the steering wheel, creating a miraculous private symphony. “What are you doing next Friday?”

I remember what Mom said about her going away for the week. “My mom will be out of town for the week.”

“Your mom is leaving you for the entire week?” Nico looks stunned.

“Yeah, but if I need anything, my next-door neighbor knows I’m alone. Well, she’s more than a neighbor to us, I have known her my whole life.”

“Did you want to hang out on some of the days you have off from work? So, you won’t get bored or anything?”

My heart molds into an ice sculpture in my chest and doesn’t move. “Sure. You would have to come to my house, though. Mrs. Jenkins knows the days I have off from work, so she’ll be eyeballing to make sure my car is at home. So, you would have to park farther down the street.”

Nico stops chewing his lip and grins. “All right, I’ll bring some movies.”

“Sounds good, but you’ll be watching a movie of mine first. Remember you still owe me from rock, paper, scissors when I first started work.”

“Fine,” he gives off a sarcastic huff.

I reach to open the car door when Nico blurts out, “No, wait right there.” He gets out, runs around the car, and opens the remainder of the door for me.

I laugh. “Nico, it’s one thing to open the car for me when I get into the car, but I don’t have to wait in the car for you to run around and open it for me.”

He wipes his forehead in mock tiredness. “Good. We have that settled.” I smile and find that every time he puts a smile on my face, I love it more and more. If I had the nerve, I would kiss him at this moment, but I don’t have that kind of courage.

He walks me to the doorway, and we stand there in silence. “Oh, can you also bring your guitar next week when you come over? I still haven’t heard you play anything.” I have been yearning to hear him play.

“Sure. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

I shrug. “I guess so.” I smile. I halfway turn to walk inside and change my mind, turning back to face him.

I was holding back asking him about Lanie, but I have to find out. Now is the time I’m going to ask him before I drive myself crazy. “So, Lanie doesn’t mind if you come over?”

His eyebrows draw into a confused frown. “Lanie?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if you guys were together.” I toss my hand down to my side in a weird attempt to look like I don’t care. It kind of looks like I’m shooting a basketball with one hand, it doesn’t work.

Nico’s smile pulls to one side of his face. “Oh? You thought Lanie and I were still together?”

I tug at my earlobe and feel nervous. “I don’t know,” I squeak. Now I’m squeaking?

“Well, we aren’t.” His eyes focus on mine, and his expression is serious.

“Okay,” I say, and turn to walk to the front door, not wanting to sound too excited. Inside, however, I’m having my own little party.

Grabbing me by the arm, Nico stops me before I reach the door. “You probably already know she broke up with me over the summer, but we were over before that. I haven’t felt that way for her in a while, and I should have been the one to break up with her sooner.”

“Okay,” I say, again.

He gives me a knowing look.

“Whatever,” I think to myself. The party has turned into a full-blown concert in my chest, musical blowers and all.

I stare at him, and he continues staring right back at me, apparently playing a game of who can stare the longest. I know I can win this game.

Unexpectedly, he leans forward and presses his mouth to mine in a soft press of the lips. I’m shocked, even though I was hoping for this earlier. I didn’t think it would happen.

He pulls back with an uncertain expression, and I look from his eyes to his nose and right back at those lips. Quickly, I move with hopefully not too much force, and I let my lips connect with his. His hand comes around to my back, drawing me closer.

Nico’s tongue swipes against my bottom lip, prying my mouth open where his tongue then meets mine. My mouth moves gently against his while tugging him closer in our already non-existent space.

The kiss is everything I could have hoped for and more. Nico is the first to pull away, and he rests his forehead against mine.

“I better go in. See you tomorrow at work?” I say.

“See you tomorrow, May.” He moves his forehead off mine and slowly walks backward to his car before turning around while I stand there watching him, both of us smiling at the other.

Walking inside, I beam brighter than the sun and shoot Jessie a text because I can’t keep this a secret. It’s too big.

Me: Nico and I kissed

Jessie: What??????

Me: I know!