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He laughed, and his fingers grazed my face, lifting the fabric away from my eyes.
It had been dusk when he had picked me up, but the sun had fully set in the time it had taken for us to get to Queens from wherever we were now.
But despite the night, the lights from the buildings around us were bright enough that it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
When they did, however, amazement flickered through me as I stared at the large, white stone building in front of us.
I tried not to gape as I took in the familiar white columns, the giant, sprawling steps.
“The Museum?” I asked in awe as I turned my gaze to him, and Blake nodded his confirmation.
“I rented it out for us for the night. It’s all ours.”
I turned my attention back to the Museum of Natural History, staring at it like I had never seen it before.
Growing up in New York, I had been to this museum a thousand different times.
But never like this.
Excitement fluttered through me as I reached down to grab his hand, giving it a grateful squeeze.
“Good surprise?” He asked, a flicker of worry dancing behind his stormy eyes.
“Great surprise,” I corrected with a smile before tugging on his hand and leading him toward the door.
We climbed the steps, and I noticed a security guard at the top, smiling at us in welcome. He held open the door as we walked through.
“I’ll be at the security desk,” he advised Blake with a nod. “If you need anything, feel free to call down.”
“And the cameras?” Blake asked pointedly.
“All switched off for the evening, sir.”
I tried not to blanche at that statement, wondering how much that bribe had cost him.
The contents of the museum were worth an ungodly amount of money. For them to feel comfortable turning off the cameras, he had to either make it worth their while in cash or he was blackmailing somebody.
But those thoughts were quickly chased out of my mind when I realized what that meant. If the cameras were turned off, we could do anything in the museum without worrying about security peeping in on us.
Anything.
A few ideas on how to express my gratitude began to take shape as we turned and walked further into the museum.
Blake told me to lead the way, and I was more than happy to do so. I flitted from exhibit to exhibit, excited to take it all in without the noise of a crowd or the screaming of kids.
Don’t get me wrong, I like kids. But sometimes it’s nice to enjoy things in peace.
“How did you pull this off?” I asked him as we made our way through the maze of exhibits.
“Well, I donate a hell of a lot of money to the museum,” he said with a shrug. “And I know quite a lot of the staff. This is one of my favorite places to come.”
“Really?” I threw him a glance over my shoulder, and he nodded.
“I’ve always liked the museum, ever since I was a kid. Coming here was like a special treat, and I guess that carried into adulthood.”
He looked around us, noticing an entrance just off to the side, and gave my hand a small tug.
“Want to know what my favorite part always was?” He arched an eyebrow at me, and his excitement was so palpable I couldn’t help but feel a rush of it myself.
