The Price of Love

9-New York City

Part of Anna expected for her and Alex to have moved closer together sometime during the night. That was what happened in the movies and stories, right? Instead, she woke up and saw their hands almost holding each other. Their fingers were slightly touching, and Anna smiled. She slowly sat up and moved out of the bed, moving to take a quick shower. When she was done, she put on her favorite black pencil skirt and white button up long sleeved shirt. She began to curl her hair, leaving the door open as she did so. She watched as Alex woke up, rolled around in the bed, and sat up.

   "Morning sleeping beauty," Anna joked. Alex laughed, sleep still heaving lacing his voice.

   "An early riser I see," he replied. He tossed the blanket off of his body and stood up, stretching his arms out. Anna closed the door so he could have some privacy. Staring at her now curled hair for a moment, she took a hair tie and made the decision to pull it into a high ponytail. She then pulled out a few strands to frame her face.

"Perfect," she said to herself, dusting off her outfit. She stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at Alex, who was combing his hair in the small mirror on the wall.

   "Hey," he said. "You look nice."

   "Thank you," she replied with a pep in her step. "Ready?"

"Just have to grab the papers," he said, walking towards her nightstand and grabbing the pile of papers she had previously left aside. She smiled and fiddled with the bottom of her skirt.

"I'm kinda nervous," she said with a smile, and Alex was surprised to hear those words come from the confident woman.

"Don't worry. We've got this in the bag," he replied with a wink. She laughed and they walked outside of the room. They hailed a cab and Anna rolled her window down, leaning her torso out. "What are you doing?"

   "Taking it all in," she replied, sitting back down and smiling at her friend. They stepped out and Rosie turned around, staring upwards at the skyscrapers. "I'm going to live here someday."

   "I don't doubt it for a second," Alex replied, setting his hand in his pocket. She smiled at him, before linking her arm in his. He nervously looked down at the floor for a moment, wondering what he should do.

   "Come on. You can't want to stay in Ohio forever," she said. "There's gotta be somewhere else."

   "I guess a big city would be nice," he said, looking around at the buildings and people. She smiled up at him.

   "See! Now you're getting it!" She exclaimed excitedly. He laughed as they began to walk towards their conference. They walked in and saw professional business men and women in booths with information on their independent banks.

"There's ours," Alex said. They walked over and set up, continuing to work throughout the day. After a large meeting, filled with boring lectures on customer service and money, they were finally done.

"Where do you want to go now?" Anna asked as they left.

"I thought we'd just go back to the hotel?" He replied. Anna rolled her eyes playfully.

"We're in New York! We have to do something!" She exclaimed. He smiled at her.

"Come on," he said impulsively, leading her in the opposite direction they had been going.

"What?" She replied. He hailed a cab and he told the driver where to go. "Where are we going?"

   "You'll see when we get there," he said. She curiously watched out the window for something that would give away where they were going, but she couldn't find any clues. Eventually, they stepped out of the car.

"What?" Anna asked, staring up at the sky.

"Let's go to the top," he said. She looked at him in shock.

"You wanna go to the top of the Empire State Building?" She asked. He nodded with a wide smile. The two walked into the building and stepped into an elevator.

"Ready when you are," he said, hovering his finger over the button that would lead to the top. She smiled at him and reached her own finger over, pressing his finger onto the button. It lit up and their stomachs dropped as the elevator slowly moved upwards. They looked at each other with fear and excitement in their eyes. The two watched through the large window as they rose higher and higher off the ground. The elevator stopped at the top and the two stared out the window.

   "It's beautiful," she said as they witnessed the sun setting over the city. They stood right next to the glass, not fearing or paying attention to the drop below them.

   "It really is," he replied, watching the stunning scene in front of him. Anna slipped her arm around Alex's waist in a side hug.

   "Thank you," she said. He looped an arm around her shoulder, accepting the hug.

   "Yeah. Anytime," he replied, smiling down at her.