New Beginning

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Are you afraid of heights," Chris asked.

"Uhh, I suppose it depends."

"We're going to Skyspace, have you been?"

"No I've heard of it."

"Well it's a really dope place where you can do a variety of things, but it's located on the 70th floor of the U.S Bank building. Will that bother you?"

**A/N: Y'all I don't know shit about LA! Everything I incorporated in this story is google based so if my facts don't be 100% accurate just know your girl tried. Okurrr? Now continue 🤗**

I shook my head no and he smiled. "Good then I'm about to park."
Once he parked, he came around and opened my door for me like the perfect gentleman he was. We walked side by side and I really wish he would've grabbed my hand, but that definitely was a reach I should've never even wanted to stretch for. As we approached the entrance, Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out two tickets.

"Now what if I told you I was scared," I teased referencing to his obviously pre purchased tickets.

"Well I would just take my daughter, but I always wanted to go on a date here," he said. His eyes grew wide after realizing what he said so he quickly added, "Not that this a date or anything, but I rather enjoy the company of an adult."

"I see," I glanced down at my hands to avoid contact. Luckily, he made no more mention of that comment and we headed inside. Once we got in the elevator, it finally hit me how high we really were and how high we were going. I silently prayed a prayer of protection before I got off. When we walked in I was blown away with how beautifully decorated it was. I had Chris take several pictures of me before we took a couple of selfies in his phone. After finishing our "photoshoot" we got seats at the bar while observing the view. We could literally see all of LA, the view was absolutely breathtaking and I was so glad he brought me here.

"I wanted to catch the view of the sunset," he admitted. "That's why I wanted to come exactly at the perfect time."

"You really are a romantic kind of guy aren't you?"

He blushed a little while looking down at his drink. "I suppose so. I just like showing people a good time, particularly beautiful women. There's a whole world to see out there and some women definitely deserve more than traditional dinner dates and movie outings all the time."

"You're fucking perfect dude," I shook my head before taking a sip of my mimosa. "There's no such thing as men like you I'm sorry."

"Might just be the men you deal with love."

"Tired of that line too," I rolled my eyes. "Every man swear they're so different and it's crazy how much they'll bother a woman until she finally gives them the time of the day ONLY for him to waste it as soon as she gives it to him. It's all cap."

"I can't speak for the busta ass niggas you've dealt with, but I can hold accountablity for Chrisopher Brown," he placed his hand over his chest as he spoke. I guess he really felt strongly about this subject. "You got a point though, I know some niggas who really are just talk and not about shit. Hell, I got homeboys I knew ain't worth a damn. I'm not going to preach to you about how different I am because at the end of the day actions will always speak louder than any word I could master up. "

"Chris you don't get it. I've been hurt okay? I've been through some shit with men and sometimes it just gets to the point where it's fuck men."

"Even with you being married though," he asked softly. I sighed, because I didn't really want to discuss my husband or marriage with another man, especially one that I know was interested in me but I felt deep down I could really trust Chris.

"Yeah even with me being married," I mumbled.

"That's tough," he shook his head. "It's never any pressure this way Raya. If you need a friend, I'm here. I wish more than anything that I could take that hurt from you and make you forget all about that kind of shit, but I know it's way more complicated than that. I'ma be real with you, I'm really digging you and I wish things were a whole lot differently but I just want you to know if you ever really want to let that hurt go and deal with someone who knows your worth. Your boy is around."

I remained quiet and grabbed his hand, fiddling with his fingers for a while. I didn't have a response, I just knew that all I wanted to do was forget about the shit that plagues me and remain in this moment right here.

We drank some more, becoming slightly tipsy before we walked outside on the deck to look at the sunset.

"It's beautiful man. It's more than what I imagined," Chris spoke in my ear. I allowed him to wrap his arms around me from the back since I was getting a little chilly from the wind blowing. I nestled my head in his chest feeling warm and secure. He was right, the sunset was gorgeous and so was this moment. I could literally stay here forever. I was so happy and in good spirits. I loved that Chris could make me feel like that. I wanted to feel like this always.
We finally decided to leave and this time we exited walking hand in hand. He opened the door allowing me to get in the car and went back to holding my hand once he got in with me. We didn't have to utter a word. We both know we were connecting on a different level.

"You know something," he asked me.

"Mmm mmmm," I shook my head no while staring over at him.

"You're really refreshing man. Being around you is such a vibe."

"I can't help to feel the same way about you."
We shared a smile and I grabbed his hand. I love how big they felt compared to mine.  I took notice on how he always kept his nails trimmed low and how they were always clean. He kept himself up and I found it so attractive.

"How about I get us some food and we can go back to my house to finish watching Stranger Things," he suggested.

"Let's do it," I agreed. The hand I
was holding dropped to my left thigh as he took off down the street. I could get use to this.

** Not given the circumstances, aren't these two just adorable together? 🥲