Shirts and Skins

Chapter Thirteen

Lindsay's POV

My first two flights were a complete success, minus a little turbulence from Winnipeg to Toronto. But absolutely no problems from Toronto to New York. I held Jeff's hand the entire flight. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. I was so excited to fly, but still. I really liked Jeff. I'm guessing he could tell, considering I never took my hand away from him during either flight.

We landed at La Guardia and we grabbed our bags once we found the baggage claim. It wasn't hard, there was just a lot of them. I never realized how big La Guardia actually was! Once we had our bags, we took them and checked them in for our next flight, then hopped in a cab to Central Park.

"So where are ya visitin' from?" asked the cab driver.

"Well, I'm from Winnipeg, and he's from Raleigh." I answered.

"Where in the world is Winnipeg? Is that in North Carolina as well?"

I laughed. "No! It's in Canada! It's in the province of Manitoba."

"Where's that?" he asked.

"It's just north of North Dakota."

"Oh okay, I know where North Dakota is." he answered.

Jeff and I laughed, and I slid closer to him, our bodies now touching. We had this connection that I had never had with anyone else before, and I couldn't feel any happier about it.

It was only about a 20 minute ride to Central Park. We asked the cab driver if he could drop us off at the corner of East 79th Street and 5th Avenue, right near Cedar Hill. It was a beautiful spot for photos and just a beautiful nature spot to hang out. Thankfully, it wasn't all that cold, and it was sunny. Jeff paid the cab driver (since all my money was still in Canadian dollars) and we began walking around. We found this beautiful green spot, right at the top of Cedar Hill. I put down my bag and took my Chucks and socks off. I loved the feeling of grass under my feet. I took off my sweater and did a cartwheel.

"Very talented!" Jeff commented as he snapped a picture. "Do another one."

I did a couple more. I then decided to be adventurous and do a handstand. I raised my hands above my head, then tumbled forward. There I was, in an almost perfect handstand. I posed for another photo. I began to fall backwards, and I didn't know how to stop myself. I couldn't get my feet underneath myself. I landed flat on my back, the air rushing out of my lungs.

"Lindsay!" Jeff cried out. He ran over to me. "Are you hurt?"

I couldn't answer back through my laughter. I was completely fine. Jeff released his breath and sighed.

"You really scared me. I'm supposed to keep you safe!" he said to me.

I was finally able to stop laughing and smiled up at him. "Jeff, I'm okay. I'm not hurt whatsoever."

Jeff stood up and extended his hand towards me. I graciously accepted it as he helped me up off the ground. We walked back to our bags and sweaters and we sat down. I cuddled up beside him and we people watched. That was one thing I was good at; people watching. I loved observing what other people did. It was impossible to do it most times, but I could do it from far away.

After about twenty minutes of doing this, we decided to walk over to Great Lawn. As we began descending down the hill, I felt Jeff brush his fingers against my hand, and I interlaced my fingers between his. We walked like that all the way to the Great Lawn. And boy, did they ever name it right. It was probably the largest green space I had ever seen. Jeff and I found a great spot in the middle of it. We could see tons of tall buildings in the background. Jeff sat down on the grass and I threw my bag, sweater and shoes on the grass beside him. I grabbed my iPhone and played "Light & Day/Reach For The Sun" by The Polyphonic Spree. Turning my iPhone to full blast, I positioned it on top of my backpack and began dancing and twirling through the field. I just let my emotions come out through my entire body. I danced, twirled, spun, galloped, laughed and sung along. I was free, and I could do whatever I wanted. I noticed Jeff watching my every move.