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When we exit the restaurant and stop on the sidewalk, I reach over and take his hand.
His gaze darts to me, almost startled. He didn’t expect that.
I smile.
He won’t expect this, either.
Then I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him.
I don’t always kiss on the first date and Ineverinitiate, but on a typical first date, there’s no chance in hell he would have already been inside me multiple times, either.
This isn’t a typical anything, so I throw out the rulebook and navigate the whole night by instinct alone.
Once Calvin recovers from his surprise, he slides his arm around my waist and locks me against his body. A jolt of excitement shoots through me at the rough way he grabs me, then blossoms into warmth when his free hand comes up to caress my face.
He looks happy when he gazes down at me, and I really like knowing it’s a direct result of my actions.
I want things to keep going well, so I swallow nervously before I speak. I’m so unsure in these waters, I don’t know if my next words will rock the boat or not. “Can we walk to the theater? It’s not far from here, and I love walking through the city. With traffic, it would probably take just as long in the car.”
I watch his face carefully and pay close attention to his hands on my body to see if there’s any shift to indicate displeasure. There’s not, so I guess maybe that was okay.
Then he eliminates any hint of doubt when he says, “Of course. I’ll just text Hollis to let him know.”
Chapter Thirty Three
Hallie
I feel strangely accomplished and can’t hold back a smile as Calvin pulls out his phone to text Hollis.
I got my way, and all I had to do was ask sweetly. I file that information away for later, but I’m not sure I even need to. I’m acting on instinct, so if my instincts are leading me in the right direction, maybe the key is not overthinking it.
I stand there rocking on my heels and passively gazing at the tourists sitting on a bench across the street until he’s done. He puts his phone away immediately, and I loop an arm around his to keep him close as we walk. This part of West 52ndisn’t that busy, but that changes when we reach the light and have to turn.
As we’re walking, I point out the Ray’s Pizza across the street. “That’s the first place I ever ate in the city.”
He glances at the walk-in pizza place, then back at me. “Oh yeah?”
I nod. “Not even because it’s famous. I didn’t know that. My first trip here was with my mom. I’ve wanted to live in New York City since I was a little girl, but my mom is so not a city person. We only lived a couple of hours upstate, but we never visited. Well, after my stupid first love I told you about took a sledgehammer to my heart, I was miserable. Mom wanted so badly to make the hurt go away. Of course nothing could, but she knew how much I had always wanted to come here, so she got the idea to surprise me with a weekend trip to the city.” I smile at the memory of my first time walking these streets. “Since she had never been here herself, there was a lot she was unprepared for. Traffic getting into the city, first of all. We left the house two hours before we were supposed to check in because she didn’t want to get here early and not have anywhere to put our luggage, but then we ended up sitting in traffic at the tunnel for about 30 years, so by the time we got checked in and settled into our room, it was dark.”
“The city looks good in the dark,” Calvin remarks. “I’m sure it still made quite an impression.”
I nod my agreement. “For me, yes. My mom is also a more fearful person. One of the reasons she never wanted to come to the city is that she was convinced it was a dangerous place with muggers and bad guys around every corner. During the day she was okay with braving the city just the two of us, but at night, she was afraid to walk around in the dark.”
“Your father didn’t come?” he asks conversationally.
I shake my head. “He wasn’t around. He moved to Chicago when my mom was still pregnant with me. Anyway,” I say, glancing across the street before we pass it, “our hotel was in Times Square. It was dark, but we were starving and we needed to have dinner. I wanted to go there,” I say, pointing to a second story building with fire engine red windows andPlaywright Restaurantengraved on the sign hanging above them. “No particular reason, I just liked the name and thought it looked cool from the street. But as soon as we got inside and my mom saw the prices on the menu, her whole demeanor changed. Since she was a single mom, we always lived on a pretty tight budget. I wasn’t even sure where she found the money for a spontaneous weekend trip. I was ecstatic when I realized we were actually stayinginthe city because I figured she would want to stay outside the city to save money. The restaurant isn’t even that expensive, it’s pretty reasonable by New York City standards, but to her it was a lot and she had already splurged on the hotel. My mom’s a frugal woman; growing up, she always made me order water at restaurants because god forbid she have to overpay for a fountain drink. But I knew she wouldn’t tell me no even if she wasn’t comfortable with the prices because this trip was supposed to cheer me up, you know?”
He smiles faintly. He doesn’t say anything, butI think I see where this is goingis written all across his handsome face.
“So, I told her I changed my mind and we skipped out before the waitress came to take our order. Pizza by the slice seemed much more affordable, so we popped into Ray’s for a couple of slices instead.”
“Did you ever get to go?” he asks, nodding toward the restaurant.
I nod. “Yep. Charity took me there for dinner and drinks for my birthday a couple of years ago, then we went to see Wicked.”
“Good show.”
“Great show,” I agree.
