“Why are you walking so fast?” I squeal, trying to match Charlie’s pace. For every step that he takes, I feel as though I’m taking five.
“I’m trying to get you out of this weather,” he laughs, looking down at me and pulling me closer into his side by our linked arms. “I usually let you set the pace, but we’d never get back to the hotel if that were the case tonight.”
I listen to him, but keep my head tilted up, turning about at everything that surrounds me. One of my hands keeps hold of my olive colored beanie as the wind threatens to blow it from my head.
Sleet continues to whip at my face and catch in my eyelashes. I try to blink the water away, but it clouds my vision and for a moment, I see only large circles of light – white, red, green – before my eyes clear and I’m able to gape again.
It’s nearly midnight as we make our way to the streets, back to our hotel, but the city hasn’t even begun to quiet. Cars pass, one after another, their tires milling through the water on the street. All of the conversations around us blend together with the music that spills out from the bars and restaurants and onto the sidewalk.
“Do you need anything before we go back for the night?” Charlie asks quietly, looking down at me with calm, sleepy eyes. Everything about him is such a contrast to the noisy, erratic scene that we find ourselves in now, yet he manages himself (and me, in my state of spacey bewilderment) effortlessly through it all. His hand reaches up and pulls my scarf further up to cover the tip of my nose.
“I don’t need anything,” I say into the wool as he continues to lead me through the busy streets.
“Do you promise you’re not paying for this room on your own?” I ask as I lay my coat across the foot of the clean, freshly made bed and pull my hat from my head, patting away the static from my hair.
“Not even a portion of it,” Charlie says, walking into the bathroom.
Apparently, Charlie’s uncle had insisted on upgrading our room and paying for everything. The hotel seemed expensive enough as is, and the suite that he put us in was really too much. Though he was regretful that he couldn’t be here for Charlie’s fight on Friday night, he had been in the city since last weekend, working on a few projects here and interviewing potential employees for his building firm’s expansion in the city before returning, ironically, to oversee work on the home just across from Ben’s family.
I started to think about Allie then, how her break is going now that she’s graduated – she opted out of walking in the ceremony and went straight home when she could, to stay with her family for a while before moving to St. Louis with Ben. I’ve spoken to her a few times, of course, but not much about the move or how she feels about it. I think for a moment about how I would react if Charlie asked me to leave with him – to give up a job that I really wanted for an opportunity of his.
Of course, it isn’t the same. Charlie and I haven’t been together for years, we aren’t engaged, and surely I have years before I’m offered any sort of “dream job.” Still, his reaction to my reaction of Allie and Ben’s news was peculiar.
"Stella, lots of people don't like to be alone. They're engaged now; they've made a promise to live their lives together, not in two different regions for career's sake."
“He still wants to take us to dinner,” Charlie’s voice pulls me from the memory of his words to the present of them, “My uncle does, I mean. I was thinking we could explore a little more tomorrow before we meet up with him. There are lots of things I want to show you, what are you doing? Are you okay?” He frowns at me as he emerges from the bathroom. He’s shirtless, his layers of clothes hanging over his arm.
“Yes,” I say, confused.
“You look stressed out.”
“I do? I wasn’t – I’m not stressed. Should I be?” I smile and tilt my head.
“Of course not,” he shakes his head, laughing a bit to himself as he turns away from me and goes to his suitcase.
“Anyway,” he bends down and folds the clothes neatly, placing them into his luggage one by one, “I want you to see some of the buildings that he’s done and the new offices. Apparently they’re really nice and it’ll be my first time seeing them too.”
“Okay,” I yawn, leaning back onto the bed.
I stare at the strange, intricately designed globe-ish light over me. Even the ceilings in this room are luxurious.
Charlie appears in my vision within seconds, his brown curls falling forward as he stares down at me with a smirk, his arms pressed into the mattress on either side of my head.
“Appreciate your enthusiasm,” he says sarcastically, and then he moves one of his arms underneath my back and lifts me just enough to move me further up onto the bed before dropping me into the pillows.
“Well I’m sleepy. Maybe if you hadn’t made me run all the way back here,” I bite my lip to mask my smile.
Charlie lies on his side, his elbow propped against a pillow and his head leans against his hand while he stares down at me, still lying on my back.
“You would’ve frozen if I hadn’t made you pick up the pace. Feel–”
He laces his warm fingers through mine and brings my hand to my cheek. I flinch at the chill and he laughs low.
“You should go to sleep now though, if you’re tired. There is somewhere I want to take you tomorrow and we’ll have to leave early.”
“How early?” I almost groan.
“Before the sun rises,” he says, grinning and raising his brows at me.
“Where are you taking me?” I demand.
“Can’t tell you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re scaring me.”
He laughs and moves his elbow, shifting and letting his head fall onto the pillow beside me, so close our noses nearly touch.
“You don’t need to be scared.”
Then he frowns, “Well – are you afraid of heights?”
“Um—“ I think for a second, “I don’t really know. I don’t suppose I’ve ever been very high off the ground before. Except for in an airplane.”
He laughs again, “I think you’ll be fine.”
And if it were anyone but him, I wouldn’t take their word, but from Charlie, I don’t need much reassurance -- He is hazard conscious enough for the both of us.
As expected, I wake up before the sun rose, and I say a small ‘thank you’ to the universe for allowing me to wake on my own, and not to some brash alarm noise. It was the small fan of light that crept in from underneath the bathroom door that woke me, and the hushed sound of Charlie’s voice, raspy from the early morning, speaking to what I assumed to be his phone.
I couldn’t make out much of the conversation, though I did collect a “she’s still asleep,” and something about not “pressing” at dinner.
Rather than become instantly concerned with what I can’t understand, I turn in bed so that I’m facing away from the light and close my eyes again. Before I can drift, the light assaults my eyes again. I squeeze them shut and groan a bit.
I shouldn’t be such a rag, but I can’t think of anything that Charlie and I could do right now that we couldn’t do after 9 a.m.
“Wake up, baby,” Charlie whispers. I feel weight on the foot of the bed as he begins to craw up and over me.
I turn underneath him and stare up with squinted eyes and a crinkled nose, “You have a pretty important job to do tomorrow,” I say with some discontent, referring to his fight, “Running on only a little sleep doesn’t seem like a good way to compensate for being injured.”
Charlie starts to frown, but then smiles, “I’ll worry about that later. We have more important things to do today.”
Then, he climbs off of me and pulls the covers away from me, “Come on. I’ve already laid clothes out for you. It’s freezing.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” I fire, sitting up suddenly and motioning to my bare legs that have just come into quick contact with the chilly air in the room. “And what could possibly be more important than boxing right now, Charlie? I know you know what you’re doing, but I can tell you’re still hurt and that scares me.”
He is already bent over, searching through his own suitcase. He sighs and I can tell that he wishes he could just ignore me. “I never lose fights, Stella. I’ve trained nearly every day for years and I know what I’m capable of.” His voice is rather calm, hiding any annoyance that I’m sure he feels at my worrying. He zips the suitcase and stands, pulling a navy sweater on over his gray shirt. “There are things I want to show you and that’s more important to me, so just let me worry about tomorrow later, okay?”
I sigh and roll my eyes before throwing my legs to the side of the bed and scooting off.
“Thank you,” he smiles as I brush past him.
“You’re sassy in the morning.”
I let Charlie lead me again, keeping close to his side by wrapping both of my arms around his. He keeps a quick pace at first, but then he notices how quickly my feet are moving to keep up and he slows down with a smirk.
Within a few blocks, it becomes clear to me that in this city, unlike Clemson or my hometown, times for starting and stopping overlap. I watch as a woman stumbles in front of Charlie and I, trying to pull off her hot pink, patent leather pumps on her way into a yielded cab. Her bleach blonde hair is wet at the tips, and I look around the streets to try to determine where she might’ve come from.
“Isn’t it strange,” I ask Charlie, “That we’re waking up while some people are just going to sleep?”
“Such is life.”
He removes his hand from his own pocket then, pulling his arm away from mine before catching my hand and intertwining our fingers.
It feels as if we’ve walked the entire city before Charlie finally leads us up the wide steps of a skyscraper. I see no hints of what the building may be, but I am positive that the building is entirely closed.
But as we approach the tall, glass doors, the reflections of light on the glass begins to shift and one of the doors is opened and a man in a dark grey suit emerges.
“Charlie?” he questions, extending a hand to shake Charlie’s.
“Nice to meet you, Stefan. Thanks for getting here a bit early for us,” Charlie smiles at him, “This is Stella. Stella, this is Stefan. He works with my uncle.”
“Works for. No need to be polite,” Stefan raises his eyebrows and shakes my hand, “And it’s my pleasure.”
Stefan motions for us to follow him inside. He’s a short and slender man, just a little taller than me and he walks quickly through the massive lobby, giving us directions that I’m hoping Charlie’s keeping up with.
“…And you can just take that elevator there,” he points, “Straight up to the fifty-third floor and then you’ll have to take the stairs for the rest of the way,” Stefan stops in his tracks, turning and offering another smile while Charlie leads us past him.
“Thanks again,” he says charmingly.
“Nice to meet you,” I call over my shoulder as we head towards the elevator.
Charlie keeps my hand in his as we walk towards the back of the lobby.
“Are we going to watch the sunrise from the top floor?”
“Not the top floor,” he says, pressing the button beside the elevator door. Within seconds, the door rings and opens. “We’re going to watch it from the very top of the building, unless you’re scared,” he says warily.
We’re on the elevator now, facing back towards the grand lobby. Hardly any lights are on, but the huge room is hardly dark because most everything is stark white, pulling in light from the streets and surroundings. There are white walls (where there isn’t glass, that is), white marble floors, white furniture, and hanging at different heights from from the multistory ceilings are huge, modern looking crystal chandeliers, though they aren’t on. The lighting in the elevators glows gold in contrast, and as the elevator door closes, I watch my shadow disappear against the floor in front of me.
“I’m not scared,” I look up at Charlie.
“Good,” he nods. “I’m sorry if you thought I was being ‘sassy’ earlier. I just want you to have fun on this trip, and not worry about things that don’t require your worry.”
“Charlie, I think your wellbeing requires my worry,” I sigh, “But apology accepted. I think this makes up for you sass. Have you ever done this before?”
“No, but I’ve heard it’s amazing.”
When we make it onto the roof of the building, the blackness of the sky is just starting to let up. I begin to walk towards what I believe to be the east side of the building, but Charlie stays behind. “Am I headed in the right direction?” I ask, turning over my shoulder.
“Yes,” he laughs.
I turn back towards the approaching edge, guarded by fence-like ledge. “Aren’t you coming,” I call back to Charlie, and then I hear him start towards me. While I begin to take in the view, I feel his arms wrap around me from behind and he nuzzles his nose against my shoulder.
“Are you cold?” he asks, “I should’ve brought blankets – something.”
“I’m okay actually. It’s not so bad,” I say, wrapping my arms around his at my waist. The first presence of golden light flicks in the horizon, as if someone has tuned on a switch. The nearest buildings that surround us are shorter, giving us a clear view of the city. We stand still, silent, as the sun comes into view, its light spreading over the skyline and taking the stage from the streetlights and glowing neon and fluorescence that lights the city at night. Below us, the sounds have changed from the sporadic sounds of horns and sirens to quick passing traffic and a collective hum from the noise of commuters.
“I don’t know how anyone could feel lonely here,” I say quietly, thinking to myself, mostly.
“Huh?” Charlie asks. His hands are now on mine inside of my coat pockets.
“Do you remember when Allie said that New York City would be a hard place to feel lonely in? Like, it would be even sadder to be lonely among all of this. I don’t think anyone could really feel lonely here.”
Charlie is quiet, and I assume he agrees. He squeezes my hands with his and then withdraws them from my pockets and steps back away from me. I straighten and turn as he walks slowly towards the corner of the building, away from me.
As he walks, he speaks quietly, but I hear him all too clearly, “I think someone could be very lonely here.”
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The photo in the sidebar is of Lana Del Rey. I don't picture Stella looking exactly like her by any means, but the color and curl of her hair in the photo is pretty spot on for what I imagined. She's in NYC too, so I thought it appropriate. But I would seriously love to hear whom you all imagine as Stella and Charlie, if you're somone who pictures specific people when you read. I tend to imagine compilations and versions of people, but I'm still curious to hear your picks.
I'm tired, and even though there are possibly and probably loads of mistakes in this, I'll find them later.
Thank youuuuu for reading. :) Not many chaps left!