New York Love Affair

The day I lost any desire I may have had left to stay was when I decided to come home a moment too early from a night of partying with friends to finally meet just 'who' my father was meeting with when he had his days at the office. After catching him, he scurried to get dressed to rush after me with his sorry ass excuse, yet when studying him, I noticed no remorse in his eyes. His best explanation was a simply command "Don't tell your mother."

Not too long after I came to America. In search of the American Dream that I heard so much of when vacationing and in the American media—a better life, but like many the dream that all are in search of was nothing but a letdown to discover the grass wasn't any greener on the other side. Hell, in the city I'm lucky to get a glimpse of grass when passing through Central Park.

"Thanks to you yet again John," Reina's soft voice gratified after the taxi stopped outside of a restaurant. Once again I was lost for words and smiled and reached across her to open the door. Being a guy, I couldn't resist the urge to stare at her ass the whole time she pranced to the building. She almost caught me glancing when she turned back and waved. The driver laughed knowingly and pulled off.

"You're headed to 7th Ave, right? The young lady only paid enough for me to head there." The driver questioned.

I was confused.

"What? I'm sorry, when did she do this?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I think you were sleep or somethin'. Look I already got the fare, so just let me know if you're getting' off at 7th or not." The driver seemed fine as long as he got the right fare.

"Uh, yeah thanks."

I leaned my head back against the seat.

I know people like me just have money to blow on unreasonable stuff, but I know this woman wasn't like us. On the phone earlier with her grandmother, I think she was trying to explain to me that Reina was at work, and unless I misunderstood she was just dropped off at work for a second time today. I had a personal experience of where she's living, but it didn't sop her from spending her hard earned money on my fare, when I don't doubt she doesn't realize that I could purchase my own cab company if I desired to. I turned to the seat she was sitting in, as if I could still feel her presence. My eyes lingered at a black leather bag, and after years of buying the same design for my current play things, it was no question to me that this was a knock-off. She left her purse

"I'm going to need you to turn the car around!"

"Sir, I'm already a quarter of the way there. I'd need you to pay for the extra milage." The cab driver seemed annoyed.

I handed him two crisp bills. He took one glance at them and did an illegal u-turn.

Reina

"Reina, I'm glad you've finally found the time to show up."

I looked down at my watch.

"It's only five thirty-seven. I'm just two minutes late."

At first I found my job as a waitress at Giuseppe's to be a blessing. It wasn't asking me to degrade myself like many restaurants are beginning to adopt more and more, and most days I felt comfortable, but when the Giuseppe's decided to hire their nephew, Leonard as the manager while they were away, I find this job to be a burden more and more.

"Yeah well you were supposed to be here three days this week, not to even mention how the previous weeks have been, and yet you continue to be absent."

"I wasn't supposed to be on duty, Leonard. You called me in minutes before asking me to come in and each time I told you I couldn't because I had to go to my college classes, many of which I already missed to be here."

Leonard sneered at me for a long moment.

"Okay, why don't I just do you a favor? Leave your name tag on the desk in the office, and don't bother checking in today—or any other day in that matter," he barked.

My jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?" my voice quivered.

"You heard me right. Obviously you're not committed enough to be working here," he retorted.

My fist clenched. This guy has no clue. I snatched my name tag from my chest., threw it at him, and turned to exit.

"I'm sure the Giuseppe's will mail you your check," Leonard called after me.

I haven't even gotten my last two since the restaurant being slow lately. I'm starting to fall behind in the rent, and if this month is anything like the last I'm positive we'll get another eviction notice.

My face was burning when I fled. I just don't get how I can work so hard just to keep going back to square one.

The tears finally came.

One of the reasons I appreciate New York. When I cry not one single person lets on that the notice, as if I'm crying in private. I rush pass everyone on the side walk. What am I going to do? I really needed this job. Even if I were to get another one today, there's no way I could get an advance to help pay the rent off.

"Reina! Reina!" I heard that voice call from behind me. John. I swear I meet with him for all of the wrong reasons.

"Who hurt you? Tell me now!" His tone was harsh and when I gazed up at him I saw the flames in his gorgeous eyes.

I nodded my head.

"Reina I need you to let me know, so I can get them!" His teeth clenched as he held me.

At first I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't. I thought of all of my pain, and burst into a fit of sobs. Busy citizens continued to hurry past us. Minutes passed as would stood in each others' arms and traffic past. When I finished I took sharp breaths, slowly informing him of what just happened. Never once did he interrupt me or let go. Even when I finished he was quiet for a brief moment.

He passed me my purse, that I think I left in the cab, and pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

"Hello. Past 156th. Yeah I need you to bring it right now. You better not be a second short, and I better not see a scratch when you get here" he muttered and snapped the phone shut.

"What's your favorite place in New York?" His question took me off guard.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"There must be some place you like to go. Connie Island? Broadway? Any malls? Where do you go just to get away?" his tone softened.

Normally, my day is too occupied with school and work to ever have time to just hangout.

"I don't know? What's yours?" I tried to buy myself sometime to come up with an answer.

He studied me for a moment and smiled.

"What's kind of music do you listen to?" he avoided my diversion.

"I love all types. You name it. Salsa. Meringue. Hip-hop. Bollywood. Rock. Anything." This question was easier to answer.

"What's your favorite rock band?"

"Well... I guess Linkin Park or Kings of Leon, but I also love the group Artic Monkey."

He studied me again.

"That was a test. I thought you may say something like Coldplay or some shite."

I laughed.

"That's it, a smile!" he laughed along with me. "Do you listen to any foreign bands?"

"Some. One of my friends from high school gives me a foreign rock CD every birthday."

He nodded. We talked about music and all of the bands that should do a reunion or the artist that complete bands. If it wasn't for my cliche` from high school I wouldn't know who half of the people he was talking about were. The conversation ceased when a Bentley Identical to John's pulled alongside the curb.

A man walked out, and by his attire, he was obviously a worker. He reached his hand to John.

"Your keys, Mr. Kent."

"Thank you." John grabbed the keys and headed for the driver's seat. The worker opened my door. After closing it he headed down the street.

"Where is he going?" I didn't know what was going on at all.

"He's going back to work," he stated as if it was the obvious.

"What about us? Where are we going?"

"You said you wanted to know where my favorite place in New York is, so I'm about to show you." He replied.

I didn't say another word. Although I wanted to ask him to just bring me home I didn't have the courage to face Abuela right now, knowing she'd ask why I was home so early and that when she did ask I know I would probably break down again. I could tell by the route he was taking that we probably were going to leave the city. The harsh day eventually hit me and my eyelids began to fall as I fell asleep.

******

John

"Reina, we are here," I tapped her on her shoulder.

"Where's here?" she yawned, and almost fell out of the car when the door lifted.

"Open your eyes."

When she did she first looked at me. Once again, I was hypnotized. She flicked her eyelashes to adjust her vision of her surroundings. I was out of the car by now helping her out of her seat. She was still in a daze as I lead her to the entrance. By time the doors were open and sound was in full for our ears she was completely alert.

"John, seriously, where are we?"

"When I first came to the states I was sad. I became very home sick. I missed my friends, the food, the music, but here—" I took her hand and lead her further inside.

The bar was filled as well as the pool table. A live band was playing. Most people when they think of Irish music, they think of the folk music that films tend to portray when a leprechaun is involved, but what I always loved was the way Irish people were able to ad our own culture to rock. That's what attracted me to this place. It's not just a stereotypical display for Americans to indulge off of, something I see a lot here, but real Irish people just having fun whether with folk songs, drinking hymns, or something more modern.

Reina eyes wandered across the hall.

"Hey chap, for you and the lass," a friend of mine, Liam came over with two mugs. I thanked him.

"U-uh J-John I don—" Reina stammered as she pushed the glass forward.

"You are twenty? Twenty-one? Right?"

"I'm nineteen."

Being as successful as I am at my age I usually feel young, but with my new discovery I have never felt so old. I'm double her age.

"Well my grandmother use to always say, your secret is my silence," Liam nudged the glass towards her.

She stared at it as if it was something extra-terrestrial before hesitantly tilting the glass over her mouth. She tried to gulp down as much as she could, but stopped after chugging one-third of the glass.

"That-ta girl!" Liam praised along with some of the men sitting near. With that, I took my mug and chugged it down.

The band ended the rock song started to play a folk piece. We watched as some coupled off and started doing a dance that I learned when I was much younger. Reina studied with much interest.

"I'm going to grab a beer. Do you want lemonade or something?" I noticed how she didn't really care to take another sip from her mug. She nodded not taking her eyes off of the dance. Once I made my way to the bar, it didn't take long for someone to swift her away to the floor to show her the dance, and she was a fast learner. I wanted to intervene not wanting her to be with any other man but me, but I couldn't when she giggled as the tune got faster. I smiled loving that she was happy again.

"John! Come get your ass kicked in a bloody game of pool," one man called over.

This wouldn't be much entertainment if it wasn't for all of the trash talk. Every time I played Tim I would win in no more than nine moves.

"Go ahead and break," I said and chalked the tip of the pole.

By the third song, and as always by the seventh move I only had the eight ball left. Tim was beginning to get mad and call false claims of him giving me those shots. Reina walked over still chipper from the dance to observe the game.

"How about this, Timothy? I'll let her play my eight turn, and I assure you I'll win.

"What's on it?"

"Another round."

"Deal."

"Um, I don't know how to play," Reina whispered to me.

I guess Tim heard because he smiled and told me to get ready to pull my wallet out.

"You'll do fine." I handed her the stick.

She leaned over the table adjusting her hands to correctly aim the white ball. Her stance was pretty bad, and it was obvious she didn't know much about the game. I walked behind her and place my hands over hers. She looked up at me.

"Relax. Follow my lead," I whispered in her ear. I felt her heart beat quicken.

"Don't worry. I told you we have this. Believe me."

She pressed her weight against me, releasing her guard. I almost groaned out loud when I felt her arse against me. My bulge began to develop.

"Put your elbows like this. Yeah like that. One. Two," by the three I lead her arms to tap the white ball. In one swift move the eight ball plopped in the whole.

"We did it!" Reina leaped in excitement. You did it alright.

There was no way I could walk away without being obvious, so I walked Reina to back to the floor to dance so that she blocked my erection. I'm not a dancing person unless I'm truly just that drunk, but I only just finished my beer and was far from feeling that buzzed. Lucky for me this song was slower and was more so just swaying. We did this for two more songs before the bar broke out in carols.

All was merry until a fight began. That's when we decided to slip out. This was the moment of truth. I could go straight to her place or to mine. I looked at her she was intently listening to a song playing on the radio. I looked from her to my bulge. Fuck it!

"You wanna order a pizza?"

"Sure."

*****

Reina

This was the part of New York I only know about from party hopping with Melanie. John parked (or actually passed the keys to valet to park) in front of a large glass sky scraper. The place was closely guarded. Before we could make it to the elevator the receptionist stopped us and passed us a pizza box.

"The best in all New York," the young guy prided himself.

John nodded in approval while exchanging the box for the cash in his hand.

"Come on," he motioned for me with his free hand and led me to the elevator.

I held my breath the whole way up. I normally never have to ride to high levels no matter where I am in New York, but that wasn't even my biggest concern. Did I really just go home with this guy?

Once John led me off of the elevator, I realized that the whole floor was his flat. He entered a password. I gazed at him as if give me the confidence that I could go through with this. Mentally, I was slapping myself for going home with him. His cheeks contained extra color from his consumption, but he didn't show many signs of intoxication although his hand would stroke my back or run through my hair and every so often I could feel his fingers stop at my bra strap through my clothes. I could tell that he wasn't one of those drunks to be absolutely ridiculous and embarrass themselves, but he was the kind of drunk that shows who they really are. How does that saying go? A true drunk never lies.

He didn't even have to turn his lights on for me to tell that his home and my home were on a completely separate level. I may have well have been living in a slum compared to this place. His apartment was glowing a vibrant blue from the light from his aquarium, which was no goldfish bowl. The Aquarium flowed throughout the whole floor. Once he turned the lights on it gave away just how contemporary this place was. It was like a bachelors dream pad. Everything was white except for the kitchen that he led me to.

"How do you like it?" he beamed. I could tell he was proud of his place.

"It's huge."

"Nothing like my boss's, but by time I'm married with a family I'll upgrade."

Does this guy realize that my whole family (which is quite large) can move into this place with much comfort?

"Make yourself at home."

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed another beer and me a Fanta from his fridge that was bigger than my closet, and showed me to a room to the back of the house opposite to what I think was the master bedroom. I could tell this was probably the smallest room in the house, but it was still a lot larger than my bedroom in Harlem.

"I think this room was supposed to be for a baby or a child, maybe even a studio, but I don't have any of those, so this is just my contemplation room."

The room was painted a light yellow and all of the furniture was a soft sweet pea green. John walked over to the iPod deck in the corner and placed it on shuffle. He had intercom sound system that played it nicely throughout the house. In the middle of the floor was a small table where he rested the pizza box and drinks. Instead of chairs, it had cushions. The lower half of the walls were pillow padded.

John opened the pizza box and walked back out.

"I'm about to get some parmesan, would you like anything?"

"Um," I argued if I should truly be myself ,"Do you have any chocolate syrup?"

"I think so." He raised an eyebrow at me.

Once he returned with everything including paper towels and wet wipes, he sat leaning against the wall with a slice of pizza he started munching on. I followed his lead and began to eat a slice.

"I knew it. You're no true New Yorker," he chuckled.

"Why do you say that?" I placed the slice down on a paper towel on the table.

"Watch someone who has lived in the city most of their life if not all, and how they eat a slice of pizza. They eat it fast or without savoring the flavor speeding through life."

"Yeah, but for those who aren't in the fast line, the rest are considered to be wasting their life," I retorted.

He paused and thought about my response.

"Hey want to play this game I use to play back when I was in high school?" I tried to break the ice.

"Sure." He sat up.

"Okay we call it twenty-one questions, but it's not like that game you play with the ball. You can ask me any question about myself and I have to answer and vice versa, so pretty much like Truth or Dare without the daring, but when the game gets boring and we run out of questions, we can just start confessing something juicy."

"Okay. Do I start?" He seemed to comprehend.

I nodded.

"What the hell is the chocolate syrup for?"

I laughed, and grabbed the syrup bottle. I poured it across my slice of pizza, and took a bite. John couldn't have looked more disgusted

"Try it." I leaned over the table placing the pizza in front of his lips.

"I thought this wasn't a daring game." He turned his face not wanting to experiment.

"I promise just try it and you'll like it."

He stared in my eyes for a minute leaned forward to take a bite. The entire time he chewed he shut his eyes tight.

"Well..."

"It's... not bad," he informed and wiped his mouth on a paper towel.

We both laughed.

"My turn! " I exclaimed. "What's something that most people don't know about you?"

He thought for a minute before he started pulling his shirt off. Whoa! I hope this isn't a way he tries to make a pass. When his shirt was off I tried my best to keep my composure. All the working out that I'm positive he does showed. When snapped out of it I saw he was talking about the tattoos he had. His right arm was filled with a tribal design from his shoulder blade down to his forearm, and a dragon on his lower abdomen while a foreign language occupied his whole chest. Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde. The last one was on his left was a date with two feather extending from it. Without realizing it I was running my fingers along each design.. He chuckled when I snatched back.

"Your turn," I blushed.

"Beware of the anger of a patient man," he told me the meaning of the saying, "Do you have any tattoos?"

I grabbed something from the back pocket of my purse and turned away from him for a while prepping myself in my pocket mirror before turning back to him.

"So do you?" he demanded.

"No," I nodded my head, "but..."

I pulled my shirt up around my ribs and stuck out my tongue exposing my two piercings. His eyes grew big.

"I guess you aren't as straightedge as I thought," he stated his eyes not leaving the sight.

"I'd probably never get a tattoo. Too much of a commitment. I can always take my piercings out, but I bet those tattoos are the reason you're in a long sleeve button down," I claimed.