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Cooper spent the next few days ignoring Nicholas’ phone calls, finally breaking down on the morning of Election Day.
Cooper texted Nicholas, telling him how humiliated he'd felt to be left at the Hotel Bel Air like some whore, with nothing more than his Halloween costume to wear.
Nicholas thought about texting Cooper back to say that it hadn't been his intention, and that it wasn't really his fault. Cooper had been the one who hadn't planned ahead.
He thought about it briefly, and then thought better of it, instead inviting Cooper to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, offering to pick up the tab.
Even though he had replied to the invitation with a simple Fine, Nicholas was still a little surprised when Cooper actually showed up.
He was wearing a gray Merino wool sweater and beige jeans, looking so casual and effortlessly beautiful at the same time that Nicholas' jaw dropped.
Cooper smiled thinly and sat down, reaching across the table to push Nicholas' chin up. “Nick, didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to stare?”
“Sorry,” Nicholas said. He picked up a menu and opened it so that Cooper couldn't see him blush. “Huh, I don't know what I want. How about you?”
For a few moments, Cooper didn't say anything. With a few fingers, he pulled the menu down so that Nicholas couldn't hide his face anymore. Nicholas felt a pinching sensation in his chest. Cooper sighed.
“Listen, Nick, I'm not gonna be too hard on you, but I'm not just gonna let you off the hook, either. What you did was a dick move, and not in a good way. We've known each other for like, what, 18 months?
“And we spent 18 hours of every day with each other for 6 of those months. And we just spent 18 hours in a hotel room, after spending God knows how many hours playing dress up and going door to door to get candy. I know that we had planned to leave the hotel separately, that's not the problem.
"The problem I have is that you didn't take the time to wait to make sure that I had a way to get home. As soon as your friend came and brought you a pair of clothes to change into you - pardon the cliché - took off like a bat out of Hell.”
Cooper paused his admonition long enough to order for the both of them when the waiter came.
“Hi,” he said sweetly, giving the waiter a full smile, showing beautiful alabaster teeth that should have been in toothpaste commercials.
“We're just gonna have some jasmine rice and trà dào to drink, thanks!”
“That's just peach tea,” Cooper explained when he saw Nicholas’ confused expression. “It's really good. Probably a hell of a lot better than anything you've had before, anyway.”
“Hey,” Nicholas snapped. “Denver has plenty of Vietnamese restaurants!” He felt indignant and defensive, until he saw Cooper’s mischievous smirk.
“Dude, c’mon! You really had me going there, for a second!” Nicholas groaned and shook his head.
“Yeah, so while I was just kidding about that, I'm being totally serious about you ditching me. Now, how are you going to make it up to me?” Cooper’s lips quirked into a wry smile.
Around them, Nicholas heard the sounds of people talking and laughing, the hustle and bustle of waiters moving through the restaurant, and the clatter of dishes from the kitchen.
Their waiter brought their orders, a platter of jasmine rice in one arm, holding both of their glasses of peach tea by the stems with his free hand.
Nicholas took a sip of tea before answering. He reached across the table and took a hold of Cooper’s hand. Cooper let him, but held Nicholas’ hand as if they were children, their palms clasped, instead of letting their fingers twine together. Despite his smirk, Cooper looked boyish and hurt.
“I don't know, Coop. I hate this,” Nicholas said. He bit his lip and looked down at the table. “How can I make it up to you? What do you want?”
Cooper laughed. He didn't know what exactly he wanted. He wanted Nicholas to hold him, and feel sorry for him. He wanted to hit him. He didn't want Nicholas to know how much he needed him. He wanted Nicholas to promise that he would never go away and leave him alone again.
“Me? I want a bigger house, a spouse, and a million dollars.”
Nicholas laughed, but it came out in a single, heavy breath. He squeezed Cooper’s hand and let go. “I'm being serious. For whatever else I can do, I can at least start with an apology. I'm really sorry, Cooper.”
Cooper drank some tea, taking such a long time to acknowledge him that Nicholas was starting to wonder if he had heard him. “Well,” he finally said, his voice low. “It's a start, at least. I accept your apology, Nick.”
Nicholas felt so relieved that for an impulsive moment he wanted to stand up, pull Cooper up with him, and hug him, in front of God and everyone, paparazzi be damned. The moment passed, and instead Nicholas gently nudged Cooper’s knee with his own under the table.
“Thanks, Coop.”
“Alright!” Cooper trilled, sounding like his usual cheerful, sweet self again. “We'd better start eating before this rice gets cold. Then, we need to take a trip to UCLA and do our civic duty.”