"So you're taking Demi out to dinner?" Joe wonders later the next night, leaning against the door to the bathroom as he watches Nick get ready.
Nick nods. "Yep," he answers, looking in the mirror as he straightens his tie. "I totally forgot it was Valentine's Day since I've never celebrated before. So I want to make this Valentine's Day special for Demi since she deserves that."
"Are you expecting anything to happen at the end of this date?" Joe speaks up after a second.
Nick glances at Joe before looking back at the mirror. "What do you mean? Like...sex?"
Joe nods. "Yeah," he replies. "Like sex."
Nick shakes his head. "No–" he starts.
Joe cuts him off. "Oh, come on!" he says. Nick looks at him again. "Valentine's Day is, like, the day to get laid."
Nick frowns a little. "How would you know? You're a virgin."
"It's common sense, really. And..." He stops and bites his lip. "I'm not a virgin," he continues quietly.
Nick turns to Joe once more, his eyes wide with shock. "You're not?" he wonders incredulous. "But I thought you were waiting for the right person—like me. You obviously haven't found the right person if you're not with her right now."
Joe sighs heavily, walking into the bathroom and sitting on the edge of the bathtub, looking down at his hands. He doesn't say anything for a long time, and Nick doesn't push. Eventually, Joe lifts his head to look Nick in the eye.
"You remember that party I went to when I was fifteen?" he says. "I ended up drinking a lot—it was the first time I ever got drunk?" Nick nods his head silently. "Well...the next morning, I woke up—in bed—next to a girl I didn't know. I vaguely remembered her from the party the night before, and about a week later, I remembered bits and pieces of what the girl and I did." He looks back down at his hands again. "I regretted it, and I hated myself for it. I mean, I didn't even know the girl! And I had sex with her! I still get mad at myself when I think about it."
"So that's why you don't wear your ring anymore," Nick murmurs quietly, gazing at Joe's ring finger on his left hand for a second.
Joe nods sadly. "I haven't slept with anyone else since then," he goes on. "I made a vow to myself that the next girl I had sex with—the next girl I made love to—would be the girl I was going to spend the rest of my life with."
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over what happened at that party, bro," Nick says, kneeling down in front of Joe, looking up at him. "You were drunk, you had no control over anything. You were fifteen, you made a stupid decision, but it's okay. She didn't end up pregnant." He stops then, looking up at Joe again. "Did she?"
Joe starts to shake his head, but then stops and shrugs. "I don't know," he admits. "She didn't go to the high school, so I honestly don't know."
"Did you use protection?" Nick asks then.
"I don't know," Joe says again. "I can't remember."
Nick stands up and squeezes Joe's shoulder, going back to the sink, looking back in the mirror. "It's okay," he says matter-of-factly. He runs a hand through his hair and pushes a lone curl back but a second later it falls down in front of his left eye again. He groans and gives up, turning back to Joe. "Okay," he says, trying to lighten the mood. "Be honest. What do you think?"
"I think you need a haircut," Joe jokes, causing Nick to roll his eyes.
"Come on, Joe, seriously. I want Demi to like me. What do you think, seriously? Do I look okay?"
"Bro." Joe stands up and walks over to Nick, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Demi already loves you for you. What you wear is going to be the furthest thing from her mind." Nick starts to say something so Joe sighs. "Yes, okay? You look awesome."
"Really?" Nick presses. "Or are you just saying that because you're my brother?"
"Nick." Joe sighs again, heavily. "You really do look awesome, okay? But I stand by what I said. She's not going to care about the clothes you're wearing. She's only going to care about spending the night, about going on a date, with you." He pauses for a second. "Let me make you guys dinner."
"What?" Nick wonders. "You want to make us dinner?"
Joe nods. "Yeah. I saw a door leading up to the roof, and I'm pretty sure it's not locked. I can set up a table and chairs and I can make you guys a really nice dinner."
Nick bites his lip. "I don't know, Joe," he starts.
"Come on! You love my cooking. You even said my chicken parm was the best chicken parm you've ever had."
"That's true," Nick agrees. "You are a pretty amazing chef."
"A pretty amazing chef? Dude, I'm the best chef!"
"And so modest, too," Nick says with a chuckle. "But okay, I'd really like that. Thank you."
Joe smiles. "You're welcome." He squeezes Nick's shoulder and turns to walk out of the small, cramped hotel bathroom but Nick's voice makes him stop.
"Hey, who were you on the phone with earlier?"
Joe frowns a little, confused. "When?"
"Earlier," Nick repeats. "When you picked me up from the rehab center. You were on the phone with someone but as soon as you stopped the car and I got in, you hung up really fast. Who was it? I've been meaning to ask you."
"Oh," Joe says, turning back to Nick. "Um...it was no one."
"Wrong answer," Nick says, shaking his head. "Try again."
"Um," Joe says. "It was...Mom?"
"Nope. Keep going."
"It was...a wrong number?"
"Dude." Nick sighs in frustration. "I know it wasn't no one, or Mom, or a wrong number. Why won't you tell me who it was?"
"Because," Joe starts, and then sighs. "I don't know. I just don't want you to know."
"Why not?"
Joe looks passed Nick and sighs once more. "It was AJ," he finally admits. "I was talking to AJ."
Nick's eyes widen. "AJ, the girl who cheated on you, AJ? AJ, the girl you still love, AJ? AJ, the girl you want to get back together with, AJ? AJ, the girl–"
"Yes, okay?" Joe snaps at him. "It's that AJ."
"What did she want?" Nick wonders, unfazed by Joe's outburst.
"She wants to work things out," Joe replies, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. "She wanted to talk about getting back together. She was bummed when I told her I was in California with you but I told her that we'd talk again—in person—as soon as I got home."
"So...what? You're getting back together?"
Joe nods. "Nick," he says, and then pauses. Then he smiles more. "I think she's the right girl. The one I've been waiting for."
Nick smiles too. "Then I'm happy for you. And just think, I'll be an uncle!"
"Yeah," Joe says, "yeah, I guess you will be. And I'll be a father. Not biologically, obviously, but I'm going to raise that baby like it's my own."
"You're going to be a great dad," Nick tells him truthfully.
Joe smiles again. "Thank you," he says sincerely. He reaches into his pocket and hands Nick the keys to the rental car. "I'll set everything up, you go get Demi."
Nick nods, taking the keys from Joe. "Thank you!" he says, rushing passed Joe and grabbing his jacket, hurrying out the door and to the car.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Nick starts, holding a single red rose in his hand, the minute Demi opens the door. But the words get stuck in his throat as he takes in Demi's appearance. "Whoa," he murmurs.
Demi bites her lip and looks down. "Whoa?" she repeats. "Is that a good whoa?"
Nick nods but is still unable to say anything more than "Whoa."
Demi's face gets red and she takes a step back from him. "Stop staring at me like that," she pleads. When Nick doesn't, she snaps her fingers. "Nick!"
Nick blinks and finally focuses on her face. "What?" he asks. "Oh...oh, sorry. It's just...you looks so beautiful, Dem. I've never seen you look like this before. I mean, not that you don't always look beautiful. You just look...extra beautiful tonight."
"Thank you," Demi replies shyly, taking the rose Nick's holding out for her. "You look very handsome yourself."
"Thank you," Nick echoes, holding out his arm for her. "Shall we go, my lady?"
Demi giggles. "That was cheesy," she says, taking his arm, "but so cute."
"So where are we going?" Demi asks as Nick helps her into the car.
Nick gets in himself and starts the engine, pulling out of his spot. "You'll see," he says, flashing Demi a smile.
Demi smiles, too, until they get to the hotel. She sits up straight and tenses up.
"A hotel?" Demi glances at Nick, wary. "Why are we at a hotel?"
Nick turns off the car and looks at Demi. "My brother made us dinner," he says. "He set up a table and chairs and everything on the roof of the hotel." He frowns when he sees the look on her face. "Demi," he says quietly, reaching for her hand. But she pulls it out of his reach. "What's the matter?"
"My father..." She swallows hard, still staring out at the hotel. "When you—when you said my father pimped me out, you weren't wrong."
Nick's eyes widen once more. "What are you saying, Demi?"
Demi turns her head to look at him, her lip trembling. Nick knows she's about to start crying any minute but he also knows that touching her, trying to hold her, will be the wrong thing to do.
"He..." Again she stops, forcing her tears back. "He took—he took me to hotels, and I—I had to have—to have sex with the guys he brought there. You were right. He—he pimped me out and made me do things with—with guys, a lot of guys. He–"
Nick shakes his head, cutting her off. "Hey," he says. "You trust me, right?"
Demi bites her lip but nods. "Yes," she says, "I do."
"It's going to be okay. We won't even go in the room, okay? We'll just go straight up to the roof. It's going to be okay, I promise."
Demi takes a deep breath and nods again. Nick gets out of the car and opens the door for her, grabbing her hand and helping her out.
"So, you're brother made us dinner, huh?" Demi wonders as they walk into the hotel, trying to swallow down her nervousness. "How'd you rope him into doing that?"
"He actually offered," Nick replies as they walk to the elevator, pressing the button to go up. "I was just as surprised as you are now. But don't worry, my brother is a seriously incredible cook. You'll love his food."
Demi smiles up at him. "I'm sure I will. Any food has to be better than the food they serve in rehab." She giggles softly, leaning into Nick. He slips an arm around her and she tenses up for a second before relaxing against him.
Nick kisses the top of her head and Demi smiles against his chest, bringing her arms around him, too.
"I'm having an amazing night," she murmurs quietly.
Nick chuckles. "We haven't even had dinner yet," he reminds her.
"No, I know, but it's been amazing," she replies, looking up at him and smiling. "Just being with you has been amazing."
"That was cheesy," Nick tells her, repeating what she told him earlier, "but so cute." Demi giggles as he leans down and kisses her nose. "But it's been an amazing night for me, too."
"It has?" Demi wonders as the elevator doors open.
Nick nods, pulling away from Demi for a second so they can go in. He presses the button for his floor and then puts his arms around her again.
"Yeah," he says, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I've never celebrated Valentine's Day before—and I'm guessing you never have, either." Demi shakes her head, laying her body against Nick's and closing her eyes. "I'm glad that we can both celebrate our first Valentine's Days...together."
Demi smiles against Nick's chest, too content to say anything.
"Hey, Dem, can I ask you something?" Nick asks suddenly.
"Mhm," Demi replies, her eyes still closed.
Nick bites his lip slightly, hesitating a second before finally asking, "Why do you trust me?"
Demi furrows her brow and looks up at him. Nick looks down at her, their faces just barely an inch apart.
"What do you mean?" she wonders confused. "What do you mean, why do I trust you?"
"Just that," Nick replies. "Why do you trust me? I mean, you told me yourself that you've spent your whole life trusting no one but yourself. But you trust me. Why?"
Demi sighs quietly and the shrugs. "I don't know," she answers truthfully. "I don't know why I trust you. I just do."
"But there has to be a reason–" Nick starts. Demi cuts him off.
"Yes, there is a reason," she tells him. "But I can't explain it. I mean, how do you explain that I feel like I've known you my whole life? Or that when I look into your eyes, I know that you'll never hurt me, even though I've spent the last seventeen years convincing myself that everyone will hurt me? I see a sweetness in you, Nick. A beautifulness."
"I don't think that's a word," Nick jokes. Demi rolls her eyes and starts to pull away from Nick but he tightens his arms around her so she can't. "I love that you know I'll never hurt you," he murmurs, his mouth by her ear. Demi shivers slightly. "And I love that you can see those things in me, because sometimes...sometimes I can't. So sometimes I'll need you to remind me about that. Can you do that?"
Demi nods, smiling up at him. "I can do that," she agrees. She looks up at him and bites her lip slightly before standing on her tip-toes and kissing him lightly on the lips.