New York City.
You’ve heard so much about this place. Seen it in so many of your favorite movies and TV shows and now you were finally here. In your very own, very small, very okay apartment. You were so eager to get out of your parents’ house after finishing college. You finished a couple of years ago and right after that, you threw yourself into work to make money for your own place. You loved your parents, but you needed to have your own place in this world and finally be independent and on your own. And long before you even knew what you wanted to do with your life, you knew you wanted to move to New York.
You put the last and lightest box on the floor, before making your way to the window You really loved the view. It wasn’t much, after all, your apartment wasn’t a five-star penthouse with a view over the entire Manhattan. Instead, what you saw just a road, lined with trees and similar apartment buildings like yours on the other side. But you liked it. It wasn’t overwhelming.
You took one more tour around your new apartment, touching random surfaces because you still couldn’t believe it. It was impossible to contain your excitement and pride.
You ended up in your bedroom, lying on your back, looking at the ceiling when suddenly your stomach reminded you that you haven’t eaten in a while. Judging by the sound, a long while.
Fully knowing that you had literally no food because you didn’t have the chance to go grocery shopping yet, you decided to eat out. With an annoyed groan, you got up from the bed and went to the kitchen. You drank a glass of water to bribe your stomach to be quiet until you put some decent food in it.
Then you moved your way to where you left your jacket and crossbody bag. After you made sure you had everything you needed, you headed out. But not without looking around your new place one last time and smiling to yourself.
Immediately after you stepped outside, you felt a cool wind hit your cheeks and mess up your hair a little. But you didn’t really care and eventually, the wind turned into a refreshing breeze.
You kind of knew where you were going, you already got to know the surroundings a little during the whole moving process. But a few minutes later you found yourself in the middle of a busy street. Well, busier than yours at least. Looking around, you saw a lot of people and that was pretty much it. You weren’t super short, apparently, everybody else in this street was just taller and that wasn’t your fault. Sigh. It was Google Maps time. You moved to the side of the sidewalk, making sure you don’t stand in anyone’s way, and also paid attention not to stand in front of any entrance and block potential customers.
“Okay, so I am here…” you whispered to yourself and zoomed in on your screen. Looking at the map you found several restaurants, fast foods, and grocery stores. Either you weren’t in a mood for some of them, you haven’t heard of them, or they looked very fancy and expensive.
“Oh, there’s a Subway near, okay, I can do Subway right now.” You turned on the navigate feature and started moving again. It wasn’t easy to make your way through the New York streets. Making sure you don’t bump into somebody, paying attention to traffic lights, checking your phone to make sure you’ve headed the right way and didn’t miss any turn… It was very much prone to fail until it very much did.
Your world was spinning for a short moment and then you realized where you were. Sitting on the sidewalk. It was at that moment when you realized how much strength you must have been walking with and how fast. Nothing seems broken, you thought and started to stand up, your phone still somehow sitting in your hand.
“I’m so sorry, miss, let me help.” You heard a male voice as two hands helped you stand back up on your feet.
“Oh, that’s fine, I should be the one apologizing, I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going.” You dusted yourself off and finally looked up at the stranger.
And there he was, probably the most beautiful man you had seen in your entire life. Actually, scratch the probably. He looked like he just stepped out of a magazine. His slicked-back dark hair, almost black eyes, a soft smile with an undertone of a smirk. Seeing him dressed to impress in a suit and a coat definitely didn’t help. After a little bit of too much awkward silence, you felt a blush creep up in your cheeks, but you could blame that on the somewhat cold air, right?
“Google Maps? You new here?” He asked you, raising his eyebrows and pointing his finger to the phone still somehow intact in your hand.
“Uhm, yeah, I just moved into the city today and I’m currently looking for a place to eat since my fridge is empty.” Why are you telling this to a stranger? You don’t know him, he could be a serial killer. You ignored your thoughts, telling yourself they were irrational as you waited for a response.
“Oh, well, on behalf of all of New York, I suppose I should say welcome.” He said and took his hand out for you to shake it.
“I’m Billy.” Billy.
“Y/N. Nice to meet you, Billy.” After you shook hands, you locked your phone and put it in your pocket, never looking away from Billy. Something told you that it wouldn’t be needed.
“So, Y/N, I think it would be only appropriate to take out on a meal, what do you say?” His voice now sounded much lighter, as he spoke in a much carefree and playful tone.
“A-are you sure about that? We’ve only just met.” Your tone matched his. His face seemed unsure for a short moment, but that changed quickly.
“Yeah, absolutely. Besides,” he licked his lips and looked at something behind you before looking back at you “it’s not every day that I accidentally and literally sweep a beautiful woman off her feet.” Now it was definitely time to blush. You looked at your shoes so he wouldn’t see your face and played with the hem of your jacket. Upon realizing how ridiculous this must look to him, you let out a soft laugh and heard him do the same.
When you looked up, his expectant eyes were still on you. Whatever you were going to say, your stomach growled quietly and decided for you.
“Okay.” His eyes were impossible to look away from and you weren’t really able to form a full sentence, so you settled on a one-word answer.
You slowly started walking and Billy moved to your right side to shield you from any potential dangers of New York traffic. Oh, what a gentleman. Suddenly a thought washed over you.
“Hold up, Mr. Fancy-pants, don’t you have somewhere to be? Like in an office or a meeting somewhere on a top floor in one of these buildings?” He burst out laughing and you could tell it was an honest laugh, which made you smile to yourself.
“Thank you for the nickname, that’s a new one, and no. I’m the CEO of my own company, I don’t have to be anywhere right now unless it’s an emergency or I want to.” Well, of course, young, handsome, successful, runs his own company, you thought as you looked him up and down, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“One of my favorite restaurants is down this street,” he looked down at you, “if you’re still up for that meal, which I hope you are.” Which I hope you are?
A couple of minutes later, you were sitting in a small restaurant by the window. Your eyes were on the menu, but your mind kept going a few minutes back when Billy opened the door and pulled the chair out for you. Where you were from, you weren’t used to acts of chivalry. But then, you weren’t used to New York City either. You had so much to explore and so many new things to get used to.
After a waitress came and left with your orders, Billy immediately took the chance to strike up a conversation while you waited for your meals.
“So, Y/N, what brought you to New York?” At first, you thought that this was just a random stranger who took you to lunch out of sheer politeness. But the focus in his eyes told you that he was ready to listen to whatever you had to say.
“Well, it’s always been my dream to live in New York. Maybe a little naive and childish, but I don’t care. After college, I started working to save some money and well, here I am.”
“No dreams are ever naive and childish. If anything, they motivate us. And you should be proud of yourself, there aren’t that many people in this world who act on their dreams.” You put your elbows on the table and rested your face in your palms to hide another dose of blush in your cheeks.
“Speaking from experience?”
“I guess you could say that. I mean, I have my own company and that kind of thing doesn’t just happen because you get lucky. It takes time and effort.” For the first time, he looked away from you and out of the window. You followed his gaze until you heard a quiet laugh from him.
“Jesus, this is getting real deep and an hour ago we didn’t even know that the other one exists.” He was right. So why was talking to him so easy?
Once your food arrived, you started eating and the conversation centered around more mundane and not so what-is-your-biggest-desire-like questions. You told him where you’re from, he told you about his military times. You told him what your favorite cuisine was, he told you that he had a weak spot for chocolate. You exchanged responses freely, neither of you seemed to be holding back. The only thing that was slightly getting on your nerves, was that Billy would ask you if you liked your meal or if you didn’t want a refill on your sparking water every thirty seconds. It was a see-through glass and he could see for himself that your glass was more than half-full.
“Russo, I swear, if you ask me one more time, I’m going to throw the contents of my water glass at you.” You tried to say very seriously and succeeded until Billy let out a chuckle. which made you laugh. You had a very hard time containing your laugh, but you didn’t want to make noise or have other guests give you dirty looks.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry, I just want you to like this place. It’s one of my favorites and your first restaurant visit as a New York City resident, I want you to have a good time.” You wanted to ask why he cared about that so much but decided to let it go.
When you finished your meals and your waitress brought the bill, you and Billy started reaching for your wallets at the same time.
“Uhm, what do you think you’re doing?” He asked you when he noticed your actions.
“Uhm, getting my wallet?”
“Well, stop it, I’m paying.” He said light-heartedly pulling out a credit card.
“Alright, but I don’t want to trouble you.” Your response was quiet as a whisper, but he heard it and looked at you with an amused smile.
“You’re not troubling anyone, Y/N. I said that I was taking you to lunch,” he rubbed his chin and leaned in closer towards you, “and I am a man of my word.” He gave you a flirty smile and a wink, which made your brain stop working for a second or two. That and the proximity.
Moments later you were both getting up and gathering your belongings. You quickly went through the things in your bag to make sure you had everything.
“Ready to go?” You looked up at Billy, only to see that he was standing closer than before. You nodded and both of you walked out. The noise of the city and the cool breeze hit you as soon as you stepped out. It was time to say goodbye.
“Well, I had a really nice time, Billy.” His head shot up and he looked almost sad before he shook it off and smiled softly.
“Yeah, I had a nice time too.” You fiddled with your jacket a bit before saying anything, trying to prolong the moment.
“I guess I’ll head home. I still have a lot of unpacking to do.” At that moment he started going through all his pockets like he was looking for something. A look of contentment flashed through his face when he pulled out a small business card and a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket.
“In case you ever need a tour of the city or a restaurant tip or a ride or maybe a friend. Feel free to give me a call. Anytime.” He said as he scribbled something on the back of the business card. When he handed it to you, you saw that it was a phone number.
“Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.” His eyes never left your face and the question didn’t seem to affect him at all. He still had that cool, calm, and collected look.
“Now, we both know that’s not true. And we both had a nice time, your words.” He was right and he knew it. You tucked the little business card carefully in your bag. Then gave him a little smile and pulled your jacket tighter.
“I really should get going now.” You finally took a few steps in your intended direction and Billy did the same.
“It was a pleasure.” He said but didn’t move. You nodded and started walking. You only took a few steps when you heard a familiar voice calling not far behind. After you turned around you saw Billy stand in the same place.
“I hope to hear from you, Y/N.” With that, he finally turned around and started walking. You smiled to yourself and continued walking in the opposite direction.