Chapter 2:

The young man wasn't what Valeria had expected. Nicolàs was a tall handsome brunette, with green piercing eyes where you could get lost in over and over again. And in addition to all of that, he had this sexy latin accent that probably had most women drooling. But not Valeria. The italian actress seemed unfazed by his looks and almost didn't aknowledge him throughout the whole dinner. Besides the small introduction they had at the beginning, Mr. Morales didn't bother her at all; which to be honest had surprised her a bit. This wasn't the first time Katherine had set her up with someone. And usually, they would either start rambling and talking too much. Or, it would be the opposite way with less talking but more touching.

By the end of their dinner, Katherine being the party girl she is, suggested that they finish their night at some club since it was too soon to go home for her. However, Valeria knew that in that moment, her bestfriend didn't care much about when they got home. The brunette had been receiving a lot of signals from the other young woman, urging her to give a 'chance' to her 'date'. At first, Valeria did her best to ignore Katherine, but all the kicks and nudges were starting to get on her nerves. But the straw that broke the camels back, was a pretty hard push that made her fall on the young man who was dancing next to Benjamin. With that violent action that lead to her standing closer to Nicolàs, the italien girl gave up and tried to enjoy her night a little more. As if on cue, the two fiancee's started dancing together, leaving Valeria and Nicolàs on their own. Neither of them knowing how to act now that their previous dance partner was occupied. With a silent agreement: they walked back to their booth where new drinks have been refilled.

" So..." The young woman spoke in hopes of breaking the uncomfortable silence, while bringing the non-alcoholic cocktail closer to her mouth.

" So you finaly decided to talk to me. I feel honored." Nicolàs joked with a small smirk lingering on his lips as he took a sip in turn.

" I deserved that one." She laughed awkwardly. " How about we start over? Hi my name is Valeria Rossi." The brunette stated before she held out her hand in front of him to shake.

" You're serious?" The green eyed man asked after a while, noticing that her hand was still extended with a smug smile grazing her lips." I can't believe I am doing this" Nicolàs mumbled under his breath as he joined their hands together, shaking them lightly in process. " Aren't you that actress? Anyway, I am Nicolàs Morales, I am 27 years old. What about you?" The young man finally gave in, playing along with her and shaking his head in amusement.

" Yup that's me." The actress confirmed with pride. " I am actually turning 27 in two days." Valeria answered as a face-eating grin appeared on her face. " Nicolàs is long, can I call you Nick? I am gonna call you Nick."

" Suit yourself super estrella." ( Suit yourself super star) Nicolàs chuckled at her behavior.

The conversation flowed by easily after that, both of them slowly forgetting about the awkwardness in which their night had started. The two youngsters conversed for what felt like forever, but in reality it was only half an hour. Valeria has discovered that Nicolàs was originally from Spain, but just like her, he grew up in the USA. The two europeans joked around, sometimes even made fun of some American habits that them, as foreigners, found weird. When Valeria almost forgot that they were accompanied, Katherine and Benjamin showed up at the table; looking at her like proud parents. She shrugged them off, as if her behavior was totaly normal and not new at all.

" Val." Katie called as she sat down next to Benjamin.

" Yes?"

" Ben and I are heading back to his hotel room. Can you bring my bags with you in the morning?" The older girl asked as she downed her shot in one swift movement.

" Wait you're going?" Valeria questionned the couple, who simply nodded in response. " What time is it?" The young woman said more to herself while checking her phone. " Dio mio! It's already midnight. Alessandro's shift is already done." She exclaimed facepalming herself at her lack of attetion.

" I can take you back to your appartement if you want." Nicolàs suggested, surprising all of them. " I mean it's on my way, and better than taking a cab at this time."

" It's okay, you don't have to. I can just call an uber. But thanks for the offer." The brunette spoke quickly, suspicious of the man's true intentions. Picking her phone up once again, Valeria unlocked it to use the uber app before she felt a hand grab her wrist; preventing her from proceeding. In a slow movement, her eyes traveled from her hand until they reached Katherine's face. The italian woman casted her best friend a confused look, silently asking her to explain her action.

" Can I talk to you?" The ginger-head requested somewhat urgently. " In private please."

" What's wrong?" Valeria asked once she stood up and walked alongside a silent Katherine towards the club's exit. " You're worrying me katie. Did something happen with Benjamin? I swear I'll kill him if he did-" The tall girl talked fast, forgetting to breath for a second, making the shorter one stop her immediatly.

" Jesus! Breath girl, nothing happened with Ben, don't worry." The young woman smiled tenderly at her friend's protective side, while she tried to ensure her. Katherine took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts, before she spoke again. " I don't want you to go home on your own."

" What? No no listen to me Katherine, I talked with your dear friend there." The actress said while pointing towards the club where the two young men inside were taking care of the bill. " You were right okay? He is a very fun person to talk with. However, I won't go with him just because you want me to date him. I understand that you want me to feel and share the happiness that you have with Benji, and I really appreciate it. But just understand that I just don't want to share my life with another person!" Her voice rose with each word that left her mouth, attracting a few curious gazes from the people walking past them. Maybe Valeria has noticed because a few seconds after, her facial expressions that before were tense, slowly softened. With a deep breath, she looked into her best friend's eyes. " I am sorry..." The three words left her mouth with ease, yet you could feel how sincere they were.

" Don't." Katie cut her off mid-sentence as fast as she could. " I get it okay? I kinda went hard on you with that, and I promise to not meddle in your love life anymore. As long as you don't want to of course." The young woman winked at her friend once she finished talking, earning a small chuckle from her.

" Thank you." The brunette said just above a whisper, still ashamed of her earlier way of speaking.

" But that is not why I want you to go with Nicolàs." Katherine revealed, making Valeria look at her with a big question mark spread all over her face. " Remember what happened last time you ubered at this time on your own?" The older one asked raising her eyebrows questionly. The brunette only nodded hesitantly, not knowing where this was going. " Well, I can't risk anything happening to you again. So please just stop being stubborn and accept the safe lift so we can go back to our daily routines in the morning. Can you do that?" Katherine finished her sentence, gazing at her friend's eyes with a hopeful look in her own.

" Yeah." Valeria replied after a few seconds of silence and reflection. " I can do that."

Just as she was about to speak again, they heard the club's back door close. The two girls simultaneously looked towards the source of the noise, discovering none other than the two men that accompanied them chatting animatedly. Benjamin was the first one to spot them. A small loving smile appeared on his face once his eye fell on his fiancee, which to his delight, she immediately reciprocated. The tall brunette whispered something in his friend's ear while pointing at them before they made their way to the young women.

" You ready to go babe?" Benjamin asked while he lazily threw his arm around his lover's shoulder. Katherine only hummed in response, still eying her bestfriend discreetly and not moving yet. The ginger-haired wanted to make sure her bestfriend did get home safe and to also watch how the two europeans' interaction. "What-" The young man started but was soon enough stopped by the woman in his arms, who quickly shushed him. Having no clue on what is going on, he decided to just do as he was told and quietly observe the scene in front of him.

" How long until your ride is here?" Nicolàs directed to Valeria, but not before giving a confused look to his two friends.

" Uh actually..." The young woman spoke as her hand found its way to her neck, scratching it nervously. " I was wondering if your offer still stands. 'Cause you see, um it's a bit late and I don't think that ubering would be a good idea." She looked up to meet his eyes expectantly, searching for some kind of answer in them. A few seconds passed, both of them maintaining the eye contact with no words spoken. As the italian woman sighed loudly, preparing herself for a 'no', the long silence was finaly broken.

" Yeah, sure." The latino said, with an amused grin forming on his face. " I'll see you tomorrow before the meeting Ben?"

" Yeah, I'll come right after I drop Katie at the airport. As for you Val, I'll see you back home in a few alright?" Benjamin questions before he pulls her in for a brotherly hug, earning a mumbled yes for answer.

" No funny business you two!" Katherine jokingly shouts at them through the open window, once her and her fiancee got in his rental car.

" Eh crazy American girl." The spanish man chuckles lightly while opening his own car. He looked back to find a hesitant Valeria, who didn't dare move from her spot. " Well do you wanna go home or die in this cold?"

With that, the young woman walked towards Nicolàs' car. She glanced up at him who kept staring at her amused. Feeling embarrassed a little, Valeria stuck her toungue out childishly before she settled down in the passenger seat. The spanish man joined her inside and closed the door carefully, since he didn't want to damage the rental car. He pushed the start button, and soon the sport car's engine came to life with a roar. The vehicle sped through the city's streets while Valeria typed her apartment adress in the GPS.

The two europeans sat in complete silence, mostly because of Valeria's uneasiness. She didn't know why Nicolàs has offered to drop her home. Did he think something would happen because they shared a few jokes at the club? The italian woman's mind was full of questions and assumptions, and that seemed to show on her because Nicolàs soon broke the silence.

" Don't worry I won't murder you then hide your body somewhere." He joked hoping to dissolve some of her uneasiness. It worked apparently since a soft chuckled escaped her mouth.

After that, neither of them felt the need to speak again as they fell in a comfortable silence this time. Almost three minutes later, they pulled up in front of their destination and Valeria didn't waste any time before getting out of the car. Nicolàs followed soon after but just layed on the closed door. The young woman thanked him for the ride, and he just dismissed her with a small hand movement. So the italian girl settled for another thank you: she leaned in, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. The latino seemed surprised and pleased at the same time, and just gave her a childish grin in response while opening his door again. Valeria turned around to leave and get everything done but not before she heard that sound she hated so much; the sound of camera flash going off. She sighed heavily and kept walking while thinking about a way to deal with this paparazzi problem.