I knock on the bathroom door. "Nate, you've been in there for way too long. I have a date to get ready for."

"Well, I have a concert to get ready for." He opens the door, face flushed. "Does my hair look okay?"

I roll my eyes. "You look ravishing, your highness. Now move."

"Sully, this is important," he whines. "I have a really big solo tonight. I'm going to be in the very front." He drops his gaze. "Are you coming?"

"It's at eight, right?"

"Seven."

"Well, I'll see. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to comb my moustache." I push past him, waiting for the obligatory snarky comment. When nothing comes my way, I turn around to check on him. He's staring off into space, lost in thought. I snap my fingers by his ear. "Hello? Anybody in there?" Nate flinches and eyes shifting before refocusing on the ground. "Hey, you okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm just…" He exhales. "I'm just really nervous."

I sigh. I'm going to be so late… "You'll be fine. You've been practicing for months."

"But I've never played anything this hard. I just know I'm gonna mess it up."

"Oh, come on. You've gotta have faith." Nate nods, but he doesn't look like he believes me. "Listen, kid, if it makes you feel any better, I'll be there cheering you on, okay?"

He chuckles. "It's not a football game, Sully."

"Then I'll be silently staring you down. Now scram, I'm already late." I mess with his hair and he pushes me away, laughing.

"Now I have to redo it, asshole." He throws a fake punch at my shoulder.

"Well, you'll have to do it on your own time. Love waits for no man."

I toss my keys to the valet and run inside. I do a quick scan of the restaurant and make my way over to the woman in the revealing pink dress. She gives me a look as I sit down. "You're late."

"Sorry, Melissa. There was an 'emergency'." I use air quotes to describe Nate's much needed pep-talk.

"What kind of emergency?"

"I've, uh, got this kid that I take care of. He needed help getting dressed for his band concert tonight."

"Kid? How old?" Melissa looks mildly irritated. This is far from the beginning of our relationship and she's just now learning about Nate, so I guess she sorta has the right to be pissed.

"Eighteen," I answer truthfully. "He's graduating in a few months. He's not at the top of his class, but he worked hard for his diploma. He's incredibly smart, but he has a little trouble remembering to do his homework and we're not all blessed with math skills, you know?"

"Sure." She rips up a piece of bread absentmindedly.

I could talk about Nate for hours, but I can tell my prospects of going home with her are declining by the second. "Well enough about him, let's focus on us."

"Now, you're talking my language."

We lean across the table, lips almost touching, but my phone interrupts us. "Sorry," I say, looking at the screen. "I've gotta take this." I turn away from the table and answer, "Yes?"

"Sully, I forgot my music."

"So? Can't you drive home and get it yourself?"

"No, I've got to warm up with the band. It's on the side table beside my bed."

"Nate…"

"Please, please, please?"

I glance over at Melissa and sigh. "Fine. Give me thirty minutes."

"Thanks Sully, you're the best."

"I know." I hang up and start pushing my chair back. "Melissa, sorry to do this to you, but I've got to go. Nate forgot his music. You can come with me and listen to him play at his concert if you want."

"No, Victor. It's stay with me or go to the concert alone. I will not be anybody's second choice."

I give her a look. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well, that's easy." I stand up and make for the door. "Goodbye!" I call over my shoulder. I don't even need to look back to know her face is turning red with anger and embarrassment. The valet hasn't even parked my car yet, so I take my keys back and drive out.

It takes ten minutes to get to the apartment. I locate Nate's blue music folder in no time and head to the school. It takes a while to find a parking space. Once I do, I run inside and find my way backstage. I spot Nate near the door, looking fairly pale. He perks up when he sees me coming with the folder. "Here, kid. It's twenty minutes 'til curtain, so I don't know how much this'll help."

"Thanks." He opens it and scans the front page, then he sighs and slams it shut. "You know what? I've got this. I've had this piece memorized for three weeks now."

He hands the folder back to me and starts off towards the stage doors. "So you didn't need this?" I ask.

"No. I needed you in the audience." He flashes a smile and disappears.

I shake my head and find a seat way in the back of the auditorium as most of the seats are already taken. What, did these people tailgate or something? There's still twenty minutes before the concert starts and the place is already packed. While I wait, I flip through Nate's music. It blows my mind that these complex symbols can ever make sense to anyone. Then again, Nate's mastered three more languages in the four years I've known him. This is probably child's play compared to Mandarin.

The lights dim and the curtains slide open. Seventy something high school students sit on the stage, all either in tuxedoes or long black dresses. I spot Nate behind everyone, sitting at the large grand piano. The first few songs are boring. Beautiful, but boring. I mostly focus on Nate. He keeps wiping the sweat off his face. I know the stage lights are probably hot, but he's also very pale and gets more translucent with each song. He's gonna let his nerves get in the way.

Once the band starts changing the set, I stand up and head backstage again. I slip past the other band members and find Nate standing in the wings, wiping his hands on his jacket. "Hey, Nate," I say, tapping his shoulder.

"Sully? What are you doing back here?"

"I'm gonna watch you from the wings."

"Okay…" He shakes out his hands and takes shallow breaths.

I take hold of his face and force him to look me in the eye. "Listen to me." His eyes flit to the ground, so I shake his head to rattle his brain between my hands. "Hey, listen." Nate laughs and locks eyes with me. "You've got this. Say 'I've got this'."

"Sully…"

"Say it. I've got this."

"I've got this," he mumbles.

"Louder."

"I've got this."

"Louder."

"Sully, I can't yell-"

"Louder!"

"I've got this." He doesn't say it much louder, but something changes in his eyes. He's determined.

"And now, Mr. Nathan Drake playing George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'," announces the conductor.

"Go get 'em, tiger," I whisper, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Sully." He turns around and takes strong, confident steps on stage. He bows as the audience applauds him. In true Nate fashion, he smiles and waves them off as if saying "oh, please, you're too much". The audience eats it up, laughing even harder when he inevitably "gives in" and curtsies. Nate finally sits on the bench in front of the piano. He nods at the conductor and she raises her baton. A single clarinet slowly alternates between two notes, eventually climbing into a screech to herald the opening of the piece. Nate sits listening to the rest of the orchestra, hands resting on the keys. Suddenly, he takes a breath and he's off. His fingers glide over the instrument, playing solo for minutes at a time without hesitation.

A smile is frozen on my face for the entire piece. That's my kid. That's my kid. No one cheers louder than me when Nate takes his final bow. He walks off stage with a hesitant smile on his face. "So, how'd I do?"

"Incredible, Nate. Just… incredible. I had no idea you were that good."

"Yeah…" he blushes. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Of course, kid. I'm so proud of you."

The boy glows. "Aw shucks, Sully."

I chuckle and say, "Alright, time for a victory dinner. Where do you want to eat?"

"Um… Red Robin's?"

"Damn, you read my mind. I wanna catch the Jet's game."

We start for the car. "Oh, hey, how was your date?"

"I literally said like three sentences and then you called. But it's okay. She was a bitch."

"You always seem to attract the scum of the earth."

"Makes things more interesting," I shrug. "And it's not as if I'm looking for a wife, you know? Dating is just for fun."

"And for other things, if you know what I mean. Huh? Huh?" He pokes my ribs with his elbow, a stupid grin gracing his face. "Huh? Huh?"

"I got it, Nate. It's sex."