For the longest time

VII

"Hey, do I know you?"

I looked up and shielded the sun from my face with a hand, "hi," I said. The man standing over me had a face I could've easily recognized if I hadn't been so tired.

"You were at SNL the other night, weren't you? You're Ed's friend."

Stuart guided me through the empty hall of the 12th floor until he stopped in front of room 1280 and knocked on the door.

"Yeah! I'm coming!"

Ed's forehead had a few drops of sweat and his ginger hair stuck to it, he walked in his socks and had a beer in his hand, "hey!" he smiled when he saw us.

"Found her stalking you from across the street"

I rolled my eyes while they laughed and let me in.

"Is that all you've got?"

I nodded yes and let my bag hit the desk chair. Ed sat on the floor, his back against the king-sized bed and offered me and his manager a beer. Stuart grabbed two cold ones from the minifridge and handed me one, I set it on the table next to the chair and Stuart said he had to be somewhere else in ten minutes, he took a sip and put the beer back in the fridge, "I'll be back for it."

The door closed behind him and Ed sighed before taking another gulp from his drink.

"What?"

His lips stretched into a smile, "nothing. You pack light, Erin. Are you sure you don't want to crash here? There's loads of space, as you can see," he gestured his arms to emphasize his point, "and you don't take up much."

The walls were clean white, just like the sheets and every piece of furniture. There was a balcony that gave him the most beautiful view of Central Park and the carpeted floors looked like magic for your toes. "No, no, I'll be fine. I saw a coffee shop down the street that was in need of a barista, room included."

"You didn't go in?"

"It was closed. I'll go back in a while," I sat down in front of him, stretching my legs, our feet barely touching. I sank my bag into my lap and zipped it open, looking for an elastic band in the sea of my eclectic belongings.

"That's so cool that you know how to prepare coffee," he smiled and nudged my boot with his foot.

"I don't."

We both laughed and then fell into silence. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and started scrolling down. I pulled my notebook from my bag and wrote random words on a new page. Hotel. Beer. Coffee. SNL. NYC. Ginger. Socks. White. Central Park. Money. Acoustic guitars. Uncertainty. Carpe Diem.

"What's that?"

Ed pointed to a small pocket size manuscript that had fallen out of my bag. Tidal: A Collection of Poems by Erin York. "Oh," I held my words in my hands, wondering how I could describe this magical place where my thoughts are tangible to him, "I wrote it, about a year ago."

"Can I read it?"

Hesitantly, I handed him the key to my locked kingdom and watched his eyes scan my vulnerability. It was the second time in the day I was feeling naked, and not only I felt sexy, but also powerful.

There's a certain amount of bravery in translating your thoughts into words and let them be visible for everyone else.

"Wow"

I chewed on my lip, nervously and reached my hand to grab the now warm beer on the table, bringing it almost shaking to my lips, "do you like it?" 

"No, I... I mean, yes. I like it, it's just..." Ed looked into my eyes with the most vibrant and colorful blue pouring out of his, almost as if he was getting rid of a layer and showing me his vulnerable side, too. "... I've already read this."

A nervous yet delighted laugh escaped my lips, "I had a blog back in college."

"Was it imtidal.com?"

"Yeah," I smiled, "it was"

------

WOW, ED ALREADY KNEW ABOUT ERIN EVEN WHEN THEY BOTH DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER.

Please vote and comment and let me know what you think about this story and what you hope happens next.

PS: From now on, every chapter will have one of these poems at the end. They're the poems from Erin's unpublished book.

LOVE

-TJ