Never Say Never, page 9
Her lips are pursed, but she’s hiding behind a blanket of flaxen hair. She lifts her shoulder and keeps walking. “I don’t want anything from you.”
She’s the only creature on God’s green earth who can make stubborn sexy.
A vendor is a half a block up, yelling about t-shirts and souvenirs. I pick up my pace and make a beeline toward it, swiping an I Love New York keychain and slapping it on his makeshift counter along with a five-dollar bill.
“What are you doing?” Skylar catches up with me.
“Here.” I hand her the keychain. The front says “I Love New York” and the back has a miniature map of the city with all the neighborhoods listed in tiny print.
She brings it closer, examining both sides. “If it makes you feel better…”
“It does.”
“Thank you.”
I want her to think of me, and this day, every time she pulls her keys out from now on. For a moment, I think about buying one for myself, but I won’t need a memento to remember today.
Skylar is the first real friend I’ve made in a long time. I’d almost forgotten how good it felt.
And then there’s that dreamy cloud of lust that surrounds us every time we’re together. It’s so thick, I can hardly see through it at times.
I’d forgotten, too, how good it feels to want someone again.
I say goodbye to Theo as soon as we reach East 49th and Park Avenue. He is staying at the Waldorf Astoria, and while it doesn’t get more pretentious than that, I’m starting to think perhaps he’s not as hollow as I first thought.
I walk home, unable to remove the cheesy smile plastered across my face. I’m walking home on a breeze, carried by a feather, and deposited safely in front of my door with my hand still firmly gripped around the I Love New York keychain he bought me. I don’t even remember how I got there because my mind is dizzy with a million different thoughts all going in opposite directions yet leading back to one place.
Theo.
Slipping my key into the lock, I push the door open in a hurry. I was so consumed all morning that I forgot to eat, and now I’m starving. If I don’t eat soon, I’ll very likely inhale the entire contents of the refrigerator in seven minutes flat.
“Skylar’s here!” I hear Nina’s voice say the minute the door swings open. She’s leaning into the kitchen island, twisting her long hair into a side braid, and she’s not alone. “About damn time.”
She is flanked by two men: Charlie and Cory.
My ravenous appetite disappears. I think it’s in shock and went into hiding.
“Hey,” Cory says with caution in his tone. “I just stopped by to see Nina, don’t worry.”
“Why would I be worried?”
“We were texting back and forth earlier and you stopped?” He scratches the side of his neatly combed head of hair, his brows lifted. “And I tried to call you and you didn’t answer. Remember? I said I was going to call you today?”
That’s right. He said he’d call and he called right when Theo bought me that keychain. I’d hit the ignore button and completely spaced off calling him back.
He thinks he scared me away.
“I was with a friend.”
“Cory here is going to be an usher at the wedding,” Nina says. “Charlie’s cousin, Drew, is having emergency rotator cuff surgery that weekend now, so Cory’s going to fill in. Isn’t that sweet of him? I told him if he does a good enough job, we’ll let him ride around in the limo with the wedding party.”
Nina jabs Cory’s rib with her elbow and he pretends to be hurt. “I won’t let you down, cuz. I don’t want to fear the wrath of Nina on her big day.”
“Hey, you guys want to get lunch?” Charlie says. “It’d be like a double date.”
“Genius,” Nina says. “Yes. Let’s go.”
All three of their faces brighten at the idea, but for some reason, it doesn’t excite me the way it should.
Cory is a safe bet. He’s average and ordinary. He’s thoughtful and polite. He’s not the kind of guy who could rip my heart clean out of my chest and blast it into a hundred million tiny shards of glass.
I can feel it happening. That tug. The one that defies all logic. The all-consuming, lust-drunk sensation that cooks my brain into a mushy stew so that it can no longer make rational decisions.
Theo is my friend. It needs to stay that way.
Don’t allow yourself to fall. This is how you always get hurt.
“Okay, sure.” I force a smile to my eyes and slip my purse back around my shoulder, following the three of them to the door. I’m not dating Theo. I’m not in love with him. I have no reason not to go to lunch with everyone.
***
Nina and Charlie bolt out of the restaurant the second we pay our tabs, claiming Charlie wanted to pop into some bookstore in Midtown that closes early on Saturdays.
“I hope I didn’t scare you off,” Cory says as we stroll down the sidewalk. The city is much less crowded on Saturdays. I can breathe a little easier on the days the city empties out. I love the hustle and bustle, but I miss my wide-open spaces, too. We’re walking close together, but not too close for comfort. I appreciate that he gives me space, and then I promptly smile at the way Theo is bold and unapologetic and takes what he wants. He steals every opportunity he can to find some reason to touch me. “I really did stop by to visit Nina.”
“I believe you.” My shoes scuff the cement with each aimless step. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You’ve been smiling all afternoon,” he points out. “You haven’t stopped smiling since I saw you.”
Shit.
I’m not sure how to explain something to him I can’t even explain to myself.
Think fast.
“I got my first big sale.” It’s a lie. I bite at my lips as if they betrayed my good upbringing. “It just feels…amazing.”
“Skylar, that’s awesome.” Cory seems genuinely happy for me, and now I feel bad for lying. “That’s great news. Congratulations.”
He anchors an arm over my shoulders and gives me a side hug, only we keep walking and he doesn’t let go.
Smooth.
“Look, I have to run off to sign a lease on an apartment.” I know where this is going. He wants to hang out later. “Mind if I stop by tonight? I’ll bring dinner and a movie. Actually, it was Nina and Charlie’s idea, but I don’t want to come over again unless it’s okay with you.”
How do I say no to that?
Do I want to say no?
I don’t even know anymore.
“It’s fine, Cory. You can come over.” God, I am too nice. Addison was right.
We stop at a corner, a few feet from where a group of twenty or thirty people wait to cross the intersection in one giant herd of tourists. “See you at seven.”
He walks away, and then I feel it: that little twang in the pit of my stomach that reminds me that a small part of me wishes it were Theo coming over tonight.
“Here you go.” Cory hands me a napkin before taking the cushion next to me on the sofa. The four of us are settling in to watch some romantic comedy Cory brought as we’re noshing on slices of the organic veggie flatbread pizza he ordered. “Everybody good? Anyone need anything else?”
Cory knows how to command a room, and so far he seems to have a knack for taking care of people. He’s considerate in a way most people aren’t these days.
“Need a refill?” he asks, pointing to my drink, which is still two-thirds full.
“Cory, sit down!” Nina whines. “You’re not made out of glass.”
They bicker like brother and sister, which is good for Nina because she has no siblings. The first year we lived together was rocky because she wasn’t used to sharing anything. Cory’s probably the closest thing she has to an actual brother.
“I’m good. You can sit down.” I scoot over, pasting myself against the arm of the couch in order to give Cory plenty of room. Sometimes I forget I don’t take up much room anymore.
Opening credits display across the screen, and I hear a slight grumble from Charlie before Nina jabs him with her elbow. A still-water lake flashes across the screen before the camera pans across a field of flowers.
“For the record, I only brought this movie because Nina always made us watch it as kids,” Cory disclaims. “I’ve seen in a million times, Charlie. I promise it’s good.”
“That’s nice of you,” I whisper to him.
He leans in, angling his head my way. “Nina seems a little stressed. I thought it might help take her mind off the wedding.”
Impossible, but he was sweet for trying. Her mind is permanently affixed to all things related to her big day.
Ninety-seven minutes later, the end credits roll up across a black background and Nina swipes at the tears streaming down her cheeks. “It gets me every time!”
“It’s her time of the month,” Charlie mouths to me from across the room.
I mouth back, “I know.”
Cory stands up, stretching enough that his shirt rises up above the waist of his khakis. His belly is soft and flat, not ripped but not flabby. Average – just like the rest of him.
“It’s getting late,” he says. “I should get out of here while the cabs are still easy to catch.”
He’s always coming and going. It’s got to be exhausting being him. But he still has time to be nice and thoughtful, which tells me his priorities are still in line.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say as I walk him to the door. “And the movie. That was nice of you.”
He shrugs. “Family’s everything, Skylar. Just wanted to make Nina happy.” He steps into his shoes, his eyes glinting against the faint light filtering in through the kitchen. “And I wanted to see you again.”
The tiniest sparkle of something hits my belly, and once again, I can’t quite identify what it means. It’s like an ambiguous excitement, and I’m not sure what to do with it.
“Walk me out?” He nods toward the hallway, and I follow. Cory lingers outside the door, pulling it shut behind me. “Skylar.” He pauses, his lips dancing into a nervous grin as if he’s afraid to put himself on the line again. “I know we just met this week, but I think you should know, I enjoy being around you.”
I open my mouth to reply, but he lifts his finger to my lips before I can speak a single word.
“Let me say this,” he says. “You’ve not stopped smiling all day, and I’m not a fool. I know I didn’t put that smile on your face. We’re still strangers. I’m not naïve enough to believe for one second that you’re falling for me at the same rate that I’m falling for you.”
My heart strums against my chest. I take a step back until my body presses flush against the door. Cory owns this space between us and owns the conversation.
“I can’t think straight when I’m around you,” he confesses. “It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to touch you every five seconds like I want to. I want to kiss you hard against this door right now, and the fact that I can’t is killing me. Killing me.”
I’m tuned into him, trying to guess which way he’s taking this conversation, but I’m stuck in the murky unknown.
“But I want to take my time with you. I want to get to know you. Do this right. I feel like we’re on the cusp of something great, and I don’t want to screw this up.” His face softens, contrasting against his square jawline, which tenses and releases as his eyes dart between mine. “I want to see you again, Skylar. I want to see you tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. And I realize this all sounds crazy, and maybe you think I’m crazy, I don’t know.”
I say nothing. I stand still, like a statue, digesting his words.
“But the reason I’m playing my hand, the reason I’m laying everything out at the risk of turning you off, is because I want you to know I’m real. I’m genuine. I don’t play games.” He sells himself like a late night infomercial playing to its target audience. “Most guys my age, they just want to date. Me? I want a girlfriend. I want a relationship. Is that what you want?”
His hands are flanking the sides of my head, pressing against the door behind me as our body heat mixes. I nod. When I try to say “yes,” only air comes out.
“Back to that smile,” he says. “The next time I see you, I want to be the one who puts it there.” His words are an order wrapped up in hearts and chocolate. “If there’s anyone else, if you’re talking to another guy, you should end it now.” His right hand falls until it cups my chin. “Because you’re going to realize I’m the one. I’m the one who’s going to give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’m the one who’s going to make you forget every broken heart you’ve ever had, every disappointment, every lonely night. I’m the one. No one else.”
I swallow, paralyzed by the magnitude of the sexiness he’s just turned on, as if it was hidden all along.
Behind his niceties, kindness, and good deeds.
Who knew normal, average Cory had this kind of verve?
“Goodnight.” I force my voice and duck out of his stance, disappearing back into the apartment before he takes it upon himself to press his mouth onto mine.
I thank my lucky stars when I see Nina and Charlie are in bed. I’m not ready to field her questions.
The hotel room is pitch black save for a sliver of light pushing through the break in the curtains. A buzzing sound on the nightstand has pulled me out of a deep, dark sleep, the brightness of my phone’s screen blinding me as I attempt to read the caller ID.
Skylar.
My eyes squint to read the red numbers on the alarm clock. It’s ten A.M.
“Hello?” I answer. There’s a grogginess in my voice I can’t hide.
“Were you sleeping?”
“No,” I lie.
“Right.” She sees right through me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Staring at these beautiful lilies someone sent me this morning.” Her words are soft and dull, like a butter knife. “If I’m being honest.”
He’s trying. That jackass is trying hard.
“Anyway.” Her voice peps up. “I got word of an Upper East Side listing that sounds incredible. It has everything you want, it’s in your price range, and I know you said you were wanting to put the apartment search on hold, but I think we should take a look at it anyway. Just in case. Even if we have to get creative to buy more time, I don’t want this one to get away.”
“Skylar.” I drag my hand across my cheeks and settled back down into the barricade of pillows covering my king-sized bed. “I don’t know if-”
“Meet me in an hour. I’ll text you the address.”
***
Skylar is standing outside a black awning, her hands folded across her hips as she squints into the sun.
“You’re late,” she says with a smirk as her gaze hones in on me. “I did wake you up. I knew it.”
“Late night,” I say. “You going to show me this place or what?”
We turn and head in, Skylar showing her identification to the doorman, and hop into the elevator.
“Have you seen pictures of this place?” I ask as we float to the top of the building.
She shakes her head. “No, but Addison’s the listing agent, so I believe her when she tells me this place is amazing.”
The doors ding and part with a soft clunk as we step off. The hallway is wide with ornate sconces lined up every ten feet. Wide black doors with silver numbers fill the spaces between some of the lights, and Skylar leads me down to the end of the hall.
“Here it is,” she says as she unlocks the door and swings it wide. I follow her in, setting my expectations low only to be sorely mistaken.
“My God,” I mumble. Sweeping views of Park Avenue greet us from a wall of windows.
“So we’ve got over eight thousand square feet here.” Skylar steps toward the center of the foyer. “Maintenance and taxes on this are going to run you about thirty grand a month. Immediate occupancy. Five bedrooms, six baths. Gourmet kitchen. Library with jellyfish aquarium. Kitty Willis decorated this place, I don’t know if you’ve heard of her before, but she has a wait list years long. All furnishings are included in the asking price. You wouldn’t have to do a thing, Theo. You could wheel your suitcase up here and start living.”
I study Skylar. I should be exploring the apartment, but instead I’m examining her and the way her face lights up when she rattles on about this place and how ideal it is for me. Her dainty hands swirl into the air as she speaks and her tone is colored with contagious passion.
“It’s not going to last long,” she says, stepping toward me. “Go ahead, take a look around.”
I shake myself back into the moment, slipping my hands into my pockets and walking around. I don’t bother scrutinizing anything I see because I know she’s right when she says this is the place for me.
“This is billionaire’s row,” she adds. She saunters up to a window and peers down, her fingertips barely grazing the flawless, crystal-clean glass. “You’re not going to find much on this street in your price range that’s half as amazing as this place.”
“What do you think of it?” I ask. “I’m asking you as a friend and not my agent.”
Her mouth parts, and she cocks her head to the side as her brown eyes sparkle for a moment. “Honestly? This is my dream apartment. This is it. It doesn’t get much better than this. The architecture. The design. The location. The view. I’ll never be able to afford this place in a million years, but hey, if we’re friends, I can come visit whenever I want, right?”
Her full lips close into a subdued smile. I want to paint them with a hundred kisses. “Of course.”
We take our time, going from room to room until we’ve seen the place in its entirety and we find ourselves back in the living room. I take a seat in a cowhide-covered lounge chair overlooking the park.
“I’m trying to picture myself living here,” I explain as I feel her staring. I pat the seat next to me, a matching cowhide chair with a strategically draped throw hanging off the back.
