My Protector | His Angel

Chapter 22: Joe's Pizza

"My Angel."

I looked into his eyes which were full of pain and guilt, and my heart ached for him. I had tried my hardest to avoid even wondering what he was up to in the last decade. I didn't realize he needed to release the weight from his shoulders more than I needed to block it out.

"I forgive you" I whispered and grabbed his hands.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what I've done" He scoffed.

"Tell me and let me decide for myself then" I quickly matched his energy.

He just shook his head slowly in response. I felt bad for him, I truly did. And I did want to know what he had been up to this past decade; I didn't want any lies like the last time we had been together. But tonight wasn't the night for it, and I didn't want to push him too far.

"It's okay, you can tell me when you're ready." I whispered into his neck as I wrapped my arms around him, hoping that my embrace would give him as much comfort as his did to me. I felt his hardened muscles relax under my arms as he let out a soft sigh.

I didn't need a response from him to know that we needed a change of scenery. The tension in this room was so thick I could cut it with a butter knife.

"Come on" I smiled as I stood up and held my hand out.

A curious look formed on Killian's stone face as he grabbed my hand and stood beside me. I watched as his eyes glimmered and my mischievous grin grew larger.

"And where are you taking me, Doll?" He joked as we walked to the elevator.

"My favorite spot to go when I need to escape my thoughts" I smiled and pulled him along. 

After walking down a few dark blocks, we emerged into the lively and bright Time's Square. Billboards lit up the cross roads of the world as hundreds and hundreds of people stood in the streets, gawking at the different giant advertisements.

"You're taking me to Times Square?" Killian questioned, unamused. His response was exactly what I expected.

"Shut up" I laughed and pulled him towards my all time favorite pizza spot - Joe's Pizza.

My stomach grumbled as we arrived, the dull red sign above the long line of hungry tourists remained lit at 1 AM.

"You don't happen to own this place too, do you?" I joked as we joined the end of the line.

"Unfortunately no" Killian eyeballed the line with his eyebrows furrowed.

"That was a joke" I elbowed him and smiled. "Once you taste a slice, you wont even remember the line".

"Alright, I trust you" His face relaxed as he pulled me closed to his side.

Thirty minutes later we were finally grabbing our pizza from the counter and walked until we were in the middle of the crossroads. I looked at the newly built red stairs that a city worker had just finished cleaning and sat down. I could feel Killian hesitate as he watched me sit, but he continued to follow my movements.

As soon as he opened the box of pizza, steam made its way up to our noses immersing us in a delicious world of authentic, New York pizza.

"Now I get to try the famous Pizza from Spiderman" His childish chuckle warmed my heart.

"What?" I had never watched a Spiderman movie in my life.

"The pizzeria that Peter Parker worked at, well this isn't the original. That one is in Greenwich Village" Killian explained

"I didn't take you to be a superhero fan" I rose my eyebrows in surprise and smiled.

"Im not, it's just one of the movies that Adam forced me to watch during one of our late night study sessions in in College"

"Mhm" I giggled "forced" I nodded sarcastically and put air quotes around the word.

"Anyways!" Killian laughed and shook his head, "Lets try this pizza that you made me stand in line for eternity for"

We both pulled a slice out and took a bite and I remembered why this was my absolute favorite pizza spot in the city.

"Soooo?" I grinned and watched as Killian smiled bite after bite, "Thoughts?"

"It's good" I could tell he was trying to play off how impressed he was.

"Told you" I nudged him and we both finished our slices.

We continued to sit in silence as we worked our way through the slices, laughing every now and then at the tourists who would get harassed by the famous Time's Square scammers who were dressed up as characters.

"Okay Doll, I have to admit" Killian started as we the final tourist threw a bill at the pair dressed up as Olaf and Elsa. "I was a bit skeptical when we first got here. Both when we got to the back of that line, and when you took a seat on these steps. No person in their right mind would dare sit on the ground here in the city." Killian's face twirled into a grimace. "But I have to say now, I see why you come here" He laughed in disbelief and shook his head.

"You dont have to tell me you were skeptical, I already knew you would be" I giggled "And just for the record, I dont usually do this"

"What, you don't typically take your ex boyfriends on midnight pizza dates to Time Square?"

"No!! Oh my gosh, I don't typically sit on the city sidewalk" I rolled my eyes.

"Oh ok gotcha" He smiled as he stood and held a hand out to me. "Anyways, you dont happen to have a curfew, do you?"

"I mean, I was supposed to be at work three hours ago" I casually stated as we started to walk back to the hotel. Killian looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Liar, you're off for the next few days"

"And how do you know that, did you call the hospital to get my schedule?"

Killian just shrugged his shoulders in response, pulling my hand up along with his.

"I'm not even surprised anymore" I shook my head and he chuckled.

We continued to stroll the almost empty streets, deciding against the metro and taxi. Neither of us wanted the night to end. We both enjoyed the simplicity of our time together. I smiled to myself as my plan seemed to work; Killian no longer seemed to be bothered by whatever was on his mind earlier in the night.

We approached the hotel doors and Killian slowed, staring at the glass doors.

"You're okay?" He asked as he moved in front of me.

"Me?" I asked surprised by his question. I had almost forgotten about the fact that just last night I was downing a glass of champagne and sobbing to him about how I had walked in on my boyfriend cheating on me. "Oh yeah, I'm fine" I smiled.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure." He leaned down and left a gentle kiss over the top of my head.

"And you?" I questioned, looking back up at him, trying to read his emotionless face.

"I have the girl of my dreams standing before me. As long as she's happy, I'm happy. Don't worry about me Doll." He almost scolded me.

"Okay" I whispered. "Well, I don't allow sleepovers on the first date so-"

"Ohhhh so innocent" Killian smirked "Don't you remember that you're staying in my hotel?"

"Well thats not creepy at all.. If I see you step foot in my room again I'll call the police" I joked

"Doll, the police won't do shit once they find out who the call is about" He joked as well but I could feel the truth behind his words.

When I didn't respond he spoke again.

"I'm kidding babe. Go inside, get some sleep. I'll see you again soon."

"See you soon" I smiled up at him as he placed a hand on my cheek leaving a short kiss on my lips.

***

Have any of you guys been to NYC? Any food recommendations?? I've personally been to the Joe's Pizza and it was delicious!! But I'd love to know of other places to add to my list for next time :)