Page 50 of Sweet Temptation

“You totally are,” Anna agreed with a smile.

“I’d probably be offended if I wasn’t so excited by the idea of sightseeing.”

The girls laughed again.

Eventually, the bus pulled up outside our hotel. It was an impressive and imposing stately building right across from Central Park. Tall columns flanked the gorgeous stone entrance, and a plush carpet ran down the marble steps leading up to the front doors. Just one look at the hotel made me realize this little excursion must have been costing my father a fortune. There was no way my mom and I could have ever afforded such luxury, and I knew the type of place in our budget would have looked very different.

When we entered the hotel, I was shocked by the grand foyer. A beautiful fountain trickled in the middle of the space, and it was surrounded by large leafy trees that looked like they’d been plucked straight from the park across the street. The soft smell of roses floated across from the floral arrangements that lined the walls, and above it all was a high ceiling with an elaborate golden design. I couldn’t help but imagine the many floors that were stacked on top of it, reaching up toward the sky. We were all crowded to one side of the entrance hall as one of the teachers arranged the keys and began calling out our room arrangements. They assigned the girls to share rooms alphabetically, and by some miracle, that meant I’d be sharing with Anna.

“Yes!” she squealed as our names were announced. She darted forward to grab the room key from the teacher and grinned brightly as she came back to me. “This is going to be the best trip ever,” she gushed. Cress didn’t seem to agree. Her roommate had been revealed just before our names were called. She was rooming with one of Veronica’s cronies for the night. Cress was normally able to see the positive side of most things in life, but even she appeared pretty bummed about it.

The teacher finished assigning our rooms before he explained our itinerary for the rest of the day. We were going to spend the rest of the afternoon on a literary walking tour of Central Park. Dinner was going to be at a restaurant close to the theater, and then we’d finish the day by seeing the play.

I was excited about catching a play on Broadway, but I also loved the idea of wandering away the afternoon in Central Park. My friends didn’t seem anywhere near as excited as me, but it was a bright and sunny day, so there were no complaints.

The others kept chatting about the day ahead, but I wasn’t listening too closely as Noah caught my eye. He was looking at me through the crowd of other students milling around the foyer, but he glanced away the moment our eyes met. I blew out a breath and forced my focus away from him and back on my friends.

This trip to New York was all about getting the closure I needed and the space I wanted so I could finally get over Noah. So far, I hadn’t been doing too well with the space part, but now the bus ride was over, I was hoping we could keep our distance for the rest of the trip. I just had to hope fate didn’t have other plans for us because it was about time it started working in my favor.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

The walk through Central Park was wonderful. We applauded the street performers, snapped selfies on picture-perfect bridges, and enjoyed some of the best people-watching you could imagine. We even sort of paid attention when the group stopped to look at a few statues and landmarks and Mr. Wagner tried to lecture us about them. The best part was that it was easy to stay clear of Noah, and I barely noticed him. I was too busy having fun with my friends and admiring the sights.

I didn’t see him at dinner either. There were so many students on the trip we sat at a few different tables, and he was nowhere near me. We went to an amazing Asian fusion restaurant Cress told me was one of the best in the city. The servers brought out a wide array of incredible dishes, most of which I’d never even heard of, let alone tried before. Even so, I found myself sampling every dish and wolfing down anything that hit my plate. I loved my mom’s cooking at the café, but this was a different world of food altogether.

I was growing tired by the time we made it to the theater. Between the drive to New York and the afternoon exploring Central Park, I was exhausted. I’d also gotten a bit overexcited at dinner, and I was feeling very full. It was a short walk to the theater from the restaurant, but Cress, Anna, and I lagged at the back of the group. When we got to the theater, students were already lining up in front of the entrance where Mr. Wagner was handing out tickets.

We joined the back of the queue and shuffled forward as students filed into the theater and went to find their seats. Anna grinned when she glanced down at her ticket and saw where she was sitting. “Wow, they got us good seats,” she said. “We’re so close to the front we’ll practically be able to feel Romeo spitting his lines.”

I looked at her ticket and saw she was in row C. But when I looked at my own, I appeared to be nowhere near her. “You’ll have to tell me all about his spit,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll be getting sprayed by it in row MM.”

Anna glanced over at my ticket and frowned. “What? Are we really not sitting together?”

“It must be random,” Cress said. “I’m in row F.”

“Sorry, girls.” Mr. Wagner’s low voice interrupted our complaints. “Most of the group are in the front rows, but there’s too many of us, so some of you will be sitting elsewhere. Don’t worry, you won’t be the only ones.”

“Damn, I can’t believe they don’t have us sitting together,” Anna said as we left Mr. Wagner in the foyer. “I don’t want to be sprayed in spit without you guys.”

I laughed. “Why do I feel like that’s not something people often say?”

“Ha, you may think that, but I bet it is,” Anna replied with a smile. She started to frown though as she looked at me. “Shit, and it’s your first performance in New York, Isobel. Do you want to swap seats with me?”

I quickly shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of Romeo’s spit.”

“I’m sure I can live without it. Seriously, let’s swap.”

“I’m happy to swap too if you like,” Cress added. “Though my seat isn’t as good as Anna’s.”

I pulled my ticket in close to my chest. “Nope, like I said, I’m fine.” I started toward the stairs that led up to my seat before they could argue. There was a look in Anna’s eyes that made me feel like she might try to wrestle the ticket from my hands if I hung around. “I’ll catch you guys after the show.”

I wandered up the stairs until I found the door I was supposed to enter through. As I entered the auditorium, I could see I was right at the back of the theater. I wasn’t just a few rows from my friends. I was a whole other level away from them. The place was packed, but I saw a few other students scattered throughout the seats, so at least I wasn’t the only one back here.

I climbed the stairs until I reached my row, which was the very last one in the entire theater. While Anna was being covered in spit from the performers, I’d be lucky to hear them at all. I looked down the row and could just make out an empty seat over the sea of heads. Every seat between me and my destination was taken, so I slowly began to edge my way past the other patrons, keeping my eyes down so I didn’t trip and whispering my apologies as I went. I was just about to reach my seat when I looked up and saw who I would be sitting next to. I froze. My blood turned to ice as I locked eyes with Noah. His look of shock must have mirrored mine. I imagined the universe was having a good old laugh right now.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath.

The man I’d stopped in front of cleared his throat, and I quickly jolted back into action. “Sorry.” I gave him an empty smile before I slowly continued onward. Every second I delayed was one second less I had to spend at Noah’s side.

---