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"It's a lovely hue."
We walked arm in arm to the limo that waited on the curb outside the station and Reg drove us to Central Park.
"Why are we here?" she asked when we arrived across from the Ritz-Carlton. "Don't you live in Chelsea?"
"We're in for a real treat," I said and held up the Ritz-Carlton keycard Josh had given me before I left.
"What's that?" Steph asked, her mouth open. "Is that what I think it is? Is that a Ritz-Carlton room key?"
"The very thing." I handed it to her and she took it like it was something delicate and breakable.
"Oh, my God," Steph said and stroked it in mock-worship. She sniffed it and then rubbed it on her face. "It's the real deal. The Ritz."
"It is. We have a suite, with two bedrooms. Josh wants us to use the Spa and eat dinner in the restaurant and order in room service. The works."
"Seriously? I thought he'd resent me for coming down and horning in on you."
"Not at all. He said it would make him happy to think of us living it up."
"He is too sweet," Steph said. "I feel kinda bad, but I'll take it. I'll take it willingly."
We went inside and checked in, excited to have the suite to ourselves for three glorious days. We took the elevator up and walked down the hallway to our rooms, and both of us gasped when we saw the interior. I was familiar with the layout because of my previous stay with Josh, but Steph was totally impressed and turned in a huge circle, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Oh, my God, Ella -- it's amazing. I can't believe we have this to ourselves. What do we do first?"
"Whatever you want. We could just kick back and have a drink, watch a movie and gab. Whatever."
"That sounds perfect. How about we get a snack from room service, have a couple of drinks and you can fill me in on all the juicy details about Josh. I can't wait to meet him."
"He wants to meet you, too. He'll meet us for lunch or a drink tomorrow or Sunday, if you want."
"I want, I want. Maybe he has a brother who needs a wife? I'm on the market."
We both laughed and then set about to picking our rooms and getting our clothes and makeup and personal items out of our suitcases, so it felt more like home. When we were done, we went to the main living room, which was richly appointed in golds and dark brocade and flopped on the plush sofas. I ordered up some trays of appetizers from room service and we had drinks from the small bar fridge. Steph had a vodka cooler and I had a glass of white wine.
"To a girl's weekend," Steph said. "For two old friends lucky to have the chance to get together in such a posh place."
"To us," I said and clinked my glass against her bottle.
We talked for a while about Josh of course, for he was the most important event in my life since I left Concord and got my internship.
"I missed our girl talks with you gone and texting just doesn't cut it," Steph said. "So, is Josh better than Jerkface in the boyfriend department?"
"Much better. Like night and day. I never realized it, but Josh is just so much more laid back than Jerkface ever was. Jerkface was always so aware of how everything looked and what people could do or not do for him. I thought it was just ambition, but it was more -- it was a kind of narcissism. Josh is so different. He's really focused on his work, but he really wants to make The Chronicle a success. He's committed to journalism as an important part of American democracy and he wants to make sure the paper lives up to its former reputation."
"And he's good in bed?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"Steph!" I said with a laugh.
"You knew I'd ask. Come on -- fess up. He must be good in bed or you wouldn't stick around. Right?"
"He's more than good in bed," I admitted, smiling as I remembered our last session just hours earlier in the apartment. "He's fantastic i
n bed and out of it. In the shower, on the sofa, on the floor, on the desk in his office..."
"Ohh, you're getting in some hot office sex, are you?"
I grinned. "Yes. And it is hot. I never thought I'd enjoy risky sex, but I do. Even though I can lock my office door and he can his, there's always the chance that people will realize we're in the office doing it."
