Between drinks and operas

Nina stared at the cell phone screen, catatonic, until Kara took it from her hands and switched from the voice call to a video call.

When David Nichols' face appeared on the screen, Nina's friends were stunned. It was him! Nina didn't know what to say, just stared wide-eyed at his image.

David smiled brightly when he saw her. She was the same way she was when they met at the disco. A strange person!

Then Kara responded by taking the phone and hanging up, interrupting the video call.

- Now I believe. It really looked like you. I accept the meeting,” Kara wrote.

David found all that brooding about Nina strange, but at the same time it made him see that she didn't care who he was after all. Anyone else in her place would be hysterical, but all she cared about was the fear that she was visiting one of the cities in Italy that, to her, was one of the best known for the organized mafia in the world. So he wrote down the address and time of the meeting. Kara confirmed that she would, but made a lot of demands. To his own surprise, he accepted.

Nina, Kara and Lyon argued about their behavior. Dahl, he didn't want to be ungainly, but it was impossible to contain his impulses, there were times when his temper exceeded any degree of patience that existed in his pores. After trying so hard to explain to friends that the fact that David is a rich and famous actor, did not exempt him from continuing to be a stranger, in a tourist town, inviting her alone for a blind date, Nina exploded, and cursed them with wonder , irresponsible and crazy!

At six o'clock at night, Nina was already in a taxi, moving to the place marked by David. She convinced the taxi driver to take note of that ride, gave him money and instructions for him to call an hour after dropping her off at the address, and if something sounded strange, to call her friends and the authorities. Lyon and Kara got prints of everything, and David kept track of their prints in their shared library.

Nina arrived at the meeting place: a kind of resort. She reminded the driver of what they had agreed to, then got out of the cab, her legs shaking, a thought rummaging in her mind: "What am I doing here?"

Entering the resort, she walked to the front desk, greeted the attendant and asked if anyone was waiting for her. The receptionist checked a clipboard and then asked her to accompany him inside the establishment.

Nina was in a cold sweat. The resort's interior was gigantic, with intimidatingly well-dressed people. The receptionist led her to a tree-lined compartment with leather sofas dotted around and a waterfall in the background. Nina sat on one of the sofas, maintaining an elegant posture: legs crossed, hands clasped on her knees, her spine so straight it hurt.

When Nina heard footsteps coming from behind her, her heart started to pound, her hands shook harder than her legs, and her mouth suddenly went dry. David Nichols appeared in front of him.

"Buonasera!" he greeted in Italian.

And she replied in Portuguese:

- Good night.

So he sat down. Nina stared at her hands, not knowing what to say to him. This time he didn't have the excuse of being under the influence of alcohol to be as brave with words as he had at the disco party. Fortunately, David started the conversation:

- How was your day?

"Well," Nina replied, monosyllabic.

- Are you hungry? Want a drink?

- Not.

“Nina. You don't look comfortable!

- Impression of you, I'm fine. Is that you?

“Fine. Thank you for taking this date.

- Thanks for the invite.

"Can I ask you something before we start the night?"

- Clear!

“Aside from the fact that we don't know each other, and the way I approached you in e-mail messages, at my premiere party, in the bathroom, then on your cell phone, do you have anything more against me? David smiled, looking at her. Was it something I did? David asked. "You don't like me, do you?" I mean... something related to the tabloids? Maybe something you've read or watched, something that makes you behave like that to me?

- Not even! replied Nina. "I don't know anything about you or what you've done." I don't follow social networks or friends... so, no. I do not have. It was just the online harassment. - This time she looked at him, smiling.

David wanted to find a way to ask if she had someone, a love, a suitor, an affair, whatever, but he would wait for the right moment.

"Shall we order dinner?" Dave asked.

“That's not what we agreed. I... I said no fancy dinner. I don't want to eat in front of a stranger, let alone food that I'm sure I don't even know.

David studied Nina carefully. From the tense shoulders, the strained posture and the trembling voice, she must have been terrified.

“You don't need to be nervous, Nina,” he said. - I am a normal person like any other. Would you like a drink?

Nina nodded.

"As long as it's not blue."

David gestured to a passing waitress. Nina ordered the drink sex on the beach and David ordered the same.

"I'm on vacation," he said, "resting in a spa, forbidden to do anything to do with work." In fact, I shouldn't even mention that word.

David Nichols had a thick voice. He spoke slowly, as if he was in no hurry to go somewhere. He talked about the amazing places Nina could visit during her stay in Rome; she talked about her career, her food preferences, her hobbies, places she dreamed of visiting one day, and Nina would just nod her head and say “Unhum”, pretending she didn't have a super attention deficit. After a while, David started throwing random questions in an attempt to relax her:

- Do you like dogs? I have one.

"I like all animals, but I prefer cats."

"Sure," he said, smiling.

— I really like online games, do you play?

— He played Crash Bandicoot, Silent Hill, Harry Potter, Spyro the Dragon…

Nina couldn't hide a smile that came out without her being able to stop, these games were considered archaic bought from modern games. David felt the mood was getting a little lighter after all.

"Tell me more about yourself," he asked.

“I don't have much to tell,” Nina said. "Ask and I'll answer."

- He is well. Let's play a fun game. A kind of "I never". To see if you undo that beak.

Nina nodded with a smile.

"If I ask you something and you don't answer, you drink." If you're rude, you drink. That goes for both. What about? said David.

"Okay, I'm up to the first condition," Nina said. — But without this that if you're rude you have to drink ... the joke is not like that.

Nina knew that if she had to drink every time he was rude, she couldn't walk away.

David smiled wryly and left it there, plastered across his face from one corner of his ear to the other, then called the waitress over again and ordered a tray of shots.

The game started. David asked about Nina's work, and wanted to know all the details, but he already knew. She asked the name of the hospital, in which sector she worked, what she did there, how her co-workers were... He even asked about the workload.

Nina answered the questions in a serious tone, but with a smile hidden on her face. She knew that David just wanted to challenge her, asked questions he didn't think she would answer.

David looked her right in the eye, letting her body language show that she was now going to lose. He approached her at the table and, facing her, asked how much she earned per month.

Nina rolled her eyes, twisted her mouth, and said firmly how much she earned, without blinking.

- Drink it! – she ordered. "You're the one who missed that one!"

And suddenly they were both stubborn and laughing, talking at the same time and calling each other a cheat. Him explaining that the rules weren't like that, and she calling him a bad loser. That's when he told her she was the bad loser, because she just replied so she didn't have to drink. And kept talking:

"Nobody answers that sort of thing, woman..."

"And no one asks that kind of question on a first date," she added.

Nina turned two shots, one after the other. "Who's the bad loser now?"

David looked at her fascinated. “She could only really be an Aryan,” he thought, and flipped two shots too.

"You're such a bad loser that you answered not to lose, and drank so you wouldn't have to admit it," he teased.

— Idem. I say the same about you,” Nina replied.

And the two were facing each other for a few seconds until they couldn't stand it and began to relax.

David said it was now her turn to ask. Nina already had another shot in her hand.

- I pass! she said, and then drank.

"But the rule is to drink if you don't answer, don't drink if you don't ask," David protested, then turned another shot.

They both laughed because the game didn't actually work and they just wanted an excuse to drink.

shotgo, shot comes, and the two were already quite stimulated. After a good deal of laughter about silly matters without a hoop or edge, Nina was already more relaxed and less suspicious. David watched her with an air of satisfaction, after all, that was the plan all along.

They talked about the places she liked to hang out in Norway: bars, pubs, and what kind of entertainment was there. She answered in great detail, her voice filled with excitement. He continued with his vast list of questions about her life, taking advantage of the opportunity with which she answered everything without objection, and very clearly.

He asked about Latino culture, about his country of origin, about his family, his parents. He asked about practically everything in her life, and she answered so frankly that he sometimes couldn't believe what his ears had just heard. Nina was so transparent, so direct, she could shock people with her honesty. It was a kind of test.

David was delighted. She was the opposite of him and all the women he knew.

"You didn't ask me anything." Just answered,” he complained. Then, out of nowhere Nina let out a:

“Why would a man of such renown as yours have an anonymous profile on a dating app?

David laughed. He replied that perhaps out of curiosity, or as a joke, to pass the time. It reminded Nina that she also had a profile in the same app, and she blamed it on friends.

"You were the one with the messages, weren't you?" The faceless profile?

- Yes? David replied.

“Well then, you were talking to Lyon and Kara. The only thing I wrote before going to that party was the last sentence about the dress, so I deleted it all at once.

— You also wrote that you would be the prettiest at the party! reminded David.

Nina wanted to stick her head on the resort floor, such was the shame she felt at that moment. Of course, he didn't let David see that.

What was he implying? That she wasn't the prettiest? Thoughts purred: “Of course I'm not, I know that. Look at the thousands of models and actresses this man must be used to having, my God”! Even so, she asked him:

"And I wasn't?"

"Yes, it was," he replied, looking at her.

"That's why I didn't find her," thought David, "She had already deleted her profile when I saw her downstairs"

"Are you still trying to win the game?"

Nina got up and started talking:

"Oh, get out of it!" This canoe has been punctured for a long time. This game was already won before it even started. I knew there wasn't a question in the world I couldn't answer about myself. Nobody is so important that I can't tell who I really am. Nobody! I wouldn't lie for anyone!

He stood up noticing that Nina looked a little dizzy.

“You know, I only lie when I want to go to the bathroom, and I'm kind of dizzy, but I don't want to admit it, and then I can say I'm going to touch up my makeup, but actually I'm going to pee, it's called politeness and not a lie! David frowned, confirming the effect of the shots speaking for Nina.

Nina chattered nonstop as she tried to get to her feet, and David promptly held her up trying to help her.

"Do you need to touch up your makeup now?" he said, referring to the fact that he knew she wanted to go to the bathroom.

“Yeah, weird. Can I call you Stranger, like in the app?

He formally gave her his arm to hold and walked with her. Nina could only think of one thing as they took short steps to the bathroom: “He smells good! It smells like something new”. She gave a sigh that made him look at her sideways.

“Actually, I'm going to call you Rich, like in Hangouts. Your pseudonym.

The two went to the toilet and found themselves back in the washbasin. They washed their hands, looked at each other, and he shook water at her. Nina turned the faucet on again and shook even more water on him. Then they started to laugh.

David liked to hear the sound of that relaxed laugh. He stood in the doorway watching Nina smile as she dried herself with a towel. Nina became serious again. He apologized again, but then said it was his fault. He agreed.

The two dried themselves and returned to the table. She couldn't hide a sardonic smile plastered on her face.

- What's it? David asked.

"Nothing," Nina replied.

"Didn't you say there's nothing you can't answer?"

She looked at him, this time without a smile, and asked:

“What's up with you and the bathrooms. That's what I was thinking. Pleased?

"Yes." David smiled. “I frankly never cared about the restrooms until that Friday night at the club…I never had a date in a place like this.

“It wasn't a date, you know.

“But it would have been if you hadn't run away. By the way...

“Why did I leave? I'm just like that. People say I'm weird, withdrawn and suspicious. I've traveled a lot around the world. As a matter of fact, since I was in the military at 18 years old. I've seen it all. I have had contact with many different cultures, where men treat women as if they were objects, and everything is trivialized in the end.

"It created a kind of shield!" Are you afraid something like this will happen to you?

- I think so. I also read a lot and what I see is that, the idea that it's romantic for a man to have everything, money, physical strength, arrogance, beauty and jealousy, and for a woman to depend on him for everything, even to be happy, while she doesn't have it. nothing, it's very appreciated by thousands of people... that's scary!

And they continued to talk about the most varied subjects they could talk that night... The two paid attention to every move they made, every word that was said, every charm cast...

The taxi driver called. Then Nina's friends too. Nina spoke to them in Portuguese, and made them promise that they would keep everything that had happened in Rome since they set foot in the city a secret; that they would keep David and the meeting a secret.

David tried to listen very carefully to the conversation. He could speak some Italian and Spanish. So when Nina hung up the phone, he didn't hesitate to ask:

- Serious? The taxi driver? She just grimaced and shrugged, as if to say, So what? Then he asked, "Can't your friends talk about me?" Oh, I get it, right.

“Yes. Understood. They gave their word of honor that they will never speak about this trip.

David changed the subject:

— It's still early, it's eight o'clock at night. Do you want to walk? Know the resort? They have horses, you know?

- I do not think so. If it was during the day... maybe.

"Oh, come on!" Stop making excuses. It's not…” David hesitated to finish the sentence.

- Boring? Nina gave him a wide smile looking into his eyes.

“No need to be boring today. Go! Just today?!

- All right then. I won't be boring. So I'm going to do something unexpected, just to confuse you. I'll only go if you bring a bottle of sweet wine and two glasses,” she offered. "I don't want to be sober with you."

- Why? David asked.

"Because I'm not prepared to face all this that's happening right away!" I prefer to think it's the effect of alcohol, a hallucination! David Nichols on a Sunday night walking with me at a resort, carrying a bottle of wine between the stables? It's too cliché! Nor do I buy this one!

“We're on vacation…” David reminded her. — And you know the saying: On vacation you can do anything! - She concluded.

Even he laughed at the things she said. And the more nervous and drunk she got, the more she talked...

After a while of walking slowly from one end to the other, talking and stopping now and then to drink wine, they reached the horses.

Nina got rid of her thin shoe and went into the stables. David lowered the bottle of wine in a corner, while telling the right way to approach a horse, but when he turned around, Nina was already dangling from a gate stroking one of them.

— Watch out, watch out! David warned. “Xi, they might get scared and hurt you.

David was behind her. Every time he approached Nina bodily, every cell inside her went into a process of ecstasy. Her heart was beating so fast, she was nervous and afraid that she would end up doing something stupid. She knew she was awkward with men.

Nina turned, looked at him serenely and saw his concern for those little animals.

"Horses don't hurt, they're sweet!" They are extremely sentimental and remember everyone who treats them with affection, you know? He cracked a smile and nodded. She knew a lot about horses and it was fun to hear her teach about them.

After Nina revealed the various fun facts about horses, they walked back to the resort hotel.

- Ready. You are delivered, safe and sound! exclaimed Nina.

David said he was feeling like the good guy left at the doorstep early, then tried to convince Nina to stay:

"Come on, come!" It won't run away again. No “It's late”.

Nina smiled and said that she was ashamed of people seeing her without shoes, and didn't want to put them on with her filthy feet.

"Not to mention the pain in my feet," he added.

"No, you don't give a damn what people will think of your feet," David said.

David came around her and led her to the hotel elevator.

"Sunday, ten o'clock at night... Do you want to find something to do on the street?" Here is Italy, after all, there must be a thousand things to do. Wanna go out? Tell me whatever comes into your head,” David proposed.

- Anything? Nina asked.

- Yes.

“I really want to go to an amusement park. Serious. I want to see the opera. I want so much! I want to see all the squares that display monuments and giant statues from the Roman era, but I don't want to be seen with you.

David turns around:

- What did you say? David started. “What do you mean, Nina?

- Sorry. I expressed myself badly. What I mean is: what's the chance of us going out on the street without security or without a crowd behind you? What are the chances of us facing a queue at an opera without everyone recognizing us and ending our night?

"Is this a problem for you?"

'Yes, David. It's a problem for me to cause problems for you. I still remember what happened at the disco when you came to me. Everything turns into turmoil in a matter of seconds, and there's nothing to be done. Suddenly your security guards surround you and take you away.

"But do you want to go?"

- I want!

"Then finish washing your feet and let's go."

While Nina was trying to touch up her makeup and compose herself, David was talking on the phone. He wore a black tuxedo with a bow tie as he listened to Nina deconstruct the bathroom. After a while she left.

“No. That's not fair! I'm not going out in this basic little dress to an opera with you dressed like that to kill!

Nina took off his tie and tuxedo. — You can go with that dress shirt, pants and shoes. The suit is only open. Or else I won't. “David couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're bossy, huh!"

- Me? No, I'm not, David.

"But are you worried about how people will look at you at the opera?"

- No I'm not. Or I wouldn't be if I were with my friends, being me in my world. — He thought better of it — It's not the people at the opera I'm worried about.

"With the fashion tabloids?" David guessed.

"What tabloids?" We're not going to be in any tabloids, are we? I don't want to be seen, I don't want to be photographed, I don't want to be insulted by your fans, I don't want to be laughed at, I don't want any of that in my life. I prefer a thousand times to stay here in the hotel just you and me, so. We can play games, watch movies, dance or sleep. Yes, sleep...

David laughed.

"Do you always talk too much like that when you get desperate?"

— I don't get desperate, okay? I just… I just don't have an outfit that suits your outfit. And I don't care what the others at the opera will think. They don't know me and they'll never see me again.

"Hmm," growled David.

He was enjoying disarming her. To challenge her. Seeing all that armor slowly open.

“And you know what? continued Nina. "I don't care about my clothes or your clothes either." I just don't want to go!

— If I remember correctly, you did want to go.

While Nina babbled more, David finished arranging himself in front of the mirror. He listened to the most unusual explanations she tried to give to convince him not to leave the hotel with her.

“The limo arrives in 15 minutes.

Nina went pale. She took a few steps towards him and stood still. She had to look up to meet his eyes, because of the height difference between the two.

“David. Now I'm serious. I know maybe you're finding all this fun on your vacation, maybe I'm somehow entertaining you, I don't know, maybe you think I'm your cinderella project, but I'm serious. No games. I don't want spotlights. I don't want to arrive at an opera in a limousine and get people's attention when we get there. I swear to God we'd better stay here at the hotel. Excuse.

David smiled and held out his arm, waiting for her to leave.

"I believe you," he said. "You convinced me." But I have a plan. How do you think famous artists live? How do they leave the house? We have schemes put together by security teams.

- What do you mean? Nina asked.

“There's always a basement, a private gate, a secret back entrance to all these public places. Relax! I promise you no one will see us.

- You promise?

- I promise.

David held out an arm to Nina and they walked together to the back of the resort, where they were picked up by a limo.

Nina was pretty excited inside. She looked around the limo equipped with stereos, lights, and plenty of booze. His smile was elated. But even though he was like that, he didn't say a word about it.

"Are you enjoying it, stranger?" David asked.

— Unhun.

"Is this your first time in a limo?"

“No. I've rented some on other trips with my friends, a bachelorette party in Bergen, and on other occasions.

"But not with me," David pointed out.

"But not with you," she agreed.

The two looked at each other and laughed. She was still holding his arm from the hotel room. Never left...

"Is this your first time at an opera?"

— No, 'Mister first time.' You won't have many firsts with me. I'm pretty grown up, in case you haven't noticed.

“But it will be the first time with me, no matter what we do,” David said.

- Truth. On this I have to agree with you.

- Finally.

On the way to the municipal theater, Nina was talking about her artistic adventures. Nina was a lover of melodies, song lyrics, a lover of books, theaters and operas.

She used to go to the José de Alencar theater in her hometown. As a teenager at the time, and didn't have the money to go to big ballets and recitals, she went to the free concerts that were offered on Sundays very early in the morning.

At shows, Nina sat in the back, in a discreet corner, where she cried to the sound of the violins. Her dream at the time was to see the Swan Lake ballet with her own eyes, but she still hadn't been able to fulfill that dream.

"Ah, but I saw the Nutcracker Ballet!" Right in the middle of downtown Bergen on the Ole Bull stage. Cry! It was really fabulous!

When they arrived at the opera, they entered through the back. There was a place reserved for them inside. David commented that they arrived on time.

When everyone was seated and the lights went out, David asked her if she had ever been to that opera before. Nina said yes. La traviata was well known and had traveled all over the world. When she started talking about the operas by Bergen and Grieghallen, the show started and she fell silent.

Nina was moved by the opera from beginning to end, and they had to leave a few minutes before all the lights came on.

On the way back to the hotel, Nina fell asleep for a moment in the car, clutching David's arm. He watched her, lost in all her facial features. Maybe that's what he missed. The women he'd dated all his life weren't simple like Nina. Or were they from the arts — actresses, directors, filmmakers, stuntmen, and so on. — or they had to be a famous person because of their wealth. Only then did people have access to it.

How could a mere mortal have the power to approach him? He was never living a normal social life. How would I meet someone? What little time he had he enjoyed with his family or was forced to rest. Not to mention that I was very afraid of being involved in controversies.

While Nina slept, he thought about these things along the way. He had already stated openly on the internet about the difficulty he had to relate to someone due to the pace of life he led. She said it was impossible for relationships to thrive because of his lack of time. David had even said that the person he was with couldn't be as busy as he was, or they wouldn't have a way to live, and not to mention that all the women who've been through his life have been heavily harassed by the media...

He had a very important image to uphold. He had thousands of fans, both men, women and children, and that's why he chose to keep his profile low on social media, avoiding being caught at parties with alcoholic drinks, women or cigarettes.

David had learned to be careful. Still, over the years there have been several rumors here and there about his love life. Speculations about the important roles of his career, and even about the simple fact that he was photographed in a gay nightclub in Rio de Janeiro, for example. As if the fact that a person goes to an LGBT nightclub could indicate anything about their sexual orientation.

The fact is, no matter what he did, everything could be explored, distorted and snowballed in the blink of an eye. An example of this was the exposure his girlfriends instantly suffered in the media for appearing in public with him. He himself had declared that it was too high a price to pay!

Now, at least, along with Nina, David was feeling like a normal person like never before.