Glad to feel the warm rush of air as the gallery door opened, he held it open for Alex as she came in, rubbing at the soft sleeves of her jacket. Nodding to the young man near the wall taking coats, Nicolas handed his over, helping Alex to do the same with hers and taking the ticket so they could pick them up before leaving at the end of the night.

Each year near the end of autumn, the Vertigo Gallery was known to hold a lavish celebration and charity auction, that often included things like performers and some of the best food the city had to offer. The event was the highlight of the season before the holidays, and always one of the most talked about functions the remainder of the year. While Worick had managed to get Nicolas' work into the event once or twice before, having a slight history with donating artwork was hardly grounds to have them back the following year. Everyone who wished to donate or be a part of the festivities had to reapply each year to be considered, so if nothing else, it at least proved that while Worick could be easily distracted by a nice set of tits, he could still do his job as well.

As much as Nicolas didn't like being at all these crowded functions and shit, it had been a good chance to take Alex out, and the dress she had chosen that night only made dealing with such things so much easier. The dress itself hugged her delicate curves, the top bared one arm all the way up to the shoulder, while the other side fell in a loose bell before ending halfway down her forearm. At first glance the dress looked to be just plain, dark brown fabric, but as soon as she moved, it shimmered and sparkled ruby red, the fabric sliding and gently bouncing against her long legs when she walked. Thin strands of gold hung around her neck and wrist, her hair hanging free and framing her face. It had taken everything in him to actually bother still going out that evening, as all the warm colors and shining contrast of turquoise in her eyes just begged to be captured on canvas.

Too bad he had no choice but to show up for at least a little bit.

Smirking at her when she looked so excited at everything going on around them, he tensed when she reached out to take his hand, still more than a little nervous since this was the first official time they would be out together. Waving when he caught sight of a few people across the room, he followed her closely, amused when she stopped at the long refreshment table and picked up a drink for both of them and a small snack. [This place is so beautiful! I like the ice sculpture!]

[I guess it could be worse.]

[Not a fan of that kind of art?]

[Not that so much as I've always wanted to toss one out of a high window and watch it as it hit the pavement.]

Laughing at that, Alex sipped carefully from her drink, playfully hitting the side of his arm. "You're so mean! Someone went to a lot of trouble to make that ice sculpture, and all you can think of is how cool it would look when it shattered?"

[You can't convince me it wouldn't look amazing on impact.]

"You are a terrible man..."

[Yeah, that sounds right.] Taking a sip from the water she'd given him, he stilled as it seemed it was now noticed that they were there, Connie rushing over to give Alex a hug while being careful to not make her spill anything on her dress.

"Hey Al! Lookin' good! That dress looks amazing on you!"

"Mm, thanks Connie. So you made it in this year? Nicolas told me before we got here that the competition to display is really tough."

"Oh you better believe it! Worked my ass off on a new sculpture that would finally do the trick... and maybe I had a little help from Marco..."

"Ooh, that's a bad Connie... You said you wouldn't do that!"

"Yeah well once isn't gonna kill me, right?"

[It might.]

Alex shook her head with a wide smile as she sipped from her glass, her free hand drifting down and behind immediate view to slip her fingers between Nicolas', feeling a little unsure of herself even among friends. Even being around people she knew, it was still a bit intimidating being at such an exclusive event. She'd never done anything like it before, only ever seeing such things in magazines and tv shows, never even daring to dream that one day she might be able to attend.

Being there with her made attending the function a little easier, though he still would have preferred staying home or basically doing just about anything else. Feeling her fingers slip between his helped, and when the event went into full swing and the various pieces were brought up for auction, he was pleased that his had managed to get a good price before finally being sold. Despite seeing a small cut from the profit for the trouble, nearly everything else from the sale went toward charity, which was always a good thing when it worked out that way.

Nicolas was grateful that Worick had been able to make it as well, though he wasn't surprised considering all the women. The chances of him leaving the property alone were practically nonexistent, let alone how many he may join up with in whatever closets or bathrooms he could as well. Whatever worked as far as Nicolas was concerned. His work got more exposure, and Worick got to bury himself in whatever influential woman he could talk into a dark corner. Everybody wins.

Glancing over to Alex as she spoke with Connie and another patron, Nic smirked to himself at how much happier she seemed lately. She still had those nights where the nightmares would wake her up, or times when she would have a sudden anxiety attack, but the more time that was put between her and her ex at the very least appeared to be helping. Not being judged whenever she had an appointment with Theo also seemed to do a lot as well, and Nina's visits to just hang out or learning to cook was definitely a good distraction. Of course, he knew he couldn't banish all of her demons, but from what she said, just being there was more than enough to help ground her back in reality enough to ward things off again.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned and nodded to the gallery's owner, Mr. Christiano. "Nicolas! Good to see you made the cut this year! And all without bribing me too..."

[Don't say that shit so loud. I'm not that much of a fuckin' hack.]

"Oh, I know. I could tell from just a peek at your submissions. People can fake a lot of things, but raw talent ain't one of them!"

[How uplifting of you.]

"Isn't it? Anyway, I had nothing to do with choosing the submissions this year. Everything was screened by my little angel!" Nearly having to take a step back at how quickly the man dragged over his daughter Loretta, he couldn't say he didn't feel for the poor girl. At times, being so adored by her father must be exhausting. "My sweet Loretta! She's so smart and beautiful, just like her mother!"

"Ugh, dad!"

Shaking his head at the poor girl, Nicolas raised his glass to her, [Stronger woman than I am.]

"Well I should hope so..."

[Last I checked anyway.] Chuckling low in his throat at the exaggerated eye roll from the young girl, he excused himself when it seemed that people were being drawn toward the stage for the auction, finding Alex next to Worick and taking a seat as the other man leaned back in his chair and sipped at his drink. [You already calculating our values?]

"You know it, Nic. I checked with the staff earlier about the opening base figures for your stuff, and made sure of the percentage cuts we'd get. Your stuff did well last time, so this should go well."

[I like eating and a roof over my head.]

"Don't we all?"

When the lights lowered, Nicolas took out his phone and began playing a game, unable to really keep up with how quickly parts of the auction went and not even wanting to bother trying. At some point Alex was quietly helping him with some of the puzzles, more than happy to shift slightly toward her so she could see the screen better. The auction portion seemed to drag on forever, Nicolas yawning widely when the house lights finally came back up and everyone began milling about to either head over to finalize their purchases or say their farewells for the evening.

Standing with a long stretch, he helped Alex from her seat and glanced over to Worick as she made sure she would be ready to go. [How'd we do?]

"Made a killing this year. If you and Ally wanna head out, I can take care of all the red tape."

[We do well enough to maybe garner some favor for next year, or will that come later with closet fucking Rosita?]

"Man-! You know it's not always gonna be hindering on who I can fuck in the coat closet right?"

[If I find out you're just doing all that for fun, maybe I'm not working you hard enough.]

"Fuck you, you know I'm great on and off my feet."

[I only know one of those and I'd like to keep it that way.] Smirking widely at the middle finger pointed his way, Nicolas turned and pouted at the look on Alex's face, sticking his tongue out at her and playfully turning her to walk toward the door. Picking up their coats, one of the young attendants flagged down a taxi for them at the entrance, grunting a quiet thanks as he waited for Alex to get in first and be on their way.

Getting back to his place, it felt good to close and lock the door for the night, leaning back against the door and letting out a breath as his eyes closed. Nicolas never liked crowds, and nothing good ever came of them either. They made it too easy for nearly everything possible to go wrong, no matter what the cause behind them, be it violence or harsh words or otherwise. At least Alex was able to make it through without needing her anxiety pills.

He smirked when he felt cool fingernails lightly skimming across his cheeks, cracking open his eyes and bringing up his hands between them. [Stalker...]

"And how exactly would you figure that, Mr. Brown?"

[I don't remember inviting you over.]

"I don't recall you doing it ever. These things just sort of happen like this..."

[So you're a serial stalker then. Should I be worried this'll turn into a Stephen King situation?]

"I don't recall Stephen King ever writing erotic novels."

[Maybe nothing that was ever published...]

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

[You would definitely be the first.]

"Good to know." His smirk grew wider as she pushed his hands away and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips and pulling him deeper into his apartment by the lapels on his jacket.