Polk Salad Annie

Chapter 3

Conan stood up and ran to the counter to pay the bill. He thanked the waitress and apologized for being loud, grabbed the heels, then ran after the girl. She was faster than he imagined, way out of his reach at this point. When he got to her, she was staring at the NBC Studios building. She asked the security guard about the party. Apparently, everybody already had left.

"What are you, Cinderella or something?" he said, breathing hard. "You forgot your shoes..."

"Oh God." she said. "How am I supposed to go home now? I can't even call him."

Conan thought about suggesting her to crash over his place. But it would sound weird, they had just met and even if things didn't get sexual, she could be offended and she could think this was his intention. She looked at him, worried. She was terribly embarrassed, both of them were. She had to ask him. It was better than sleeping on the cold cement of the sidewalk.

"Conan, I... could you..." she started.

"You could try and call him from my place." he suggested, shyly. "Then I'll take you to your place when he gets your keys."

She blushed. "I don't want to bother and..."

He went silent for a bit. "You don't have to sleep there... I mean, not if you don't want to, I mean, I wouldn't go... near you if you didn't want to. Not that you want to, but..."

"It's okay Conan, I get it." she nodded.

He blushed a lot after this conversation, thinking he was a fool for presuming she would think he was a pervert or something like that. They agreed on calling Matt to know if he was still awake and get her keys, so Conan could take her to her house. She put her heels on again, feeling for him for carrying them around all this time.

"Where do you live? She asked.

"Well... I've been living in a hotel room in Midtown." He revealed.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"Well, it's closer to work. I'm living there until I find another apartment and move there permanently." He half smiled.

She nodded.

They went to his car. A modest emerald green Ford Taurus. Conan was a bit insecure about the car, but he looked at her and she didn't seem to mind. She waited until he unlocked it and looked around his car. It was a bit messy; he had a lot of papers in his back seat. She was cold, but the car was still a bit warm and it smelled better than the outside. She curled up on a ball, which seemed to catch his attention.

"What?" he asked her, as he started the car.

"It's warmer here." She smiled. "Nice."

Conan drove silently to Midtown Manhattan. The volume of his car radio was low, and a smooth jazz track was playing on the background. The girl found this to be relaxing. He liked the fact she looked pretty relaxed, it made him smile.

"Could you tell me more about the host?" she broke the silence. "What is he like?"

Conan giggled. "He's... not really prepared to take this job."

"Why so?"

"Well, he never did this before... and most critics think he is too nervous, and not funny." Conan swallowed.

She paused. "Do you like him?"

Conan sighed. "He's a good man."

He stopped at a stop sign and she smiled at him. "Why don't you try?"

"Well..." he smirked. "If you ever tell me your name... I will."

She spent the rest of the trip enjoying his smell, so sweet. He drove around taking a peek at her beautiful legs when possible. He was so drawn to her, and she didn't even want to tell him her name. It seemed like we was on a dream with a beautiful, mysterious girl. A sensation he never felt before.