Resist Me Not

35

If someone had told me a month ago that I'd be living on my own, I would have thought they were crazy.

I had been living in my new apartment now for almost two weeks, and I was in love with it. Every day I woke up early and curled up in my brand new armchair, with a cup of hot coffee, just to watch the sunrise from my corner bay windows. I would watch it move up over the water, casting its rays upon the Manhattan skyline.

My favorite part was when the light would strike the Empire State Building just right, and make it shine like a bright golden statue. I knew it would be a sight I'd never get tired of seeing.

After enjoying the show, I would continue my new morning routine by taking the elevator down to the first floor and hopping on the treadmill or elliptical machine for thirty minutes. I preferred morning workouts, as I was usually the only one in the room. Occasionally there would be one other person in there, but most of the time, it was just me.

Once I finished working out, I'd head back to my apartment on the seventh floor and climb into the shower to get ready for the day. Though, there had been a few nights where Eric would stay over, so on those days, I'd nudge him awake before I got in the shower. Which was his invitation to join me.

Things between him and I still felt weird, at least for me. He was almost overly attentive. He would request to take me to lunch nearly every day or insist on escorting me home from work every evening. Even though my new apartment was in the opposite direction of my old one.

I couldn't tell if he did those things because he didn't trust Ryan, or worse, because he didn't trust me. Or maybe it was because he was honestly trying to live up to his proposal. Whatever the reason was, it was definitely an adjustment. Still, I didn't resist his attempts to try to reconnect with me. I was determined to show him he was who I wanted.

While Sasha was over the moon about not having to mail anything more to the guests, Becca was now royally pissed with me. So much so that it made it difficult for Sasha and me to hang out much. While Sasha supported my decision to stay with Eric, she did mention how Becca also had a valid reason to be as annoyed as she was. She assured me that Becca would get over it and that she'd still be at our wedding to show her support.

Although Sasha still helped me complete some of the remaining wedding tasks, Eric actually stepped up more. He was especially helpful in rebooking the vendors I had initially canceled during that week break we had. He used his family's name and political reputation, to ensure they add our event back into their schedule, and any bookings that replaced ours would be moved or canceled. It was impressive to see how easy it was for him to just take charge and make things happen.

I couldn't believe our wedding was now precisely eight weeks away.

We had almost everything ready, and we'd received everyone's RSVP, and all but ten guests said they'd be there. Which meant our total headcount was going to be 140 people. That also meant it was going to be less than our original count.

When I told my father the final number, I could actually hear him jumping for joy that he was saving some money on the food and beverage costs. My mother suggested they take the savings and use it to upgrade to first class for the flight to and from New York for the wedding. My father only laughed and said he'd consider it. This usually meant no, but he never wanted to directly say no to her.

Work got a lot easier too. Ryan had finally hired a new and very male, assistant, Bruce. I was surprised at first but recalled what Adam had told me. Either way, I was happy that I no longer had to work with Ryan, be alone with him, or even talk to him. Though I was still polite when I had to converse with him. But thankfully, it wasn't that often.