If there’s time, I’d also love to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but I’d better do that tomorrow to make sure I enjoy their collection to the fullest. It’ll be difficult to fit all of them into my schedule, but it’s not like I have anyone holding me back.
Last night, I had a shower and went straight to bed, exhausted by a day full of surprises, the biggest one being meeting Adam, a man that I keep thinking about even though we only met each other yesterday, during the flight. He was the one that got the ticket Ray threw away just to fuck that skinny bitch.
I take a deep breath and try to calm down. “Not again, Georgia. He won’t spoil your holidays as well. You’re here now. You better enjoy it,” I mutter to myself. I’ve spent enough of my time thinking about that asshole. Today it’s all about me. Not destiny, not cheating; pure Georgia.
After checking my outfit and makeup in the mirror one last time, I head for the door. I grab my purse and keys to the room and turn the doorknob to open it. Doing so, I notice Adam’s door opposite mine. I stand for a moment, waiting for something to happen, for destiny to give me another sign that Adam might be something special.
But after five minutes of utter humiliation, I start down the hallway, heading towards the elevator. I’m not one to wait for destiny to do the work for me. If it’s fated for us to meet again, it’ll happen. And waiting outside his door like that certainly isn’t my style. So, with my head held high and my sunglasses in my hands, I’m off to a new adventure.
The hallway of the hotel has the typical musty scent spiced with air fresheners. It’s not bad, certainly something you would expect for a medium-range hotel. On the upper side, the room was clean and breakfast is also included in the price. I’ll probably grab something on the road because I’m in a hurry today, but it’s nice to know I have that option.
When in front of the elevator, I push the button and bring out my cellphone to check my messages. My sister has commented on a photo I took during the taxi drive last night and many of my friends have interacted with my post. While replying to her comment, the doors to the elevator open to reveal an empty room. I walk in and incidentally raise my head and stare down the hallway.
I barely spot the figure of a man rushing towards me. Without thinking about it too much, I stretch my hand to stop the elevator doors from closing. It’s the polite thing to do after all and I’m in a good mood today.
Only after the man has walked in the elevator, I realize who was it. I shot my head up and stare at Adam, the black-haired man from yesterday. Instead of getting shocked this time, I chuckle and put my hand on my face.
Adam smiles as well. “So, we keep meeting each other.” He stops talking but it seems he’s holding back from saying something else he has in his mind.
I don’t have to think long to know. “Don’t you dare say it,” I advise him while still laughing.
“No, no. I won’t. But still, you have to admit that for the duration of this trip, we’re bound to stay together.”
I have already pushed the button to the ground floor and after a short bump, we start moving. God, he’s so charming. How can I resist him?
“You said it then,” I reply to him. And it’s then that I get a great idea. “Well, let’s just help destiny by sticking together for the day. What do you say? I’m heading to Empire State Building now. Are you coming with me?”
For the first time since this farce started, Adam is the one that seems stunned instead of me. Did I overstep my boundaries? Did I say something wrong? God, I hope I didn’t, not after I worked up the courage to invite him with me.
“In fact, I was heading there myself now. It’s the first place I wanted to visit today,” he says, talking slowly.
“Okay, that’s even creepier. So, we would have met again on the observatory if we timed our visits well.” I take up a moment to think before continuing. “All the more reason we should stick together for the day. I’m funny, don’t worry. I’ll keep you good company.”
What are you doing, Georgia? If you continue like that, Adam will think you’re desperate for his company. Or even worse; he’ll think you’re hitting on him. Aren’t I? Should I? What the hell?
“Okay. It’s not like I have someone waiting for me. Let’s spend the day together. After all, I’m not sure we have a choice in the matter,” he says.
At the exact same time, the elevator stops and the metal doors slide to reveal a busy reception lobby. We mingle with the crowd and head towards the exit. I’m not sure what has happened in there, but it turns out I ended up with Adam as my partner for the day. My stomach is tied in a thousand knots and my knees are trembling. Here I am, hoping it’s excitement for visiting New York and not another meaningless infatuation.
Either way, it’s one day. What harm can one day do to both of us?
***
We don’t talk much throughout our short walk to the entrance of the Empire State Building. We decided to use the subway to get to the 5th Avenue number 347, but after getting out, we decide to head to the Statue of Liberty marina by taxi. It was a different experience riding the underground train, but using a taxi will give us more time to enjoy the sights.
We’re walking side by side, but it’s like we’re two strangers. Well, we are two strangers, but I thought if I were out here with someone else, we wouldn't have any trouble finding things to say. I was wrong. I keep finding different things to see out on the street, but Adam seems distant like he would rather take this trip alone or with someone else.
Maybe his girlfriend cheated on him as well. Who knows? I only want to have fun, and walking to a city full of skyscrapers like New York helps inflict me a feeling of awe I’ve never felt again. It doesn’t matter Adam isn’t the talkative guy. We’re in this together for the day and I’ll do everything I can to have some fun in the meantime.
I bring out my cell phone and start taking selfies of me on the road, walking. Adam seems to notice me but the only thing he does is share a smile with me. I take photos of the big buildings around me until, unconsciously, I take a photo of Adam walking by the road. He seems surprised but doesn’t stop me from doing it.
After I take his photo, I rush to his side. “Here, check it out. You look great,” I say.
He leans over me (I hate it because he reminds me of Ray; he was doing that as well) and nods. “It’s great, but it feels a bit...empty. You know. Why don’t we take a photo together in front of the Empire State building? We’re here.”
I raise my head and see the emblematic building towering above me. I gawp at it.
“It’s so tall,” I mumble, mostly to myself.
Still, Adam replies to me. “Did you know it’s one of the five, tallest buildings in the States? And among the top 30 ones worldwide? It sure puts things in...perspective,” he says and his eyes once again trail away.
No, not now that you have started opening up. “Here, let’s take that photo. Do you think you can use your hand because I’m...too short?” I feel my cheeks flushing after saying that.
He smiles. “Sure, no problem at all. Where do you want to do it?”
“I think we’re perfect here,” I say and take a pose in front of the Empire State Building.
“Okay, so, are you ready?” he says a moment later. I raise my head and look at him, the tip of his tongue showing on the edge of his mouth, trying to take a good picture.
He looks so sexy in a vulnerable way doing it. I can’t help but think how Adam would fair in bed.
“Smile in three, two, one,” he says.
Hastily, I turn my head and stare at the camera with a big smile on my face. He does the same.
“That was it then. What do you say we get inside? A line has started forming,” he says, this time waiting for a reply.
I nod and take my phone back from his hands. I check the photo before continuing. Somehow, we both gave our all, and it looks amazing. It gives off the feeling we’ve been dating for many years.
Dating and sleeping together...and
belonging to each other’s life.
God, why do I have to make things so difficult?
Chapter 4
We are on our way back from Liberty Island. It’s late in the afternoon and the sun has already set. It’s cold and only now I realize I haven’t been properly dressed for a whole day of sightseeing. However, after our rocky start outside of the Empire State Building, things have begun to heat between us.
We haven’t shared any personal information yet; we mostly discuss the things we see. Architecture and modern art seem to interest both of us. For once, unlike Ray, I have someone I can make interesting discussions about fashion, art, and movies. And only now I discover how much I’ve been missing having a person around that can keep up with my way of thought.
Still, there are certain moments during our journey that Adam seems to space off and withdraw back to who he was before, and honestly, I’m trying my best to allow him some space to go through with it by himself. I don’t know what’s going inside his head, but it must be worse than a cheating girlfriend.
Seeing him staring at the lighted up buildings in the distance, I want to do something to comfort him, to help him the same way he has helped me. But, at the same time, all that mystery and the stoic behavior turns me on. He seems so mature, so over his age; I want to see him lusting for me, to make him want my body.
But, on the other hand, Adam doesn’t seem like the one-night stand kind of man, and I’m certainly not ready to proceed into another relationship so soon after getting out of a dysfunctional one. Even if I did aim to end up going out with him, I have no idea where he’s from. Flicks should remain ephemeral or else they might turn into nightmares.
“You’re not here,” Adam suddenly says, addressing me.
“Excuse me?” My reply is mostly a reflex; I’ve heard what he said.
“You’re off somewhere far from here. I was wondering what is that gets a pretty girl like you trouble her head so much.”
We’re still on the ferry taking us back on the shore. We have some time before getting into a taxi and back to the hotel. Somehow, I don’t feel like sharing my thoughts with him now, not so close after the perfect day with a perfect stranger is over. And yet, the way his eyes search for meaning inside mine destroy my defenses. He has been kind with me the whole time; I think I want to return his favor.
“You’re right. There is something troubling me. I was just hoping I would be able to run away from it during my trip here,” I reply.
“Oh. I’m so sorry then. I didn’t want--”
“No, no. Don’t worry. I’m not a delicate snowflake, Adam. I can stand talking about it...if it’s with you. But it’s not a pretty story. That’s all.”
We are walking to the edge of the ferry’s rails; we both cross our hands and lay on them. There is no one else around us and without realizing it we’ve gotten pretty close to each other. Our elbows and side arms are touching.
Adam’s attention is focused entirely on me. His eyes give me a warm feeling in the stomach, one that provides me with the courage to start talking.
“I’ve been with a guy for almost two years. We had planned to take this trip together for our anniversary of two years. I’ve never been to New York, but his job had brought him here many times in the past. So, we always talked about the things we would do on our trip. He wanted to show me the Empire State Building, to walk down the Broadway, and take me to the Times Square by night and photograph me like a movie star. I couldn’t wait for it and he seemed like he couldn’t either.”
I pause for a moment; this is the first time I make a recap of my relationship with Ray after everything that has happened. It doesn’t hurt like before; the pain has turned into a numbing sensation, a gripping of the stomach. Actually, talking about it to Adam makes me feel better.
I breathe in and continue. “I don’t know when it started, but he...well, he has been cheating on me. I don’t want to be all dramatic about it, but looking back at our relationship, he must have never been loyal to me. Nevertheless, we went to the trouble of booking a hotel and buying tickets for our trip, only for me to catch him fucking another woman in my apartment two days before the flight.”
I slow down to watch Adam’s reaction. He arches his eyebrows, but in the end, he doesn’t look all that much surprised.
“What did you do next?” he says, having taken an interest in my story.
“Well, I wanted to take a kitchen knife and shove it up his ass and skin that bitch alive, but I’m not a murderer, and I wouldn’t like to spend the rest of my life in a prison cell because of that asshole. I just...walked away. I turned my back and headed to my sister’s apartment. I couldn’t even take it to myself to visit my own apartment since that day. I sent my sister to grab some things for me. It has been a disaster,” I conclude.
“That’s tough. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you remember all these things,” he says.
I want to say something to him, to assure him that I’m doing great and there’s nothing wrong with me, but I can’t talk. I understand that saying those things to him would be lying, and for once, I don’t want to do the same thing Ray did to me.
By the time I’ve ended telling my story, the ferry has arrived mainland. The blood is pumping in my ears making them hum. It feels like I don’t want to leave - like I’d rather stay here and make this trip a thousand times than disembark and head to the hotel.
Doing so would mean that my time with Adam would be over and that I would have to return to my sad excuse of a life thinking how stupid I was falling for Ray. I don’t want to. There’s still time to spare; there are still many places I’d like to go. Maybe if...
“I want to do something to cheer you up,” Adam says.
“Uh...you have probably misunderstood. I don’t feel down. I’m...okay,” I reply.
Liar; just a moment ago you wanted the same thing. What changed?
“I won’t take no for an answer. It’s my fault; I got you talking about the story of your life. Now I want to do something to make you feel better.”
That’s it. That’s why I don’t want to follow him. I don’t want to go out with someone just because he’s feeling sorry for me. That would make me feel even worse than before. And that’s a lot coming from a woman who has been cheated on half a week ago.
“I’m sorry, Adam, but you really don’t have to do anything. Spending the day with you was more than enough to make me feel better. Thank you,” I say and start for the exit.
I’m off a couple steps when I feel him next to me. I tilt my head back and watch him; for some reason, he seems determined. “What?” I say.
“What?”
“What do you have on your mind?”
“I told you, Georgia, I won’t take no for an answer. Either you come with me or you want to return back to the hotel, I’ll find a way for you to trust me.”
I gape at him when he says that. So, it wasn’t a pity? He just wants me to trust him? Why didn’t he say so right at the start?
“Okay. I’ll trust you. I’ll come with you. With one condition.” I raise my index finger at him. “You will tell me what has been bothering you.”
His smile fades at once. He didn’t expect me to ask him that; he probably didn’t expect me to have noticed it at all. But here I am now, wanting to know more about a man that I’ll probably never meet again after tonight. He hasn’t said anything, but I kind of know. Being here, in this city, is hurting him. He doesn’t want to say it, but he’ll probably leave tomorrow.
Throughout the day, he hasn’t talked about what he’ll do tomorrow, and the only time I asked him straight away, he replied to me with a shrug. If I’m to trust him, then I must see he can let out some of his secrets too.
“Alright. I guess it’s only fair. But you’re driving a hard bargain, Georgia. I hope you can handle my end of the deal,” he says and chooses one of the last taxis and walks towards it.
Once again, he has left me standing behind, wondering how it’s possibl
e for a total stranger like him to keep surprising me like that. I don’t like how my trip ended up having to do about Adam and his life, but what it’s done, it’s done. Pondering about it does me no good.
I follow him close behind, thinking for the first time that I have no idea where he’s taking me. He has already given the taxi driver the instructions and all that remains is for me to get inside. When I do, Adam is standing on the other side of the taxi, staring into the distance.
Maybe I went too far?
***
“We are here,” the taxi driver suddenly breaks the awkward silence in the car.
Big Bad Billionaires [Volume 2] Page 19
