“Well, let’s just say that he’s consistent,” I answer as I roll my eyes.
“I’m not intimidated by him,” Trevor says. “I’m not backing down.”
“I know,” I sigh. “Come on, let’s get out of here for today.”
I reach over and grab his hand, which he eagerly takes. Then we walk out of the office and onto the city streets, where I take a deep breath in and try to leave the stress of Max at the office.
“How do you do that?” Trevor asks as he looks over at me with amazement.
“Do what?”
“How can you take in such a deep breath of this smog-filled air?”
I laugh and lean in closer against him as we walk toward the subway station.
“I guess you just get used to it,” I answer him. I love the way it feels as his arm wraps around my back and holds me closely up against him.
“Where are you staying?” I asked him as soon as we get down into the subway tunnel.
Trevor laughs and looks around him as if he has no idea.
“Around here at a hotel somewhere, I think. Honestly, this city is so confusing. I don’t know how anyone knows how to get where they’re going.”
“Why don’t you come stay at my apartment with me?” I offer. “Tell me the name of the hotel and we’ll go grab your stuff and bring it over.”
I have no idea how long Trevor is staying, and honestly, I don’t even want to think about it because I don’t want him to leave.
“Tell me you didn’t drive that big-ass truck of yours here,” I tease.
“Of course I did,” he says feigning being offended. “You should have seen me trying to parallel park it.”
The two of us both erupt into laughter.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I say.
* * *
Later that night at my apartment, we have a glass of wine together and sit on the couch for a bit as Trevor marvels over the magnitude of looking out over the city. I curl up into the crook of his arm as he holds me with one arm and his wine glass with the other hand.
“I suppose there’s a beauty to the city too,” he muses as he stares out at the mesmerizing lights.
“There is,” I say. “But I’ve recently come to learn and appreciate that beauty isn’t a stagnant thing. It changes when you change.”
“Ava,” he says as he turns his face to look at me in the eyes. “You and I are meant to be together—Iknowit. We’ll figure this whole thing out, don’t worry.”
I smile at him, not sure whether he’s right about not having to worry and rest my head against his shoulder before falling asleep right there on the couch in his arms.
4
Trevor
In the morning, because we are both so tired and comfortable, we overslept. I didn’t mind it at all, in fact I would have loved to just stay right here on the couch with Ava in my arms all day long. But as soon as she woke up and realized she was late, she flew into a panic and rushed out the door. In my opinion, any boss and any job that makes you feel that upset when you first wake up is a job that you should quit immediately.
Since I am left to my own to explore around the fancy apartment and the busy city while I wait for Ava to finish work, I figure that I might as well try to see and do some things as long as I am here. But honestly, this whole scene is about as foreign to me as it would be to be on another planet. Even making coffee has me feeling as though I should have studied quantum physics in order to brew a pot. There are so many buttons and flashing lights with little symbols on the machine that look like hieroglyphics that I decide to just give up and unplug it before I end up burning the whole place down. I’ll just grab a coffee somewhere.
While I am wandering around the city and trying not to get so lost that I can’t find my way back, Ava texts me saying that she has to go to a dinner meeting tonight. At first, I’m bummed, and I stop in the middle of the sidewalk (which I quickly find out New Yorkershate)to text her back, but then she follows with another text that says I’ve been invited too. As suspicious as it sounds that Max has invited me to come along to a dinner meeting, I tell her that I’ll be there. He’s definitely trying to set me up, probably to make me look bad in front of Ava and her colleagues, but I don’t care. I’m going anyway. She sends me the address and I manage to find my way back to her apartment to get cleaned up and ready to go and meet her.
* * *
