When we heard about the party it actually sounded like a good time: good food, free drinks, and a nice room to for some great sex afterwards. Nick and I decided to bring it up a notch and even reserved one of the suites with a hot tub to get all hot and slippery in. No one except Char knew about our relationship, or whatever you want to call it, and we figured we could just say that we were sharing a double room to save money.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if all of our plans had been ruined not long before the night came. Nick had been recruited by a different company and he had been considering it. It required him to move to Boston and wasn't something he could pass up, if he got it—it was a big step up.
They had let us know a little over a month in advance about the party so everyone could make the reservations and whatnot. At that time, Nick had only just been told he would be given what would most likely be a lengthy interview process, so there was no real reason to not plan for it. The thing was that Nick absolutely kicked ass right off the bat, and they hired him on the spot. He was understandably excited as he told me about it at his apartment:
"So when do you start?" I asked, trying to conceal my slightly selfish disappointment and keep from dampening his spirits.
"In two weeks!"
"Two weeks? ...That soon?"
"Yep! They want me up there as soon as I can be—I gave my notice today."
"Wow!"
Nick began to pick up on my vibe. "Hey... It's not like will never see each other again."
"You're right, I'm sorry. I really am happy for you, it's just... I'm going to miss you."
"What? You still have Char to talk to at work," he joked, poking me in the side.
"You know what I mean," I replied, finally cracking a smile.
"That's better," he grinned back, "and I'll miss you, too."
We hugged tightly and I began to feel a lot better. "Okay, then! It is Friday night after all—we should go out and celebrate."
"Absolutely, we should!" Nick cheered.
"Well, it's your night, what do you want to do?"
He thought about it for a few moments. "How about dinner at a nice place?"
"I love it—and maybe some dancing afterwards...?"
"We'll see about that." Nick wasn't a big fan of dancing, so I was surprised to hear him even entertain the idea.
We decided to open a bottle of wine and have a few drinks first. It was still a touch early for dinner and it gave us a chance to pick out a restaurant as well as him being able to tell me more about his new job. I won't bore you with all the details, but it was a tech startup that he was going to and he was going to be their V.P. of marketing—the man was talented.
Three glasses later, and we were ready to get a move on.
"We should get a cab," Nick suggested.
"Good idea—the wine's going down pretty damn smoothly."
"You Wisconsin boys!"
"Hey," I rebuttal sardonically, "it's my culture."
"So sorry," Nick laughed. "How about you arrange a cab, and I'll go find us something to wear?"
"Perfect."
I was certainly not dressed for someplace nice but luckily Nick and I were close enough to the same size that I could wear his clothes. By the time I had arranged for a cab, he came out of his bedroom holding up two different outfits. "What'da think?"
I looked them over a couple of times. "I'll go with the white button-up and khakis—you should wear the blue sweater and black pants."
"Good choice."
Nick always looked amazing in blue. "I know."
"Did you get a cab?"
"Yeah, it'll be here in about fifteen minutes."
"Great! One more glass of wine while we get dressed, then."
About a half hour later we were at the best restaurant in town: not too extravagant, but still very good with amazing food. A whole bottle of wine went down between us as we ate, and Nick was getting more and more jovial as the night went on.
"So, how about some dancing, now?" I asked after the check came.
"Let's do it!" he practically sang out.
He seemed incredibly excited about the idea, and I could hardly believe it.
"Awesome! So where to?"
Nick got a gleam in his eye and then lowered his voice. "I've actually heard about a new place... Not exactly a gay club, but from my understanding, we won't get beaten up there for dancing together."
"I like the sound of that—especially the not getting beaten up part. Where's it at?"
"It's in Ashland." This is the next town over.