The Reluctant Heiress (A Christian Romance Novel)

Chapter 24: The "Date"

"Hey!" Telly said as she met Aiden at the cafe at her hotel's lobby. Aiden had been waiting for a couple of minutes. They gave each other a quick awkward hug. "Sorry I'm late."

She gave him a quick discreet glance from top to bottom and thought, 'I'm glad I dressed down. It would have been awkward. And I would have looked so excited if I chose those other outfits.'  But she liked his look. Very manly. But cowboy boots in New York? Who cares! He could carry it well.

"No worries," he replied giving her a quick look too. 'Wow, she's beautiful! This is for real Aiden. Don't ruin it!' he thought. "You look pretty!" he couldn't stop himself from saying those words.

"Really? But this looks plain to me," Telly replied non-chalantly, the way any girl would when confronted with compliments. Girls have this thing for downplaying compliments just because they really didn't know how to handle one. They didn't know that the best response was a simple, "Thank you!"

"If you think it's plain, well, you make plain look really good," Aiden said smiling at her.

"Oh, thank you!" was all she could say, tucking her hair behind her ears, trying hard to look like it's no big deal, but she felt herself blushed a little bit so she looked down, pretending to pat some imaginary dirt on her pants. But it was a big deal. 'Was he serious or he's just being kind?'

"So where are we going?" he asked smiling, breaking off the awkwardness.

"I'm sure you've been here before," she replied smiling. "But I'll oblige. I'm a good hostess."

He just smiled and gestured his hand for her to lead the way bowing down a bit. "After you." 'Gentleman. I'm not used to this chivalry.'

So they stepped out of the hotel and walked. Good thing it rained a little bit earlier which gave way to a cool breeze that evening. Spring showers maybe? Many people were walking in different directions. Nine-thirty in the evening in New York felt like six back home at Smyrna. Everything was still alive and was not showing any signs of retiring soon. It was just the start of a beautiful evening.

"Have you greeted Ms. Liberty yet?" she asked, referring to the huge Statue of Liberty.

"Nope!"

Aiden had been to New York a couple of times for business trips. But normally after a tiring day meeting different people or attending a conference, he would be ready to hit the sack. But not that evening. He had a full supply of adrenaline rush.

They took the subway going to Staten Island Ferry which was at the southern tip of Manhattan. Subways were crowded, mostly with tourist now at that time. And it could not be avoided that oftentimes they would touch each other, either going into the train or going out as people push on each other. They had good and fun conversations, talking about living in New York, crazy comments, witty banters and other fun stuff.

"We have to hurry, and catch the 10pm ferry!" she said as they boarded off the subway.

After walking a couple of miles, they reached the station where a huge sign that says STATEN ISLAND FERRY greeted them. They entered and almost ran towards the escalator going up the second level to the doors. They just made it on time!

The ferry was not crowded. They situated themselves on the right side of the ferry, standing by the railings, so they can greet Ms. Liberty on their first trip. And on their trip back, they wanted to see the other side of the Hudson River.

As the ferry left the dock, they could already see the statue, but it was still so small.

"I've never tried this before," Aiden said. "I just always go back to my room and rest, or go down to the hotel's bar."