One Night in New York

Chapter Four

I felt like the biggest idiot. That's something I would say to myself almost daily. Why? Because I acted on impulse with certain things in my life, and Liam was one of them. So did I leave with him that Friday, the night where I ran into him at the pub, breaking Aaron's heart? Of course, I did.

We spent the rest of the night engulfed in an X-rated scene. I didn't stay the night again because Liam had to leave town. He was flying to California on Saturday and had to deal with some business concerning his line, but that was fine with me. I chose to spend my work-free weekend as I usually did: with coffee and a few good books, accompanied by bubble baths and classical music, of course.

Liam texted me random flirty texts during that weekend. Like, Hey Sexy, or what are you doing tonight with a winky emoji face. I want to see you naked. You know, romantic stuff. I was still second-guessing things, though, which was the usual scenario in my life. I kind of liked him, a little, or maybe a lot, but was afraid of the differences in our lifestyles. He, a multi-millionaire while I was a lowly receptionist at a place I wished I ran.

If Angie were present, she would tell me to stop overthinking things, but she wasn't. She was in Chicago until the end of the week, so I sat at my desk, daydreaming about Liam and, of course, the sex. I sat with the few other people who worked with me for the rest of my time at work, thinking I was in way over my head.

I made a hasty decision to see what would happen if I slowed things down with Liam. We got off to a hot and heavy start, which scared me. I wanted to meet someone in New York, but was it too much? Was he really into me for me, or was it all about him? Liam would be the perfect or ideal man, which meant he could have anyone he wanted in the world. That both scared and confused me, because I knew he could never truly want someone like me.

The week flew by at work with little supervision as I agonized over my decision. The ladies were returning that day, a Friday, so I decided to call in sick and take a day off to wallow in my self-pity. I popped some popcorn, grabbed a bottle of wine and some chocolate-covered strawberries, as well as some pizza, and settled in for a sappy love story movie marathon. I cried as I watched one of my favorites "The Notebook". My experience with Liam reminded me of Allie and Noah's in the film. Except that the roles were switched. I was Noah, the poor man trying to build this extraordinary life, and Liam was Allie, the wealthy woman who no one wanted Noah to be with. That's how I imagined Liam's family reacting if they ever met me. I knew he wasn't from a wealthy family, but I was certain he had set up his parents, like his driver, Andrew, and they would never approve.

So why couldn't I shake those feelings? It had been two weeks at that point. Except in fairy tales, rom-com books, and movies, love- at-first-sight, did not exist. A knock came on my door just as I was about to beat myself up mentally. I wasn't expecting anyone, but I went to see who it was. My eyes were puffy from crying while watching my tear-jerking choices. I had chocolate on my face, crumbs on my shirt, and my hair completely undone. I didn't care who was standing on the other side; I was just annoyed that someone had interrupted my movie.

I swung open the door like a pissed-off teenager would, "What?" I yelled, then quickly thinking, "Oh shit, you have got to be kidding me!"

As I flung open the door like a crazy person, I noticed a gentleman in a suit with his back to me. He turned slowly, arms down, right hand cuffing his left wrist. He was standing there, Liam, and why not? It was just my luck to have him standing there at that moment. Despite my embarrassment, I thought, If he saw a hot mess of a woman in front of him, he might be more inclined to take things slowly or back off.

Did he run? No, he just stood there and smiled, "Wow, Nat, great look."

I couldn't help but think, "Did he really just call me Nat? Only people who are closest to me call me Nat. Did he talk to Angie about me? Oh, My God, Nat, shut the hell up."