Stay, Stay, Stay
Chapter Eight
We arrived in New York City a little before noon and after checking into our Midtown Manhattan hotel were given the rest of the day to do with as we pleased. I changed out of my traveling clothes and into something more casual. I opted for a pair of well worn black skinny jeans, a loose but flattering t-shirt with a picture of a kitten reading a book on it, and a light blue denim button up shirt. I left my hair in its ponytail and my glasses on but switched my conservative shoes for canvas sneakers and made my way down to the lobby. I thought I’d made record time changing, but when I turned the corner Sid was already leaning against the wall waiting for me. He’d managed to change out of his suit and into the same pair of well fitting dark jeans as last night and a blue golf shirt and beat me to the lobby.
“You beat me!” I laughed walking towards him.
“That’s alright,” he smiled. “It takes time to look that good, right?”
I blushed and looked down at my feet. I didn’t look terrible, but I was far from the caliber of women we’d see walking down fifth avenue.
“I like your shirt,” he fingered the material lightly, my stomach fluttered from the proximity of his hand to my stomach.
“Thanks,” I smiled at him, still blushing slightly. “Do you have any pets?” probably the lamest thing someone could ask a professional athlete who travelled most of the year. I mentally slapped myself for being so simple minded.
“No, unfortunately pets don’t really like being left alone for days at a time,” he winked, as if he knew that I regretted the question the second it left my lips.
“Right,” I laughed nervously and turned to walk out of the hotel.
“How about you?” He walked with me, our hands only inches apart.
“My roommate and I have a cat,” I replied.
“Cats are cool, what’s its name?” Was he really asking me about my pet cat? Out of all the things we could be talking about we were talking about my cat.
“Luna,” I paused hesitantly, wondering if I should tell him the whole story. He smiled down at me, as if to tell me to continue. “She’s black. Actually, we named her Luna because my roommate, who is also my best friend, is Serena and I don’t know if you watch a lot of children’s television but...”
“Sailor Moon?” he asked before I could finish. I could tell he was amused.
“Exactly,” I laughing, impressed by his knowledge of 90s mainstream anime. “We’re both partial to the charming ways of the soldiers of the solar system and when we saw an ad for tiny black kitten, it was really too good to pass up.”
“Cute,” he smirked, his hand brushed mine gently. “Anything you wanted to do today?” We were headed towards Rockefeller Center to get lunch, but other than that we had yet to plan our day. I was ready for some sort of adventure nonetheless.
“I wouldn’t mind going to the MoMA, but I’m not going to drag you to a museum,” I caught his middle finger with mine and let our hands swing together casually.
“We can do that if you want,” he laced the rest of his fingers between mine, his strong hand cradled mine.
“That’s very sweet of you,” I smiled up at him. I imagined he had very little interest in modern art and taking him to such a vast gallery might not be the most pleasurable way to spend our day off. “Let’s see where we end up after lunch.”
He squeezed my hand lightly and continued walking down the busy sidewalk.
We decided against a sit down meal and instead went to my favourite local pizza place. I’d discovered it my first time in the city and had yet to taste anything that even compared. Two Boots Pizza (some locations included a video store) featured New Orleans inspired Italian dishes, but more importantly their pizzas each had witty names such as ‘Mr.Pink’ and ‘Cleopatra Jones.’ The kind of thing that really matters when you’re chowing down. Like a wealthy gentleman, Sidney paid and brought our meals to the table I’d chosen in the corner of the restaurant. I tried to protest when he insisted he’d pay the $20, determined to establish myself as a strong and financially independent woman, but my efforts were futile when he beat me to the cash register. I remarked that he had an unfair advantage, what with being a professional athlete and all and he told me to stop complaining. I wasn’t one to piss off the man carrying my food so I found our table and sent Serena a quick text.
Bea:
All well on the Sidney front. So, so, soooooo well.
Serena:
What?! You can’t just send me a message like that without details.
Bea:
I’ll tell you later.
Serena:
G’damnit Beatrice! You always do that. This better be good.
I smirked and put my phone in my pocket as Sid placed my pizza in front of me
“Are you ready for this?” I asked, mopping some of the grease off of the top with a napkin.
“Very,” he picked up the slice and studied it. “This better be as good as you claim.”
“It is,” I promised him and took a bite out of the glorious cheese covered delicacy I held in my hands.
We made small talk between bites, but were both more focused on our food than the conversation. When he’d taken his last bite I looked at him expectantly.
“You were right,” he wiped the grease off of his fingers and took a drink.
“I usually am,” I laughed and finished my meal.
“What now?” he asked, gathering our garbage onto his tray.
I shrugged and finished off my bottle of water. “I’m not going to make you go to the art gallery.”
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind,” he seemed genuine, but I wasn’t going to subject him to an afternoon of me running around excitedly and writing ideas in my journal wildly. At least not on our first day together.
“I’m sure. Besides, we probably won’t have enough time.” We got up and put our trash in the bin then left the restaurant.
“Enough time? We’re not meeting the guys until six, that’s like three hours,” he looked at his watch confirming that it was 1:20pm, we’d need time to get there and back and ready for the team dinner.
“Trust me, three hours is so not enough for me.” I patted his arm affectionately. I had a habit of getting mentally lost in art galleries and usually needed at least a day to be fully satisfied.
We wondered around Rockefeller Center and eventually decided on an adventure in Chelsea. Known for its cultural diversity and thriving LGBTQ community I’d been there once or twice before, but was more than happy to return to the historically significant neighborhood. We hailed a cab in favour of walking the two miles and got out in front of the Barney’s warehouse. Although Barney’s was a popular department store both in and out of New York, I’d never set foot in one. I couldn’t justify buying designer clothes. But in the spirit of adventure, we went in.
I couldn’t help but be nervous surrounded by the beautiful designer products. While I was usually quite comfortable with my body, I was far from a size 2. I knew very well that high end fashion catered to smaller sizes and even after years of shopping for myself, I still got discouraged when clothes didn’t fit. I didn’t need Sidney witnessing any fashion melt downs.
“Are you sure you want to be in here?” I asked, looking for an excuse to leave the overwhelming sale emporium.
“Believe it or not, I actually don’t mind shopping,” he replied as we approached a section of beautiful dresses.
“Strange,” I laughed and leafed through the high end dresses on a rack in front of me. I pulled out a soft jersey wrap dress with a geometric floral print and a v-back. The tag said C&T which I recognized from fashion magazines but knew nothing about.
“You should try it on,” Sid urged, watching me examine the dry-clean only fabric. Normally I would have put it back on the rack without further question but it was marked down from $298 to $69, not to mention it was in my size. I took it as an omen from the fashion gods and headed for the fitting room.
Sidney waited outside while I shed my street clothes and slipped the dress over my head. I prepared myself for a catastrophe, it would be too short, or too tight, or I’d look like someone’s crazy grandmother in such a vibrant print. Anything to prevent disappointment. To my surprise it fit in all the places I expect it wouldn’t. The fabric lay gracefully over my hips and fell just above my knee. The chest was not too loose and the fabric belt accentuated my figure. I opened the door to my stall and peaked out, looking for Sidney. He stood a few feet away looking as gorgeous as ever.
“Do you want to see?” I whispered nervously.
“Absolutely,” he grinned and I walked out of the room into his view. I stood in front of him and the mirrors and studied my reflection, still surprised that it fit so well.
“Do you like it?” I asked hesitantly, pulling myself from my reflection and searching his face for clues. He grinned and walked towards me.
He stood a few inches away from me, I could hardly stop myself from leaning in and touching my lips to his. “Beautiful,” he smiled and tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear. Hair that had somehow fallen from my ponytail to create a perfect movie moment. I blushed and he kissed my cheek gently. Not one for fairytale moments I stepped away from him and went to put my regular clothes back on. My face still hot from his kiss as I tied my shoes.
In the spirit of fairness we made our way over to the men’s department. After browsing through a selection of designer dress shirts, Sid announced they he had more than enough clothes and we headed for the check out. Unfortunately for my bank account, as we passed the shoe department I came face to face with a pair of beige Christian Louboutin peep toe platform pumps and after trying them on (they fit perfectly) and noticing that they were marked down from $845 to a still shocking $250 I added them to my bill. I justified that they were real Italian leather at a price I would never again find and in a classic style that I had been admiring for years. Sid laughed at my explanation and commented that he liked the red sole. The signature red sole that I’d been dreaming about all my life. I was in no way one to care a lot about brands, but owning a pair of Louboutin heels was one of my life goals. After wincing at the $350 bill I suggested we make a speedy exit before I spent my entire life savings on clothes I would rarely have an opportunity to wear.
We decided to walk back to the hotel, giving us an opportunity to see more of the city. The two miles went by effortlessly, we didn’t bother going into any other shops, but admired the window displays and architecture. Our conversation flowed naturally as we strolled down the street, our hands brushing against each other occasionally. I wanted him to reach for me, to take my hand in his and announce to everyone around us that there was something there. But it wasn’t until we were approached by a group of girls that I realized why we were no longer linked. We were walking down fifth avenue, chatting candidly about growing up on the East Coast when they spotted Sid. Three girls who looked to be about sixteen all carrying camera phones and giggling. My instant reaction was that they were tourists looking for directions, I was preparing to tell them we weren’t locals when Sid greeted them warmly.
“Hi,” they giggled in unison, looking up at Sidney adoringly.
“How are you, ladies?” he asked casually.
“Good,” the replied, still giggling.
“Can we get a picture?” the blonde one in the centre of the pack asked.
“Is this your girlfriend?” her friend chimed in.
“Sure, we can take a picture,” Sidney replied, ignoring the second question. The girls handed me their camera phones and snuggled against him, each one beaming, looking as ecstatic as I felt when he looked at me. I took the pictures and Sid signed their notebooks, careful to spell their names correctly. They thanked him, still giggling and blushing then ran off.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe how much hotter he is in person!” I overheard one girl say to the others as we parted ways.
“Wow,” I smiled at him. “You sure made their years!” I nudged him playfully.
“It’s the least I can do,” his cheeks and ears were growing red.
“Well, they seemed to be very grateful,” I grinned at him, charmed by his tenderness towards his fans. “Does that happen a lot?” Until then I hadn’t thought of him as someone in the spotlight. Not since meeting him at least. I was aware that he was a household name of course, but that Sidney seemed so distant from the man who sat outside my bathroom door the night before. Sure, they were both wonderful people, but my Sid was more, he was real.
This was so good!!! I was in tears at the end when thinking about Sid retiring haha
2/17/21