AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, you almost overreacted.” The crowd had crossed the street and a new mob of pedestrians appeared.
“Bees leave marks. I can’t have a swollen face while I’m still shooting.”
I supposed blemishes were an occupational hazard in his industry. Another reason I was glad I decided not to be a model.
“I never knew you possessed such dramatic depth. Maybe you should’ve been an actor.”
Back to casually walking with his hands in his pockets, he admitted, “I’ve thought about it.”
I glanced at him and smirked. “Your performance back there was like a dramatization of Katniss Everdeen trying to escape the jabberjays in the Hunger Games.”
“All right. You’ve made your point.
I snickered, enjoying the ball-breaking banter we shared. I never had siblings and this felt nice. Easy. When we got to the Plaza I thanked him for such an enjoyable afternoon. “This was actually fun.”
“Yeah. You’re not so bad, Meyers. Call me if you want to do it again.”
When I reached the penthouse, I was relieved to have nothing on my schedule until tomorrow morning. I was well overdue for a pants-off weeknight, but then I thought about Percy. The man hid in corners like a stealthy little shadow. I dreaded him catching a glimpse of my hoo-ha or hiney, so I opted for keeping pants on but settled for my coziest leggings and a hoodie I snatched from Hale’s hamper. Not quite as liberating as no pants, but comforting for other reasons.
I put in a call to Elara, who didn’t have much interest in seeing me through a screen, but I still made Andrew hold the phone up to her for a good five minutes. I missed my bed and I missed my peanut. And I really missed Hale.
In for the night, I debated what to eat. While many people crossed state lines to dine at Manhattan restaurants, I really wasn’t much for fuss, so I settled for soft pretzels.
I rang for Percy and he was happy to see to my needs. “How many, madam?”
“Six should be good.”
“I’m sorry, did you say six?”
“I had a light lunch and I like to have leftovers.”
He made no further comment and returned a while later with my food. I couldn’t figure out the hotel remote, so I took my pretzels and iPad to the master bedroom and climbed into bed.
Glancing out at the glowing skyline as lights flicked on across the city, I noted how romantic everything looked from a distance. But without Hale to share such a view the reality just seemed covered in slush and pigeon shit. New York definitely hit differently with a buddy system. At the moment I was in a buddy recession.
I was also in need of sleep, because even I was getting on my nerves. Setting the iPad on what would have been Hale’s side of the bed, I shut my eyes and let Phoebe, Monica, and Chandler talk me to sleep.
Poor Chandler…
When I next opened my eyes, the screen was asking if I wanted to continue watching and the sky had faded from sapphire to pitch black. Realizing I was still in New York and estranged from my people, I flopped onto my back and groaned. Napping had not improved my mood. I knew then, I wanted to go home.
Reaching for my phone, I dug out another pretzel and called Hale. He answered on the second ring and, for once, we had a decent connection with no echo.
“Hey, beautiful.” He seemed to be handling this long-distance crap way better than me. “How’s it going?”
I took a bite of my pretzel. “Stupid. I miss you and Elara. Can I be done with wedding stuff for a while? It’s no fun doing these things without you.”
“I thought things were going well.”
“They are, but I’m ready to go home. I miss my regular life.”
He sighed. “I miss it too.”
I slid off the massive king size bed and went to my suitcase in the corner. I sure hoped Percy wasn’t around, because I stripped off my pants during my nap and I wasn’t in the mood to put them back on. “Did you talk to your brother?”
“I did yesterday. You were right. He’s pretty banged up over Elle.”
I stopped rummaging and stood up straight. “I don’t get it. She won’t talk to me about this and I don’t understand why she’d break up with him. She was obsessed with your brother long before ever meeting him. I thought they had something real.”
