22. Wes/Nora

TWENTY-TWO

I didn't sleepa fucking wink last night.

Not only is my brain still on overdrive from losing the game, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about Nora touching my chest the way she did last night. Having her body so close to mine, her skin on me, was maddening. I don't know how I managed to get up this morning, managing to convince myself that I only wanted a friendship from her. We've got a lot to do in the next few days, so there's no point in wasting time thinking about things I definitely should not be thinking about.

"Are you ready to be a small-town boy in a big city?" Nora teases, tying up the Converse that I got her in the chair across from the bed.

"As I'll ever be," I reply. Her face splits into an uncontrollable grin. "Are you?"

"I was born ready, Wesley. We're going to be the most touristy tourists to ever tourist," she says, jumping to her feet to collect her tote bag that she dropped near the door.

I laugh as I swing open the door, holding out my hand to her. "The Empire State Building awaits, Miss Bailey."

She giggles, clasping her hand in mine as we walk out of the door. "Ooh, I like the sound of that."

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah," she giggles, hooking her arm into mine. "I feel like royalty."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say. When I look down at her, I see that real Nora Bailey smile. Just the look on her face makes my chest tighten, and my clothes suddenly feel two sizes too small for me. It makes me want to pull her right into my chest, feel her close to me, and see if she could transfer some of that energy into me.

A huge part of me is glad that Mark backed out on the trip. Something about being with her in her dream city makes me one lucky motherfucker. I love watching her come to life. I love watching the way her whole face transforms when she sees something she likes or when she's simply in my presence. She's able to calm the storm in my brain by existing.

Well, that was until she tried to give me a heart attack at the top of the Empire State Building. For someone who doesn't like heights, New York is not the place I should be.

"You okay, Wessy?" she asks, beaming up at me with her back to the glass, meaning I can see the top of every single building from our view. Something churns in my stomach, and I cough to swallow the feeling.

"Never been better," I bite out.

"You sure? You look like you're about to puke," she teases, poking me in the stomach. I swat her hands away from me, pinning them together with one hand.

"Stop," I warn.

"It's okay," she coos, "I'm not deathly afraid of vomit like Elle. I can handle it."

I roll my eyes. "Just shut up and look out the damn window."

She snorts before she turns around and does as I asked. Her chestnut curls distract me for a second as I watch her watch the skyline. It's still pretty early in the afternoon, but from the way she's looking out at the scene, I take a second to see the city from her eyes. This is the place where she wants to spend the rest of her life. The place where she can see herself getting the career she's always dreamed of. The place where she'll call me from when I'm doing whatever the fuck I'm doing back in Colorado.

She glances back at me as if she felt my gaze on her. "Look at this view."

"I'm looking," I whisper, keeping my eyes locked with hers.

"You're not," she argues, letting out a breathy laugh. "Look at the actual view, Wes. I know you're a bit scared, but you'll regret it if you don't look."

She's got this serious look on her face like she really believes that this is the first and only time we'll be here together. I'm sure I'll have a better look next time, but right now, I just want to bathe in her glory. So, I say, "I think my view is much better."

She scoffs, hitting me in the arm "Shut up."

I finally take a better look at what she's making a big fuss over. It's pretty, but it's not as pretty as her. I don't think there's anything that can compare to her. That can compare to her inner and outer beauty. There's nothing in my life that is more special and worthy of my time than Nora Bailey. And when she realizes that, I don't think I'm strong enough to take the heartbreak. So, I shove all my feelings for her down into the depths of my stomach and grab her hand. When her hand melts into mine and she squeezes it, I take a deep breath.

"Thank you," I whisper.

She turns to me. "For what?"

"For letting me come with you and for holding my hand," I say roughly. I don't think I thank her enough for all the shit she's put up with for me. She always makes sure I know how much she cares about me, even when I shut her out.

"You don't have to thank me. Besides, I can't let my boyfriend freak out because he's afraid of heights," she says before she steps into me a little more. "I'll always hold your hand, Wes."

"Always?"

"Yeah, always," she says and my heart stops. "Plus, your hand was basically stuck to mine the entire flight. Sweaty palms and all. I've gotten used to it."

"You were doing so well up until that last part," I mutter.

She rolls her eyes before she turns back to the view, and I still have my eyes on her.

If I had knownhow busy New York really was, I don't think I would have come. I'm not bad with crowds, but not only is it crowded and smelly, it's loud too. Everything about the city back home feels like nothing compared to this. Every sense feels like it"s at full volume, and just existing in this atmosphere feels like I'm in some sort of simulation.

After getting the subway to Times Square and grabbing hotdogs when we got here, I've been trailing behind Nora as she walks around this city like she fucking owns it. I would be lying if I said that being here doesn't suit her personality. She was made for a big city like this, and I feel like a selfish motherfucker for getting to be in her spotlight like this.

We've spent the entire day looking around at the giant screens, taking in the awful smell and the lights that are giving us both headaches. After shopping around and collecting anything that Nora believed her parents would like, we perched ourselves on a sidewalk as we waited for our Uber to arrive. I told her we could grab a cab and save ourselves the embarrassment, but apparently, she ‘needed to experience this at least once.' I can't complain much, though. My feet are aching, and I'm more than ready to hit the shower and go straight to sleep when we get back to the hotel.

"When's it going to get here?" she asks me, stretching her legs out in front of her. We chose the least busy street possible, so there's a slim chance her feet will get run over, but it still scares the fuck out of me.

I lean forward, scooping her legs up until she wraps her arms around her knees. Nora turns to me, unimpressed. "Soon," I say, quickly checking my phone.

"I'm getting impatient," she grumbles.

"Yeah, no shit. Is the city life tiring you out already?" I bump my shoulder into hers, and she bumps me back before jumping to her feet.

"It could never," she screams.

She spins in a full circle, the bags of souvenirs we've collected over the day falling off one of her arms. I just watch her in her element, crossing my arms against my chest before she slowly sinks back down next to me.

She links her arm into mine, resting her head against my shoulder as she sighs heavily. "God, I can't wait to live here." She glances up at me with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I can't wait to visit you when you're here."

She lets out another happy sigh. "Imagine it, Wes," she starts, looking out into the town in front of us. "I can show you around like I'm a real local. We'll go for dinner at my favorite restaurant. You'll be a gentleman and open all the doors for me. Your wife will call you, and you'll leave early so you can get back in time to tuck your kids in bed. And–"

"What will you do?"

My interruption shrugs. "I dunno. Go back to my apartment, maybe? Get high with my show friends?"

I let out a chuckle as she beams up at me. "No husband?"

Her features grow softer, and I feel like I've said the wrong thing. I don't like the thought of her being on her own here, even if it's just her hypothetical future. There's no future I can imagine myself in where we're apart. And just the idea of that fucking scares me more than being on top of the Empire State Building.

She shakes her head. "No one's going to marry me, Wes," she whispers. Those words coming out of her mouth feel like a punch straight to the stomach. How does she not know how insanely special she is? How incredibly fascinated I am by her. She takes a deep breath. "I'll swear off men by the time I'm thirty, trust me. I don't want to be with someone who holds me back."

I swallow. "What if you find someone who doesn't hold you back?"

Her mouth twitches into a smile. "Then I might just keep them."

The air between us thickens, and I think for the hundredth time if I should just say fuck it and kiss her. If it takes me doing that for her to finally get it into her head that I've wanted to date her for real for years, then I'd do it. But I value our friendship too much, and the thought of being rejected by Nora Bailey is enough to keep my hands to myself.

Is it possible to feel like you're floating? It's like I've taken a dip into an alternate reality because this doesn't feel like real life. I've spent so many days lying awake, thinking of what it would be like if I got to step foot in my dream place. I might have imagined being with my dad instead of Wes, but his company is just as good, if not better.

As touristy as today has been, I can't wait to spend days in my future doing exactly this. Shopping until my feet hurt. Picking up burgers or hotdogs from my favorite food stands. Spontaneously going to see a show just because. Sitting on sidewalks whilst I wait for our Uber to come. I want all the small things about this place and all the big things. I want it all.

We've been waiting for the Uber for almost ten minutes before my phone starts to ring. Wes nods at me to answer it since he was in the middle of telling me why they should make a musical out of the Spiderman franchise.

I look down at the caller ID, and my heart stutters in my chest when I see my agent"s contact name.

"Hey, Nora! How are you?" Max's shrill voice shocks me back to the reality of being at home. Unemployed. Seemingly untalented. Having to do a show with someone I can't stand.

I shake my head to get rid of the thoughts. "Hi, I'm great. How about you?"

Max lets out a dreamy sigh on the other end. "I'm great. I just wanted to check in on how that tape for the A24 project is going. It's really important you get it in by the end of next month. I don't want them to think you've lost interest… Unless you have lost interest. In that case, you need to let me know."

"No, no, no," I say quickly. Wes shoots me a look, and I wave my hand dismissively. "I haven't lost interest. I'm working on the tape, and I just haven't had time to rehearse outside of classes and… uh, stuff."

Wes winks at me then, and I press my lips in a thin line to hide my laugh. "So I've heard," Max says. "Your online presence is growing a lot since you got this new boyfriend of yours."

My chest blooms with hope. I've never really taken my social media that seriously, but since Wes and I started dating, I've gotten a lot more confident in posting pictures and sharing my life online. Couple content is easy to reach people, and it gets everyone engaged quickly. Still, it's a slippery slope when things get too much. "Is that– Is that a good thing?"

"It's amazing, Nora. You've just got to be careful with this kind of attention," he warns. "And get me that tape when you can. This project could be great for you."

"Thank you, Max. I'll get it done as soon as possible," I say. He agrees, and we exchange goodbyes. When the call ends, I let out a long sigh, and Wes's knee bumps into mine.

"What's all that about?" he asks.

I bump my knee back into his. "Movie star stuff. You wouldn't get it."

He scoffs. "Oh, God. How ever are we going to communicate when you become a big star?"

"I dunno, Wesley. You'll be talking through my assistant, not me."

I turn to him as his face glows from the streetlights above us. His face just looks so… soft. Like if I reached out right now he'd melt like butter in my hands. It's strange and endearing all at once. "That's how it's going to be, huh?"

"Yup," I say, leaning closer to him. He smells like the city, but only the good parts of it. Mostly like the florist we quickly passed through, all fresh and earthy. As I lean in, our shoulders brush lightly, sending a ripple of anticipation through me. The city around us feels alive, vibrant, and suddenly, so does everything between us. "Five years from now, you'll be on your knees for me, Wes."

"We don't have to wait five years for that, Sunshine." Our faces are now so close to each other that I could lean a little furtherinto him if I wanted. I let my eyes drop to the fullness of his lips for a second and my breath catches in my throat.

"No?"

"I'll do anything you want me to. I'll be anything you want me to be. Give me the word, and I'll get on my knees right now."

His voice comes out gruffer than I was expecting and it lights a fire in my stomach. A fire I need to put out immediately. But all I find myself doing is leaning closer to him. Or he's leaning closer to me. I can't tell. My hands hit the hot sidewalk behind me as he towers over me, and I'm pathetically doing everything I can to get closer to him.

"I mean," I start, my voice strangled. My eyes dip into the small space between our bodies, our hips aligning. "You're already halfway there."

Wes's eyes flash and my heart drops. What the hell am I inviting? Do I want something to happen, or am I just someone who is turned on by a hot guy who she didn't realize was this hot until a few days ago? I'm going with the latter.

That must be the only reason why my mouth tilts up to his. We're both hesitating, silently waiting for the other to make the first move. The air between us thickens, every second stretching longer as we hover on the edge of a decision.

Just as our lips are a whisper apart, a horn silences through the tension.

"Uber's here," he says with ease, moving back and extending a hand to me like the gentleman he is. He pulls me up, opens the car door for me, and ushers me inside as if we hadn't just come inches away from breaking the one rule I've tried so desperately to uphold.