Intercontinental Hotel, Times Square, New York
It was sheer luck, Vincenzo had been told, that a good friend of Emily’s had been going on holiday the very day they were due to arrive in new York. Incredible good luck - because he had willingly handed over the keys to his staff apartment waaaaaay up in the hotel and wished them a good vacation.
“So,” Vincenzo said as Emily let them in. he dropped the bags and waited until the door closed before he said another word. “So, all we have to do is pretend you’re considering taking over one of their shifts and everything with be at least three star? I think I can go along with that.”
“Wow, are you kidding me? I could let them believe anything they wanted but not admit or deny anything for the whole week,” Emily grinned as she walked further in. Luckily the hotel was quite new, so even the staff apartments had the shine and polish still on, and the living habits of a bachelor man were no where to be seen. The bed was made neatly for them, so after taking a peek at the bathroom, Emily jumped to sit on it for a test bounce. “Pretty good for a free place to stay!”
“And the view,” Vincenzo said, looking out of the window. It wasn’t a big window - those were reserved for the customers - but it offered a fantastic vista across the city. “You can see everything. Hmm,” he had turned and was looking at Emily, “not as impressive as you though.”
Emily giggled and spread the fluttery skirt of the flower dress she was wearing, and pulled herself backwards on the bed so she could stretch her legs on it. “Just wait and see when we’re going to Per Se,” she said mysteriously. She had not shown him the green dress reserved for the occasion, and wasn’t going to until it was time.
“Oh yeah,” he said, moving away from the window and seating himself on the bed. He picked up one of her feet, slipped off her sandal and began to run her foot. “Do tell. Is my chin going to be on my breastbone? Am I going to need a bib?”
“We’ll find out. I’ll save it for the last minute so it will have the full effect on you,” she promised looking smug. “I bought it from the new store by the Vine Square, Antique Apparell? I think the owner lives in the Manor too. Oohh that feels nice.”
“Give me the other one then,” Vincenzo said, holding out his hand. “Because we’ll be walking a fair amount, hun, and I don’t want you to get blisters. Yeah, Antique Apparel - she lives there. Nice lady.”
Emily reached forward and took off the other sandal too, and offered the foot to Vincenzo and his strong hands. “The shop is actually quite close to where Gregori’s chocolate shop is going to be. Funny how all this luxury and these specialty boutiques are slowly appearing in the City again.”
Vincenzo grunted. “They never actually went,” he said. “Once the place got cleaned up some nice places opened. There’s just a few others jumping on the bandwagon now it’s safe.”
“Huh, you’re right. Maybe it just feels like it because of the economy. Looks like it’s hopefully picking up again, though,” Emily said thoughtfully, and wriggled her toes. “What do you feel like doing today?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit late for sight seeing,” Vincenzo said. “What’s the restaurant here like? We could have a meal and see a movie?”
“At least it looks really nice, and so does the bar. As long as it won’t be Twilight or Nightmare on Elm Street, I’m good with that plan,” she nodded. “Then we can try and have a relatively early morning so we actually get something done tomorrow. On Wednesday you have to entertain yourself for a couple of hours, I’m going to see Mitchell then,” Emily reminded him. Frank Mitchell had been the chef of La Fee Verte in the 80’s, and she had found him and agreed on a meeting.
“No problem,” Vincenzo said. “I’ve got friends I can see here too.” He gave her foot a last pat and got up and stretched. “Shall we change or go as we are?” he asked. Changing for him would mean a clean polo, for her it might be more serious.
“Oh I don’t know. I might put my hair up and take a cardigan with me for the evening if it gets a little chilly, but I don’t think I need to change,” Emily said looking down at herself. Then she looked up at him, and reached to brush her fingers through his hair and test the stubble on his chin with a gentle touch. “Do you feel like having a shower or are you alright?”
“I’d sooner shower with you later,” Vincenzo said with a grin as he set his hands on her hips. “Come on, let’s go out. I don’t smell, do I?”
Emily hitched herself closer on the bed, and leaned against him to nuzzle against his neck. “Hmmm, definitely not in a bad way,” she sighed. “The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back for that shower though.”
“Oh,” Vincenzo said and gave her a squeeze. “Well - we don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to. We can stay here and get room service.”
Emily opened her mouth, then paused and bit her lip. She glanced at the bed, then took a good look at him, and chuckled. “Tempting. But it is more fun to have to anticipate for it first, hmm?” she pointed out, and emphasized it by giving him a kiss. Then she broke off, stood up, and offered her hands to him. “So let’s go!”
Grinning with relief - because they could screw anytime but how often were they on holiday in New York City? - Vincenzo drew her hand through his arm and lead her to the door, pausing only to grab his wallet on the way.