CHANCES (Andrew Lincon Romance)

Chapter 9

The rain had finally subsided and the sun was starting to poke through the clouds. Everything smelled crisp and new. A light breeze was blowing carrying the soft sounds of birds singing. The city hummed and had come to life with the excitement of a new day. I loved New York. It lived and breathed unlike any other city. Today however it felt like it was mocking me every step of the way. The rainbow directly above the zoo was gods way of laughing at me for having been so stupid.

Katie had never been to the NYC zoo before and the only thing I could liken it to was taking a child to Disneyland. She had a zest and love for life and all things in it. Before I knew it I was wrapped up in her excitement and enjoying myself. We wondered from one exhibit to another taking pictures of each other along the way. One in particular was the two of us standing back to back in front of the rock wall and we were laughing and smiling. She had grabbed one of the zoo keepers as he was walking by, batted her eyes and asked him to take the picture. I had to admit we both looked beautiful. Another she had taken was a close up of my face. I was standing on the bridge leaning against the railing looking across the grounds. When she showed me I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" She turned her phone back so she could see the screen with a puzzled look on her face.

"I need a phone like yours. It seems to have beer goggles over the lens. I never take good pictures let alone ones I look pretty in." The look on her face was priceless and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well let's send this one to Andrew and see what he thinks. " she attach my picture in a text message to him when I put my hand over her phone.

"I wouldn't bother he wouldn't want it." It was to late as I herd the swooshing sound of the message being sent.

"Did you two have a lovers spat this morning?" She raised her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose at me.

"We weren't lovers, only friends and after this morning not even that." I was shocked that I was sharing so easily with her.

Katie stood looking at me absently rubbing her hand back and forth across the medal barrier. "I've known Andrew for four years now. I've seen him around lots of women he considers friends. Never once have I ever seen him look at them the way he was looking at you last night. Hell I've never seen him look at any of his girlfriends or his ex wife the way he was looking at you. Friendship is not the only thing Andrew wants from you. Of that I can guarantee you."

"Ok so a one night stand then. I'm not looking to be his notch in the New York comic con. I'm sure there is all ready a line up for that position"

Hooking her arm in my elbow we began walking. "Norman always says I'm a busy body and should stop sticking my nose in other people business. I prefer to call it taking care of those I care about. Let's grab a coffee and a bench."

"Honestly there is nothing to talk about." Andrew had made that clear when he left my room this morning he was done and wanted me to go. After the zoo I was just going to grab my bags and head to Tammy's cabin and lick my wounds.

"Nonsense I walked into the middle of it this morning. I won't tell Andrew. What ever you say stays between us. Sometimes it helps to talk."

I truly didn't want to talk about it but fifteen minutes later we were sitting on the bench in front of the hippo exhibit. Katie was not only beautiful but perswasive. It was easy to see why Norman had fallen for her.

"So I thought everything was ok between you guys. You seemed to have ironed everything out." Katie asked

"Ironed everything out." I glanced at her taking a drink of my coffee. "How much do you know?"

She smiled at me, "I know Andrew wasn't exactly honest with you about who he was and while it was wrong I get why. I know for the past three weeks he was extremely nervous about meeting you and how you would react. It was cute. It's not very often you see Andrew off his game."

Turning sideways on the bench so she was facing me Katie sat her coffee and burrito down on the seat. "Norman and Andrew are close friends and spend a stupid amount of time together. Men say they don't flap and gab but they do. I knew you and Andrew was close and talked often. That things had started as friends and was possibly heading for more."

I was still facing towards the hippo enclosure watching a mama and her baby. "Well that's about the long and short of it. We were friends....we met....that's about it."

"Now I might believe that if I wasn't there at supper. The sexual spark coming off the two of you was enough to ignite the whole place" she raised her eyebrows winking at me.

I sat my coffee on the bench seat beside Katie's and leaned back. "Ya which means we weren't the friends I thought we were. You don't go slumming with your friends. He saw me coming and thought....hey fill your boots."

"Fill your boots? I've never heard it quite described that way. As for slumming who said that...Andrew?" The girl must have been starving cause she was half done her burrito.

I on the other had couldn't eat. "Well...no. I went to get a coffee just before we were suppose to meet. There were these two girls ahead of me that work with Andrew. They were laughing about how Andrew was slumming with some local and what a joke it was. How he wanted the blonde and she was making him work for it."

Flustered I looked down at my hands and rubbing the palms back and forth. Katie reached out and put her hand on my shoulder. "Who were the girls?"

Shrugging my shoulders I shook my head. "I don't know their names but I saw them backstage yesterday. I saw the TWD staff pass hanging around barbies neck."

Katie made a mock sounding laugh. "Let me guess barbie was with a girl with short brown hair?" When I nodded Katie grabbed her phone and started to enter a text.

"I'm going to text Andrew. This will all be cleared up in one second. I'm so tired of those two little bitches" she snapped.

"No don't Katie" holding my hand she paused mid key stroke. "It's over...when I walked Andrew to the door this morning he told me to go and that he was done"

Putting her phone down she looked over her shoulder and back to me. "Look those two were blowing smoke up each other's asses. Andrew wasn't slumming. I know from listening to him and Norma talk that he liked you far more than friends. Your right everywhere that man goes there is a line of girls that would jump at the chance to be with him. Yet he has been single for the past six months and his sole attention has been on you. That's not a man who is slumming. That's a man who is falling..."

We sat in silence for a few minutes watching the hippos. "I know Andrew seems like he is confident and has his shit together. The thing with celebrities is they are usually the biggest wrecks on the planet just real good at hiding it. They spend their days being told how great they are when people only want to use them. Their told how handsome they are when that person just wants to be seen on their arm to share in the spotlight. How desired they are but that person only wants to say they have had sex with them. That person who is only their friend because of their money and fame and is willing to run to the tabloids in heartbeat. All the people who only see them as the image they portray on screen and are not interested in who they are as a person. They spend so much of their day wading threw bullshit that they put up all these barriers trying to protect themselves and they end up paying a high price for their fame. I know you got through all of Andrews defences and closer to him than anybody since I've known him. You two really need to talk. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said and doesn't want you to go. He was probably just mad."

Tossing her wrapper into the garbage can like a NBA player she slapped her hands on her knees. "You know what? This is what's going to happen. We are going to enjoy the rest of our day and forget about men and their crap. After when we get back to the hotel your going to get yourself done to the nines and make that boy drool over his supper. Then after we are done at The Natural History Museum the two of you are going to talk."

Tossing my half eaten lunch in the garbage I shook my head at her. "You think so do ya."