by Liz Crowe
“The four of us should go somewhere for spring break. What do you think?” Sam asked.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s go to New York City,” suggested Sam.
“Couldn’t you pick somewhere a little warmer, like Mexico?”
Sam scrunched up her nose. “Why would I want to go to Mexico?”
“Sun, sand, water,” Rick rattled off in no particular order.
“Do you want to go with us?” I asked Jenna.
Jenna placed her hand on my thigh under the table. “My mom and dad aren’t going to let me go. I’m still in high school. Our spring breaks aren’t even at the same time.” She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “You guys should go and have an awesome time. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Yes, we’ll share a hotel room, take in the sights, see a Broadway show!” Sam said.
Rick groaned at the last suggestion.
“Fine,” Sam huffed. “Jake and I will see a Broadway show. You can go to the Knicks’ game.”
“I’m in.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll book a hotel online when we get back to your house, Rick.”
Chapter Four
Sam got a killer deal on a hotel suite at the Marriott in Times Square: not only was she brainy, she was also thrifty. We took off after dinner at the Welsh’s home on Friday night, boarding the train in Philadelphia. We arrived in Penn Station at 10:00 p.m.
“This is bigger than my bedroom back home,” Rick admitted, turning around in a circle in the middle of the suite to take it all in. The lounge had a black leather sofa and a big comfy upholstered chair. The flat screen TV was mounted on the wall and there was a mid-century modern floor lamp in the corner. The bedroom was furnished with two queen-sized beds outfitted with snowy white linen. They looked like fluffy marshmallows. Rick couldn’t resist stretching his arms out wide and falling back onto the bed.
“Don’t get too comfortable. We’re only here for three nights,” Sam warned, placing her suitcase on the luggage rack.
I gazed out the window, looking down on all the excitement New York City had to offer. Neon lights were flashing on the oversized billboards that dotted Times Square while crowds of people, looking like ants, swarmed along the sidewalks below. “I want to go explore,” I said, turning to face Rick and Sam.
“I’m in!” Rick agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’m having a bath and going to sleep,” Sam informed us. “You two stay out of trouble, will you?”
Rick arched his eyebrow at her. “I am deeply touched by your unwavering faith in us,” he said, placing his hand over his heart.
“Get out of here, both of you, so I can enjoy my hot bath in peace.”
“We’ll be quiet when we come back,” I promised.
Rick and I took to roaming the busy streets. Soon we spied a bar called El Caliente. “Come on, Jake. I could use a beer.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
Rick reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out fake IDs.
“Where did you get those?”
“Jason. We used one of your photos from Facebook.”
“You’re unbelievable! Sam is going to kill us.”
“Not if she doesn’t find out.” He opened the door and pulled me inside.
The minute we entered the bar, I felt as if I were in an alternate universe. It was packed with loud people and even louder music. My shoes stuck to the beer-soaked floor. My eyes scanned the room to find scantily clad women dancing on the bar and pouring shots down drunken men’s throats. “Yes,” Rick said, pumping his fist in the air.
I followed him to the bar and hung back as he as he ordered two beer from the barmaid wearing a bikini top. Rick made sure to ogle her ass when she turned around to grab the glasses. “Got ID, honey?” she asked before placing the beers on the bar.
Rick produced the forged drivers’ licenses. The barmaid glanced at them, then winked before handing over the beers.
I leaned against the bar and took in the spectacle. “This is so ”
“Amazing,” Rick interrupted.
“Surreal was more what I what I had in mind,” I finished. “We’re not going to tell Sam about this, are we?”
“No,” he smiled, clinking my glass. “Cheers.”
We stumbled back to the hotel around 1:00 a.m. and entered the room quietly, hoping to not wake Samantha. All the lights were still on and we found Sam curled up in the oversized chair, fast asleep.
“Come on, Jake. Help me get her into bed,” he whispered. “I don’t want to deal with her tomorrow if she’s cranky because she slept in this position all night.”
I carefully removed her shoes, then Rick picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
I walked ahead of them and turned down the crisp white duvet. Rick gently placed her on the mattress. Sam stirred briefly and then turned on her side, tucking her praying hands under her cheek. Rick lay on the bed behind her, draping his arm around her waist.
I flopped down on the other bed, exhausted. Sleep came quickly when my head hit the pillow.
As Sam rolled over on her back, Rick stirred, draped his arm across her stomach. She promptly pushed him away from her.
“What did you do that for?” he asked in a groggy voice.
“You reek of cigarette smoke and stale beer,” Sam complained.
“Well, you don’t smell much better,” Rick retorted.
I groaned and threw one of my pillows at them. “If you don’t get in the bath right now, I will!”
Sam laughed as she grabbed Rick’s hand and pulled him out of bed, leading him to the bathroom. I placed the other pillow over my head and went back to sleep.
Later, I woke up to Sam’s soft voice. “Jake, come on, get up. Rick won’t stop whining about how hungry he is and I’m going to throttle him. Come to breakfast with us.”
I removed the pillow from my head and placed it on the floor. “Why don’t you order room service?”
“You know how Rick eats. Room service is too expensive. Besides, I have so much planned for today!”
Opening one eye to take her in, I smiled. “You know I can’t say no to you.”
She was grinning from ear to ear. “Yep, I know.” Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed. “Get in the shower, now.”
I shook my head, chuckling to myself. “Yes, ma’am.”
After a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant, the three of us walked out into the New York sunshine. We walked up Fifth Avenue. Sam would stop from time to time to take in the jewelry displays at Tiffany and Harry Winston. As the brainiac of our trio, Samantha was intense her head was always in a book or she was riding Rick and me about our grades. But today, she was just a girl in awe of the big city and happy to be with her friends.
Our destination was Central Park Zoo. I’d had no idea there was a zoo in the middle of Manhattan. It was wonderful to watch the young mothers leisurely walking through the park with their children in strollers; an old couple sitting on a park bench watching with merriment as a small group of school children filed by; Sam and Rick walking ahead of me, holding hands. The last time I had visited a zoo I was eight years old and my parents were still alive.
I sat on a low stone wall and closed my eyes, remembering that day. The sounds and smells of the animals transported me back in time. My parents had taken the day off from work for our family outing to the Philadelphia Zoo. My heart ached at the memory. Why did losing people you loved hurt so much? I was lost in thought when that familiar sent of perfume lingered under my nose.
“Jake, are you okay?” Sam whispered, taking a seat next to me.
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied, trying to smile.
“Is your leg bothering you? I knew we should have taken the subway instead of walking,” she muttered to herself.
“My leg is fine. I was just remembering the last time I went to the zoo with my parents. Sometimes stupid things trigger my memory and I’m reminded just h
ow much I miss them. I don’t mean to be a downer,” I apologized.
“Of course you miss them,” she said, linking her arm through mine and leaning her head against my shoulder. “You’re not alone, though. You have your grandfather and the Welshes and me.”
“I know. I am grateful for that,” I said in all honesty. “Where is Rick?”
“I left him in the reptile house.”
“He’s probably trying to scare some poor little schoolgirl.”
Sam laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him. We should probably go get him.” She stood up and offered her hand. I gladly accepted it and we walked toward the reptile house.
After the zoo we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sam and I browsed the nineteenth and early twentieth century paintings on the second floor while Rick explored arms and armor on the first floor.
“I can’t believe you got Rick to step foot in a museum,” I admitted in a hushed tone as I admired Van Gogh’s Wheatfield With Cypresses.
Sam softly giggled. “I just have to appeal to his masculine side. That’s why he’s looking at guns and weapons.”
“And I’m here looking at impressionist masterpieces. How masculine does that make me?”
“Jake, the fact that you even know what an impressionist is makes me very happy. I like that you’re in touch with your feminine side. You are going to make some girl a fantastic husband one day.”
I did a double take when she said that. She didn’t look back at me, however; she just continued to study the Van Gogh. Funny thing was this: when I let myself contemplate the future, the only person I could see by my side was Samantha. I couldn’t tell her she belonged to Rick. A more realistic future would be spending time at Rick and Sam’s house surrounded by their rowdy kids and two dogs one day.
“My leg is cramping up, Sam. Would you mind if I went back to the hotel to rest. You and Rick should enjoy some time alone.”
“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want me to come back with you?”
“I’ll be okay.”
She agreed. We left the gallery and headed toward the elevators.
I took a taxi back to the hotel and sighed as my weary body hit the mattress. Even after all the physical therapy I’d gone through after the accident, the pain in my leg could be unbearable at times. I grabbed an Aleve from the nightstand and swallowed it with a swig of water. After taking off my sneakers, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
When I woke up the room was dark. How long had I been asleep? I looked at the alarm clock. It was seven o’clock. I heard the sound of running water from the shower and then the faint sound of music from the sitting room. Stretching my arms overhead, I yawned. The bed was so comfortable, I didn’t want to move. Best of all, the pain in my leg had subsided.
The water from the shower cut off and the sound of the hair dryer clicked on. Sam must have been getting ready for dinner, so Rick must have been watching TV in the other room. I slowly sat up and made my way to the sitting room. Rick was stretched out on the couch watching a movie.
“Hey, man. How are you feeling?”
“Better, thanks,” I replied, sitting down in the empty chair.
“Did you two have a nice afternoon?”
“Yeah, I dragged her to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.”
I chuckled. “She must have loved that.”
“I went to the museum.”
“And I spent time with her while you looked at guns,” I reminded.
“It’s good for couples to have their own interests. If we did everything together, we’d probably kill each other.”
I nodded. “You have a point.”
We watched TV in silence until Sam finished primping. When she joined us, I think Rick and I both held our breaths. She was wearing a denim skirt and a black, beaded halter top with ballet flats. Her eyes were lined with smoky charcoal and her long, brunette mane was shining in the lamplight. I had never seen her look so stunning. “Wow,” I muttered under my breath.
Samantha turned pink with embarrassment. When I realized that I’d said that aloud, I also blushed.
“Shower is all yours, Jake.” She tousled my wild raven-colored hair and I swear I felt a surge of electricity jolt through my veins.
“Thanks,” I said, standing up and pulling my tee shirt over my head, catching a glimpse of her eyeing up my well toned upper body muscles a little longer than she should have. I might have a bum leg, but I made up for it by lifting weights. The upper body strength made it easier to use my crutch. It also helped my ego because I didn’t feel like such a weakling.
“Hey, beautiful,” Rick greeted her with a kiss. “You look amazing. Too amazing to leave this hotel room.”
“You promised me a night out on the town and a late dinner.” The mention of food worked every time.
“If we must,” Rick conceded, “but later, you’re mine.”
“Deal,” she agreed, giving him one more kiss.
I closed the bathroom door behind me and stripped off the remainder of my clothes. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, opened the text messenger, and typed.
Jake: HI, WHAT R U DOING?
Jenna: HI, AT THE MALL. HAVING FUN IN NYC?
Jake: YES. I MISS YOU.
Jenna: MISS YOU MORE.
Her comment made me smile. I placed the phone on the countertop and then got in the shower.
I sat across from Rick and Sam in the restaurant. Throughout the entire dinner, they only had eyes for each other, whether it was a smoldering look, the caress of a hand or words spoken in a whisper. I couldn’t take much more. I put down some money on the table once the dessert plates were removed. “I’m going for a long walk. I can’t stand all this sexual energy. Put the hotel room to good use while you have it to yourselves. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Sam blushed while Rick silently mouthed, “Thank you.”
I wandered around the streets. The noise helped numb my mind for a little while. I found a bar and went inside. Taking a seat at the end of the bar, I ordered a beer, glad Rick had gotten the fake IDs. As I sipped my beer, I watched various mating rituals play out in the room, but I couldn’t get Sam and Rick out of my mind. What were they doing right now? I knew what they were doing and the trouble was my imagination was too good. I didn’t want to think about Samantha naked in Rick’s arms, making love to him. I had a thought to call Jenna, but nixed it. It would be too weird to call her and talk about her brother and Sam hooking up.
I walked back to the hotel around 1:30 a.m. When I entered the room, I could see the light from the bedside table glowing from the crack under the door. It was quiet. Grateful for the silence, I crashed on the sofa and fell asleep, but strange dreams invaded my slumber: I was the one naked in bed with the girl. The only problem was the girl’s face would continually change between Sam and Jenna.
“Sometimes I hate you, you know that!” Sam shouted.
“You can be such a bitch!” Rick retorted.
I groaned, feeling around with my hand to find anything to cover my head and deaden the sound of their argument. No such luck. Since I’d stayed on the couch, there was no blanket or pillow in sight. Sitting up, I reached for the phone to check the time. It was ten o’clock.
Rick came storming out of the bedroom. “Jake, you try to talk some sense into her. I give up.”
With that, he was out the door and I was left alone to deal with Sam’s wrath. The way I chose to deal with it was to do nothing at all. I reached for the remote and turned on the TV.
Sam walked out of the bedroom dressed in blue jeans and a long-sleeved blue tee. She gave me a genuine smile. “Good morning, Jake.”
“Hi.”
“I’m hungry. Do you want to grab some brunch?”
“Sure. Do you mind if I shower first?”
“Of course. You know, you didn’t have to sleep out here all night.”
“It’s probably best that I did,” I said, patting her on the shoulder as I made my way toward the bathroom.
&nb
sp; I showered in peace, taking more time then I should have. The hot water felt so good and eased my muscle pain. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable place to sleep. I dressed in a pair of khakis and a plaid button-down shirt and then joined Sam in the lounge. My hair was still damp, but I slicked it back and I was freshly shaven. Sam appreciated good grooming, so if I could do just this one little thing to make her happy, all the better. Rick was one of those guys who would just throw himself together with no thought whatsoever. Being good looking and popular worked in his favor. I wasn’t that lucky.
“You look very handsome, Jake,” Sam complemented.
“Thanks. Ready to go?”
I waited until after she was fed before I broached the subject of Rick. “So, what’s going on with you two?” I gently asked as we walked arm in arm up Fifth Avenue.
“Rick can be so infuriating sometimes,” she ground out.
I nodded my head and waited for her to continue.
“I mean, we’re a couple we should do things together, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not one of Rick’s strong points. He kind of just does whatever he wants.”
“Tell me about it! Why can’t he be more like you, Jake?”
I chuckled. “Well, if you ever get tired of him, you can always date me instead.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. She probably thought I was joking.
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
When we came to Henri Bendel’s, I opened the door and escorted Samantha inside. Her eyes lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. The first floor of the store was laid out in three rooms: one had handbags, one had jewelry, and the last one had cosmetics. Sam’s mind must have been going a mile a minute. She looked to her left and then her right, not sure where to start, so I guided her towards the jewelry.
We perused the selection of bracelets, rings, and necklaces. Sam was in heaven trying on different pieces. It was a busy place, crowded with shoppers and sales assistants, but that didn’t bother Samantha. I spied a gold necklace with an antique skeleton key. “I like this one,” I said, picking it up to show her.