Chapter Text
Joe peeked around the corner from his hideout behind the bookshelves to be sure that the student named Nicky he wanted to talk with was there. For days, Joe tried to gather the courage to walk over to Nicky, but every time, his nerves got the better of him, and he left before doing what he came to do.
"You know what, Joe?" Louise said. She was the librarian and a good friend of Joe's parents. "Maybe you need a push to get going."
Before Joe could ask what Louise meant, she gently pushed him towards Nicky, but after two steps, Joe stopped walking.
"Just ask him," Louise said in an encouraging voice. "I know everything will turn out fine."
"How can you be sure?" Joe asked. "Because I am not sure about anything."
"Trust an old woman, okay," Louise replied. "Ask him, or else you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Joe didn't know if it was Louise's warm and encouraging smile or the universe that made him walk over to the table where Nicky was reading, but he did it anyway. When Nicky smelled roses, he knew one thing for sure, and that was that Plato hadn't written anything about roses in "The Republic". So, when Nicky looked up from the book, he looked at Joe, the university's most sought-after guy.
"Hi," Joe said. "Are you busy?"
Nicky both nodded and shook his head at the same time because he didn't know what to say. Nicky had noticed Joe on his first day at university, but he had never thought someone in his last year would speak with someone in his first year. And gosh, seeing Joe this close for the first time was everything Nicky had dreamt of.
"Sorry," Nicky said when his brain finally started working again. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," Joe replied. Nicky could tell that Joe was nervous about something. "Uhmm, what... No, wait.."
Joe looked down at the yellow rose he was holding.
"I heard you like yellow roses," Joe said. "So, this is for you."
Joe reached out the yellow rose with a shaking hand.
"Grazie," Nicky replied. "Very kind of you."
If Joe's hand was shaking it was nothing compared to how much Nicky's hand was shaking when he took the yellow rose. When their fingers touched for the first time, they both got butterflies in their stomachs, and they exchanged a shy smile between them.
"I was thinking, and if you say no, I won't hold it against you," Joe said. "But could I..."
Joe looked over his shoulder and saw Louise, who gave him a sign to ask his question.
"Okay, here we go," Joe said. "Could I ask you to be my plus one of the Valentine's Day Picnic? All you have to do is show up at 5 PM, and I will take care of the rest."
That wasn't the question Nicky expected, and he hoped he didn't look too surprised.
"Okay," Nicky stuttered. "But I can't before 5.30 PM because of work."
"That is more than fine," Joe replied. "So, Friday at 5.30 PM? Do you know that big ugly statue at the entrance to the park? The one who looks like a bird but isn't a bird?"
Nicky nodded.
"Fantastic," Joe said. "See you there."
"Si," Nicky replied. "And thanks for asking me."
"Don't mention it. I am glad you said yes," Joe replied. "I let you get back to your book."
Joe gave Nicky a big smile before he left, leaving Nicky to think about why the university's most sought-after guy just asked him out on a date, if it was a date at all.