Chapter Four

Warning: Still very much fiction.

As he looked over the three pages of notes I’d taken, I searched his face for a sign, some signal to show me what he was thinking. I swore I saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“You like me in blue? Oh, and pinstripes? How insightful,” he smirked, clearly amused.
“I have to please my female readers,” I answered back quickly, dripping with an equal amount of sarcasm.
He laughed, handing me back my notes and pulling out of the parking lot. He asked me the address of my hotel, turning onto the street. We engaged in small talk along the way, asking him a little about himself. He asked me how long I was planning on staying in New York. I answered just as the car came to a stop and I recognized the façade of my hotel building. I looked back at Anderson, my hand on the door handle ready to leave.
“I’ll see you again before you leave.”
With one of my legs still in the car, the other on the sidewalk, I turned at an angle to face him.
“What?”
“I want to see you again. Tomorrow. Stay here. I’ll pick you up,” a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Alright. Any particular time I should expect your highness?”
A chuckle and an answer of noon-ish. I rolled my eyes and thanked him for his company and kindness before shutting the door. I ran quickly up the hotel stairs and into my room. Behind the safety of the heavy wooden door, I sunk down to the floor thinking about what had happened.
Exhausted, I picked myself up and sorted everything to prepare for bed. I folded down the sheets and slipped between, enjoying the sensation of the cotton sliding against the bare skin of my legs. I lay in bed savouring every moment of what had happened before falling into a pleasantly dream-filled sleep.
I woke earlier than usual, not sure when to expect Anderson to arrive. I had to shower and get ready. I was still unsure what to wear, I had no idea where he planned to take me. I settled on my favourite jeans and a simple but elegant top which would probably be practical for most of New York. I threw a pair of comfortable walking shoes in my bag encase there was any amount of walking planned.
The knock on the door was confident, three heavy taps. As I walked across the room to answer, I made sure to catch my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to look at though I tried too hard, but rather as though this was normal for me. I noticed the time was around 20 past 12; about noon-ish.
I breathed in deeply with the movement of the door along its hinge, preparing a bright smile for who I knew was on the other side of the door. When the door had opened completely, I saw a flash of silver as the light from the window at the end of the hall glinted off of grey locks. Blue eyes looked at me, studying the rather dramatic difference in my appearance since yesterday. I’d only word a loose t-shirt and jeans with my hair in a ponytail out walking.
He smiled, apparently pleased by how I’d cleaned myself up. I asked if he wanted to come in or if we would be leaving immediately. He looked at his watch and then at me.
“We should be going now. Our reservations are in half in hour and it takes a while to get there.”
“Reservations, hm? Where might they be?”
“No where touristy, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he smirked with the hidden knowledge of where we were going, “very exclusive.”
“Fine then. Don’t tell. Let me grab my purse and we’ll go.”