"You look hot."

"What?"

"I said you look hot, in that suit," he sounds nonchalant as ever, like the words he is speaking don't cause an absolute hurricane in my stomach.

I know he is openly gay and I'm not against it, it just that I've never met a gay guy before, not one who would tell me something straight forward like this. I try to open my mouth and say something, anything, but then he speaks again as he turns into another street. "I mean, it's pretty hot outside and you seem like you're sweating in that suit, do you want me to switch the air conditioning on?"

"Oh." If I wasn't sweating before I'm definitely going to combust right this moment. "Y-yeah, if it's not a problem," I manage somehow while tugging nervously at the tight knot of my tie.

After that there's silence. I'm uncomfortable in this small, confined space with him, especially after I almost made a fool of myself. And yes, maybe I wanted him to be attracted to me and say those words in a different context so I decide to keep my mouth shut for the entire half-hour ride because I don't know what to do with that realization. But when I suspect that the car is headed in the opposite direction from the house, I have to protest.

"Where are we going?"

"Just for a ride, relax."

"Don't tell me to relax. I saw you drinking."

"I only had one glass of champagne. Oh my god, London boy, you need to chill a bit, you're so uptight. Come on, it's your last night, let me show you a good time. Let me show you the real Valencia. You'll never wanna leave again."

He quickly takes his eyes off the road and wiggles his perfect eyebrows at me, like he's challenging me. Like he knows that I already struggle with not being as the cool kids. Because popular, mummy's boys like him who are always given everything on a silver platter, always bully poor kids like me who try to earn honestly in life by hard work.

"You're so arrogant and stubborn and I don't think it's possible to have a good time with a person that annoys me as much as you do."

Valencia is just a smear of colours behind the windshield as Nico grins, wide, blinding, self-assured. And not bothered by my outburst, at all. He looks like he already knows something about me that I don't know. "Oh, we're so gonna have fun."

When we finally stop, it is in front of magnificent avant-garde architecture buildings that sit in vast shallow pool of water, all of them spectacular on its own. There's one that resembles a giant eye, and with the reflection from the pool it creates the illusion of the eye as a whole.

Nico leads us into an underground space. In front of the door, there's a man, a security guard and Nico approaches him and talks to him in Spanish after which he lets us in without even checking ID's.

We're inside the nightclub and it's heaving as we walk through the crowd, Nico leading the way and smiling at people as they pass and say hello. It's colourful, extravagant and I feel out of place but Nico fits right in as we reach the curved, sleek bar and he leans over it to shake hands with a bartender. They talk briefly, occasionally giving me a side glance, the bartender finally nods and Nico walks around the bar, ending up on the other side. He folds the sleeves of his crisp dress shirt before effortlessly starting to pour different drinks in a shaker. Heads turn and I wonder if it's because they all know him or because of his unreal beauty. But it's like he doesn't see anyone else in this place, just focused on his task. When the cocktails are done he smiles at me as he places the cocktail in front of me, and stirs his own with a straw looking at me like he wants to read my mind. And it's different than before, he's different.

"It's sweet but not too sweet. I think you'll like it. And it has only one shot of spirit so you don't have to worry, I won't get you drunk, London boy."

"You know how much I hate when you call me that. Why are you like this?"

"Because it's so funny to push your buttons. You make it so easy."

He chuckles when he sees my unimpressed face, and quickly comes back to stand next to me. "Hey, listen, I'll stop messing with you if it really bothers you. I'm sorry. I just felt like you take life too seriously and you needed a little fun. But if you want I'll take you home."

I watch him and bring my glass to my mouth, trying the amazing drink. His eyes dart over my face and land on my mouth. I clear my throat, self-conscious.

"Um... we don't have to go home but I hate clubbing."

"I kind of guessed that, and it's not my favourite place either. We only stopped by so I could make you this cocktail. It's my recipe and the guys in the bar are my friends so they let me. Do you like it?" His question comes out almost timid.

"I... yeah, it's really good, but.."

"Perfect. Now that we have our drinks let's get out of here. The place that I actually wanted to show you is on the rooftop of this building."

And I follow where he goes. As Valencian  evening glow is reflecting on the glass-like pool beneath us, there, in the open space, high above the bustle of the city, Nico stands like a statue, flawless and pensive. He is staring out over the city like it really disappoints him, like he's carrying some massive weight on his shoulders, like he wants to fly away from this rooftop if only he had wings.

"You prefer this to the nightclub?" I finally say. It was as if every light in that club gravitated to him, highlighting him brighter than any other person—he must enjoy that more than standing in a constant awkward quiet with me. He sets his cocktail on the concrete wall and talks, the first time since we've come up here.

"Is that such a surprise?"

"Well... You knew a lot of people down there. And they all seemed to know you. I just thought you spend a lot of time there, and if someone spends a lot of time somewhere that means they like doing that. "

"No, it doesn't mean that," he shuts me up with that one sentence, his voice more cold and dismissive than I ever heard him before. He stares into the distance for a few excruciating seconds.

"Do you ever feel like you don't belong?"

"I..." my mouth closes. Just like that, he surprises me. Again. He is like that wave that hits your shins in shallow water and makes you stumble because it's bigger than you expected.

"I'm sorry, I'm just talking nonsense," he recovers from his melancholy mood quickly and laughs to himself sipping on his drink. I wish he would make fun of me again, tease me or say something annoying like I'm used to. That would be easier. Not this. I have no idea how to talk to people I find attractive, and even more, people who ask me philosophical questions. I try to think of something to say. Anything. I want to impress him with my intellectual answer. But nothing comes close to being good enough.

"You know we're actually in a place where a river used to be?"

He changes the subject, but strangely I regret not finding out what he meant with the first question. "Sixty-something years ago, they dried the river because it was constantly flooding the city. So they made a park where the river bed is. "

"Wow, so the park runs in the shape of the river through the city? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is. Valencia has its charms."

I agree with that. And when he continues to explain about all the theme parks, big city aquarium and the museums around us, I join him, listening his perfectly imperfect accent escaping through the words, watching all this modern elegance around us that is somehow a perfect contrast to the old buildings in the distance. Something is happening between us at this very moment but I'm afraid to look too closely. Forcefully I remind myself that summertime crushes are destined to die, the beach and blue sky and tanned bodies are like the lowest common measure of fantasy and the real life is just around the corner, waiting for me to return to it.

But as soon as we finish our drinks he tells me we're going to one more place and because he is like the gravitational force of the moon and I am the tide, I follow. In the car, I glance at him. Nico's gaze is fixed on the road, his expression serene. He rolls the window down and the car fills with air, flavoured with the salt of the nearby sea. Every time I inhale I draw his sweet and intoxicating scent into my lungs. His cologne but also coconut and sunscreen and the deepest purest blue waters of the Mediterranean.

And the world narrows down to him being next to me.