The One Left Behind (The One Series) (29 page)

Me: I love you more.

I plug my phone in and silence it and go to bed with a content smile on my face.

***

Today, Pierce only has a morning meeting so we spend the day sightseeing. We go to the Empire State Building and Pierce even convinces me to go to the top of it. I wasn’t too excited about getting on that long elevator, since I’m not a big fan of heights, but I went for it anyway. In the end, I’m glad I did. Pierce puts a few quarters in the binoculars that are spaced out along the edge of the viewing deck. We take turns looking through them, viewing the city in a way I’ve never done before. Even though I had my reservations about coming up here, Pierce was right in that I would love it. He’s so good about pushing me out of my comfort zone and I trust that he won’t make me do anything that’ll get me hurt. Before we go back down, Pierce gets an older couple to take our picture. Waiting for the lady to snap the picture, a big gust of wind picks up blowing my hair everywhere. I’m trying to keep it back and away from my face, but every time I get one piece back another flies at me. Pierce sees that I’m struggling and tries to help. I hear the old man chuckling at the losing battle we are fighting. The lady yells out, “Say cheese!” Pierce looks toward her, flashing his megawatt smile while I’m still being smothered by my hair. I look at the picture after Pierce gets the camera back. He looks handsome as usual and my hair is flying around in the wind whipping my face. We start laughing hysterically as we look at the picture and thank the older couple.

Pierce says, “You should frame that one. I look great.” I playfully swat his arm, but I’ll probably get it framed anyway since this is definitely a memory I want to remember.

Our next stop is the World Trade Center Memorial and it is beautiful yet haunting. There are two huge waterfalls where the two towers once stood that are surrounded by smooth slabs of metal with all the names of those who lost their lives etched in it. I see an older man kneeling beside the wall with his hand placed over a name. His head is down and he looks to be in so much pain I have to look away. It feels like I’m intruding on a very personal moment. Behind it stands the Freedom Tower and I have to tilt my head all the way up to look at the whole thing. It is completely silent and the only noise you hear is the water hitting the bottom of the waterfall. The museum is still being built so we don’t get to go in which was kind of a bummer. Neither of us says a word as we sit and soak in the 9/11 Memorial. It’s an amazing sight and an excellent way to represent the tragedy of that day and its fallen heroes.

We grab a cab to the hotel and hurry up to get ready for dinner. Pierce looks delicious in his charcoal gray slacks and purple button down shirt. I love that he’s confident in anything he wears, even colors deemed feminine. I’m wearing a flowey, navy chiffon dress that hits a little above my knee. We walk down to the lobby and Pierce hails us another cab and we head toward the restaurant.

Exiting the cab, we pull up to an Italian restaurant called Ninos. I have always heard great things about this place but have never been here. Pierce says he came here on a business meeting once and has been dying to come back. I’m sitting across from Pierce with my elbow on the table and my head resting in my hand. He’s been talking about all the charity work him and his dad used to do and it is fascinating. He gets a fire in his eyes as he regales me with his stories. The most intriguing part of it that tells me a lot about the kind of men they are is that they didn’t just write checks and send money to charities, they were hands on getting in there to help. My favorite story is when they went to a tiny village in Africa to help Doctors Without Borders. While helping out, they both came down with a serious case of dysentery. He’s making jokes about it which makes me laugh. The thing I notice is that he doesn’t look at this as a bad experience and shrugs it off while focusing on the reason he was there. He said even after all that he couldn’t wait to go back and help again. I see the passion he has for helping others and all I can do is grin and listen. Before I know it, dinner is coming to an end. Pierce pays the bill and we walk out the door, and take a cab to Serendipity to get some ice cream for dessert before heading back to the hotel.

When we exit the ice cream shop, I see a horse and carriage waiting by the curb. My eyes light up and before I can say anything Pierce speaks up, “Your chariot awaits.” He waves his hand out toward it, gesturing for me to get in.

“You did this for me?” I say a little surprised.

“Of course I did. I remember you saying how you loved the romance behind them and no one has ever taken you on one.” He places a kiss on my neck that makes me shiver from head to toe.

I smile warmly at Pierce as he holds out his hand to help me into the carriage. He climbs up into the carriage after me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I snuggle in closer to him as the carriage takes off.

“So, where are we going?” I ask and I feel like a kid with all the excitement running through my body.

“Wherever you want. This is your carriage ride.” He places a sweet kiss on my cheek.

We end up telling the driver to go where the wind takes him and ride through New York aimlessly, just enjoying each other’s company. The whole ride he would touch me in some way. He’d either have his arm wrapped around me or holding my hand while drawing circles on the back of it with his thumb. I love how affectionate he is with me all the time.

Once we arrive at the hotel, we go straight for the elevator. A second after the doors close Pierce has me cornered. He begins to kiss my neck and lets his hand wander over my entire body. I want him so bad but the realization of where we are puts the breaks on it a little.

“Pierce, someone might get on the cart with us,” I say as I push him back slightly. Pierce doesn’t care and keeps kissing my neck knowing that’s my sweet spot. Then he brings his lips down onto mine and I’m lost, forgetting the whole reason I was protesting. The scent that is only Pierce consumes my senses as I explore his mouth with mine, tasting the wine he had earlier for dinner. His lips are so soft and full that I could spend forever just kissing him. We are so caught up in the moment that we don’t realize the elevator has stopped at our floor. I hear someone clear their throat and jump away from Pierce, embarrassed that we just got caught. Pierce gives me a knowing grin and quietly chuckles waiting for me to exit first. When I look to see who caught us, it’s an older man and his wife. They both get on after we get off and the woman turns around once in the cart.

“Don’t be embarrassed, honey. Young love is great. Me and my Harold still make out in elevators,” the old woman says before looking at her husband affectionately. Right before the doors close all the way, I see Harold grab his wife and place a big kiss on her. Pierce continues laughing as I want to hide my face, hoping I never see them again.

When I walk into the hotel room I am surprised. There are rose petals all over the floor that form a walkway to the bedroom. The bedroom is lit up with a bunch of candles. There is a split pathway with one path leading to the bathroom, and the other to the bed. I take the path to the bathroom first with Pierce following closely behind me. Walking into the bathroom, there are more candles and a hot bath drawn filled with more rose petals. On the side of the tub sits some champagne and strawberries. He must have had someone set this up while we were on our way back.

I feel Pierce’s breath on the back of my neck. I lean my head back to rest on his chest and notice he is naked. His hard chest, amongst other things a little lower, are pressed firmly to my back. My heart starts to flutter in my chest and my breathing starts to accelerate.

“This is wonderful,” I say trying to focus on the elaborate set up and not the hot, naked man behind me. Pierce places soft kisses starting at my neck and working down my back as he begins to unzip my dress. He slides it down my body and holds my hand while I step out of it. Stepping into the oversized bathtub, he turns to grab my hand and lead me in. We both sink into the water and I rest my body against Pierce’s chest so that my back is to his front. He begins massaging my neck while I’m drinking my champagne. This is so blissfully relaxing and exactly what I needed.

“A girl could get used to this,” I moan out.

“You’re not just any girl, you’re my girl, and I will always treat you like a queen,” he says in a low, deep voice.

I turn around and straddle him. I can feel his hardness beneath me and it makes me feel sexy knowing how I turn him on. I lower my head and press my lips against his. It starts off as a slow kiss, but quickly escalates. I open my mouth and let him in, caressing his smooth tongue with mine. I guide him inside me and he lets out a low, surprised growl and then sucks air through his teeth. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to do that. I begin to move slowly, savoring the feel of our bodies connecting. I’m sloshing water everywhere, but couldn’t care less. In this moment the only thing I care about is making love to this wonderful, caring man. A man who has captured my heart time and time again.

“I have to say,” he pants out, “as much as I like being in control of your body, I like you on top of me.”

Getting lost in his words I pick up my rhythm. When I feel his body trembling, I let myself go as we come apart together. I lay my head in the crook of his neck because I like feeling this closeness between us. He runs circles over my back with his fingertips as we sit like that in the water. I feel utterly relaxed and could almost fall asleep on him right here. The water starts to get cold so we decide to wash up. Pierce gets out of the bath and holds out a towel, wrapping it around me as I step out of the tub. He dries off my body, placing gentle kisses on each part as he goes along.

Pierce pours us two more glasses of champagne and I walk over to the bedroom. I almost forget about the second pathway of petals that leads to the bed. I follow them and am brought to the end of the bed with a heart made out of calla lilies, my favorites. I find my phone and take a quick picture of it. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. That thought makes me wonder if Colin was ever romantic like this with me. I shrug it off and place my phone on the nightstand. I drop my towel and lay out on the bed. Pierce takes my lead and drops his towel as well joining me. He is insatiable so I know this night is far from over.

I kiss his chest before saying, “I love you, Charming. This is all so amazing.”

“I have to say, you spread out naked with all the rose petals is hotter than I could have ever imagined. I can’t wait to make love to you again.” He leans up on his elbow, pushing me onto my back before nipping my lower lip. I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and pull him into me.

I SHOULD HAVE known Jeremy wouldn’t let the whole Brooklyn thing go until I told him details. A week after he picked me up from her apartment I finally cave to all of his badgering.

“Look, it’s no big deal. I fucked her and it’s done.” I shrug my shoulders trying to be as nonchalant as possible about this.

“Yeah, right. I’m still a little shocked. How did that even happen?”

“I don’t know, man. I think one thing just led to another I guess. She kept making all these crude suggestions to me while I was drinking. The more I drank the more I wanted to take her up on her offers, but now I just feel horrible about it.”

“Why? It was consensual, right?” Jeremy raises an eyebrow.
Seriously?

“Yes, it was consensual. What kind of guy do you think I am? I don’t feel bad for Brooklyn, I feel bad about fucking Brooklyn because of Addison.”

“I’m not following you. What did Addison do to make you feel guilty? She doesn’t even know you were with Brooklyn.”

“You don’t understand. I told you about all the vicious things I said to her. Then I went out that same day and fucked another girl. I just feel like I’ve cheated on her. I know that’s a little irrational since we’re not technically together and she has clearly moved on, but I can’t help it. It just feels wrong.” I grab the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger as I feel a headache building.

“Ah, I see.” Jeremy starts rubbing his chin as if he’s in deep thought. “Here’s the thing, and I’m not trying to be an asshole. You’re single. You are as single as they come. Addison is happy with Pierce and the engagement was called off months ago. There’s no reason to feel guilty, and if this helps you move on with your life and get out of this depressed funk you’re in, then I’m all for it.”

That’s the problem. It wasn’t helping at all. It was just making things worse.

A couple weeks later I got a few text messages from Addison. I guess she wanted to talk before she went out of town, but I couldn’t face her yet. I’m shocked as hell that she would want anything to do with me after what went down the last time we saw each other. I don’t know how I’ll ever make up for that.

From the first time I fucked Brooklyn to now, about a month has gone by. In that months’ time I’ve been hanging out a lot at Docs. Which means I’ve also been “hanging out” with Brooklyn too.