Page 52 of Broken Pieces
“I have a condo near Central Park,” he says, getting up.
Why does the fact that we’re staying at his place make me feel some type of way? It feels… personal. The Damian I know wouldn’t do something like this. But he’s been different lately, showing another side of him that, well, I enjoy.
“Where are your bags?” he asks, getting me out of my trance.
It takes me a moment to reply, “In my room, let me go get them.”
He nods as I walk away, bringing my suitcase and work travel bag with me. He holds his hand out, offering to take my stuff. I nod as I give him my things, our hands touching for a brief moment. Without thinking, I take two steps back as the warmth of one simple touch electrifies me from the top of my fingers to the rest of my body in a millisecond. Shivers travel down my spine, making me stiff.
Maybe staying with him at his condo is not such a great idea. I’ll just get a hotel instead. That’s the logical thing to do.
So why am I hesitating to tell him that?
You know damn well why you’re hesitating.
I want nothing more than to spend more time with him, and try and discover where these feelings are coming from.So maybe, just maybe… being in such close quarters again is actually not a bad idea.
Make up your damn mind, woman.
We walk out of my apartment, and as I lock my door, I’m spiraling inside. It’s frustrating, not knowing why this is happening to me. But I’m nothing but determined to figure out the need to be near him, get to know him, and unravel those layers he has. I want all of him, I just don’t know where to begin.
Ihave no business in New York except for the auction. So why exactly did I tell her we’re staying a week? Well, I don’t fucking know. She was so excited talking about how much she enjoyed New York, the words just sort of came out. I may or may not want to spend as much time as possible with her outside of work, and this seemed like the perfect excuse. I’ll just tag along on whatever she’s doing, and come up with excuses later. That seemed like a foolproof idea to me at the time, but right now, I’m not too fucking sure.
Arriving at the jet, Aria takes a seat on the opposite side of mine.
“Not daring to take my seat this time around?” I taunt.
She glares at me. “No. Because last time you acted like a deranged animal about it.”
“Sit next to me, come on.” I pat the seat next to mine.
“No, thanks.”
I raise a challenging eyebrow at her. She does the exact same, letting her firecracker self make an appearance. Getting up slowly, I make my intentions obvious. She holds my gaze, unphased, giving me a silent challenge. Little does she know, I love challenges. Especially when they come from her. As I get closer, she bulges her eyes as she realizes I’m not backing down.
“Okay, okay!” She palms my chest, stopping me from grabbing her. “I’ll move. Jesus. You were seriously going to do it again, weren’t you?”
I sit down, shrugging. “You should have waited to find out.”
“You’re deranged,” she murmurs.
I smirk triumphantly. “What’s the plan for when we get to the city?”
Her face brightens as she starts telling me all about her plans and the spots she wants to visit. It’s hard to concentrate on what she’s saying, and I find myself getting lost in her eyes that brim with excitement every time she mentions a certain spot she really wants to visit.
“Are you doing all of this by yourself?” I ask.
“I mean, yeah,” she laughs, “I don’t know anyonein the city.”
I hum without saying a word.
The flight is short, but we arrive a little past midnight, and I’m officially beat. Aria fell asleep quickly after we took off, and now I’ve been trying to wake her for the past ten minutes, and damn, the girl sleeps like a rock.
“Darling,” I whisper. “We’re here. Let’s go.”
I don’t know when or why I started calling her darling. It felt fitting. I can think of a million other nicknames that suit her too.
Sunshine.
