Fill Me (Rouse Me 3)

"We could move to New York."

"You just started a business."

"I could take the New York bar. I could start a business here."

She shakes her head. "You're getting ahead of yourself."

"But I like getting ahead of myself. I like envisioning us as some bicoastal power couple."

She cringes and sticks out her tongue. "I am not going to be half of a power couple. That sounds horrifyingly public."

"It's an interesting idea," I say.

"Let's survive this separation before we get any crazy ideas."

She leans back into me, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.

We spend the rest of the drive absorbing the scenery. When we finally cross the bridge into the city, I'm in awe. Spending so much time in Los Angeles, it's so easy to forget how a real city feels. But this is a fucking city. The slate gray streets, the bright yellow taxis, the dark blue of the Hudson River.

We stop at a building on Water Street.

It's a nice place--as sleek on the inside as it is on the outside. Everything about it is shiny, clean, and new. Alyssa bites her lip, clearly not in love with the place. She throws me an of course you want me to live here, you rich snob kind of look.

A security gua

rd greets us. It's early, barely seven a.m., but he's incredibly chipper. Nothing like the prototypical angry New Yorker. He makes small talk before handing over the set of keys.

"This is a very selective building," he says.

Alyssa smiles politely, playing her part, as usual. When the guard isn't looking, she turns to me and raises her eyebrows.

"It's a safe neighborhood," I say.

She shakes her head, but there's something sweet about her expression. She appreciates my concern.

We take the elevator to the twenty-third floor and take a long hallway to its end. It's a corner apartment. It must be as nice as promised.

"Jesus Christ." Alyssa's eyes go wide.

The view is amazing--we can see half the city beyond the dfloor-to-ceiling windows.

The apartment itself is small. There's a main room with a couch and a TV. A tiny kitchenette. A small bedroom with a very nice king-sized bed. The bathroom has a very spacious shower-tub combo. I have to stop myself from asking Alyssa to christen it.

She's already half asleep on the couch.

"How about coffee?" I ask.

She grins. "Such a sharp mind. I knew there was a reason why I liked you."

***

After coffee, we spend the morning touring downtown. Wall Street, Bryant Park, the famous charging bull statute, even City Hall. I ramble about the eight million scenes of Law and Order that took place on the steps of City Hall. Alyssa humors me, nodding along like she's enjoying my speech.

We move to the park across the street. She slings her arms around my neck, raises to her tiptoes, and kisses me. It's so soft and sweet that I forget where we are or why we're here.

"I'm starting to rethink my sightseeing plans," I say.

She leans in towards me until we're only inches apart. "We have a whole day and a half. And we're missing out on that San Diego hotel experience."