Quit Playing Games With My Heart

“Should I take anything with me? No, right? Because what's the point I'm trying to bring all my stuff here” Kadie started unpacking all her clothes she had just thrown into her suitcase.

“Isn't your flight in a couple of hours?” I was a little annoyed Kadie woke me up so early. She was going back to Texas for a few days to pack up her things to bring back to the City.

“Ugh, forget it, I'll just take empty suitcases so I can easily bring things back. Should I bring everything or just my winter stuff for now? I'm sure summer actually starts in summer here. God, I'm so glad I'm living in New York now! But wait, what if everything doesn't fit in my suitcases? Should I rent a U-haul? Shipping it will be crazy expensive! Oh my god!”

Kadie was talking to herself a mile a minute. I quietly laid on her bed under the covers and watched her slowly self destruct.

“Alright well I'm just going to jump in the shower real quick. I'll call a cab to pick us up in an hour.” I started walking out of Kadie's room when she stopped me.

“Uh, yeah, about that...” She stood up from the floor and fiddled with her fingers. “Adam kind of told me he'd take me. I figured it'd save us the cab fare since he has his own car and all.”

I was pleasantly surprised. “Really? Didn't you guys just go on your first date last night?”

“We did” Kadie started to blush and sway her shoulders back and forth like a little girl. “We really hit it off last night. I'm so glad you pushed me into going out with him!”

“Well gone head, girl!”

I helped Kadie pack a few essentials and soon enough Adam had came by to take over. After going downstairs to wave Kadie off I found myself in an empty apartment yet again. I wanted to keep my mind off the whole Jonah incident so I called Sarah to see if she'd want to get books for classes. We decided to meet on campus

Once I came out of the subway and rounded 97st street I noticed Sarah standing with Henry. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I wasn't about to deal with his snobby bullshit today. So when I approached them I gave Sarah a hug and ignored Henry. He seemed offended which made me happy. We proceeded to the campus book store and grabbed what we needed. Afterward we went a few streets over to a bakery on the Upper East Side for a mid-afternoon snack. Henry and I sat down at a table while Sarah went up to the counter to order.

“Look, I know we got off on a rough start. I was having a bad day and took it out by humiliating you. I'm sorry.” Henry looked genuinely apologetic. The nice southern belle in me decided to forgive him. 

“It's fine. Let's just forget about it. Besides I knew you had to have a heart to be with a sweet guy like Jebrone” Henry smiled.

Right then Sarah came over with a tray full of pastries.“I see you two finally decided to make nice!” She winked and handed each of us a cup of tea. I had my phone on the table and it started to vibrate.

“Ugh” I knew it was Jonah again. He had texted me this time.

Hey, you ran out on me last night. Wanted to make sure you're okay?

Henry and Sarah looked concerned as I kept violently tapping my phone to turn off.

“I think she's gone mad” Henry said to Sarah. They both looked at each other and took a sip of their tea.

“No, it's just this guy I’ve been seeing. He...well..It's kind of a long story”

“Lucky for you our crazy Aunt Silvi is in town staying at our place and we're avoiding her like the plague. So...” Henry said as he leaned his elbow onto the table intrigued by what I was about to say.

I didn't know where to start. I ended up telling them the long form of the story from beginning to last night. “..So just as I start pulling off his jeans he jumps up and goes into his room. When he comes back out he's acting like nothing even happened. What the hell?”

“Oh, he's a virgin. For sure he's a virgin! I'll be damned if he's not!” Henry said

Sarah giggled and added, “I'm sure he's not, Lynn”

“I don't know guys. He can't be. He's 29 and too good looking to not be.” But then I remembered the comic books and figurines he had at his apartment and started to think Henry might be right.

“Then he's totally got a problem...if you know what I mean.” Henry said matter-of-factually

“No trust me, He had to have some major willpower to stop himself” Henry's eyes widened at the thought while Sarah grimaced.

“Lynn, you'll never know unless you talk to him about it. He seems like a good guy. You don't want to waste it because of these mad assumptions Henry is making.”

“What? It's not my fault he's a virgin!” He said quickly before taking another sip of his tea. Sarah and I both dropped what we were doing and glared at Henry.

I decided to take Sarah's advice and text Jonah back. I let him know I was okay and lied about running out because Kadie was locked out of the apartment.

He texted back, “Glad you're okay! Work day flow's kinda slow today swing by and I can show you what goes on backstage?”

He didn't have to ask me twice. I was a fan of the show and was so excited that I might get a chance to meet the host. After Sarah, Henry, and I parted I hailed a cab and went down to the plaza where Jonah worked. He met me outside. As I was walking up to Jonah a group of 3 girls got to him first.

“Are you Jonah from the late night show?” one of the girls squealed

He caught my eye and laughed embarrassingly. “Yeah, that's me”

The girls excitedly jumped. “We love you on the show! You're so funny!” They were all over him touching his hands and arms.

“And even hotter in person!” a petite girl in the back of the group shouted. They all giggled. “Can we please take a picture with you?!”

I volunteered to take the picture. They said their goodbyes and Jonah and I were left standing alone. I couldn't help but think that with girls constantly after him that he'd have any problems. We gave each other a side hug and walked into the building.

After getting me past security we were on the 7^th floor where the show recorded. We walked through a hallway with hundreds of hanging wires and set pieces leaning against the wall. There were people with huge headsets and clip boards running around. Jonah took me back to the writer's room.

“So this is pretty much where we all meet after we have some of our own material and then we try to bounce ideas off of each other to make it cohesive with the show's voice.” He pointed to a row of cubicles in the back of the room. “Those are where the newer writers sit. We pretty much harass them while we're out here. Kinda like a big brother little brother thing” Jonah took a Nerf ball and threw it towards the cubicle where it bounced off a young guy's head. He then lead me to a private office off the side of the writer's room.

“And this is my office.” He spread out his arms. His office was actually kind of cool. He had classic movie posters, signed by the cast, up and framed. There was a wall of framed pictures of him with random celebrities. His Harvard degree hung proudly above everything. I walked around his desk to admire the beautiful view he had of the city.

“That's my favorite building!” I pointed to the Chrysler.

“Mine too” He smiled back.

From Jonah's office we went to the green room where he introduced me to the actress that was coming on the show to promote her new movie. Kadie would always sneak me into her work events so I've met my share of celebrities. Thankfully I knew how to keep cool. Just then the host of the show walked into the room. Jonah introduced us. I have to admit my knees went weak.

“I'm such a huge fan! I've grown up watching you through your career!”

“That's so sweet, thank you!” He shook my hand and signaled to Jonah, “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” They both walked off a few feet away. I tried really hard to listen while trying just as hard to look like I wasn't listening. I couldn't quiet make out everything they were saying but I did hear the host say, “A new girl everyday? Jonah when are you going to stop fucking around?” Uh, what? Here I was thinking Jonah had intimacy issues but really he's known for getting around? Is Jonah a player?

They continued talking for another minute before they walked back over. The host put his arm around my shoulder and said, “You're the first one Joni's brought back here. You, my friend, are a lucky lady!” He turned back towards Jonah, “Keep in mind what we talked about.” he had a serious look on his face but then smiled when he pointed towards me, “And don't mess this up, son. She's gorgeous” he winked and made his way over to the actress sitting on the other side of the room.

Jonah awkwardly laughed, “We'll be waiting outside for the monologue read through” He quickly grabbed my arm and stormed out of the room. We went to a private sitting area just behind the cameras. “Sit here, I'll be right back” He went over to a man in a business suit standing off by the stage.

As I was looking around the studio and taking it all in I caught the eye of a blond girl wearing a blazer and pencil skirt that made her look prim and proper. She had a pin of the network's logo on her pocket. Which meant she was probably an intern. She came towards me. “I'm sorry miss, this area is for the producers only. Audience members are only allowed to sit behind the railings”

“I was told to sit here by-” I pointed towards Jonah and she cut me off before I could finish

“Oh” She looked over at Jonah and made a face. “Then you're fine. My apologies”

There was something going on. From the host's comment to the intern's face when seeing Jonah. I needed to know what it was. So I stood up and pulled her off to the side. “Hey, look, I saw the face you made. Is there something I need to know about Jonah?” I shocked myself at how straight forward I was being. I guess Kadie was right, the City really was changing me.

“Did I make a face? I didn't mean to if I did.” She seemed startled, but kept calm.

I let out a heavy sigh. “Never mind. I think I'm just paranoid. I'm sorry” I started to walk back to my chair when she stopped me.

“Wait!” I turned around again. Her expression had completely changed. She looked nervous. “Just bewteen us, woman to woman, there's been a lot of rumors that Jonah-” Right then she stopped and looked over my shoulder. Her eyes widened. When I turned around to see who she was looking at I saw Jonah coming. I turned back towards her and she was out of sight.

“What was the intern talking to you about?” Jonah asked

“Oh, nothing, she told me I couldn't sit there but I told her I was with you”

“Yeah, she can be really annoying. Just ignore her.”

I suddenly lost all interest in being backstage at the show. I needed an excuse to leave. I quickly shot Sarah a 911 text and pretended I was getting a phone call.

“Oh shit! It's my school I have to take this!” Jonah looked confused as I scurried out of the studio. I went into the hallway and pretended to hang up the phone when I saw Jonah coming up behind me a minute later. “I wish I could stay, this was so much fun, but I have this thing at school, they just called me...for..you know...I have to go!” I didn't have enough time to think of a legitimate excuse.

“Oh, uh, okay well-”

I cut Jonah off, “I'm sorry! I'll see you maybe later. Who knows” I always ramble when I'm lying.

Jonah stood still and bemused as I walked away. I let Sarah know to meet me up again and she texted back,“Ugh thank god, I was thinking I'd have to go home to my aunt. Henry and I will be over in a few”

It was late evening so we met up for dinner this time. They both quickly ran to the table eager to find out what I had to say.

Henry slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “I told you he had a small willy!”

“What? Henry, no. You never even said that!”

“Well what is it? What's his problem?!” Sarah was practically scratching the table in anticipation.

“He's a man whore! Or atleast I think he is...” I went on to tell Sarah and Henry what happened while I was at the show.

Henry rolled his eyes, “That's it? I thought it'd be something more dramatic” He signaled for the waiter to come over. Henry was completely unentertained now.

Sarah on the other hand started piecing the puzzle together, “Wait no, it makes sense! You two go out on dates but aren't bound sexually, while other girls bang him but aren't bound to him by going on dates. That way he gets to have a girlfriend without actually having one. Classic player move!” she quickly took back her comment when she saw how upset I was, "I'm sorry! I'm just brainstorming but I'm sure that's not it!"

“No, I think you're onto something. Before I could even say hi to him these girls were all over him. I'm sure he gets it all the time where ever he goes. Ugh, how could I be so stupid for thinking he liked me” I covered my face with my hands completely embarrassed. I was slowly starting to convince myself Sarah's theory was true. "He's just using me for what he doesn't get from those other girls. For the chase."

The Way You Look Tonight

*Note: I've recently been given feedback about the font size and spacing on my blog. I've tried adjusting the spacing issue and resized the post width so it is easier to view. Please let me know if this helps or if I need to make further adjustments. Thank you and enjoy!*

   Thursday had rolled around quicker than the week had started. Kadie and I spent most of the day trying to pick out the perfect outfit for her date. It wasn't until late evening that Adam came by to pick Kadie up. I was so tried from my last two days of orientation that I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night lounging around in my pajamas.

    I ordered in some Thai and caught up on some of my shows when my phone started vibrating. It was Jonah. We had been texting back and forth. Jonah was working late this week so I hadn't gotten a chance to see him since our date. 

  “What are you up to?”

“Nothing, watching Mindy Project. How bout you?”

 “Thinking about you. About to get off work. Want to come over?”

“Sure. I'll grab something for us to eat and be there in a few” (I wasn't about to waste all this food)

 “:)”

   Even his smileys made me swoon. Thank god I ordered enough Thai to feed an army. I packed it up in a bag and quickly threw on a casual dress and some boots. Jonah texted me his address and I made my way over. He lived in Greenwich so it wasn't much of a commute.

   I was so happy to see Jonah I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I stood outside his door for a good couple of minutes trying to bite my cheeks before I finally knocked. A few seconds later Jonah opened the door.

   “'Hey beautiful!” he looked just as excited to see me. Jonah gave me a bear hug to the point that he was practically picking me up. I laughed and playfully pushed his arm. 

   I walked into his apartment and I was amazed at how clean it was. It was an open floor plan and the furniture looked high-end. The back wall of the apartment was all exposed bricks with floor to ceiling windows that rounded off at the top. The second floor was visible from downstairs. It looked exactly how a bachelor pad should look.

   I walked over to the kitchen to put the bag of food down. I couldn't help but notice the stainless steel appliances. The fridge had a glass door so you could see inside. I ran my finger down the side of the glass and looked over at Jonah,

 “So, this is what being a writer gets you, huh?”

 Jonah laughed as if he were embarrassed “Well, no. This is what being a head writer of a popular late night show on a top rated network gets you” he smiled back and winked.

I threw my hands up accusingly “Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Head Writer!”

Jonah laughed again and walked up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head down to my neck. I felt his lips lightly move from the base of my neck to the back of my ear. His breath touching my skin gave me chills.

   He whispered,“Don't get it twisted.” I laughed and turned around to see a grin on Jonah's face. I wasn't use to such a funny, playful guy.

   I couldn't help but think of Joshua in that moment. He was always so serious. He never joked around. All work and no play. It was refreshing to be friends with Jonah. I felt like I could finally be my fun-loving self when I was around him.

   After we ate dinner Jonah tried teaching me how to play Foosball. It definitely isn't as easy as it looks. An hour of failed attempts went by before Jonah rendered it a lost cause. But, it's okay, because I ended up creaming him in a game of pool.

   We went back to the kitchen where Jonah poured both of us a drink. As he was cleaning up I couldn't help but walk around the living room and notice a wall of cubed shelves filled with hundreds of vinyl records. I flipped through a few before Jonah joined me. 

   “I didn't realize you were so into music.” There were records that I could see Jonah owning as a teen like, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Beatles, Ramones, The Clash. But then there were a few that were older like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Jonah noticed the confused look on my face from the random genres of music he had.

   “A lot of these are my dad's” Jonah walked over to an old vintage credenza. He lifted up the middle of the table top and it opened up to a record player inside.

  “When I was a kid, There would be some nights I would wake up to the sound of blues music and find my parents dancing in the living room.” He began pointlessly twisting the knobs on the record player as he went deeper into thought.

  “Whenever I'm having a bad day, I just remember the way he would look into my mom's eyes. I've never seen such pure love before. He loved his blues music and he loved her."

   He paused and stared down at the record player for a moment before turning back towards me. “Anyway, he died when I was younger so I've collected records in his memory since.”

   “I'm sorry to hear that. He sounds like a great man” I picked up a Frank Sinatra album and walked over to Jonah. 

  “He was” He took the album from my hands and smiled as he examined it. “You're a Sinatra fan,huh?”

 “Who doesn't love Franky?” Jonah placed the record onto the record player and set the needle down. He extended out his hand to take mine and just then “The Way You Look, Tonight” began to play. 

  We slowly danced in Jonah's living room. I leaned my head on his warm chest and I could hear every heartbeat. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the smell of his cologne. His tall built frame devoured me as he wrapped his arms around me. It was so calming to feel protected.

   As the music began to pick up Jonah twirled me around. We laughed and giggled as we started moving at a faster pace. Just as the music peaked Jonah dipped me down. As I came back up my hair fell over my face.

    Jonah stopped dancing. He pushed my hair back and tucked it behind my ears. His hand lingered on my neck as we stared at each other. He brought his body closer to mine, leaned down, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

   Jonah walked over to his couch holding my hand as I followed.

 “Jonah," I whispered in his ear as things began to heat up. His eyes looked into mine as if he wanted the same but something was stopping him. He sighed and dropped his head.

  “Lynn, this....this....” He was struggling to finish his sentence. Before I could say anything Jonah walked into his room closing the door behind him. I fixed myself up and walked over to the kitchen. Just then he walked out of his room.

  “You want another drink?” he pulled out a bottle and began pouring fresh drinks for both of us. He hummed along to the music playing in the background. He gave me my drink, sat back down on the couch, and turned his TV on.

   I was still standing in the kitchen confused as to why he was completely ignoring what just happened. I went over to the couch and sat down on the opposite side of Jonah thinking maybe he needed space. He turned towards me smiled and spread out his arm gesturing for me to come over. And so I did.

   We cuddled on the couch the rest of the night and watched a random TV movie. I decided to ignore the awkward moment Jonah and I had earlier in the night. There was obviously something going on and I figured he would open up to me about it eventually.

   It wasn't until 1am that I woke up and found myself in an unfamiliar bed. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I realized I was in Jonah's room. I looked around and couldn't find him.

   I walked out into the living room to see that Jonah had fallen asleep on the couch. He looked so cute and peaceful that I didn't want to wake him. Instead I grabbed my purse and quietly tiptoed out of the apartment.

   When I walked into my place I found Kadie wide awake and sitting at the kitchen table with a big bowl of cereal and her laptop. “Where the hell have you been?!” She practically fell out of her chair as she shouted.

  “I fell asleep at Jonah's. How was your date” I took off my jacket and boots and plopped myself down on our couch. I could tell Kadie wanted to get mad at me for not letting her know I was going to be out but she was just too excited to tell me about her night.

 “Lynn, I had such a great night. Adam took me out to this steak restaurant in uptown and we walked it off at a park and spent most of the night there talking. You were right he's pretty amazing! We had such a great time we even planned our next date!” She hurried to finish her cereal and went into the kitchen to wash her bowl.

  “That's awesome Kadie I'm so happy for you!” I shouted from the living room. Kadie came over and sat across from me.

“What's wrong? What happened with Jonah?” I sat up and made a confused face.

“I don't know what you're talking about”

“I can tell something happened. Now, spill!” I let out a deep sigh and told Kadie what happened that night.

“I just don't get it, Kadie. I always feel like he's holding something back. Every time things get heavy between us he just kind of finds a way to pull away and he doesn't even acknowledge why.”

“Maybe he has a girlfriend and feels bad about cheating on her every time he's with you”

“Kadie!” I grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at her. I started walking towards my room when my phone started ringing. It was Jonah. He must have been calling to see where I was. I looked at the phone and pressed ignore. As hard as I tried to forget about it, I didn't like Jonah hiding things from me. There was obviously something he was holding back. As amazing as Jonah seemed his recent behavior was reminding me of Joshua. And I wasn't going to have it

One Hit And Quit

The morning after my date with Jonah I was feeling amazing! I was in such a great mood I decided to make breakfast for Kadie. I started with scrambled eggs but I couldn't stop there. I cut up some fruits for a fruit salad, I made french toast, regular toast, omelet, breakfast biscuits, breakfast burritos, bagels with shmear (because we're New Yorkers now, duh.), coffee, and tea. Our table was covered with food and it looked like a carb loaders wet dream.

  “Uh, are you expecting me to eat all this?” Kadie had a plate in had but no idea where to start. She looked around at every item on the table but couldn't figure out what she wanted more.

 “I hope this isn't a tactic to distract me from that note Jonah left you” Kadie finally decided to make her plate of food and then came over to sit with me on the couch. I was tired from cooking so my appetite was gone. I settled with a cup of tea.

  “Did you get to talk to him last night?” I had mentioned Kadie to Jonah when we took the long subway ride over to the amusement park.

  “I was just getting ready for bed when he knocked.” She popped her eyes out before she went on, “He's hot! Like, I wish that was me he was carrying in. Damn!” she took a big bite of her breakfast burrito. I could feel myself blushing as if Kadie were paying the compliment to me.

  “Last night was seriously a dream. He took me to this amusement park he use to work at back in high school. I guess him and his friends still have the key. Anyway, we jumped on this huge trampoline, swung on a trapeze set, rode a few rides. Ugh, Kadie it was like something out of a movie. All you need is a video montage of us running from ride to ride and Pompeii by Bastille playing in the background. It was perfect!” I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't stop as hard as I tried.

  “And then...” Kadie raised her eyebrow and put down her burrito.

 “And then we made out on the beach.” Kadie's jaw dropped.

   “Tell me something more happened!” She put her plate on the table and jumped excitedly back on the sofa.

  “Honestly, it was pretty PG. But, I think there had been so much built up tension between Jonah and I that making out was satisfying enough.” I dropped my head back on the sofa and went on, “And oh my god, Kadie, he did not disappoint!”

Kadie grinned and held onto my arm, “I haven't see you this happy in so long!” She threw her hands over her head and shouted, “Jonah for the win!!”

Kadie and I cleaned up the breakfast table and decided to go shopping. The weather was starting to get cooler and we really needed some winter clothes. While we were out Kadie told me she would be leaving back to Texas next weekend to pack up her things and bring them back. Eva Darlington wasn't opening up her new office until the end of the month and Kadie wanted everything to be settled before then.

After a couple of hours of retail therapy I stopped by campus to pick up my class schedule. It looked like I was going to have a busy year. My eyes were glued to my schedule as I aimlessly walked around the common area.

   “Oh, I'm so sorry!” I had ran right into a young man doing the same thing. He was tall and skinny with curly brown hair. He was wearing black slacks and his dress shirt was neatly tucked in.

  “It's fine. I'm Corey” He said extending out his hand. His voice was much deeper than I expected.

 “Lynn” I grabbed his hand and shook it.

   He saw the papers I was carrying, “Are you a first year?”

 “Yeah, I was just going over classes. You must be a first year too” I saw the sheet in his hand had a lot of the same classes as me.

We started talking about where we were from. Corey grew up in New Hampshire and went to Dartmouth for under grad. As we started talking a petite red headed girl stopped us and introduced herself.

  “I'm sorry to interrupt, I heard you guys saying you're first year students too. My name is Emma. I just moved here from Boston.” We all spent the next hour getting to know each other. Afterwards, we decided to walk around campus and find our classes. We still had another week before school was starting. Emma and Corey both looked like studious people and I knew I could count on them when it came to cramming before an exam. We all exchanged numbers and I headed back to the apartment.

Sarah texted me to let me know she was on her way to Jebrone's place. They had some business to attend to and would be making their way to the bar in an hour.

Kadie decided to come into my room to do her hair and makeup “Do you think I'll ever find someone like Jonah?” Kadie was sitting at my vanity staring in the mirror tracing her eyebrows with her fingers.

   “I'm sure you will. The guy to girl ratio out here is insane.” I was strumming through my closest trying to figure out what to wear.

  “Yeah but not just any guy. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the date you went on. I'm kind of jealous. I wish I had something like that.” She sighed and rested her chin on her fist.

I turned around facing Kadie and crossed my arms “What do you mean?”
 

  “I mean" She straightened her posture and changed the subject. "I mean, nevermind. I'm just destined to be a whore.” I laughed and walked up behind Kadie looking at her in the mirror. I grabbed her hair and started brushing it with my fingers.

I knew Kadie hadn't had any luck with the last couple of guys she was with so I tried to reassure her “Everyone always says Southerners are such gentlemen, but honestly I think Yankees have it on lock. I'll be damned if you don't find a man here. Someone who appreciates you. I'm not going to let you settle for anything less.”

   Kadie and I finished getting ready and headed out to a bar in midtown after stopping in Hell's Kitchen to eat dinner. Once we got there Jebrone and Sarah had already arrived and greeted us. They went ahead and got a table since the place was crowded. Jebrone ordered a round of shots for the table.

  “To Kadie!” he yelled as we all raised our glasses and shot back our drinks.

 “Woooo! Eva fucking Darlington!!” Kadie yelled as she slammed her glass down.

   Most of the night was spent laughing and catching up with each other. I was really glad I met Sarah. Her and Jebrone were good peoples. They were really turning out to make mine and Kadie's time in New York worth it.

After a couple of hours into the night Kadie excused herself to go to the ladies room. Once she was out of view I leaned in closer to Jebrone and Sarah.

  “So, do ya'll know any single guys that might be interested?” I wasn't sure if either one was taking me seriously. By the way they laughed my suspicions were confirmed.

 “Not for me you guys” I said rolling my eyes. I slowly leaned against the back of my chair. “For Kadie. She hasn't been having any luck with any decent guys.”

  “But she's gorgeous. How are guys not falling at her feet?” Jebrone asked confused.

 “I know, but that's the problem. Every guy is a fling. She can't find one that's relationship worthy.”

  “'Jebrone, what about...” Sarah looked at Jebrone and started wiggling her head around.

 “Noo, you think they'd be good together?” Jebrone stared off into the distance deep in thought. “You know what maybe it would work?”

  “He's a catch there's no way Kadie wouldn't like him!” Sarah was growing more and more eager thinking about the potential.

 “Okay, who are we talking about?” Sarah and Jebrone stared at each other for a few seconds longer before Jebrone replied

  “Adam. He's an old friend of mine. He just started his career as an entertainment lawyer and is ready to get into a serious relationship.”

 “Perfect! They both work in the entertainment industry so they have common ground!”

  “Oh my god, why am I not in the match making business? I love this! Jebrone text Adam and see where he is!” Sarah was practically bouncing out of her chair. Jebrone smiled and pulled out his phone.

 “Okay, I told him to meet me for drinks. He's at his office a few blocks away. He'll be here in half an hour”

Right then Kadie came back to the table “Who's going to be here in half an hour?” She took a sip of her watered down drink and grimaced at the taste. She signaled a waitress to come over and ordered another.

  “Our friend Adam was in the area so we told him to stop by. Hope you don't mind?” Sarah was holding back her excitement by trying her hardest not to smile. It was so obvious.

  “The more the merrier!” Jebrone, Sarah, and I kept catching each others glances and laughing. If we hadn't had so much to drink I think Kadie would have easily caught on. Jebrone changed the subject and continued telling us more about some of the artists he was working with. He had some interesting stories about the temper tantrum some of these people threw.

Right on cue, Adam walked into the bar. I knew it was him because he looked like the lawyer type. He had black hair that was parted from the side. His face was clean shaven and his skin was evenly tanned. Adam was tall and built like a man. He had a glimmer in his eyes that I'm sure all lawyers are required to have. Jebrone got up from his chair to give Adam a handshake hug.

  “Wah wah we wow!” Kadie leaned into my ear and whispered. Jebrone introduced me and then proceeded on to Kadie.

 “Adam, this is our friend Kadie. We're celebrating her new job at Darlington.” Kadie stood up from her chair to shake Adam's hand. When Adam looked over at Kadie he couldn't look away. He stood quiet for a second. He realized his mouth was opened and closed it before he shook Kadie's hand.

“Darlington? That's the best of the best. Congratulations!” Adam winked at Sarah. He gave her a hug and pulled up a chair. 

Adam talked to Jebrone about a client he had that was also signed under Jebrone's label. While they chatted about that Sarah, Kadie, and I decided we needed mani/pedis and agreed to go the next day. Eventually Adam switched seats with Jebrone and started talking to Kadie. The three of us pretended like we had other things to talk about to give the two of them some private time.

An hour had passed and it was starting to get late. We all decided to call it a night and said our goodbyes. As Kadie and I walked out of the bar I was excited to ask her what she thought of Adam.

  “He's a great guy. I don't know if he's for me though.” She didn't seem interested in our conversation.

 “Why not? You guys seemed to have hit it off.” I didn't understand what she thought was so uninteresting about him.

  “He kept talking about himself. It was a little arrogant.” She leaped out into the street to hail a cab. I chased after her.

 “Maybe he was just nervous? Did you get his number at least?” I kept pressing her with questions.

  “Ugh he was too clingy. I did and I'm hoping he doesn't call.”

 “I don't understand where all of this is coming from? You just told me earlier today you wanted to find a guy. Now that he's here you're finding every excuse not to like him.” A cab finally pulled up and we hopped in. Kadie was quiet the entire drive. We made our way up to the apartment and Kadie locked herself in her room. I was confused by her sudden change in mood. So after giving her some space I finally decided to knock on her door.

  “I'm sorry Lynn, I don't mean to hurt your feelings.” she pushed past me to go into the kitchen. She opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

 “You're not hurting my feelings, K. I just want to know what it is. He's good looking, he's educated, he seemed to be really into you. Why are you being so negative? You always push away the good guys and go for the slime balls that just want to use you.” I knew my words were harsh but I could tell they were making Kadie think. I sat on the arm of our sofa and watched Kadie peruse through the pantry. She couldn't seem to find what she was looking for. She gave up and plopped herself on the couch.

  “Okay, I'll admit, Adam is a catch. But, I don't want to mess up. I've never-” She stopped herself.

 “You've never what?”

 “I've never had a boyfriend before, Lynn. Okay? Happy?” I laughed sarcastically until I realized she was being serious. “I've never gone on a second date with any of the guys I've been with. I don't know how to build off of the first date. I've had a case of the one hit and quit my whole life.” I came around the sofa to sit next to Kadie.

  “Let me see your phone” She pulled it out from her pocket and handed it to me. I went through her phone until I came across Adam's number. I texted him

 “Had fun tonight we should do it again some time :)”

I gave the phone back to Kadie. He almost immediately replied,

 “How about dinner thursday night?” Kadie looked nervous. I gave her a smile and patted her leg.

“Don't worry K, Momma's here to help you put your big girl pants on!”

Coffee Run

If positive energy is what I need to get everything I want in life, then shit, sign me up to become an optimist.

 I couldn't believe I saw Jonah on the late night talk show. I knew he was a comedy writer, he mentioned occasionally doing stand up to de-stress from his job which required daily deadlines, and the couple from the comedy club had mentioned the performers from that night worked with big names in Hollywood. It was all starting to make sense. Of course he worked on a popular late night show! How could I have not pieced the puzzle together sooner?

  “This show tapes in New York, right? You've totally got to go!”

Kadie was excited to put Mission: Find Jonah into play.

 “No, no, no. If I go looking for him, that's going to ruin everything. The whole point was to be brought back together, randomly.”

I buried my face in my hands. Kadie sat up and stared at me.

“Wait, you're telling me that isn't random that we came home at the time that we did and turned on the TV at the exact moment Jonah was on? Lynn if that's not a sign, I don't know what is? You need to stop being nervous and go find him!”

Kadie was right. The night I had with Jonah was perfect. I was nervous of messing things up. The more I thought about Jonah the more I liked him. The fact that he respected my feelings enough to allow me my space. The fact that he didn't complicate things by kissing me that night. The fact that he's a perfect gentleman, funny, AND smart (I mean honestly how often does that happen?!) Ugh, and those eyes. All I could see were those big beautiful hazel eyes. Must.Find.Jonah.

The weekend had flown by quickly. Kadie and I spent most of our time shopping for the apartment. I've asked her to be my roommate since she'll be in the city now, but she has politely declined. And by politely I mean she's been yelling at me to stop asking her because nothing was official yet.

   “I can't! I haven't even gotten the job yet, Lynn! I'm going to jinx it!”

 “Positive energy, K!” I couldn't help but smirk as I shouted from across the bedroom in an enthusiastic tone.

Kadie grabbed a pillow from my bed and threw it at me knocking me onto the floor. She came towards me and picked the pillow up.

 “Well, I guess if I were to live here, I would have to get some bedroom furniture, huh?”

 With that being said we were off shopping. We hit up just about every furniture store in the New York area. We put things on hold here and there. (Kadie was still worried about jinxing her stay so she didn't actually purchase anything.)

But she has a very distinct taste when it comes to design. She likes a modern twist on shabby chic. It was driving me crazy going from place to place to find the perfect pieces but if it meant keeping Kadie in the city, I was all for it.

 
Monday had rolled around and Kadie was off to her meeting before I could even wake up. I hadn't worked out since moving to New York so I decided to put on my cutest yoga leggings and attempt a run.

I couldn't even make it to the end of the street. I'm calling bullshit on all the runners who claim running helps them sort out their thoughts. The only thoughts that my mind is sorting out are, “Why am I doing this too myself?”, "Are my legs suppose to be killing me?” and,“did I stop breathing?” So I decided I'd just walk instead. But, of course, I made myself look winded as if I just finished a long run.

I continued this for a couple of miles. I was so busy exuding the look of a runner that I must have subconsciously lead myself to the building of the late night show that Jonah worked on. When I turned the corner and saw the network's name on a bright neon marquee I gasped and jump back around the corner.

 “How did I end up here?” I thought to myself. “Would Jonah be here? What if I ran into him, I couldn't look like this and bump into him. What if he sees me now peering from around the corner over to the entrance of his work place? He would think I'm such a creep!”

I quickly turned around and began to run. (I guess the key to running is run as if you're scared. Because in this moment it seemed to work.) I just wanted to hurry up and go back to my apartment where I couldn't run into Jonah.

And right then at that very moment I bumped into a man walking out of a Starbucks.

 “Fuck! Shit! That's hot! Jesus Christ, that's hot!!” I yelled while dancing around trying to pull my shirt away from my body.

  “Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! Let me go grab some napkins! Hold on!”

 I think the man was more disturbed by my overly dramatic reaction than the fact that he dropped coffee on me.

I looked up from my drenched shirt to watch him go inside. He pushed past a man who was trying to leave the store. The man looked vaguely familiar. When I squinted to get a better look I realized it was Jonah.

I turned my head up to the sky, threw my arms up in the air, and shouted, “Really, God?! Really?!” I'm sure anyone walking by must have thought I was having a mental breakdown. But since the setting is in the busy streets of New York everyone just walked past me as if I didn't exist.

 
When I looked back down Jonah was standing in front of me. He was staring up at the sky with his breakfast and coffee in hand. He looked back down with a puzzled face.

 “I'd offer you some of my coffee, but it looks like you already had some.” Jonah said while trying to hold back a laugh

“Well, I guess you were right about seeing each other again. I just didn't imagine it to be like this.” I pointed to my shirt.

 “Hey, my apartment's just down the way I can help you clean up. Maybe shower it off?” He winked and handed over some napkins.

 I was completely defeated at this point and quiet frankly irritated that this was how I ended up seeing Jonah. It was nothing like the perfect scenarios I had dreamed of.

 “You know what it's fine”

I took the napkins from Jonah's hand and pushed past him while dabbing my shirt.

  “I'm sure you're late for work or something, I don't know I'll see you some other time I guess”

I didn't care that I finally found Jonah again. I just wanted to go home, clean up, and bury myself in my bed for the rest of my life.

 “Hey! Wait! I was just kidding!” Jonah grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards him.

 “Are you okay?” He looked concerned.

I couldn't help but notice his hair. It was much darker and in a perfect mess. His cheeks were flushed pink from the cold morning air. I guess he didn't have time to shave this morning because he had a little bit of facial scruff that made my knees weak.

  “No, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, just a case of the Mondays, I guess.”

 “Well, let me make it better for you. Let's go out tonight. Let's do something fun.”

  “I don't know, I'm a little busy tonight.”

 I didn't want to immediately jump on the opportunity. I mean I did. I want to jump on the opportunity so hard. Or even Jonah for that matter. I just didn't want him to think that I did.

  “You're lying”

Doh! So much for the poker face. I saw Jonah staring at me from the corner of my eye. We were walking down the street. He turned slightly away from me so I couldn't see his smirk.

   “Your eyes. They twinkled when I asked you. Look, I get it if you still need your space. We can do something another time.”

 “Pick me up at 6. Here's my number.” I grabbed Jonah's phone from his pocket to put my number in since his hands were full. I could tell I caught him off guard.

“Oh, and thanks for the napkins!” I winked as I slowly put his phone back into his pocket without breaking eye contact.

  “Yeah, okay, 6 it is!” Jonah said with a smile. I began to run down the street until I was out of Jonah's sight.

Once I was I had to stop and catch my breathe. Never running again.

I made my way back to the apartment. I threw my clothes in the wash and jumped into the shower. After cleaning up I saw a text from Kadie on my phone,

“Meet me at the fountain in Central Park ASAP!!”

I didn't know what to make of it. I changed my clothes and ran out the door.

After a quick subway ride over I headed into the Park. I saw Kadie sitting quietly on a bench. She looked like she was wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Oh my god, Kadie, are you okay??” I sat next to her and wiped a tear that was rolling down her face.

I've never seen Kadie like this before. Her cheeks were burning red.

She's always such an upbeat, life of the party, type person. She looked like she had been crying for a while. Kadie was emotionally the strongest out of all of our friends. She can always spin any negative into a positive. I couldn't bare to look at her this way. It was killing me to know she was this hurt. I started to confront her before she cut me off

  “I know what this looks like. Like I didn't get the job, but I actually did. I just can't believe it. I've only dreamed of working with Eva” Kadie covered her face with her hands and leaned into her lap.

“You're such a whore! You scared me!” I pushed Kadie over so she fell on the other side of the bench.

She started to laugh and I couldn't help but laugh either.

 “Kadie! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!”

I was so happy for my best friend. This was everything she had wanted. And not to mention she was going to be living in the City with me! I couldn't help but well up with tears sharing her excitement. I gave her a hug and we started walking back towards the subway.

Turns out Kadie had wanted to meet up so we could go back to all the furniture stores she had held items at. A lot of her furniture has to be delivered but we picked up what we could.

A few hours went by and we finally headed back home. Our apartment has a small rooftop garden so we grabbed a bottle of wine before going up to relax. Kadie went on to tell me the details of her interview and I told her how I bumped into Jonah.

  “Lynn. I don't even believe you right now.” Kadie said as she took her sunglasses off and looked over at me.

 “I swear Kadie. You should have seen his face when I took his phone from his pocket!” I smiled and took a sip from my wine.

  “Wow, I must say, I'm liking his new Lynn. It looks good on you!” She raised her glass to mine.

Since I was going out with Jonah that night Kadie decided to stay home and put her furniture together. I texted Sarah the good news and told her to come out the next night for celebratory drinks. She passed the message along to Jebrone.

   It was only five o’clock and I was already ready and waiting for Jonah. Eager much? I didn't know where Jonah was planning on taking me so I kept it causal with black harem pants, a white v-neck shirt, and a dark floral scarf around my neck. Something told me we'd be walking a lot so I stuck to wearing my Tory Burch flats.

I finally got a text from Jonah close to six o'clock letting me know he had gotten out of work and was on his way over. Fifteen minutes later he was outside my apartment. I came down and gave him a hug.

  “You clean up nice!” He took my hand and twirled me around. “No coffee stains”

 “Oh, shut up!” I playfully said as we started walking down the street. “So, where are we going?”

 “It's a surprise!”

With that being said I followed Jonah down the street and into the subway. I still wasn't sure where we were going but wherever it was it was taking us a while.

We talked for what seemed like an hour until we finally made it to our stop.

 “This is it!” Jonah was excited to be wherever we were. He took my hand and lead me out of the subway.

We walked down a few blocks until we were at an amusement park. It was dark outside and it looked like the park was shut down.

  “So is this where you're planning on dumping my body after you kill me?” I said with a straight face.

Jonah smiled and put his hands on my shoulders,“Stay right here!”

I watched Jonah as he walked into a dark alley next to the park. A few minutes had went by and he was still missing. I was starting to get concerned until I looked inside the amusement park. From a distance I saw Jonah walking. He had somehow found a way inside. He opened the gate in front of me.

  “Hurry up!” he whispered.

I quickly ran and followed him in. He saw my shocked expression,

 “My friends and I worked here the summer of junior year in high school. We made copies of our keys before we had to give them back. The old fucks that work here never thought of getting new locks.”

   We went to the back of the park where there was a giant trampoline and trapeze set up.

 “Get the hell out. Are you serious?!" I couldn't contain my excitement.

Jonah strapped a harness on both of us and we jumped on the trampoline and swung on the trapeze for hours. After we were tired from swinging around we rode a couple of the kiddie rides and played a few of the carnival games.

   It was almost midnight before we realized we hadn't eaten. Jonah locked up the park and we made our way down the street to find a place to eat.

Luckily there was a pizza place still open but the restaurant didn't have a sitting area. Jonah had an idea to go down to the beach across from the amusement park to eat. We found a place in the sand, took off our shoes, and sat down.

 There were only a few street lights that lit up the area so there wasn't much of an ocean view. Just the sounds of the waves gently crashing on the shore.

  “This was so much fun. Thank you so much for tonight”

We continued to eat our pizza in silence until we finished. We were so hungry. Once Jonah was done he wiped his hands on a napkin and stared straight into the ocean.

 “I've never brought anyone here. To the amusement park. Just so you don't think I do this with everyone.”

I was flattered. But I didn't understand what was so special about me. I wasn't use to this sort of attention.

 I turned my body towards him   “Why do you like me so much?”

 “What do you mean?” Jonah looked confused by the question

  “I mean, you're so nice to me. You pay attention to my habits. You always know what I'm thinking. I don't understand what it is about me that you like so much?”

Jonah laughed and leaned back on his arms. He looked at me and back towards the ocean.

  “That's exactly why I like you. You don't understand how beautiful you are. You're one of the smartest girls I've met and yet you're so down to earth. You're easy to talk to, like I've known you for years, and you're so funny without even trying to be. I have to stop myself from looking at your big beautiful golden eyes because then I forget how to talk. Every one of your habits makes me like you even more...”

 I couldn't help but stare at Jonah as he talked. I guess he picked up on it because he stopped. He leaned back forward and dusted the sand off his hands.

  “Dang, anything else?” I said in my Bon Qui Qui voice.

 Ugh, did I really just say that out loud? I had such a bad habit of making awkward comments during serious moments. But it seemed to make Jonah laugh.

 “Rude” He said in his best Bon Qui Qui impression and we both laughed.

It was refreshing to meet someone who understood my weird sense of humor

  “That's the most flattering thing I've ever heard.”

 I looked down at the sand. Jonah was lightly picking it up and letting it slip through his fingers.

 “Well, it helps that I write for a living.”

  “True”

Jonah looked over at me and I leaned into him pushing both of us onto our back so we were staring up at the stars. I rested my head on his arm and brought my hand around to rest on his chest. I could feel his heart beating a little bit faster than normal and something about that made me smile.

I turned my head towards Jonah so my mouth was just next to his ear. I lightly traced my nose at the tip of his ear and whispered,

 “I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.”

Jonah turned towards me making eye contact. He held my gaze for a few seconds before he leaned over wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me in closer.

I could feel my breathe getting deeper and deeper. He brought his face close to mine and kissed me.There was a tingling sensation running through my body that I had never felt before. My body sank into the sand ad I grabbed Jonah's arm and pulled him over me. The moment was intensifying when suddenly he stopped.
 

  “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I-” He slowly pushed himself off of me.

He sat back up and I leaned in to kiss him again.

We both smiled at each other. Just as Jonah tugged at my shirt we heard a shouting from the distance.

  “Oh shit!” Jonah whispered.

 “What? What is it?!” I looked around frantically.

  “Police! We're not suppose to be here, it's restricted property”

We grabbed our things and ran. It was an adrenaline rush. I've never ran from the police before. Check that off my list of bad ass things to do.

We made our way through an alley and found a cab to jump into. If I hadn't fallen in love with Jonah back at the beach I definitely did now. I cuddled under his arm and looked out the window as the cab drove away.

Half an hour had passed and we still seemed far from the city. I tried to stay awake but I couldn't. I felt myself doze off.

The next morning I woke up to the sunlight pouring into my room and Kadie standing over me.

“Lucyyy, you got some 'splainin' to do!” She held up a note.

“You were just too beautiful to wake up. Tonight was perfect. - J”

Positive Energy

So far Kadie has been enjoying her time in New York. It's her first time here so I had to make sure she experienced everything. I took her to Times Square, we rode bicycles around Central Park, and experienced the unbelievable view of New York from Top of the Rock.

The day had flown by and it was only a few hours until Sarah's party. We decided to treat ourselves to blowouts at DryBar.

  “So what kind of party do you think it's going to be?” Kadie shouted over the loud hairdryers at the salon.

 “I don't know. She texted me the address and it's in Brooklyn. So, I'm thinking it's going to be a chill artsy type crowd”

  “Oh god, this better not be a hipster party.” Right then Kadie bite off the head of a gummy bear she was munching on.

We had stopped by Dylan's Candy Bar right before going to the salon. Kadie's like a child when it comes to sitting in one place for too long. She needs to have something to do.

  She continued in a sing-song voice and wiggled in her chair,

  “There ain't no party like a hipsta party, cause a hipsta party is WACK!”

we both started giggling like little girls. I wouldn't doubt that our hairdressers were annoyed with us.

Once our hair was done we headed back to my apartment and started getting ready. I decided to keep it casual with leather leggings, heels, and a draped black sweater. I completed my look with Fixed on Drama, a dark maroon lipstick from MAC.

Kadie wore a highlighter yellow dress that cinched at her waist. The sides were cut out so the armholes went all the way down to the cinching. The dress was cut just high enough to accentuate her slender legs.

Not going to lie, we looked pretty damn hot.

Before going to the party we decided to stop by a bar in downtown to grab a small bite to eat. We found a place that looked to have a young crowd. We order drinks and mozzarella sticks and nestled ourselves into a corner booth.

  “So what are you going to do about Jonah” Kadie was bopping her head to the music that was playing

 “What can I do? We figured we'd find each other when the time was right so we didn't exactly exchange
 numbers or anything.”

As cute and romantic as it sounded when Jonah and I came up with the idea I was totally regretting it now.

 “Well, if you really want to see him again you have to put the energy out in the universe”

 “Oh god Kadie, don't go all Oprah on me!” I gulped down my drink and ordered another. And then continued to pull away at the cheesy mozzarella sticks.

 “No, I'm serious Lynn. I had this client once. Total bat-shit crazy. She use to read people's energy. And she's created her whole life around it. She literally stood us in a line, execution style -”

    I couldn't help but giggle at Kadie's story

 “And she would read our energy to see who gave off a good aura. She only wanted those people to work on her party. And guess what Lynn?”

  “The party was a success?”

   Kadie slammed her glass down on the table,“The party was indeed a success”

“What was the point of that story”

   Kadie looked confused for a minute. I could tell she had just been rambling without a purpose. And then her face lit up as she dipped her mozzarella stick in marinara.

  “The point, Lynn, you thought I didn't have one.” she said matter of factually, “The point is she put positive energy for a successful party out there and it was one of the most easy going parties we had. There literally weren't any mess ups or stress.”

  “So then what should I do?”I wiped my hands on a napkin and then folded my arms.

 “Say it. Say that you will see Jonah again. Think positively about him. It'll happen!” Kadie's eyebrows were so far up her forehead from how passionately she was talking.

  “Okay” I said while rolling my eyes. I grabbed my drink and took another sip.

 “Say it!” Kadie demanded.

  “Oh my god. I want to see Jonah again” I said in a mocking tone

 “Say it the right way or it won't work!”

  “I want to see Jonah again!” I finally declared so Kadie could stop harassing me.

 “Good! Now let's go to this hipster party! Who knows maybe Jonah will be there!” Kadie said teasingly

I knew he wouldn't be there but I couldn't help but spiral back into the endless daydreaming of scenarios bumping into Jonah.

 I may have doubted Kadie's energy theory but I kinda felt like giving it a go. Anything to get us to be back together, right?

Our cab driver dropped us off in a secluded neighborhood in Brooklyn. The streets looked dark and a few fliers for local bands flew around. The sides of most of the buildings were covered in graffiti and had wood slabs covering the windows.

   Kadie turned to me with wide eyes,“If this was anywhere else other than Brooklyn I'd think it was gross. But my inner media manipulated being is saying this is fucking awesome.”

Once we got into the building there were signs directing us to the roof. We made our way up a few flights of stairs and started to regret wearing heels. Finally we got to the top and opened the door. There was a crowd of people covering the roof. There was an indie rap artist preforming and everyone was dancing with red Dixie cups in their hands. A string of lights weaved across the roof. Behind the crowd there was the most perfect night view of New York. It was glowing in all it's glory and I was reminded of why I came here.

Kadie turned towards me and grabbed both my arms,“I was right, this is fucking awesome!!” She squealed and made her way into the crowd.

That's another thing I love about Kadie. She doesn't need to know anyone around her to have a good time. She can walk into a party not knowing anyone and walk out with 20 new friends.

I grabbed a Dios Equis and walked around the crowd to find Sarah. I spotted her with Jebrone towards the back.

  “You made it!” Sarah shouted when she saw me.

 “This is insane!” I said while pointing to the crowd.

  “Isn't it? He's the new talent Jebrone is signing onto his record label. His name is Br-Ease.”

 Sarah started dancing to the music. I turned towards Jebrone confused.

 “Record label? I thought you were in Law School?”

“I am. My uncle has his own record label so I grew up around this kinda stuff. A couple years ago I found an artist that I was crazy about but my uncle wouldn't sign him because it wasn't the “sound” of his label. So, I decided to start my own label and hired a team to work with me. I sign the talents and my people do the rest. That way I can still focus on my studies.”

 “Rich folks. Well, here's to signing Br-Ease!” Jebrone and I clinked our bottles together.

Jebrone looked a lot more laid back then when I met him a few nights ago. He was wearing a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, and Nikes. He was trying hard to fit into the crowd with his attire but his facial features looked like he was born into wealth.

I grabbed Jebrone's hand and led us into the crowd. We all danced for the rest of Br-Ease's set. It was actually really good music. It was like a mixture of Kid Cudi and Drake put together.

   I caught a glimpse of Kadie and signaled her over.

  “Kadie, this is my class mate Sarah. She's the one who invited us out here. And that's Jebrone, Sarah's cousin's boyfriend.”

 “Oh, hi! Thanks for the invite. This is amazing!” Kadie said with a burst of enthusiasm.

Sarah seemed to pick up on Kadie's upbeat personality and reciprocated it.

 “I'm glad you guys liked it! I'm so excited for Br-Ease to be part of the team!” Sarah said as she clapped her hands together.

   Kadie was confused by Sarah's comment and I explained to her that Jebrone had his own record label and that he just signed Br-Ease.

 “No way! So do you work with Jebrone on the label?” Kadie seemed invested in what Sarah had to say

  “I have some experience in events and marketing so I help out with release parties every now and then”

 “Kadie actually worked at a PR company in Dallas! She knows a lot about that” I chimed in

  “Oh really? Which firm?”

   Kadie shot a look at me and answered Sarah,“R.J Gables”

“That's a really good firm! My mum has her own flag shipped in London. And others around Paris, Barcelona,Melbourne,Shanghai, Dubai, most recently in L.A and she's just about to open one up here in New York.”

  “Darlington?” Kadie stared at Sarah as if she saw a ghost.

 “Your 'mum' is Eva Darlington??” Her voice grew louder with every word.

  “Yes, how'd you know?” Sarah looked concerned

“I've been following her career since before she started in America! I read about her opening a firm in New York. I love her work! I've only dreamed of working with her!”

 Kadie really needed to calm down with the fan girling.

  “Fabulous! Truly amazing! You, my dear, have great positive energy!” Sarah was thoroughly impressed with Kadie's knowledge.

Right then me and Kadie turned towards each other and laughed. So energies was really a 'thing'.

 “My mum is about to launch the firm but she still needs a few more people on her team.”

Kadie's jaw dropped she knew exactly what Sarah was referring to, “You wouldn't!”

 “Of course I will! Any friend of Lynn is a friend of mine! I'll give her a ring and see if she's available to meet with you this week.” She smiled at Kadie and rubbed her hand on Kadie's shoulder reassuringly. “Oh, will it be a problem with R.J Gables?”

  “No! No problem at all! I'm available A.S.A.P!”

 Sarah couldn't help but laugh at Kadie's excitement.

   As Sarah walked away to call her mom Jebrone told Kadie she was welcomed to work events for his record label if she liked.

“We have a very relaxed environment. You can step in for certain events and collaborate with the other event planners.”

Anywhere Kadie goes everyone loves her. She has a way of instantly connecting with anyone she meets. She can make people feel like she's their closest friend within minutes.

Sarah bounced her way back to us and sang the good news to Kadie, 

 “She wants to meet you Monday bright and early in the AM!”

 “OH MY GOD!” Kadie shouted and then covered her mouth with both hands. “Sarah thank you so much!! You don't understand!” she grabbed Sarah and gave her a bear hug

 Jebrone took us over to meet Br-Ease and we all chatted and took pictures. Br-Ease invited us to join him for an after party but Kadie and I were exhausted from our long day. We decided to call it a night.

Jebrone and Sarah walked with us down to the street.

  “Your not going to find a cab for a few miles out here. Let my driver take you back”

Right then a black Range Rover pulled up and Jebrone opened the door for us.

 “Thanks Jebrone!” both Kadie and I said cheerfully while climbing in.

We walked into the apartment and Kadie spun around on her heel and fell back onto the couch.

“Eek! This is unbelievable! This city is ah-mazing! Now I know why you were dying to come here”

I started laughing as I walked over to grab the T.V remote. I flipped it on to one of the late night talk shows and went to the kitchen to find something to snack on.

 “I swear Kadie, you have the best of luck. You need to rub off on me a little more.”

 Kadie walked into the kitchen and pulled out bowls while I grabbed ice cream from the freezer.

 “I'm telling you Lynn, positive energy!” She said while wiggling her fingers on either side of her head.

We sat back down on the couch and started watching the talk show. The host and some writers from his show were doing a bit. I dropped my spoon in my bowl and choked on my ice cream. Kadie looked up startled.

“What's wrong?” she saw my eyes fixed on the T.V and looked back over

“That's Jonah!”

Home on the Range

Since Kadie has been in town I've had a refreshing calm come over me. It was nice having a piece of home in an unfamiliar place. And even better that the piece of home was my best friend.

When I first decided to move, Kadie was suppose to come with me. Just for a few days to help me settle in. But, last minute she wasn't able to come because of work. Kadie's part of a big PR firm in Dallas. The week I was leaving to come here, her boss had gotten sick and left her in charge of an event for that week. But, nonetheless she was here now. And perfect timing because I really needed a vent session.

The next morning we found ourselves sprawled out on my L-shaped sofa. I still had my hair done and makeup on from the night before. So unlike me. But after Kadie settled in I had to dig through my things to find her an extra pillow and blanket. Once I did I was exhausted and she had a long flight so we passed out for the night.

 “Before we talk about anything else. Tell me how Joshua's doing”

I genuinely wanted to know how he was. Even if I had fallen out of love with him I wanted to make sure he was emotionally okay.

  “He's holding up, really. He hadn't told me what happened until a few days later. I had to beat it out of him.”

I slowly let out my breath while staring down at my hands. I was feeling guilty. Joshua was really loud and
 outgoing so for him to be quiet meant that he was really hurt.

 “From what I understand, you caught him off guard. But honestly Lynn, don't stress over him. It's over.”

The way Kadie was talking sounded like she wanted to change the subject but I couldn't let me her think I was completely in the wrong.

 “Kadie, you know how he was acting. You know how he didn't give a shit about me anymore. I mean after five years I wou-”

  “Lynn I know, I know! I'm completely on your side about ending things. I loved you guys in the beginning but lately it was like pulling teeth being around both of ya'll at the same time. I'm glad you're not with him anymore, but I'm not too thrilled about the way you ended it. You could have given him a heads up.”

“That's the thing Kadie, I did. He just wasn't listening. I told him multiple times I wasn't happy anymore. That I wasn't getting the attention I needed. The relationship was all about him and what he wanted. I told him if he wasn't going to change that I would leave him. He thought I was kidding. Kadie, I'm still young, I don't need to settle for that bullshit.”

   “You're right. You don't. And I'm glad you didn't. As cute as ya'll were together, he just wasn't the right guy. He's turned into such a douche lord if you ask me.”

Even though we weren't together anymore something inside of me still felt defensive for him. It was okay if I said things about him, not anyone else. What I was feeling was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling it.

  "Yeah, but Kadie, he really did have a good heart. Despite our problems he made sure to take care of me. What if I never find a family as good as his? My life was made for me and I screwed it up by leaving him.”

Joshua's parents were the kindest people I had ever met. They were constantly spoiling me and telling me how great I was for Joshua. His family had a huge chunk of land in West Texas that had been passed down for generations. Joshua's mom always talked about how sooner or later the land would be Joshua's and he and I could build an amazing house there to start our new life. I always thought life would be so perfect. I had a great boyfriend, the feeling of love between his parents and I was mutual, we would soon inherit a huge property and live happily in a beautiful home. But the longer I envisioned this dream, the more I didn't want it.

 "Are you serious right now?” Kadie's angry tone snapped me out of my day dreaming. I realized what I was saying was crazy.

 "This is how I've been feeling. I hate that I left a man that loved me so much. But at the same time I know the life his family had planned out for me wasn't what I really wanted."

Right then I saw Kadie's face fall flat. She was suddenly nervous about something.

 "Kadie, are you okay? What's wrong?”

Kadie sat up straight in her seat. After she stared at the ground for a minute she mustered up the courage to speak.

  "I didn't want to have to tell you this but the way you're talking about Joshua is making me realize you haven't gotten your clarity. I really did think that you were over him since you were the one to leave him. But-”

Kadie looked over at me and saw my scared reaction. Right then she stopped herself.

What was she about to tell me that she didn't feel comfortable saying? This was so unlike Kadie. We were able to tell each other everything.

  “What? What is it?” I was starting to get impatient.

 “Before leaving to come here I went to go see Joshua. That's when he told me everything. But he also told me.” She paused again for a minute

  “Jesus Christ, Kadie!”

 “Lynn, he told me that he had fallen out of love with you. But Joshua's parents wouldn't give him his share of the family property if he didn't marry you. He was planning on divorcing you once the land was signed over to him.”

   Annnd just like that, my guilt was gone! I sat in silence trying to process what Kadie had just told me.

 “I'm SO sorry Lynn! I couldn't keep this from you, but I knew it would help you move on.”

  “What.The.FUCK!” I felt a sudden anger come over me. I was feeling so many emotions at once I didn't know where to start.

  “You know he got on a fucking flight here to stop me from coming? Kadie, I've literally cried myself to sleep thinking I made a mistake! I thought if he was serious enough to chase after me he was serious enough to change!” I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks.

Kadie jumped out of her seat and came over to sit next to me. She wrapped her arms around me to calm me down.

  “Lynn, it's okay. It's over now. He's not in your life anymore.”

   With a sudden realization I nudged Kadie away from me.

 “You! You were making me feel bad for how I left him! How dare you! You knew this whole time!”

  “Look, regardless of who it was Lynn, that's not the person you are. Don't stoop down to someone's level. Otherwise there won't be a difference between you and that person. End it badly with Joshua but don't just skip town to avoid your problems.”

Kadie was right. Joshua had always pushed me to a point that would make me retaliate and that wasn't me. No matter how crazy and out-going Kadie had been she always had my best interest at heart. She would always make sure I was the best possible version of myself. She kept me grounded. And for that I loved her.

I started to wipe the my tears from my eyes. After that burst of anger I was starting to feel relief. I turned towards Kadie and took her had in apologetic way.

  "I understand. And I know I would do the same for you. I'm just so glad Josh and I are over. I really needed to hear that. I felt a small piece of me holding on, but now I know I'll be able to move on.”

   Kadie rolled off the sofa and came up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on my head.

  "Good, because I really need happy Lynn Lee back to show me a good time around the city!”

   I decided to forget about Joshua in general. We had broken up and I had already moved to a new city. He was old news and I was starting a new life. He couldn't stop me from anything now.

   My refrigerator was seriously lacking some major essentials so Kadie and I decided to grab breakfast at a diner down the street.

   As we looked over the menus I decided to fill Kadie in on Jonah, Sarah, and my other new classmates.

Kadie couldn't believe people like Henry and his friends actually existed.

 "I thought those were just characters on CW shows."

  "Yeah, right? So, how were you able to get off of work? Isn't this suppose to be party season?”

Right then our waitress came with our pancakes. I started lathering mine up with butter and cutting it into squares.

 "See, that's the thing...” Kadie put her fork and knife down and looked up at me.

 "I kinda got fired.” She picked up her utensils and quickly stuffed her mouth with a big bite. She was acting as if nothing was wrong.

  "What?” I had my utensils in either had. I put my fists down on the table so the fork and knife were pointing up.

 "Well, apparently it's against company policy to hook up with your clients. Who knew?”

"Kadie are you serious? Oh my god, who was it? Is it someone famous? Someone I would know?”

This was so unlike Kadie. She knew she was beautiful. She was tall, had long dark blond hair and a naturally fit body most girls would kill for. Kadie was always getting hit on by every guy but she knew when to keep her distance. Especially at work.

  "Maybe. He plays for the Dallas Cowboys. I've met him at a few events but this last one he was just too hard to resist. I was on company time when it happened so I got terminated immediately”

   The way Kadie was talking sounded like she didn't care too much. But I knew it was killing her on the inside. She worked her ass of to get this job.

  "Anyway, I didn't tell my parents or else I would have to move back in with them. There was no way I could continue to afford that high rise flat in downtown without a consistent paycheck. I told them I had to come to New York for business but I honestly needed to see you. Oh yeah, and figure out what to do with my life.” She said while rolling her eyes.

Just as we finished our breakfast my phone started vibrating. It was Sarah. She had texted me the details about the party her friend was having that night.

  "Well, I hope you brought your sluttiest dress, because we're going partying. No more Joshua, No more work commitments!”

 "Amen to that!”

Survival of the Richest

After Jonah walked me back to my place I explained to him how I was freshly wounded. I stood on the steps leading up to my apartment door so I was at eye level with Jonah. I told him that it was only my first week in a new place and I couldn't possibly tie myself down so quickly.

He took both my hands in his and intertwined our fingers. He let out a sigh and looked down at the ground for a few seconds. Jonah went on to tell me how he had a very “different” feeling when he first saw me. A feeling he didn't know how to control. That he was weirded out himself for getting so close to me so quickly.

I could relate to him. I had this feeling too. Like we were old friends but it hadn't even been 24 hours since we had met. Jonah paused for a second in mid-thought.

  “Lynn Lee, something's telling me this isn't the last time I'm going to see you. I want to get to know you better. I understand you need to figure things out right now. And I respect that. Trust me, I want nothing more than to kiss you like a maniac and carry you up those stairs. But I know there's something more to this. I promise you, if this is meant to be a thing, fate will bring us back together. I'm sure of that.”

We hadn't exchanged numbers. I knew he was a comedy writer that occasionally performed at local comedy clubs and he knew I was a student at Mount Sinai. Like Jonah said, if it was meant to happen, it would happen.

I'm not a hopeless romantic by any means. Or at least I don't think I am. Okay I probably am. Fine, I know I am.

 After Jonah left I stayed up the rest of the night laying in bed staring up at my ceiling. I had envisioned twenty different rom-com scenarios of us randomly being brought back together. Between every scene I would have to stop myself from thinking

 “Ugh, Lynn Lee, if you're thinking so much about it, it's never going to happen!”,”Oh my God, what if I'm on a walk through Central Park, in full hair and make-up of course, and the handsome man in a suit and tie walking towards me with roses in hand is Jonah??”, “Seriously!! STOP IT! YOU'RE JINXING YOUR FATE!!!”

 This went on for hours. It's safe to say I didn't get any sleep that night.

The next afternoon when I had woken up I decided to jump into the shower and get my day started. I finally unpacked all my things and hung up a few of the art pieces I was lucky enough to snatch up in SoHo.

I had been out of the social media loop since moving to New York. So I tried to catch up on Facebook messages, tweets, and emails. I did the obligatory Facebook check-in to let everyone, who didn't know, that I had moved to New York and was fully enjoying my time.

As I was going through old emails I saw an invite from the Dean of my college. It was sent a week earlier and I hadn't seen it. The Dean had arranged for a mixer to take place that night in order for students who had came into town before orientation to meet.

Now that I had unpacked my things and caught up with messages I had nothing holding me back from going to the mixer. Luckily, I didn't have to rummage through my closet for my LBD since everything was freshly organized.

I pulled it out and hung it on the closet door. I sat back down on my bed and mindlessly stared at the dress. I let out a heavy sigh and fell onto my back, once again looking up at my ceiling. I couldn't help but imagine, for some odd reason, bumping into Jonah at the mixer. Why am I doing this to myself? I knew he wouldn't be there.

Frustrated with myself I jumped off the bed and tried to find matching heels to wear. Once I had my outfit pulled together I started my hair and make-up.

I decided to take a cab to the party. I wasn't comfortable going in the subway with heels on. The mixer was at a hotel on the Upper East Side a few blocks away from campus.

When I stepped out of the cab, I was surprised to see clean, well lit streets. It was unusually quiet. I wouldn't have thought twice about it back in Texas, but quiet was a sound I hadn't heard since I moved here. There were no cars honking or whizzing past each other. There were no dogs barking, or drunks fighting. The buildings on the street all had the same Victorian architecture with tall black iron gates. This must be where the rich snobs of New York lived.

Just as I was admiring the Upper East Side I heard a few people coming around the corner. By the look on my face they could tell I wasn't sure where I was going. Why does everything in New York have to be hidden? You may never have to learn how to drive here but you damn well need to know how to find your destination once you get there.

A young petite girl with blond hair stepped in front of me,

“Are you here for the Med School Mixer?” She had a British accent.

I couldn't help but admire how perfectly her hair was made. It was slightly bumped on the crown and braided into a bun just behind her left ear. Her bangs swooped across her forehead the same way as those celebrities who's pictures we show to our hairstylist to recreate.

 “Yes, I am, I was just trying to find the building. I'm Lynn Lee by the way.” I extended out my hand.

She reached out and cupped both her hands around mine.

 “Oh, lovely! I'm Sarah. This is my cousin Henry, and his boyfriend Jebrone.” Sarah had the enthusiasm of a high school cheerleader.

I looked over at Henry and Jebrone with a smile and head nod. I could tell without hearing Henry speak that he was British as well. Unlike Sarah, He had dark hair. That, with his strong jawline, gave him a European look.

Jebrone on the other hand was a light skinned African American. He looked rich. Exactly how I would of imagined someone who went to private school looked.

  “Are y'all new here?” I really had to work on fully pronouncing my words.

 “No, Jebrone grew up a few streets over. He actually goes to Columbia Law.”

   Jebrone chimed in, “I'm just here for moral support.” He turned towards Henry and gave him a smile.

“And mine and Henry's family owns estates here and in London.” Her hands were flying all over the place as she spoke. “So we've always traveled back and forth. But I can tell you're new here...” She raised one eyebrow leaning her head forward so I would get the hint to carry on.

  “Yeah, I'm from Texas. Born and raised. I just moved here a week ago.”

Sarah turned towards Henry and Jebrone, “Well, this will be fun!” She linked her arm around mine and we made our way into the hotel.

If I didn't feel out of place walking through the streets of the UES I was definitely feeling it now. The hotel lobby itself made me feel like I couldn't even afford to look at it. I didn't even want to know how much people paid to stay here a night. Everything was so beautiful and unreal.

We walked to the hotel's bar where the mixer was being held. It was a swanky club you see in movies for millionaires. And I'm sure that's exactly the crowd that came here.

I looked around the room and there were about fifty other students there hanging around getting to know each other. I went over to the bar and ordered a Gin and Tonic. I took a few sips to calm my nerves and started to make my away around the room.

  “Hi, I'm Lynn Lee”, I was practicing my introduction voice.

Right then Henry came up behind me.

 “Yeah, I know, we just met outside.”

 I turned around startled. “Oh, I wa -”

  “I'm teasing. Here let me introduce you to some of my mates”

 “Wow, you've already gotten a chance to talk to people here?” I was surprised. It hadn't even been ten minutes since we walked in.

 “Most of the people here tonight live in New York. Outsiders usually don't come to town til orientation. I'm a bit shocked you're here.” He said in a condescending tone.

We walked over to a crowd of people standing across the bar.

 “Everyone, this is Lilly. She's new here. She's from Texas” Henry announced as we approached the crowd.

“It's Lynn Lee” I was a little embarrassed by his mistake.

 “What did I say?” Henry looked caught off guard

“You said Lilly. It's Lynn Lee” I could feel everyone staring at me and wished I had never corrected Henry.

 “Lynn Lee? Lynn Lee. It all sounds the bloody same to me”

“You know what, you can just call me Lynn” I wanted the mockery to stop. I didn't want this to be my first impression amongst my class mates.

  “Alright, Lynn.” I could tell Henry was annoyed I had corrected him. He continued to introduce me to everyone.

  “This is Maxwell, Abigail, and Rupert, my mates from London. And this is Alice and Elijah, my New York mates.”

It was a pointless introduction since there was no way of telling who was who. Everyone looked like they had just stepped out of a high fashion magazine. Right then Sarah joined the group.

  “Has everyone met Lynn Lee?”

“Oh no, don't call her that. Apparently it's Lynn”. Abigail chimed. I was assuming it was Abigail because of her British accent.

 Everyone snickered.

  “So Lynn, What do 'Ya'll' do down in 'Tex-as'” Maxwell asked in a very rude accent.

 “Oh, bugger off!” Sarah caught a glimpse of how uncomfortable I felt. She once again wrapped her arm around mine and continued “That's no way to talk to a billionaire! Lynn's family is in the Oil business. I bet some of you even have family employed by hers.”

She let out a slight laugh beneath her breath. I was confused but I played along. Sarah raised her glass up and tilted it to touch mine.

  “Looks like you need a refill” She pulled me away from the group.

 “Oil? Really?”

  “I'm sorry. I know it's stereotypical. But I couldn't think of anything else Texas is known for.”

 “It's okay. Thanks for that anyway”

  “I know what it's like to be an outsider. I remember the first time Daddy brought us to New York. He was here on business for a few months so I had to enroll in a school here. A few months turned into a few years...” Sarah leaned her back against the bar and stared towards the crowd.

 “London's a fabulous place. But everyone here seems to care about money and status. It wasn't until I was older and realized who my father was that I was able to fit in with everyone. Not that I fancy any of those things. But I guess it's just survival of the richest here.”

 “This is all too much of a culture shock for me.” I took a seat on the stool next to me and leaned my elbow on the bar. “ I came to New York scared that I wouldn't fit in. And I'm starting to get a feeling I won't be able to.”

  “Not with that attitude you won't!” Sarah said with a cheerful smirk. “Trust me, the key here is to fake it til you make it”

   A couple hours had passed and Sarah and I had still been at the bar chatting. We had a lot in common despite the social standing. She seemed like a great girl that genuinely had a good heart.

  “Hey” Jebrone pulled up a stool next to Sarah and ordered a drink. “Don't worry too much about Henry. He can be a catty school girl when he meets someone new.”

  “I almost forgot about that. One too many drinks I guess” I looked down at my phone for the time.

“It's getting late I should probably go. It was nice meeting you Jebrone.”

  "Wait” Sarah jumped up out of her stool and wobbled a bit from all of the drinks we had. “Give me your number. There's a party this weekend my friend is throwing. I want you to come. I promise it'll be fun! None of these wankers will be there!” Sarah quickly covered her mouth like a child who had just realized they cursed. “Whoops! Excuse my language. My lady-ness seems to go away the more drinks I have.”

Jebrone and I couldn't help but laugh at how cute Sarah was. She couldn't help her personality. Unlike her peers.

Sarah and I exchanged numbers and I made my way out the hotel.

Once the cab driver had pulled up to my apartment I saw a dark blonde girl waiting at the door into the building.

She was obviously cold. She was the only person around wearing a thick coat, gloves and a head wrap.

  “Kadie?” I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. She turned towards me.

“Lynn Leeeee!!!” She pranced her way to me and gave me a huge bear hug and then punched me in the arm.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Her voice was growing louder and louder. “Didn't I tell you to talk to Joshua BEFORE you left? I can't believe you Lynn Lee!”

We stared at each other in silence before we let out a laugh. There was no way my best friend and I could ever actually be mad at each other.

“I'm so glad you're here. We have a lot to catch up on!”