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I came up with this idea a while ago. I hope y'all enjoy it! There will be a post everyday this week - as the story continues!! Again, I left the name of the main character in the story. I find it difficult to write without it. Sorry!
Link to the beginning:
Today's post: Fluff, Shameless Product Placement (IYKYK)
Monday
I was so thrilled to be back in my city. The Concrete Jungle. The City that Never Sleeps. The Big Apple. NYC.
The brisk fall air slaps my cheeks as I step out of the taxi in front of my building. Turning back, I help collect the luggage from the cab trunk: Two suitcases, a pair of backpacks, one large garment bag and a guitar case. My boyfriend pays the driver.
“Welcome back Miss Mooreland!” Carl, the doorman, is quick to help with the luggage onto a cart. “And your guest is?”
Smiling, “Carl, this is James.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Here, let me get that for you.” Carl reaches for the guitar case.
James quickly picks up the case. “I can get that, thank you.” He smiles at the doorman, “But would appreciate your help with the rest tho.”
“Of course!” Carl smiles back as he holds the door open for both of us. “It’ll be up in a minute for you Miss Mooreland.” Seeing another resident, “Mrs. Friedman, you and Floofy had a good walk I hope.”
The elderly woman scoops up the little lap yap yorkie, “We did Carl, thank you.” Seeing me, “And you are back from your adventures?”
“Yes, Mrs. Friedman.” Taking James elbow, “May I introduce you to James Hetfield?” James offers his hand.
Shaking just his fingers, “Are your people from Wisconsin?” Mrs. Friedman squints up at James’ face as she is shorter than me.
Blushing slightly, “I honestly do not know” James admits.
Letting go of his fingers, “Well, you have their height.” Setting the little yorkie down, “Come along Floofy. We need to visit Mr. Jefferies” as she pushes the call button for the elevator. When it arrives, “Shall we share this one?” she asks.
“Thank you, Mrs. Friedman.” I grab James’ hand, and we get into the small car. Mrs. Friedman pushes the buttons for the 9th and 12th floors. I smile kindly at the elderly woman.
“Will you be in town for the Holidays?” Mrs Friedman asks.
Nodding, “At least for the Parade. James has not experienced it live.”
“Ah. That will be fun.” The elevator stops on floor 9. “Here we go Floofy.”
“Have a good afternoon” I say to the old woman. When the doors are closed, leaning back into James, “Booty call.” James snorts a laugh as the doors open on the 12th floor. “This way” I lead James down the hallway. Opening the door, “Ahh! Home.”
“Woah.”
My apartment is done all in white with tile flooring. The furniture in tan is understated but comfy. Dropping my backpack on a chair at the dining table, shedding my heavy jacket as well, I take James into the living room. The large windows look out over Central Park. The foliage in the park is a glorious mix of golds and reds with a smattering of evergreens. The doorbell rings. I leave James staring out the window.
“Thank you, Carl.” I take the luggage from the doorman.
“Glad that you are back safely, Miss Mooreland.”
Laughing, “Carl, when are you going to call me Kira?”
Leaning into me, “When the old biddies are all gone!” Carl chuckles as he closes the front door.
James wraps his arms around my waist. “This is a cool place!” His coat now is on the chair with mine.
“It’s small, but home.” Pointing to a room right by the front door, “My office.” Taking his hand, “Kitchen. You’ve seen the living room. Guest bedroom, my bedroom and” opening the last closed door, “storage or Grandmother’s room.” It’s taken all of about 20 steps for him. 50 for me.
“You weren’t kidding about it being small” James says as he investigates my bedroom. The king bed almost fills the entire room.
Smiling awkwardly, “I like a big bed.” Pointing to a darkened doorway, “Bathroom.” Wandering back to the living room, “There are two more bathrooms as well.” Collecting my backpack, I go into my office. Flipping on the light, I wince a little. The desk is covered in piles of folders, magazines, newspapers and books.
“Why would put your office in the smallest room?” James asks, “Why not clear out the other bedroom overlooking the park?”
Smiling up at him and wrapping my arms around him, “I’d never get any work done with that view.”
Frowning slightly, “Huh.” James cups my head and plants a kiss on my lips.
Detangling myself from his body, I set my phone on the charging stand. James pats his pockets and pulls out his phone checking its charge. “Uhm, do you have a place I can plug in?”
Digging into a desk drawer, I find a cord and plug one end into a hub. Holding the other end to him, “A little Apple juice?” I smirk.
“That’s funny!” he chuckles as he takes the cord and plugs it into his phone.
Kissing his bicep and I retrace my steps into the kitchen. Checking the fridge, “Yikes.”
“What?”
I let the fridge door swing all the way open. There’s a mustard bottle, ketchup, soy sauce, butter, and a few cans of Severed Lime. The rest of the shelves were empty. “I think we need to hit up the store.”
“uhm, I’d say so” James huffs a laugh.
Quickly collecting my wallet, shrugging back into our big coats, I lock the door after stepping into the hallway. James rests his hand in the small of my back inside the elevator. Carl holds the door for us as we walk out onto the sidewalk.
James asks, “Cab?”
“On the way back. It’s just a short walk there.” Buttoning up my jacket, “But carrying the full grocery bags back can be a pain.” Slipping my hand into his elbow, “This way” I smile up at him. Although the parade is just a couple days away, the streets are only slightly crowded at the moment. James is getting a little tense. At the stoplight, I look up at him, “You ok?”
“Yeah,” he smiles down at me, “Just not used to so many people.”
Nodding, “Colorado is a lot less populated.” Tugging him with me when the light changes we cross the street.
Entering the store, I grab a shopping cart. Pulling out of the main traffic flow, “James, are we doing turkey dinner in or out?”
James steps in front of the cart, leaning his tattooed hands on it. “I don’t know” he says honestly.
Smiling gently at him, “If you do the bird, I can do the rest.”
His face lights up, “Deal!”
Unbuttoning my coat, “Right then. Meat department first.”
An hour of shopping and cab ride later – his height made hailing one super easy - we step from the taxi back at the building. Carl is there immediately with the cart. As I pay the driver, Carl and James load the groceries onto the cart. The three of us and the cart take the elevator to the 12th floor. At my front door, “Oh. Carl, we have a turkey being delivered on Wednesday from the store.” I hold the door for Carl to pull the cart inside my apartment.
“Thank you, Miss Mooreland. I will add you to the list.” Carl helps put the sacks on the counter. As he pulls the cart back into the hallway, “Should I put it in your fridge if you are not available for the delivery?”
“Yes, please Carl. I don’t know our plans just yet.”
Nodding, “I will see it’s taken care of. Have a good evening!” Carl makes certain that the front door clicks shut.
After putting all the groceries away, I set about making dinner. James seems to be fascinated by the view out the living room window. The sun is setting and dancing off the windows in the high rises. The leaves in the park are dancing in the winds as they pick up. After making sure that our dinner is simmering just right, setting a timer, I join him, slipping an arm around his waist.
He drapes his arm around my shoulders. “I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“Why your office is in the back room.”
We stand there for a time just watching. The trees. The setting sun. I point out a skein of geese flying over the Park. Shifting me to stand in front of him, he wraps both arms around me. I lean back into his chest. A siren screams down the street. I heave a sigh.
“Life in the big city, huh?”
“yeah” I sigh out.
The timer dings.
“That smells good.” But his arms still remain wrapped around me.
I squeeze his arms, “It’s going to burn if I don’t take it out of the oven.”
Kissing my shoulder, “Don’t want that!” he rumbles into my ear. Easing his hold on me, I move back into the kitchen. He follows me. “Is there something I can do to help?”
Opening a cabinet, “Yes, please. Can you grab two of those big white bowls?”
“What?” he grins. “You can’t reach those?” He easily lifts the bowls down. He holds them tightly as I try to collect them.
“Thank you” I purr at him. He lifts my chin and tenderly kisses me. I breathe deeply. His cologne, the faint cigar smoke, him, fills my nose. “Dinner is going to burn” I purr. He huffs a laugh gently, letting go of the bowls.
I check on the rice and open the oven door. The steam from the paella wafts out. Pulling the dish out, I set it on the stove to cool.
“Where will I find silverware?” James asks sincerely.
“Oh. Thanks! That drawer. And there are glasses in that cabinet.” Tasting the paella, I add just a couple grinds of pepper. “Napkins are in that drawer.”
I watch him go about setting the table. This, the megarocksuperstargod that I about dumped three months ago, doing a mundane task. A freak September snowstorm gave us a second chance. He has been working on changing. So have I. It’s not been an easy road. We have had some heated discussions. We have had some intensely deep discussions. But - so far - we have agreed that this is the best relationship either of us have had and it’s worth the effort to make it work. His offering to set the table is just one more step in the right direction for us. It was his idea for us to spend Thanksgiving in NY. That he’d be willing to give up the sanctity of his Colorado home for the big city during one if its biggest events spoke volumes to me.
As I dish out the rice and paella into the bowls, James collects drinks for both of us from the fridge. “Squashed or Severed?” he asked.
“Either will work with the paella.”
Smiling at me, “Blended it will be!” Filling two large glasses with ice, he pours half of one can into each glass, adding half of the second can to each. Taking a spoon from the drawer, he gives them a gentle stir. He carries them to the table, me following with the bowls.
Taking a bite of the paella, “This is so good!” James smiles at me.
“Thanks.” I smile gently.
“What’s that look for?” his concern genuine.
“My Grandmother taught me to make it.”
Taking another big bite, “She taught you well” James smiles at me. “Tell me about her.”
Sighing, “She raised me from the time I was three.” James looks at me and puts his spoon down. “My parents died” I shrugged off the memories. Looking around the apartment, “She bought this apartment when it was new before I was born.” Taking a sip of the concoction James had made, “That’s good!” I smile at him. Hie eyes light up. “When I was 23, she added me to the paperwork.” Smiling awkwardly at him, “When she died, it reverted to me.” I set the glass down. “I didn’t mean to be a Debbie downer.”
James rests his hand on mine, “I’m sorry about your parents. But it seems that you have a lot of happy memories here with your Grandmother.”
“I do.” I took another sip. “I am grateful for everything she gave me. This apartment. My love for reading that got me my job.” I smile at James. “Her cookbook!” I giggle.
Picking his spoon back up, “Me too!” he chuckles at me.
We finish dinner talking about my childhood memories in this apartment. Going to the Parade. The Rockettes. The windows. The baking. Summers playing in the park. The fall trips to Vermont to go leaf peeping.
As we clean up, James really looks around. “This kitchen is newer.”
Nodding, “I upgraded about six years ago.” Shuddering, “It needed it.”
“That bad?”
Patting his chest as I leave the kitchen, “Think avocado green and shag carpet.”
James shudders. “Shag carpet?”
“Yup. The whole place.”
“Blech!” He sinks into the sofa, pulling me with him. “It looks good now.”
“Thanks.”
He presses a kiss to my neck. Leaning back, “So what’s the schedule tomorrow?”
Twisting slightly and leaning into his chest, “I have three articles that need to get finished. Two won’t take long. But the third one, she gets technical and I have a lot to look up.”
“You have to look up?”
“Yeah. I made the mistake once to not double check and there was holy hell to pay. Not making that mistake again."
James wraps a hand around my head and kisses my hair. “While you are working, then I want to get to the management company office. They will probably insist on taking me out to lunch.” He looks at my face, “That ok with you?”
Again, my heart is warmed that he’s really trying. A few months ago, he would have just taken off and not said a damn word to me. “Yes.” I kiss his chin, “Just bring me the leftovers, please. I will probably forget to eat lunch.”
Patting my stomach, “You got it!” his eyes sparkle as he grins. Looking out the window, “Dang, it gets dark here early.”
“Yeah. And sadly, we don’t get the stars.”
“Too many lights.”
“Yup.” Leaning forward I grab the TV remote and power up the system. We watch a little bit of the local news. After the weather report – potential snow flurries for the Parade – I change the channel to a nature show. I can feel him looking at me. “The rest of the news will be shootings, stabbings, holdups.” Looking up at him, “Sunday will be game day.” His eyes light up. “Yes, I get all the games. I have the morning game, you have the afternoon game.” He looks like a kid that just got handed the keys to the candy store.
“I’ll stop on the way back tomorrow and get some ribs from that store.”
“I’ll text you the address” I smile up at him. “And my address so you have it.”
Gently kissing me, “And text me anything else you want to go with the ribs.”
He wraps his fingers around the back of my neck and messages it. “mmmm. That feels good” I murmur.
Leaning into my ear, “It’s been a long day. Let’s get a shower” his voice a velvet rumble.
I stand, power off the TV and take his hand, pulling him from the sofa leading the way to my bathroom. It is a bit smaller than his in Colorado. But the white marble and glass stall fit us both comfortably. We take turns washing each other’s hair and scrubbing each other’s backs. I wrap my hair up in a second towel, using a bath sheet around my body. James, wraps in a towel, goes to his luggage and pulls out his toiletries bag. I am brushing my teeth when he comes back, claiming the second sink and starts brushing his teeth. Finishing drying my hair, I hang up both my towels and pad naked to my bed.
Flipping off the bathroom light, a very naked James joins me between the sheets. He wraps me in his arms, pulling me to his chest. Kissing my forehead, “I can’t believe I almost let this slip between my fingers.”
I snuggled in closer, “Well, you got lucky” I purr.
Kissing me tenderly, “Yes.” Another kiss. “I got very lucky.” He tucks my head under his chin, his left hand playing with my hair. His right hand holding me securely to his chest.
I fall asleep listening to his heartbeat.