Hearts Like Ours | Red View Romance #1

🍎 Thirty Three

Dawson and Layla had just left Tilted and were now walking the brick path that followed the river through the center of town. The sky was dark, but Red View was alive with its typical weekend nightlife. Their path was lighted by warmly-lit stores and the popular choice of bare, rustic lightbulbs hanging over outdoor seating areas. Opposed to the families and the older crowd that hung out during the day and afternoon, the younger crowd came out at night. The sidewalks were filled with chatter and laughter from couples and groups of friends dressed warmly enough to enjoy the chilled evening.

"You're probably used to places a lot fancier than Tilted, huh?" Dawson couldn't help his voice from holding the hint of an apology. He just wanted her to like Red View, wanted every little thing to help convince her to stay. He thought he'd been doing an okay job at leading her down that road, but tonight had his confidence waning.

Something at dinner had just seemed off. Did he imagine the way she smiled a little less than usual at his jokes? Was he overthinking the forlorn look she wore while she watched the river from behind the large restaurant windows?

"Well, yeah, I guess," Layla answered, pulling her leather jacket closed as a breeze rolled past. "If I go out to eat with clients, or Colin, or my parents, usually the venue is some sort of glitzy penthouse restaurant with ridiculously small food portions and outrageous prices." Her eyes met his, cool and darker in the moonlight. "But just because I'm used to something doesn't mean it's what I want."

His smile came easily. Every time he was worried she wouldn't like it here, that it might not be up to her standards, she reminded him that he still hadn't pinned exactly what those were. "You're really not a fan of New York City at all, are you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that. Spend a night drinking some fancy wine you can't pronounce and looking out over the city, and it's hard to feel anything but amazement."

"What about claustrophobic?" He was relieved when she laughed at the joke. "I mean, just thinking about all those people in one place... So many in every skyscraper. So many lives being lived in every burrow."

"Honestly, I think that's what I like about it—You never know what you're looking out on. Someone getting the best news of their life, someone else getting fired in the next building over. Two people breaking up, meanwhile the couple walking by their apartment are falling in love. There's something magical about having that much life in one place."

"You make it sound a lot better than I remember it being."

She laughed, moving closer to avoid tripping on the roots of a tree that had invaded the sidewalk. "Well, it's not all so romantic. There's the angry commuters, the litter, the chihuahua-sized rats. But I've traveled enough to know that everywhere has its pros and cons."

"Okay. So give me the Red View rundown. Cons first."

Her gaze traveled skyward, teeth gnawing her bottom lip in thought. "Well, I'll get the obvious one out of the way. No gym."

He shook his head. "No fair. That's in the middle of potential rectification. Next."

The laugh that escaped her was light and lively enough to make his heart dance. "Alright, fine. Next... Cell service here is pretty bad."

"Well sure, to a city girl, no doubt."

"Uh-uh." She waved a finger at him. "Even Annie thinks so, and she's from Connecticut suburbia."

He smirked, nodding to concede. "Jack complains about it all the time too. Says it's a bitch to do any business away from the landline--in more polite terms, obviously." His brother probably hadn't described anything that crudely in his life. "Alright, wrack your brain for a third. Then you can start the long list of pros."