by Megan McCoy
“Very funny,” Katie responded, as she rushed to put on her yoga pants and oversized sweater. “You know you are itching to see cute waiters singing hits from the 50s and 60s. Isn’t that, like, your music?”
Nick grabbed the younger woman and tossed her on the bed, tickling her until she was laughing hysterically and begging him to stop. “My music? You better not annoy me, little girl, or you can go straight to bed with no dinner,” he threatened. “I hope you don’t seriously think I grew up in the 50s and 60s,” he added laughing. “If that’s the case, as soon as we get home I’m demanding a refund on the tuition I’m paying that school. Clearly, their math classes are not worth squat.”
Katie rolled off the bed still laughing, her earlier upset all but forgotten. “I don’t know. It seems like music you would like,” she said jumping on the older man’s back and wrapping her legs around his middle.
“I like it fine,” he said, carrying her into the living room and dropping her on the couch so she could put on her boots and coat. “But it’s not ‘my music.’ My parents graduated from high school in the 1960s. Not me, you goofball. How old do you think I am?” he asked incredulously.
“Older than my mom,” she sassed back, laughing again.
“Yeah, well, taking into consideration that she spawned you when she was only eighteen, that doesn’t make me a senior citizen just yet,” he shot back.
“Don’t hate,” Katie teased, as she followed Nick out the door and down the hall to the elevator. “I read online that forty is the new thirty or something like that, so I guess you aren’t completely ancient yet.”
“You’re a fount of knowledge tonight. I’m going to remember that I’m getting old and need to save for my retirement, the next time you see some new phone or sparkly shoes you think you need to have,” Nick said sarcastically, as he walked out of the hotel into the chilly night with the girl he loved more than life itself, clinging to his arm. Once they stepped out onto the still busy street, Katie stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing Nick to stop as well. When he turned to find out why she was not moving, Katie hopped up on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
“I love you,” she said. “Even if you are old and grumpy.”
Nick stared back, at his girl trying hard not to laugh. “You are lucky to be so cute. Otherwise, I would probably end up roasting your little fanny at least once a week,” he deadpanned before kissing the tip of her nose. Once again taking her hand in his own, Nick led the way, as the happy couple walked up another busy city street that sparkled with shimmering lights.
Christmas in New York was better than any fairy tale. Katie felt like a princess exploring a glittery Christmas wonderland filled with lights and music and magic. Each store window display seemed to be more amazing than the last. Katie insisted they stop to see them all while wandering through the crowded city streets. Everywhere she looked, Katie found street vendors selling hot chocolate, corner Santas ringing bells, street musicians playing carols, and famous buildings she had only seen in movies. It was like a snow-covered dream.
Katie liked to pretend that the hotel suite was their own beautiful apartment in the sky. She would dress for their various outings and walk through the sparkling lobby led by her strong, handsome prince. Nick wanted to make this trip special for his girl. He was never a big fan of the city, but he did his best to accommodate Katie’s quest to check every item off her New York Christmas bucket list. In addition to the singing waiters, he had good-naturedly endured countless department stores, Times Square packed with tourists, a horse and buggy ride through Central Park followed by ice skating, and more singing and dancing on Broadway. By the time the curtain came down on Katie’s first musical extravaganza, they were both exhausted. Katie was chauffeured home to her fantasy apartment in the sky in the back of a yellow cab with a prince by her side.
Katie felt like the luckiest girl in the world. In her mind, she was enjoying her own perfect Christmas vacation where nothing could possibly go wrong. In retrospect, she probably should have remembered that before Red Riding Hood was returned safely home, there were broken rules and dangerous characters lurking in the forbidden woods. Like her fairy tale counterpart, Katie should have been more obedient and less reckless. Unfortunately for both girls, that was a lesson they had to learn the hard way.
Chapter 3
Nick and Katie’s last day in the city started out peacefully. Katie slept in late, worn out from her late Broadway show. She woke up alone in bed to find a note Nick had left on his pillow. He told her to order whatever she liked for breakfast from room service and to buy the sappy Christmas movie of her choice to watch on pay per view. He had a meeting out in Connecticut with a man who wanted to buy horses from Rolling Hills as Christmas gifts for his grandchildren. Steve had set up the meeting, knowing it would be a good financial deal for their business.
Nick wasn’t thrilled about leaving Katie alone at the hotel, but after giving it some thought he realized his girl had been running around all week and would probably enjoy spending the day relaxing in the room. He told himself she could also visit the indoor pool and hot tub and maybe get her nails done at the hotel’s spa. He left cash on the kitchen counter and called from the car to say good morning and tell Katie to charge her food and spa adventure to the room. He apologized for leaving her alone on their last day and promised to take her out for dinner at the restaurant of her choice when he returned.
Katie assured him that she was not upset. A day of luxury at her fantasy apartment was the perfect way to spend her last full day in New York. She knew Nick would have no interest in binge watching Christmas movies or lounging by the pool. Nick had given her permission to eat and do whatever she wanted, and she intended to take full advantage of her new-found freedom.
After strawberry pancakes with whipped cream and hot chocolate, Katie lounged in her giant bed watching movies and texting her friends back home.
Just after noon, she got bored in the room and decided to check out the pool and hot tub. Katie wore her favorite sweat pants and new tee shirt over her bathing suit and slipped on flip-flops that she could wear to the spa if she felt like a pedicure after her swim.
The pool area was fancier than she expected. There was a bar and snack shop on one side of the room with a small attached gift shop. It was the middle of the day and aside from a young couple with a baby down in the shallow end, she had the whole pool to herself. Katie was stretched out on a lounge chair listening to music when a young, cute guy came over and sat down next to her. Taking out her earbuds and turning to say hello, she noticed he was wearing a polo shirt with the hotel’s name embroidered on the front.
He smiled and asked if she would like something from the bar. At that point, Katie was getting bored and decided maybe she could strike up a conversation with this guy who looked to be about her age. She smiled back and ordered a Diet Coke.
“No problem,” he said standing up. “I’ll bring that right out for you.”
A few minutes later the boy returned with her drink and complimentary peanuts.
She signed for the drink and added a generous tip.
Smiling again, he thanked Katie before heading over to ask the young couple if they would like something to eat or drink. He wandered around aimlessly attempting to look busy for a few minutes more, before returning to Katie’s area to ask if she needed a refill. When he returned with her second drink, the couple had taken their baby out of the pool area. The young waiter took the opportunity to sit down and talk to the hot girl who was alone at the pool in the middle of the day.
He turned out to be a nice enough guy, in Katie’s opinion. He was a college student studying to be a lawyer and working two jobs to pay rent. His name was Jake and he was twenty-two. Jake turned out to be very chatty.
Katie discovered that he was from Pennsylvania and hoping to be promoted from pool boy to bellhop.
According to Jake, there is more work and much better tips for bellhops, but
he needed to keep schmoozing the guests at the pool and wait patiently for an opening ‘in the lobby.’ Turns out that he had seen Katie and Nick having dinner one night at the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Jake had been filling in for another waiter, and recognized Katie when she first came into the pool area.
He was funny and reminded Katie of the boys she knew back home.
At first, he’d assumed Nick was Katie’s father, but then, when he saw them leave the restaurant hand in hand, he could see they were obviously a couple. Jake didn’t seem shocked by the age difference.
Katie guessed that he probably saw plenty of forty-something men with younger women on their arms coming and going through the hotel.
They talked for a while about the city and what sights Katie had visited with Nick. Curious, Katie asked about a dance club a friend from school had told her she should check out while she was in the city. Knowing there was no way she could convince Nick to take her to a loud club filled with drunken twenty-somethings, Katie had put the club out of her mind.
Now she was remembering that Nick had texted just before she came down to the pool to say that the customer in Connecticut was a fellow Army veteran, and the man was insisting that he and his wife take Nick out for dinner at their club. He had been apologetic and promised to make it up to Katie by taking her to Planet Hollywood before they had to leave for the airport the next day. He told her to order pizza and whatever other junk she wanted for dinner. Nick had said he would try to get back as soon as possible, but that she shouldn’t wait up because he might be late.
Jake knew the club and had been there a few times with friends.
The wheels were turning in Katie’s head, as she tuned out Jake sharing his plans for spending Christmas back home with family. Katie was channeling her inner wild child. She was calculating her odds of convincing Jake to go with her to the club, and then making it back to the hotel before Nick returned. When she interrupted Jake’s description of his mother’s Christmas cookies to float the idea of them checking out the club when he got off work, the older boy was less than enthused with her plan.
“Sorry Katie, but no way I can take you out to a club,” he quickly responded when she suggested they go together.
“Why not?” she questioned. “I turned twenty-one a few months ago. I’m legal.”
“You being legal isn’t the issue,” Jake responded. “You are a guest at the hotel. And so is your rich sugar daddy.”
“Sugar daddy?” Katie laughed. “What is this, 1980?”
“Well, whatever he is to you doesn’t matter. He is a guest paying a fortune to stay here. And I am the help. I would be out of this job in a second, if I got caught sneaking some college girl out to a club, while her boyfriend who pays the bills is away at a business meeting.”
“Come on, Jake,” Katie whined, breaking out her best pout. This boy trying to talk her out of going, only made Katie more determined to get to the club. “I would never rat you out to Nick or your boss. I can’t go alone. It will be fun. I promise we will just stay for an hour and come right back.”
Jake was shaking his head, but Katie could see she was breaking him down. She was young and beautiful, wearing nothing but a little bathing suit and begging him to take her out to a club.
The pool boy never had a chance. “I don’t know, Katie,” he said weakening. “It’s a bad idea. What if your boyfriend comes back early? He looks like he could kick the crap out of me without breaking a sweat.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Well, he could definitely kick the crap out of you. But believe me, he won’t. If he comes back early it will be me in trouble, not you.”
Jake was skeptical. He could not believe that the older man would be fine with his young, hot girlfriend hanging out with the pool boy.
“Don’t be so conceited,” Katie teased. “Nick knows I have no romantic interest in anyone but him. He wants me to have friends my own age. And he doesn’t care if they are boys or girls. He won’t be threatened by you.”
“Yeah, well I’m threatened by him,” Jake returned laughing.
In the end, Katie talked and cajoled until she convinced the older boy to go along with her plans. In her head, Katie knew this was a terrible idea.
Later that evening, while she was squeezing into her black skinny jeans and off the shoulder shirt, Katie briefly considered texting Jake to say she had changed her mind. She was putting on eye makeup, and trying to convince herself that sneaking out to a club behind Nick’s back was a justified response to him leaving her alone at the hotel all day.
Suddenly, her phone started vibrating, and Nick’s name appeared on the screen. He was calling to check on her and say that he was still stuck at the country club and wouldn’t be back until after midnight.
Immediately abandoning all common sense, Katie decided his call was a sign that she should go ahead with her plans. She left to meet Jake down the street wearing new, silver high heels and carrying her ID and Nick’s cash in the back pocket of her skintight pants.
When they arrived at the club, Katie discovered that Jake had invited several friends to join them. Unlike Katie, he was not convinced this evening was going to end well. And just in case something went wrong, he wanted back-up.
Katie was a girl who loved a good party, so she was happy to meet Jake’s friends. It allowed her to mingle and dance with other people, and the friends removed any fears she had that Jake might decide the two of them were on a date.
After about an hour of drinking and dancing, Jake started trying to convince Katie that they should leave.
The younger girl was having no part of his paranoia. She promised that there was no way Nick would be home before midnight.
Jake’s roommate was already wasted when they arrived. He had taken an immediate liking to Katie in her tight jeans and high heels. He was slurring his words when he told Jake to relax and let Katie enjoy her last night in the city.
Jake shook his head and went off to join some girls he knew at a booth in the back of the club, leaving Katie alone with his roommate on the dance floor.
Katie was impulsive, but not stupid. She had never been sheltered from life’s hard realities. Katie realized that she should have known better, when an hour later, she found herself alone in a dark corner with Jake’s drunk roommate. He was bigger and stronger, and he had her backed against a wall with her hands pinned over her head.
Katie had started to panic. She was trying to kick at the guy’s legs and yell for help. She couldn’t even remember his name, Chad or Chris or something. And the music was pounding so loud that the wall she was backed against was vibrating. She knew that no one could hear her voice. She had no idea where Jake had gone.
Before full panic mode set in, Katie had one coherent thought. She needed to get away from this guy and back to Nick. With that in mind, Katie used all her strength to lift her leg and bring it down hard, slamming her spiked heel onto the top of the drunk guy’s foot. She pounded his foot with enough force to break the heel of her shoe, and caused the shocked man to release her arms. He jumped back, yelling out in shock and pain. Katie shoved the jerk who was already off balance and left him stumbling around and cursing in the dark. She kicked off both of her shoes and ran back to the dance floor.
Katie was relieved to have escaped from the sleazy drunk, and furious that he had grabbed and manhandled her. She was mad at herself for being naïve enough to leave the group and for sneaking off to this club behind Nick’s back in the first place. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be back at the hotel eating pizza and watching movies in front of the fireplace.
Katie knew that she would be in a mountain of trouble when her guardian and lover discovered what she had been up to that night. Nick would be angry to find she had left the hotel to go dancing at a club with a boy she barely knew and his drunk friends. She was already regretting her reckless choices, and she knew that she would be truly sorry when Nick found out what she had done. A quick check of her pho
ne confirmed that there was little to no chance of her making it back to the room with no shoes, showering and getting into bed before the older man arrived.
Katie realized she had only two options. She could make this fiasco worse by trying to beat Nick back to the hotel, most likely getting caught in the process. Or she could face up to her bad choices, and not make the situation worse. She could call Nick and tell him everything before he discovered her outrageous behavior on his own. Katie made her first responsible decision of the evening, when she went down the hall to the ladies’ room and called the man she loved, asking him to come rescue her from the club.
Nick was obviously shocked to find out about his girl’s adventure, but Katie was relieved that he managed to keep his anger in check. Responsible as always, Nick found the club’s address on his phone and gave the driver directions.
Katie had spotted Jake at the bar.
When Nick arrived, frantically pushing through the crowded room, he found the girl he loved, and vowed to protect, sitting in a booth with a boy he didn’t recognize. The kid looked like he might vomit at any moment, but Nick didn’t care about him. He immediately pulled Katie out from behind the table and into his arms. “Oh my God, Katie. Are you okay?” he questioned holding her face gently between his hands.
“I’m fine, Nick. And I’m so sorry,” she started.
The older man cut her off. “I don’t want to hear it right now, young lady. You are sorry because you got caught. I’m too angry and disappointed to discuss this with you now.” Looking over at the boy who seemed as if he wanted to disappear, Nick was seething, but trying hard to control his anger.
“Let’s go. Both of you,” he added when the boy didn’t make a move to get up.
“Nick, this is Jake. He works at the hotel. And this isn’t his fault. He was just trying to help me,” Katie pleaded.
“Really?” Nick responded sarcastically. “Well, if he works at the hotel and he was just trying to help, then the least we can do is give him a ride back with us.”