Songs for this chapter are:
Hurt Me- Laspsley
Caves- Haux
Paper Thin- Astrid S
..
Landon's POV.
The Uber ride to her sister's apartment feels longer than the thirty-seven minutes it was supposed to take. On my app it says we have six more minutes until we arrive at her sister's building on West thirty-fourth street. I was going to take the Subway, but an Uber felt less chaotic, and it's much cheaper than a cab. When I got home from my shift, I had a text from Nora with her sister's address, telling me to meet her there at eight. She didn't go into anymore details. Just address, time, and a smiley face.
She was shy this morning when she left. She kissed me and whispered how much fun she had with me, but Hardin and Tessa were there so she didn't say much else.
I have a feeling she wanted to get there before me for a reason. Maybe she wanted to butter her sister up first? Should I be worried? I won't know what exactly I'm walking into until I cross the threshold of the Manhattan apartment. During the ride, I text Tessa back twice, but she doesn't reply. She's probably with Hardin and otherwise occupied.
I glance down at my phone again and check in with my mom and Ken. I don't mention my plans for the night. I don't need to stir the pot anymore than I already have and I don't want to give our parents anymore table gossip than they've already got. I'm meeting Nora's sister, so I'm sure word will get back to my mom sooner or later anyway.
"Is this it?" Asks Nathan, my shaggy-haired Uber driver. His turn signal is on again, and I hope the street isn't a one-way this time. I think Nathan is used to driving in Brooklyn, not Manhattan. This intersection is busy, we are between fifth and sixth avenue somewhere. I haven't spent much time in Manhattan since I moved here. Now I get why locals don't spend a lot of time near all the tourist attractions.
Nathan repeats himself and finally turns down his radio. Apparently Nathan really, really loves listening to Linkin Park. I wasn't sure there was anyone left in the world who still played their Hybrid Theory album, but this fateful Uber ride proved me wrong. That album came out when I was in elementary school, but liking Linkin Park was a staple of being cool during my youth. Something I wasn't, but when wide-leg JNCO pants were a thing, I tried my best. I even wore a wallet chain. Oh man, I'm glad there was no social media then. If I had a Facebook or Twitter back then, there would be too many receipts of my wanna-be-grunge days. To this day, I can't stand the smell of Lemons because I spent the summer spraying the ends of my hair with my mom's Sun In. I have a feeling that Nathan here had his own relationship with Sun In.
"Yeah. I guess so," I glance out of the window and read the black awning in front of the building on our left. Four-oh-eight West thirty-fourth street is printed in all capital, white letters. Here we go...
I climb out of the car and straighten my shirt out. I went for a simple, non threatening look today. All black. The shirt is a little tighter than I would have liked, but that's what I get for online shopping and guessing my size. It's not too snug though, I think it looks fine.
Well, I really hope it does.
As I get closer to the doorman, he waves his hand at me. He's waiting by the entrance, sitting perched in a stool. He looks familiar, like a cartoon character or someone from a movie. When I approach him, I notice just how short he is. His little body is round and his nose is a tiny bulb covered in broken capillaries.
I brush my fingers over the manicured bushes lining the front of the brick building. Even the outside of the building looks expensive. I pick a small pink flower and toss it back into the box. Why did I do that? It's a weird impulse to pull a flower from it's soil and rip it off? I can't even count the amount of times I've probably done that without thinking. How weird is that? Am I a secret sociopath who loves to rip flowers out by their roots and toss them back into the dirt? Am I overthinking this?
Probably.
The doorman and I exchange simply pleasantries when I make my way to the call box. Right before I can read anything, a buzzer goes off and the old man waves me inside. When I walk into the building it reminds me of a hospital. Clean white walls, shiny surfaces and that clean like Pine-sol and artificial aromas. It's nice, but since the only decorations are fake flowers, they only add to the hospital feel of it all. There's a guy behind the desk in the lobby area, but he doesn't say anything to me. Is he security or something? I don't know, but I walk away from him before I can find out.
Since no one has told me where to go, I keep waiting for Nora to pop out of no where and take me to the right place. This is the kind of building that I can't just roam around aimlessly without the cops being called. I peer down the long hallway and walk to the elevator. I should have read the list of last names on the roster, but I didn't get a chance.
The elevator opens in front of me and Nora is standing inside, her long dark hair is sleek and shiny, running down her shoulders in two glossy lines. It's beautiful, she's so beautiful. Her eyes are made up, lined with black wings and her eyebrows are darker, more defined. She looks so different, not in a bad way, just in a way that I haven't seen her before.
I'm used to her wearing makeup, even the red lipstick she wore yesterday was hot, but today she looks like a woman. Her pristine black shirt and pants are gleaming, like her dark hair and dark eyes. The green is more prominent in her eyes now that the dark lines bring the color to the surface. Her outfit is sexy, a black shirt that hangs off her shoulders and the neckline scoops down like a heart over her cleavage. It's almost inappropriate for her to look this good when I'm supposed to behave myself in front of her family.
"This elevator is too small," I tell her when I step inside. She smiles at me and it's a sheepish one. I take her hand in mine and kiss her palm. When the doors close, she presses a button with her free hand and I gently pull her to me.
"How was work?" I kiss her forehead, then her nose, then the corner of her mouth. "I missed you," I tell her with one last kiss to her hair.
Nora's lips part and she leans her body into mine, letting me lean her against the wall. "Good." Her lips taste like syrupy gloss.
"Did you miss me?" She asks me in a hushed voice. The elevator opens and I look down at her as she pulls away.
"Is the sky blue?" I ask her with my best smile. I even tilt my head and smile my best puppy smile. Her face lights up and she shakes her head at me.
She touches her long nails to her chin and grins back at me. "Actually, I think the sky is a little grey today."
I reach for her waist but she moves away just in time. "Patience, little one," she taunts me and I look behind her in the hallway and she falls for my trick and turns her body to follow my eyes. I'm able to catch her off guard and wrap my arms around her body, pinning her arms to her chest. I use my left hand to move her hair away from her neck and press my lips to her perfumed skin.
"I think you should look again," I pin her gently against the wall of the hallway. There's no one out here. Good. "The sky was pretty clear," I inform her. My fingertips follow the curve of her full breasts. This is the best shirt I've ever seen, I decide. Nora's chest is heaving, up and down, up and down. She's wearing a black choker around her neck and I want to take her back into the elevator.
Nora licks her lips and I feel her hands dig into the back pockets of my black jeans. "I guess you're right, it's pretty clear." She nips at my lips with her teeth and I groan, pressing her further into the wall. A door clicks open and I withdraw from Nora when I hear the click of high heels on the floor. A woman, who I immediately recognize as Stausey, is standing with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide. She drops her hand the moment our eyes meet, but she can't seem to blink.
"Stausey," Nora says her sister's name and I back away from her, tugging at my shirt. "This is Landon."
I rush over and reach for her sister's hand. She lifts it to me and I kiss the top of it. She leans in to kiss my cheeks and I don't know which way to turn and bam! Her lips touch mine and she pulls back, horrified. Nora's eyes are wide, but she's amused. Her sister, her very pregnant sister, is smiling too, seeming to understand how that European kissing greeting could be confusing for an American with very limited travel.
Stausey regards me, her eyes resting on each piece of my clothing, my hair, my hands, and back down to my shoes. "Nice to meet you," she brushes her hand against her dress and her fingers fuss with the bow around her waist. She's very pregnant and her body looks so tiny to be holding such a big... a big, ball of baby inside.
"How was the drive? Long, right?" Stausey asks me, pointing to the door just to our right. It's open and a man is inside, behind the bar area in the center of the room. The living room is huge, the size of my apartment, and Stausey's perfect specimen of a husband is pouring red wine into a row of stemmed wine glasses.
"It wasn't bad." I tell her.
"I try to stay on this side of the bridge when we are in town. Brooklyn is just so far," Stausey huffs and her heels click against the floor as we walk. Nora mumbles something about Miranda and Sex in the City and her sister asks me if I have a coat she could hang up for me and when I tell her no, she offers me a drink.
I don't know what to say and really, I could use a glass of courage. I take her up on her offer and walk past Nora to follow her sister to the bar.
(Author's Note- Nothing More comes out so soon omg. )