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The dress was a fluffy ball gown affair. When Aunt Agatha had ordered him on this assignment, he hadn’t expected to be wearing a dress. Though he had to admit that it wasn’t exactly unflattering as he looked into the full length mirror while the stylist laced up the corset bodice. His hair and make-up were already fixed, a shoulder length wavy pink wig with matching lipstick and long lashes that felt too heavy on his eyelids.
“Wow. You actually look like a fairytale bride,” the stylist, Kaz thought her name was Melissa, said.
Kaz approached the mirror and stared at his face. He barely recognised himself under all the makeup. But would it fool the demon that had been targeting the photoshoots bridal models? The shoot had started a little over a week ago and had lost three model brides after they were possessed. Why they had only chosen to do something about the situation after the third model had been possessed and then left terrified out of her mind was a mystery. However, everyone had agreed that Kaz should dress up as a bride since that was who the demon was targeting. He thought it was a ridiculous idea but apparently they were paying enough that Aunt Agatha had insisted he play along.
Kaz exited the room, only slightly wobbly in the chunky heeled pumps. He didn’t see why he had to wear heels as well since the dress was floor length. He was pretty sure this was turning into some kind of joke with him at the butt.
Outside the room, he came face to face with Arcangelo. Naturally, as if this assignment wasn’t terrible enough, the groom had to be none other than his greatest rival. Apparently, the designer had insisted that his designs be worn by the current number one bachelor in Neo Yokio. Kaz frowned as Arcangelo flipped his hair back over his shoulder with a smirk.
“Glad to see you clean up well, Kaz,” Arcangelo said.
“Shut up, Arcangelo.” Kaz wondered if the make-up would help hide the fact that he was most definitely blushing.
“Doesn’t he? He looks better than a lot of the actual brides I deal with,” Melissa, or maybe her name was Melanie, said.
Well, it seemed that everyone would be out to embarrass him now. How fucking fantastic.
“Well, Kaz, aren’t you going to compliment me in return?” Arcangelo did a slow turn in his impeccably fitted white jacquard suit.
Kaz let out a disgusted noise. “We don’t have time for this,” he said, picking up his skirts and storming out (as well as he could in heels) to the front of the church where the photoshoot would pretend to take place as they waited for the demon to show itself. At least, he hoped it was just pretend.
The photographer and the rest of the photoshoot crew stood outside. The church was a brick building surrounded by well-manicured lawn and a bit of woods further off. It wasn’t common that demons would take an interest in happenings outside of Neo Yokio but clearly it had it out for someone on the team putting this together, probably the designer. Kaz had always heard he was an asshole. It made sense for him to want Arcangelo to model for his brand.
Arcangelo followed him out and they took positions in front of the church. Kaz wasn’t sure what exactly to do. He had never done a bridal shoot before as a groom much less a bride. Arcangelo took his gloved hand. Kaz looked down as Arcangelo intertwined their fingers and pulled Kaz closer. What the actual fuck?
“You’re supposed to smile,” Arcangelo whispered in Kaz’s ear.
Kaz backed away quickly, tripping backwards over his heel. Arcangelo caught him around the waist. His face was serious instead of jeering at Kaz’s mistake and it surprised Kaz. He stared into Arcangelo’s eyes—were they always that green?—and maybe his heart was beating a bit faster because there was something soft about that look being completely absent of hatred or contempt or whatever else it was that he was sure Arcangelo felt when it came to him. Kaz swallowed and Arcangelo pulled him up so that he was standing once more but with Arcangelo’s arm around his waist so that they were close together.
“All right!” the photographer said, “I think we got some good stuff from that. Nice job. Let’s get some individual shots. Arcangelo, you first.”
Arcangelo released Kaz slowly. Melanie—was her name actually Miranda?—came and collected him when he didn’t move out of the frame. She led him over to the side.
“The chemistry was really good,” she said encouragingly.
That was actually the last thing that Kaz needed to hear. Good chemistry with Arcangelo? What a joke. And this was seriously a photoshoot. There was a chance that the world would see these photographs and that was about as terrifying as it got. Not that he would begrudge the world the desire to see him looking fabulous in a ball gown wedding dress but he could definitely see Arcangelo using this to his advantage to get one up on him yet again.
“Nice, Arcangelo. Chin a little higher, perfect. Hold that.”
Kaz snuck a peek at Arcangelo modelling for the camera. He looked focused and almost admirable if Kaz didn’t know what an actual prick he was. He looked around him instead of wasting more attention on Arcangelo. The woods weren’t too far across the lawn actually, just a sudden wall of trees at the end of perfectly green grass. He looked over the staff as well. They didn’t look suspicious but it was possible that one of them was actually the demon or helping the demon with its objective.
“Ok Kaz, we’re ready for you,” the photographer called, drawing Kaz out of his study of the personnel.
With a sigh, Kaz moved over to take the place that Arcangelo had vacated in front of the church doors. The photographer studied him a moment and then began to shout directions.
“Hands on your hips! No. Just one! All right. Now smile! Brighter. No, not that bright.”
Kaz tried his best to follow instructions. He glanced over to Arcangelo once to find him just observing without even the tell-tale smirk that would mean that he was enjoying watching Kaz bumble around trying to model a giant wedding dress. The photographer barked another order and Kaz pulled his attention back to focusing on the shoot and hoping that the damn demon would show up already. It felt like they were getting nowhere. From what Kaz could tell, they had barely taken any photos. Maybe the photographer was in on the whole thing and the demon wouldn’t show because it knew that Kaz was there.
A scream from the crew. Kaz turned to watch as a glowing Arcangelo floated into the air. The demon was supposed to be interested in brides not grooms. For heaven’s fucking sake. It was supposed to come after him. That was the plan. Why did it never go according to plan?
Kaz sent out a couple of experimental blasts of energy at the possessed Arcangelo. The demon evaded them easily and laughed in a deep, crackling voice before it took off flying toward to woods.
“Coward,” Kaz said in a low grumble and he took off running after it and ended up in a heap after a few steps. With a curse, he dragged off the pumps and took off again barefooted, carrying the skirts of the dress so that they wouldn’t trip him.
The woods were like an obstacle course with the dress. Branches tugged at the tulle as Kaz stumbled through the trees and ignored the dead leaves and stones and whatever else underneath his bare feet. He slowed his pace wondering whether he would be able to find the possessed Arcangelo at all. He had no idea how large this area was. He debated the pros and cons of possibly losing Arcangelo to a demon: on one hand he would be rid of Arcangelo for an undetermined amount of time, perhaps forever. On the other hand, his ranking on the bachelor board would definitely take a significant hit if he didn’t complete this assignment. That decision was almost as cursed as Arcangelo currently. He laughed at his own joke. A seemingly responding laugh rang out among the trees and he followed the sound.
He found possessed Arcangelo glowing a fierce red in the middle of a clearing, still floating up near the tops of the trees as the sun shone down into the space.
“All right. Game over, Demon,” Kaz said as he came into the clearing.
The demon laughed again. “Did you think such a pathetic disguise would fool me?”
Kaz frowned, offended. “Hey, I look good. Or at least I did before you had me run through the woods but then who would look good after that.”
The demon sent out a beam of energy. Kaz dove out of the way and then rolled to avoid another. His wig dislodged in the movement and was caught in the blast where it lay on the ground. Kaz rolled to a kneeling position and sent a blast of his own toward the floating possessed Arcangelo. He made it to his feet, sending more blasts to occupy the demon. The demon sent one of its own and they exchanged blasts, with Kaz dodging as best as he could in the balloon of a dress. The white was stained with dirt now and the tulle ripped in places. He wondered if the designer and the styling team would be upset at that.
“Why don’t you just give up? You know you can’t win,” possessed Arcangelo said.
Kaz ground his teeth and shifted his weight, balancing himself. It was time to end this. He was pretty annoyed after being made to run through a forest in a wedding dress and the thought of blasting Arcangelo, albeit a demon possessed Arcangelo, seemed pretty good at the moment.
“How about you keep your shitty ideas to yourself,” Kaz shouted.
The demon sent out a stream of energy, as if trying to overwhelm Kaz. Kaz waited and rolled to the side at the last moment. The skirt of his dress ended up a bit fried but it gave him an opening to send out a strong blast of his own, catching the demon by surprise and exorcising Arcangelo in the process.
Kaz watched somewhat satisfied when Arcangelo dropped out of the air and onto the ground in a disgraceful lump. He sighed and took a seat on the ground. The dress was a mess. He hoped they wouldn’t kick up a fuss because honestly this was their fault for wanting him to fight a demon in a designer wedding dress. He watched as Arcangelo stirred after a while and stood. It was time to get out of here.
The last job had been a success but it was haunting Kaz in the form of a billboard featuring him and Arcangelo. He groaned as he thought about it and buried his face in his hands. The server brought the coffee to where Kaz was sitting outside the café along the street.
“One latte,” she said as she put the coffee down on the table.
He didn’t move and just allowed her to leave it next to him.
“If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to let me know,” she said before leaving Kaz to brood in peace.
He had tried to get them to take it down but apparently they had paid Aunt Agatha extra to be able to reproduce the pictures and use them for official advertising so there was nothing he could do.
“Kaz, is that you?”
He knew that voice. Exactly the person he did not need to see right now. Kaz raised his head to see Arcangelo looking at him from behind a pair of Prada sunglasses.
“What do you want, Arcangelo? Can’t you see I’m trying to brood?”
“Are you alone? Mind if I join you?” Arcangelo said, sitting across from Kaz without waiting for an answer. He removed his sunglasses and tucked them into his jacket pocket. “I never thought I’d get see my favourite homie today.”
Kaz froze. His favourite homie? “Did someone blow up the bachelor board again? I haven’t heard anything about that.”
Arcangelo laughed hard, head tilted back and eyes closed in amusement. “I know we’ve had our differences but you saved my life and that makes you a homie in my book.”
The server came over once Arcangelo had joined the table. He gave her an order for a cappuccino and she left once more to get his drink. Kaz sat there dumbfounded. Arcangelo was trying to be his friend again. He wondered how long it would last this time. Hopefully not too long. Arcangelo was definitely a bit too enthusiastic when it came to friendship. First the billboard and now this. Why was this week going downhill so quickly?
“Did you see the billboard from the photoshoot? We look amazing. I would have never guessed your look was so versatile.”
Kaz groaned at being reminded of the picture. At any other time, Kaz would have said that Arcangelo was making fun of him but he sounded incredibly sincere and even admiring which was completely ridiculous.
“You put on a wedding dress and see how you like it,” Kaz said, finally taking a sip of his latte.
Arcangelo actually seemed to consider the idea for a moment. “I’m not sure I have the range but if you think it would work I can suggest it to the designer. They might be interested in doing a reverse shoot.”
Kaz groaned. “Ugh. That’s not what I meant.” He didn’t need another photoshoot with Arcangelo. One had been more than enough.
The server returned with Arcangelo’s cappuccino. Arcangelo gave her a smile and she actually blushed. What the hell? She hadn’t blushed at Kaz. He hadn’t smiled at her, he reminded himself. Arcangelo was just being a flattering ass or something.
“Can I have the bill please?” Kaz needed to get out of here.
“Of course,” the server said. “Together or separate?”
“Together,” Arcangelo said before Kaz could respond. “I got it, Kaz. A coffee date to reignite out friendship. I like it.”
“Separate is fine.”
“Kaz. I insist.”
The server looked a bit confused as they both stared at her expecting her to listen to their request.
“Um, I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving the table quickly.
“I can pay for my own coffee,” Kaz said, trying once more to get Arcangelo to back off.
Arcangelo tossed his head, flinging his hair to the back of his shoulder. It was probably meant to be impressive and the server would probably have liked it but it just annoyed Kaz.
“I know, but I want to do this for you. After all, what are friends for?”
Kaz grimaced. This was ridiculous. He was being forced to be friends with Arcangelo again. He definitely needed to get out of here.
The server returned with the bill and handed it to Arcangelo. Kaz stared at her in disbelief and Arcangelo looked smug as he took out a card and handed it to her. Kaz should have smiled at her when he had the chance, charmed her so that she wouldn’t betray him to Arcangelo like this. Anyway, he had lost this round but this “coffee date” as Arcangelo had called it was over.
Kaz stood, chair scrapping on the floor as he pushed it back. “I’m leaving.” He looked sadly at his unfinished latte but there was nothing he could do about that now. Maybe he could pick up one on the way back to the apartment. He expected Arcangelo to fuss about how he was leaving too soon but all he got was a wave and a smile and a promise to “see him later” which was infinitely creepier than Arcangelo forcing them to spend more time together.
In hindsight, if he wanted to avoid Arcangelo, he could have done better than to go shopping, especially at Bergdorf’s. He just wanted to take part in some retail therapy to sooth his pride at having pictures of him in a wedding dress with Arcangelo’s arm around his waist everywhere. Lexy and Gottlieb had laughed, not even slightly concerned over his mortification. But of course, he would bump into Arcangelo, quite literally at that as they both turned a corner.
“Kazzy K, my favourite homie. Imagine meeting you here,” Arcangelo said, slinging an arm over Kaz’s shoulder.
The temperature in the store was cool but Arcangelo was warm. Kaz tried to extricate himself from the embrace but Arcangelo just held on and turned them both back in the direction Kaz had just come from.
“Let’s see if we can’t find you something nice,” Arcangelo said.
Arcangelo finally released Kaz and began taking jackets off a rack, holding them up to Kaz’s chest in consideration and either replacing it on the rack or handing it to the helpful salesclerk that had rushed to help them.
After choosing about ten pieces, Arcangelo looked satisfied. “I think we’ll try these,” he said to the salesclerk before taking hold of Kaz’s shoulders and leading him to the fitting rooms.
Kaz sighed once in the fitting room. Arcangelo passed him the first jacket: wine with black buttons. He took it and put it on over his shirt. How had he gotten himself into this? Shopping with Arcangelo had not been on his plans for the day.
“Come on, Kaz. Let’s see how it looks.”
With another sigh, Kaz opened the curtain. Arcangelo observed him, arms crossed and a serious look on his face. He shook his head.
“Next,” Arcangelo said, sending Kaz back into the cubicle with another jacket, royal blue this time.
They repeated the process as they went down the line of jackets. There were two maybes that Arcangelo had set aside. He put on the seventh jacket and looked at himself in the mirror. It was a dark green and the cut looked and felt pretty good. It was a bit more fitted that his usual style but he had to admit that he looked good. What would Arcangelo decide? He opened the curtain once more.
“That looks wonderful, Mr. Kaan,” said the salesclerk.
Arcangelo was looking at Kaz with a smug smile on his face. “I knew this would be the one.”
“Then couldn’t we have just started out with this one?” Kaz said. They didn’t have to waste time on the others if there had already been a decision.
Arcangelo clasped Kaz’s shoulder tightly, looking him in the eyes. “It’s about the process.”
Kaz nodded as if he understood. He liked shopping but usually he only tried things that he thought would look good. Arcangelo thought this was more exciting. Though it had ended in finding a nice jacket so maybe it wasn’t all bad.
“Just three to go,” Arcangelo said.
Kaz looked at him surprised that he had to continue after finding what would probably be the best of the lot. Arcangelo gave him a nod and pushed him gently back into the changing room with another jacket.
In the end, the green jacket was the only one that actually looked good instead of just passable so Kaz ended up buying it. Arcangelo seemed pretty pleased with himself as the salesclerk rang up the purchase. Kaz couldn’t actually be upset because he actually did like the jacket and might have passed on it himself had he been the one looking.
“Thanks for the help, Arcangelo,” he said, a bit hesitant to encourage Arcangelo.
“Anything for my homie,” Arcangelo said, putting an arm around Kaz’s shoulder and steering Kaz toward the exit. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry, Kaz? Let’s eat.”
Kaz hurriedly grabbed onto the bag the salesclerk held out and allowed Arcangelo to lead him.
Arcangelo was around a lot. It wasn’t even in a stalkerish way because if Kaz thought about it, he had been everywhere even before they had become “friends.” It just happened that they mostly ran is the same circles. So Arcangelo became an almost constant part of Kaz’s social life. He was even becoming accustomed to Arcangelo’s touchy-feely behaviour which was perhaps the strangest part of all. It didn’t bother him anymore to have Arcangelo fling an arm around his shoulder and pull him closer like true homies. He even accepted when Arcangelo offered to drive him home after a party one night. It may have been very insistent but Kaz had accepted (after a bit of back and forth) and that was what counted.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Arcangelo asked as they pulled up to Kaz’s building.
Kaz looked over but Arcangelo was staring ahead at the road. “I’m meeting Lexy and Gottlieb for lunch.” He hesitated before adding, “You can come if you want.” In all likelihood, Arcangelo would invite himself anyway, so why not just beat him to the punch.
To Kaz’s surprise, Arcangelo shook his head.
“No, thanks. I get that you need to spend time with your boys. Besides I have to go to Los Angeles for a week and I leave the day after tomorrow so I should probably pack.”
Kaz stared at Arcangelo incredulously. Did he just turn down an opportunity to wriggle himself into whatever Kaz was doing? All because he had to pack for some trip? He felt a bit offended by the idea that Arcangelo couldn’t take time out of packing to bother him. “Uh, I guess I’ll see you later?”
Arcangelo gave Kaz a bright smile and ran a hand through his hair. “Try not to miss me too much.”
Kaz hesitated but nodded and climbed out of the car. So tomorrow would be his first Arcangelo free day in a while. Arcangelo raised and waved a hand before he drove off into the night. Kaz watched until the car disappeared around the corner and entered his building.
Kaz should have been having more fun than normal since he was getting to hang out with Lexy and Gottlieb without Arcangelo butting his way in but it felt a bit strange after all this time. It should have been the culmination of a week of relaxation and contentment but instead he’d felt lonely. Kaz groaned loudly, one hand holding up his head as he stared to the far side of the restaurant, barely registering Gottlieb and Lexy sitting across from him at the table.
“Is that a new jacket?” Gottlieb asked after the waiter left to put in their orders.
Kaz looked down and pulled at the front of his jacket. “I bought it with Arcangelo a few weeks ago. He chose it, I guess.” It had been a pretty annoying shopping trip but now it made him almost nostalgic to think of it. Arcangelo had only been gone a week for heaven sakes and here he was missing him.
“It looks good, man. I guess Arcangelo is all right at something after all,” Lexy said.
“Arcangelo’s good lots of stuff actually,” Kaz said, laying his head in his hand again, “His fashion sense is pretty good. He knows what looks good on other people. And he can model apparently. You guys have seen that billboard. He looks good if you just ignore that he’s got his arm around my waist.”
“Uh. Yeah. I guess so,” Lexy said.
Kaz sat up suddenly. “Do you think he misses me?” Kaz said out loud before he could properly consider keeping the thought to himself.
“Who? Arcangelo?” Lexy said. Both he and Gottlieb looked confused.
Kaz turned his face away from his friends. He was sure he was blushing.
“You all right, Kaz?” Gottlieb said
“I guess—I guess I kind of miss him or something. I don’t know. It’s weird.” Kaz was ready to hide now and kept his attention firmly on the wall of the restaurant to avoid any looks that Lexy and Gottlieb were giving him. Saying it aloud made it sound even more absurd.
“That’s cool, man. I mean, you hang out with him all the time. You’re bound to like him a least a little bit. We get that,” Gottlieb said.
Kaz returned his attention to Lexy and Gottlieb. Gottlieb was giving Kaz a smile but Lexy looked unhappy with his arms folded across his chest.
“Right, Lexy?” Gottlieb elbowed Lexy in the side of his stomach.
“Ow. Right. Yeah. We totally get that. I mean he’s only been constantly shit on us for years,” Lexy said.
Gottlieb coughed unexpectedly but before Kaz could wonder if he was all right, Lexy continued.
“Yeah. Fine. It’s totally cool that he’s changed and you like him now.”
Kaz smiled. “You guys are the best.”
He had been worried that it was wrong that he was no longer against Arcangelo as a friend or homie or whatever it was. It was so strange to think that he had reached this point but here he was admitting to liking Arcangelo and not thinking he was a total herb. How the tides had changed.
Back & I brought u something. U should come over and get it. is the text that Kaz receives from Arcangelo. He’s still surprised that it actually makes him happy to know that Arcangelo is back in Neo Yokio and that he had brought him a gift. He had actually never been to Arcangelo’s apartment but he didn’t hesitate to reply that he would head over. Talking to Lexy and Gottlieb had really calmed him down. He was no longer anxious about not hating Arcangelo’s guts.
Arcangelo’s apartment had lots of windows and natural light and the furniture was all white with silver accents so that the whole room seemed to glow in the sun.
“Kazzy K. Welcome to Casa de Corelli,” Arcangelo said fanning his hand out to present the apartment to Kaz.
Kaz felt a bit awkward. Would Arcangelo notice that he wasn’t aggressively against his friendship? How would that change things between them? Arcangelo gave him a bit of a tour. It was only a one bedroom apartment so there wasn’t a whole lot to show but Arcangelo took him through it slowly.
“I did the interior design myself.” Arcangelo brushed the hair out of his face with a smile.
“It looks good,” Kaz said. He was still a bit confused by how to react to Arcangelo after being archenemies for so long.
Arcangelo left Kaz in the living room and went into the kitchen, returning with two champagne flutes and a bottle. “Now I know it’s the middle of the day, but I have some champagne.”
Kaz smiled wryly. It was so Arcangelo to bring out a bottle of champagne like this in a situation that probably didn’t warrant it. But Arcangelo just grinned and put the glasses down on the centre table and carefully popped open the bottle. He poured and handed Kaz a glass then poured himself one.
“To homies!” Arcangelo raised is glass in a toast.
Kaz raised his glass. “To homies."
Kaz sat himself down onto Arcangelo’s couch. It was actually really comfortable: firm but not distressingly so.
“Wow. This is actually really comfortable.” Kaz bounced slightly, being careful not to spill his champagne.
“Isn’t it? As soon as I sat down on it, I knew it was perfect,” Arcangelo said taking a seat next to Kaz. He took a Gucci bag out from under the centre table and handed it to Kaz.
Kaz reached into the tissue paper and pulled out a cashmere scarf. It was soft and warm and a colour that would go well with the jacket that Arcangelo had picked out for him those weeks ago.
“It’ll go really well with the jacket,” Kaz said.
Arcangelo grinned confidently. “That was the plan, Kaz my man.”
“That was an awful rhyme.”
“It’s all right to be jealous of my poetic skills. I understand.”
Kaz shook his head with a groan and wrapped the scarf around his neck. Arcangelo looked away and cleared his throat then turned back to Kaz with a serious look on his face. Kaz froze, wondering what was going on. Also were Arcangelo’s eyes always that green or was it the light coming through the windows that made them appear so bright?
“Kaz.”
Kaz straightened automatically at Arcangelo’s serious tone. He’d never heard it before and he wondered if he had done something wrong, maybe by putting on the scarf. Though that did sound ridiculous when he thought about it.
“I—” Arcangelo began and then stopped, frowning.
“Is everything ok, Arcangelo?”
“Have you ever thought about the Walled City?”
The question was definitely not what Kaz was expecting and it threw him off. He wasn’t sure how to answer. Sure he had thought about it. Ever since the Grand Prix, he had wondered about that often ignored part of Neo Yokio questioning the things that had caused him to believe in this city that was supposed to be the greatest in the world. It had never occurred to him that it was something Arcangelo would think about.
Arcangelo sighed and shook his head with a hand over his face. “I have a cousin who does charity work to help the people who live there. She raises money and distributes it to different organizations based in the Walled City.”
Kaz had never known there was a charity that worked to help residents of the Walled City. He supposed he should have expected it but he definitely didn’t expect it to be someone related to Arcangelo and for Arcangelo to actually care about it. There was so much Kaz didn’t realise about him.
“Does that mean you help your cousin with the charity or something?”
Arcangelo shrugged. “I’ve donated but the people can be pretty suspicious of outsiders coming in to help when they’re not sure of their motives. I guess a lot of people just want to use them for publicity.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed you would even cared about stuff like that,” Kaz said honestly.
Arcangelo laughed and seemed to blush slightly. “Well, I’m not actually that involved. But if you’re interested, I’m sure my cousin would love to meet you.”
“Yeah. That’d be cool,” Kaz said.
Arcangelo’s smile was soft for a moment before he lifted his champagne to his mouth and took a drink.
The next week saw Kaz and Arcangelo visit Arcangelo’s cousin Caterina. She ran City to City, a charity that helped raise money for the residents of the Walled City. Their office was a few rooms in a building on the Lower East Side. Kaz could see the resemblance between Arcangelo and his cousin. The same blonde hair and green eyes and face shape. They were almost like siblings instead. She was actually very pretty.
“Angie! Thanks so much for coming,” Caterina said.
Arcangelo groaned. “Don’t call me that, Cat. It’s embarrassing.”
Kaz stifled a laugh somewhat unsuccessfully and Arcangelo gave him a disappointed shake of the head.
“So this is Kaz. I’ve heard so much about you,” Caterina said, holding out her hand.
Kaz shook her hand and they shared a smile. Kaz wondered what kinds of things Arcangelo had been telling her about him but he could hardly ask.
Caterina explained how City to City worked and how they chose the organisations that they gave money too. Any organisation could apply and they ended up giving as many of them money that they could. They were aware that it was probably problematic for those outside to be gatekeepers of money for the Walled City but they tried their best to be accountable. Caterina’s fiancé had actually come from the Walled City herself which didn’t exclude the possibility of mistakes but it did help.
Kaz was really impressed, especially with the fact that Arcangelo seemed to be involved, at least as a donor. Being close to Arcangelo was actually surprising.
Freddie Miles’ birthday party was set to be the party for the year, according to the host anyway, but he did always throw a good bash so Kaz was inclined to believe him. He thought of Helena and the crazy night at Freddie Mile’ party in the Hamptons that time. He wondered where she was and how she was getting along after having to go off the grid. He wondered whether he would see her again someday.
It did turn out to be a good party or at least Kaz assumed it was but he ended up having too much on his mind to enjoy it. Lexy, Gottlieb and Arcangelo were there so things started off banging with the boys and a steady flow of drinks.
“Freddie Miles’ knows how to throw a party,” Lexy said as they all reclined against a wall. Lexy had been making eyes at this one girl all night and she kept acting coy though it was clear she was interested.
A group of three girls approached them. Kaz didn’t know them but they came up to Arcangelo so he probably did
“Arcangelo, come dance with us,” one of the girls said. She was short and blonde and cute in her Yigal Azrouël sheath dress.
The other two echoed their ringleader’s sentiment.
Kaz expected Arcangelo to comply with their request but he flicked his hair in that way he always did and slung an arm across Kaz’s shoulder, pulling him close. Kaz was distracted for a second, catching a whiff of Arcangelo’s cologne. He would have to ask him what he used because it smelled good.
“Sorry, ladies. I’m hanging out with Kaz right now.”
The girls looked at Kaz with a frown and then turned their attention back to Arcangelo.
“Please. We were really looking forward to seeing you today. We had so much fun last time.”
Arcangelo’s hand found its way into Kaz’s hair to ruffle it. “You know I can’t bail on a homie.”
Kaz felt he should have said something but a part of him didn’t want Arcangelo to go. How selfish could he get? But before he could open his mouth, the girls left in a huff with a glare at Kaz. Arcangelo released Kaz.
“Damn Arcangelo. She was pretty hot,” Lexy said when the girls were out of earshot.
“She was. The ladies just can’t leave me alone,” Arcangelo said.
Kaz frowned to himself. Was he keeping Arcangelo from enjoying himself? They were spending lots of time together lately. Did Arcangelo even really want to spend time with him? He tried to tell himself yes but wasn’t Arcangelo only friends with him because he owed Kaz his life? There were too many questions. Kaz’s head swam with all of them. It was ridiculous. He suddenly didn’t want to be at this party anymore, especially not if he was holding Arcangelo back.
“I’m gonna leave, guys,” Kaz said, pushing himself off of the wall.
Everyone looked over at him surprised.
“You sure, man? There are some cute chicks here. I would have thought that was your thing,” Gottlieb said.
It should have been but Kaz’s mind was too filled with questions about Arcangelo. He tried to laugh it off and shrugged. “I guess I’ve been really tired today. Maybe I’m getting sick or something.”
“I’ll go with you,” Arcangelo said.
Kaz groaned. “I’m fine.”
“Can’t have you passing out or something,” Arcangelo said with a chuckle.
“You don’t have to follow me everywhere you know? I mean, I get you feel you have some kind of weird obligation to me because I saved your life but you don’t have to. It’s not like I wanted you to in the first place. I bet I’m cramping your style anyway. We can just go back to being rivals. I’m sure that would be better for you anyway.”
Kaz was surprised by himself. That wasn’t exactly what he had meant to say and now Arcangelo was staring at him, green eyes wide with shock and Lexy and Gottlieb were staring as well and he thought a few other people around them were looking at them suspiciously. Fuck.
Arcangelo seemed to regain some composure and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t realise that you felt that way. Maybe we are better off a rivals, Kaz.” And then he left.
Kaz blinked. Yes, he had said that but he was still surprised for some reason. He turned to watch Arcangelo approach the girls from earlier. They were excited that Arcangelo had finally chosen to give them the attention they wanted and Arcangelo smiled at them easily and didn’t seem even a bit troubled by the exchange that had just taken place.
“Kaz, are you ok, man?” Gottlieb asked.
Kaz turned back toward him and Lexy and nodded even though he felt hollow because he knew he had done something absolutely fucking ridiculous.
“I’m just gonna go. I’ll see you guys later.” Kaz left the party feeling like an ass.
It had been a whole week since Freddie Miles’ party but Kaz had only seen Arcangelo once and they hadn’t even spoken. Kaz was at least expecting things to return to the way they were but Arcangelo and the Eastside Boys just walked passed him without so much as a glance. That was perhaps more devastating than being turned back into a rival.
Lexy and Gottlieb had invited him to brunch but he just couldn’t get into it. He knew he should apologise but he was worried that Arcangelo was happier without him and wouldn’t accept an apology after finally getting away from him. Kaz missed Arcangelo. The way those green eyes would look at him seriously unlike the way Arcangelo seemed to look at the rest of the world. Damn it. He even missed Arcangelo’s stupid hair flip that actually did manage to look attractive in a self-centred way sometimes.
“Kaz, man, you’re acting like you just broke up with someone,” Lexy said, taking a sip of his mimosa.
Kaz sighed at Lexy’s words and stared down the street as they sat outside. He knew Lexy was making a joke. His reaction probably was over the top. After all, it hadn’t even been that long that Arcangelo and him had been friends. It was just that he felt that he had discovered an Arcangelo that he had never seen before and that he thought not many people know about. He wanted that Arcangelo but he had thrown him away.
“Um, Kaz?”
Kaz turned his attention to Gottlieb who had spoken. His friend looked serious and Lexy frowned slightly next to him.
“Do you like Arcangelo?”
Kaz tilted his head to the side a bit confused. “I mean, yeah. He’s actually really nice and stuff.”
“Nah, man. I mean do you like him like him?”
Kaz’s eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open. He stammered as he tried to reply. “I mean—I guess he’s is kinda pretty. His eyes. They’re really green and they get really light in the sun which is nice. And he takes really good care of his hair so that it looks really good when he runs his hands through it. And he’s actually really warm, like all the time. And he’s actually really nice and cares a lot about his friends and stuff when you give him a chance. I mean, I never thought about it.”
What the fuck? His heart was kind of racing. Just a bit. And he was definitely blushing now while Lexy and Gottlieb gave each other concerned looks. Kaz rested his head on the table, trying to hide his face and slow the breaths that had started coming a bit faster.
“What the fuck do I even do? I just—he won’t even look at me and all I want is for him to look at me again.” Kaz felt like ridiculous. He hadn’t thought about it. It had never really dawned on him that he even could like Arcangelo in that way but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that maybe he did.
“Just talk to him,” Lexy said.
Kaz shook his head without lifting it from the table. “No way. He was only friends with me because I saved his life anyway.”
“He definitely never said that,” Gottlieb said.
Kaz grunted noncommittally. “He didn’t not say it either.”
“Man, what the fuck? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Lexy sounded upset now and Kaz kind of understood. Maybe his attitude was a bit defeatist.
“Leave me alone, Lexy,” was the best response Kaz could manage.
Lexy and Gottlieb were doing their best to raise Kaz’s spirits during this Arcangelo-less drought. Kaz sulked all the way to the caprese bar. Lexy immediately placed a martini in front of him as he sat down next to Gottlieb. He sipped at the martini slowly.
“How’ve you been, Kaz?” Gottlieb asked.
Kaz sighed. “Same old same old. Contemplating wrongness that is my existence and suffering through the resulting existential dread.”
“Sounds rough,” Lexy said, starting to mix up another cocktail.
Kaz took another sip of his martini and then thought better of it and downed the rest. “Hit me with another one, Lexy.”
“Coming right up.” Lexy shook the drink expertly and poured the contents of the shaker into two prepared glasses. He placed one in front of Kaz and the second in front of the empty space next to him.
Kaz looked at the glass then at Lexy. “Who’s that for?” It was on the wrong side of the counter to be for Gottlieb.
Lexy seemed unsure of what to say as he glanced at Gottlieb. Kaz switched his attention to his other friend who seemed lost for words. The sound of the door opening came from behind Kaz and Gottlieb looked distinctly relieved. Kaz turned and found Arcangelo in the doorway.
Arcangelo’s eyes took in the room before they settled on Kaz. He looked a bit nervous. “Um . . . you wanted to talk?”
Kaz was silent for a moment until he realised that Arcangelo was indeed addressing him. “I did?”
“You didn’t?”
They stared at each other visibly confused.
“That was us,” Gottlieb said.
“Yeah. We though you two homies could do with a bit of time together,” Lexy said, gesturing to the seat with the cocktail. Gottlieb stood and Kaz shuffled over to give Arcangelo more space to sit on the bench.
Arcangelo hesitated but took the seat next to Kaz.
“Now. We’ll be right back,” Gottlieb said. “We gotta get some—uh—”
“Cheese,” Lexy finished, coming out from behind the bar.
“Cheese,” Gottlieb echoed, following Lexy out the bar. “See you in a minute.”
The door closed leaving Kaz and Arcangelo alone. Kaz shifted nervously. He had no idea what to say. He knew he should apologise. Lexy and Gottlieb had given him a golden opportunity but he was nervous. He was normally completely chill but Arcangelo just made him nervous about fucking things up even more.
“Hey Kaz, I’m sorry,” Arcangelo said.
Kaz turned toward him, surprised. “What?”
“I was really upset at the party but I guess I did say the first time that I was going to be your homie because you saved my life so I get why you said what you did.”
Kaz shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said any of that.”
Arcangelo looked at Kaz then with that serious gaze that made Kaz freeze and swallow reflexively because it was so intense. Yeah. Arcangelo’s eyes were a really good green.
“It was an excuse. I wanted to be your friend but with the bachelor board, I just felt I couldn’t.” Arcangelo turned away and downed the caprese martini in front of him.
Kaz stared at the profile of his face. He liked that profile, the way his hair hung just so against his forehead. He should have felt relief that Arcangelo wanted to be his friend but he did like him and that would change every single interaction between them on his part. Arcangelo turned back to Kaz and Kaz looked away quickly, hoping that he hadn’t been caught staring.
“Kaz.”
Kaz looked back to Arcangelo cautiously. Arcangelo’s eyes met his. “Arcangelo.”
“I guess when you told me that at the party, I didn’t fight it then because—well, a part of me felt that it would be easier to not spend time around you.” Arcangelo laughed but it had a self-deprecating tinge to it. “I’ve never had trouble doing this before. I suppose when it’s just some girl, it’s easy because I’m confident with them.”
“What are you talking about?”
Arcangelo took a deep breath and flipped his hair out of his face. “I like you, Kaz. I guess this means it might be better for us not to be friends, but I’ve been thinking about never having the chance to tell you that and it’s about as bad as rejection.”
Kaz watched with wide eyes as Arcangelo’s eyes looked everywhere except for Kaz’s face. His heart was racing. He was shocked at Arcangelo’s words and the idea that Arcangelo actually liked Kaz in the way that Kaz liked him. What were the fucking chances of that? And now was the time, wasn’t it? To make his own confession.
“Arcangelo.”
Arcangelo finally focused on Kaz’s face once more. He looked nervous and his cheeks were red in a blush. Kaz wasn’t sure he had ever seen Arcangelo nervous before today. He was always ridiculously confident. He used to think that was disgusting, but he had grown to appreciate that nothing seemed to faze him. Seeing Arcangelo nervous over him was flattering though.
“I like you too,” Kaz said.
Arcangelo’s eyes widen as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
As they stared at each other, Kaz wasn’t sure what came next. Was this an appropriate time to do something like maybe kiss? But then Lexy and Gottlieb would return at any moment possibly putting them in an awkward position. But it would be nice. He had thought about it, kissing Arcangelo but he hadn’t expected there to be an actual opportunity ever.
Arcangelo turned his body toward Kaz. It was almost slow motion as Arcangelo leaned forward. Kaz closed his eyes in anticipation then Arcangelo’s lips met his own. Arcangelo moved back momentarily breaking the kiss. Kaz’s eyes opened to find Arcangelo watching him with a smile on his blushing face. Kaz smiled back and Arcangelo came back in for another kiss, resting his hands on Kaz’s shoulders. Kaz’s hands found their way to fist Arcangelo’s jacket, holding on they kissed. Their lips moved against each other. Arcangelo’s lips were soft against Kaz’s. Kaz pushed up to kiss Arcangelo harder. A low moan escaped Arcangelo’s throat. Fuck. Kaz really liked that sound. He pulled Arcangelo closer.
A cough interrupted them. Arcangelo scooted backwards, almost off the bench, looking even redder than earlier and Kaz was sure he didn’t look too far off himself.
“I told you we should have come back later,” Gottlieb said to Lexy.
Lexy scoffed. “It’s still our bar. Good to see that you two made up though.”
Kaz and Arcangelo glanced at each other simultaneously and smiled. Kaz’s heart practically skipped a beat to see Arcangelo sharing a smile with him.
“Do you want another caprese martini?” Lexy said to Arcangelo.
Arcangelo shook his head. “I should probably go.”
Kaz watched him get up slowly from his seat. He glanced at Kaz and tilted his head slightly in a way that Kaz decided to interpret as an invitation.
“I’ll go too,” Kaz said, ignoring the looks that Lexy and Gottlieb gave each other. They actually looked smug and Kaz supposed they had a right to since this was essentially their doing.
“I’ll see you guys soon,” Kaz said following Arcangelo out of the bar.
Outside, Charles the Second was waiting as Kaz had left him since he didn’t fit inside the bar.
“Good evening, Sir. Did you enjoy your visit?”
Kaz nodded. “Charles, you can go home without me. I’ll come back later.”
“Very good, Sir.”
Kaz had never been more glad that Sadie when piloting was not the same thing as Sadie in person. Charles the Second took to the skies a moment later, leaving Kaz and Arcangelo standing in front of the bar. Kaz had no idea where to go from here. He had basically invited himself along to wherever Arcangelo was going.
“Did you want to come over?” Arcangelo said.
That invitation had as many implications as Kaz could probably come up with but he wasn’t about to say no. He nodded.
What the fuck was existential dread? Kaz Kaan was fucking happy.