“Kellie, come with me.”
I should have been panicked.
I should have been frightened.
I should have been alarmed.
But I wasn’t.
I stood on the sidewalk, the cool air of New York swirling around me in a teasing manner, and I waited for his next move. I chewed my lip and pulled my jacket tightly around my body. What a crazy night. The moment he asked me to leave with him, I was done for. I had no choice but to follow him out of the bar and into the uncertainty of the city. His eyes had widened when I stood from the couch and moved toward him, as if he didn’t expect me to agree so quickly. What choice did I have? He asked and I followed. I said yes. At that moment my weakness was on full display, every confidence that I tried to show was squashed by a simple statement, and as usual, I couldn’t say no. The mask I tried so desperately to portray quickly fell to the floor in a heap of lies and trepidation.
“What are we doing?” I asked, finding my voice and desperate to put to sleep the awkwardness that was beaming off me.
He shifted slowly, taking purposeful steps, and moved his towering body so it completely overshadowed mine. He shoved his hands deep into his jean pockets and his eyes took in my features, swallowing any insecurity with one enduring look. Hazel eyes beamed into mine, then they dropped and lingered on my lips for a moment too long, a moment that both of us noticed. Ripping his gaze from my mouth, he looked me squarely in the eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t think you would follow me.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
His eyes darkened, the delicious hazel color dissolved into to a shade of murky brown, then his jaw tensed as if I had just said the most shocking thing in the world. Why did I even say that? Silence fell between us as we stood on the sidewalk on a cold November night. I shivered under the night air and thankfully a cab soon pulled up to the curb. He walked over, opening the door for me. I didn’t look at him as I ducked under his arm and collapsed onto the leather seat. The warmth in the air comforted me, and I felt my body start to relax.
Still I felt no fear.
The seat dipped when he slid in beside me and the air immediately thickened.
“To the island,” he directed the cab driver as he shifted in his seat and looked out the window beside him. “Head toward City Towers.”
I folded back into the cushioned seat and closed my eyes as scenarios burst into my thoughts. A guy like him obviously always got what he wanted. His confidence alone was earth shattering, let alone the looks that the heavens above had blessed him with.
I sat beside this figure of complete mystery in silence. The bright lights and the abundance of people crowding the sidewalk faded behind us as we weaved our way out of the city that never slept and headed across the river. A million thoughts went trampling through my head at a frightening rate. I knew I was getting myself into dangerous territory yet again. I was in a cab, with a strange man, heading to his apartment. This was not how my night was meant to end but why the fuck wasn’t I scared out of my wits?
We pulled up in front of a towering building twinkling in the night sky. He opened the door and slid out and moments later the door beside me opened and I stepped out into the crisp air.
“You ready?” He asked in a low tone.
“Yes.”
I walked beside him in silence and concentrated on my breathing. The closer we moved to the entrance, the more my heart rate increased. Shock and confusion collided head on as we continued past the entrance. I halted and spun around. I looked through the double glass doors into the welcoming foyer with what looked like a coffee bar at one end and a pizzeria on the other, both bursting with late night revelers.
“Are we not going in there?” I asked, shock hinted on my words as my eyes locked on the pizzeria.
He stopped and turned back toward me, a look of disbelief cascading over his way too perfect face. “Did you think we were going to my apartment?”
“Yes,” I whispered honestly, my voice dropping dangerously low. Cautiously I allowed my eyes to finally find his. He looked at me like I was the most precious commodity in the world, a look that sent a million butterflies loose in my stomach.
A look that finally terrified me.
“Not every guy is a complete asshole. Yes, you are beautiful and yes I’d love to have you in my bed. Believe me, I’d take great pleasure in worshiping your body, but I’m not going to touch you or even attempt to touch you when you are clearly petrified to even be here with me. ” His honesty was brutal yet refreshing.