Loving Mr. Murray

2. Not too shabby.

* Not edited *

June 20th, 2015

Manhattan, New York.

Ivory's POV.

Why did I agree to this again? I look up at the mysterious man as we walk towards his car with his – I assume – driver walking behind us. We haven't spoken a word since he made his offer.

"You know staring is rude, right?" he says with a grin, without looking at me.

"Sorry, I'm just wondering why you would randomly offer me a place to stay." I say as I avert my eyes towards the ground.

"I'll tell you later." Well that's reassuring.

We get to his car and he opens the door. "Ladies first." He says, his free hand offering to  help into his car.

"Thank you." I reply shyly and put my small hand in his large one.  He chuckles lightly and gets in after me. " Alright Jackson, to my penthouse." He tells his driver and a few seconds later I hear the engine roar.

I look at him in awe. What if he is a serial killer? What if he sells body parts? What if he sells my body parts?

"You're doing it again." I hear someone whisper in my ear. I yelp and press myself against the door. "Why did you do that? You scared the life out of me." I mutter as I lightly hit his arm. "You were staring again." He says while looking at me with a playful glint in his eyes.

"I was?" He nods. "I'm sorry. You were going to explain why you offered me a place to stay. And I just wanted to let you know that my kidneys and lungs are in very poor condition."

He frowns for a few seconds before letting out a hearty chuckle. And let me tell you, the laughter of this stranger is one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard in my entire life. Just looking at him laughing makes my heart skip a beat. It makes him look so breathtakingly handsome. The slight crinkles around his eyes and the lines around his mouth which showed that smiling and laughter was part of him, those imperfections were so beautiful to me. How could they not be? For when he smiled, it felt as if the world - for a moment - was a better place.

He's so beautiful. His soft laughter makes him look so much younger. Hearing is velvety voice come out of his mouth like that is like music to my ears.

I keep staring at him. "I'm not going to sell your body parts you know." He says while trying to redeem his composure. With my eyes still locked onto his face, he scoots closer to me, closing the distance between us. I try to distract myself by looking away, concentrating on the glass that separated us from Jackson. 

"Ivory, look at me." His low whisper reaches my ears. I turn my head towards him and find his face extremely close to mine. My breath hitches but I keep looking at him. "No need to be embarrassed, I get why you're paranoid." He murmurs softly while staring at my lips. It's getting hot in here!

"I don't know your name." I whisper breathlessly while looking him in the eyes. His hand lets go of my face and he places it back on his lap. "Crap, I forgot." He says more to himself than to me. I hear some shuffling and dare to steal a glance. He straightens out his suit jacket and runs a hand through his dark hair. As he turns my way, I quickly look outside the window, pretending I didn't see him.

Clearing his throat, he tries to catch my attention. I turn to him, acting as if he did.

"My name's Hunter, Hunter Murray. It's a pleasure meeting you, Miss Harrison." He introduces and holds out his hand for me to shake.

"This should have been done way sooner." I mutter as I shake his hand. "I know, sorry." He says while sheepishly scratching the back of his head. Wow, his muscles are on point. Quickly I shake myself out of my thoughts. What am I thinking? I barely even know this guy.

"So, Hunter, can you tell me why you've offered me a place to stay?" I ask. He stays silent for a few seconds, trying to come up with something.

"I know what it's like to live on the streets, I know I don't look like someone who has lived on the streets but that is a whole different story. I just saw you, so helpless and fragile, I just wanted to prevent you from going through what I went through." He explains. Releasing a deep sigh, he looks at me expectantly, waiting for my reply.

"So you don't think I can take care of myself?" I say seriously, but secretly I want to mess with him.

"I-I didn't mean it like that, I mean you look very strong – I don't mean muscular but – uhm because you aren't that big. I-uh-I you're very pretty!" He quickly word-vomits at me. Even though it is dark, I can see his cheeks turning a little pink. He scratches the back of his head again and looks out of the car window.

I laugh softly. He is different from all the other guys I've met before. He isn't as cocky, kind of adorable actually. Which doesn't suit his appearances at all. He looks like a heartbreaker, the ones you'd read about in teenage romance novels but has the personality of a cute innocent puppy. 

Wait, did he just say that I'm pretty?  My eyes widen as I finally realize what he just said to me. At first I just thought it was cute that he was stuttering but now...

And soon enough, my cheeks heat up and I start feeling hot again.

Before I can say anything in reply, I feel the car decelerate. "We're here Mr. Murray." I hear Jackson say. I see him walk towards my side of the car and opens the door for me. I thank him and turn around to see Hunter speed walking towards the gigantic apartment block with all my luggage in his arms.

I chuckle at his nervousness and shake my head. "Thank you, Jackson."

He looks up at me with a serious look on his face. "No problem, Miss. And please take care of Mr. Murray, he's a good man." He says, I can see he truly cares about this man. I nod "I will, even though I barely know him, I'll take care of him."

"Thank you." He gives me a curt nod, turns around and starts walking back towards his car. "Oh and Jackson?" I quickly call for him. "Yes, Miss?" He asks me with a curious look gracing his features. "Please call me Ivy." I say, accompanied with an airy smile.

He looks suprised, but soon enough his perplexed expression morphs into a smile. "I will, Ivy. Goodbye!" he waves at me. I quickly wave back and start running towards the building. Hunter is standing there, patiently holding the door, still avoiding eye contact. What should I do? I know! Touch him, that way I'll tell him it's ok. Right? Or is that just with kids? I don't know how to act around him. I don't know how to act around guys in general. Hence why I haven't had a boyfriend in three years.

I gently rest my hand on his arm that is holding the door open. "Thank you, Hunter." I murmur in his direction. He looks down at me. He's so tall. I smile at him sweetly. He quickly pulls back his arm to scratch the back of his head again. He seems to do that a lot. "No problem." He replies softly while looking down and he swiftly walks past me, heading towards the elevators.

I stand there, frozen. Did I just get rejected? Wait, no. Not rejected, how can I get rejected when I don't even like him. I barely know him.

And for the first time, I take notice of my surroundings. Damn, this lobby is huge.

"Not too shabby, Mr. Murray." And I hurriedly scamper after him.

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Hellooooo it's meee.

I hope you enjoyed chapter two of 'Loving Mr. Murray.'

It's a little boring right now, but I promise! Be patient and the juicy parts will come to you soon enough.

See you then!

xx