Loving Mr. Murray

5. Central Perk doesn't exist?

* Not edited *

June 21st, 2015.

Manhattan, New York.

Ivory's POV.

"So I suggest, we go to Central Park. Ya know, enjoy the fresh air, throw some frisbees and eat some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – without the peanut butter of course." Hunter suggests with a grin.

"That would be awesome, I've actually never been to Central Park before." I admit shyly. "What?" I flinch at his unexpectedly loud but calm question. "You've never been to Central Park before? But you grew up in New York!" He exclaims with a frown on his face.

"Well yeah, but Westchester County is pretty far from Central Park and my mom wouldn't allow me to go that far from home." And she was a horrible selfish witch.

"Westchester County?" I hear him mutter. "If you don't mind me asking, Westchester County is a pretty rich area but you're struggling to pay your debts. I don't want to be nosy or anything but that's quite difficult to understand."

Oh no, here we have it. The golden question. The question I've heard hundreds of times. "Your parents are rich, so why aren't you?"

"It's a long story." I sigh. Looking away. Hoping that he would stop asking. Should I tell him?

And I guess he noticed my hesitance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry or anything." He says as we continue walking.

Maybe I should tell him, it only seems fair. Yesterday he told me his story so I guess it's time for me to tell mine.

Taking a deep breath, I try to muster the courage to tell him. "No it's ok, I want to tell you." I say with a lighthearted smile. "Well the thing is, my mo-" Before I can finish my sentence, Hunter places his hand on the small of my back to steer me in the right direction. "Sorry keep going." He says looking at me, his hand still on me.

"Uh... Right where was I? My mom, well yeah you know my dad he died pretty early on and after his death, my mom started acting differently, dressing differently. She-she..." I close my eyes for a second while taking a shaky breath. His hand-which is still resting on my back- steers me to the right. As I look up at him my eyes land on his breathtakingly beautiful eyes. "Go on, it's okay." He reassures me.

Sighing, I continue. " She turned into this type of gold-digger. She stopped caring about me and only cared for her appearance and money. Dad's death had devastated her. Eventually when I turned ten, she settled down with this rich guy named Miles. He really is a great guy, it's just that I know my mom doesn't love him for who he is but for what he has.

"He took care of me when my mom was busy flying off to Milan or Paris to go shopping and went to my parent-teacher meetings. When I did spend time with my mom, she would try to teach me to be more ladylike and not to participate in society. She basically trained me to be a trophy wife and stay home all the time. That's why I have never been to Central Park.

"When I turned eighteen and graduated, I told my mom that I wanted to study at NYU. That night, she had become so furious. She said that I was selfish and that she refused to pay for my studies. In the end she disowned me for not being what she wanted me to be."

Once I'm finished, I look up at Hunter to see his reaction.

His faced turned to mine and I was met with ice cold eyes, looking ready to kill. "She didn't pay your college fees because you refused to be a trophy wife?" he asks through gritted teeth. We stopped walking by now and he pulled me to a park bench. I sit quietly and carefully look up to him through my lashes, observing. His jaw is still clenched and the vein is his neck prominent as ever - he is trying to keep his cool. I place my right hand on his left to comfort him. After a couple of minutes and three deep breaths he turns to me and asks "What about Miles? He's rich right? Couldn't he have paid for it?" 

I scoff "Please. My mother was able to coax the poor guy into marrying her. What makes you think she can't stop him from paying my tuition? That woman can seduce him into doing anything for her."

That answer didn't really offer him any comfort as he starts biting the inside of his cheek. "I'm sorry you had such a poor of an excuse mother, Ives." 

"Ives?" I question with a raised brow. "Oh come on, that sounds nice right? Like we've known each other for years."

I laugh and shake my head at his cuteness. "On a more positive and fun note, where do you want to go? We can visit any place in New York."

"Really? Any place?" Excitement prominent in my voice.

He replies with a short chuckle "Anywhere, Princess."

Someone catch me. Because I'm about to faint. 

"Ehh h-how about Central Perk?" I stammer as I'm trying to fight the blush crawling its way up my skin.

"Central Perk?" he asks in disbelief. "Yeah, the coffee shop. Why? Do they serve bad coffee?" I question.

He replies with a shake of the head. "No. It's just that it doesn't exist. I think you've been a little too immersed in 'Friends', right?" 

What?  "It-it doesn't exist. It was fake? So my entire childhood I've dreamt of going to a fake coffee shop?" I mumble in disappointment. Stuffing my hands into the pockets of my coat, I look down at the ground and kick away a rock.

Hunter notices my sour mood and lifts my face up by holding my chin between his thumb and index finger. 

"Hey, it's alright. We can do other stuff right? How about we stick to the original plan and just throw a frisbee in Central Park and go out for some sandwhiches?" 

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HIIIIIIIIII GUUYYYYS

It's been way too long and I'm so so so sorry. I've been extremely busy with school, work and I recently had my finals and am waiting for the results. Fingers crossed!

Now that I have an early summer vacation I thought I'd pick up on the work I had been abandoning for about a year. I edited and slightly changed chapters 1-4 because I didn't really like my writing style. (Also, this is a little short. Sorry about that)

Thank you so much for reading and your support!

I'll see you next time

Lots of Love,

xx