he saw how fixed my eyes were on his. He needed to hear and respond to what I was about to say. I knew how he sounded when he lied, so now I needed to know if he could be honest or not.
“Promise me you won’t lie to me. Ever.” I stayed transfixed on his mouth, ready to hear what he was about to say next. I had to see if we stood a chance at being friends, and the only way that would be possible was if he could be genuine and true.
He swallowed. I knew he could tell how important honesty was to me and I could see the debate in his head about whether or not he should come clean about our so-called ‘chance’ encounter.
He didn’t come clean, and instead said, very earnestly I might add, “Lenorah, from this very moment, right here, right now, I will never lie to you.”
I sighed. Yeah sure Samuel, we will see...
Chapter 3
Old Feelings
~ ~ ~
I had written Josh’s address down in my sketchbook. I knew he lived close by. The Lappell had set him up in a very lush one bedroom loft-style apartment near Park Avenue, only a short distance from my own. His apartment was a perk of his new position. Josh had become one of the Lappell’s financial advisors, assisting with deals and risk assessment. Seems Josh’s high IQ and ability to assess clients turned out to be valuable qualities to the Lappell’s main company in New York, Errol Investment Brokerage, although I was sure Josh’s skills were being utilized by many other Lappell businesses here.
It was really early to be out visiting, and for a second I thought that perhaps I should call Josh first to make sure a drop by would be OK, but Josh had put my name down at his apartment building, giving me round the clock visiting rights, so I assumed that kind of access was an open invitation. Josh was also listed at my building with the same visiting rights, but was yet to use them.
The doorman at Josh’s building said he had the day off work that morning, and did not seem surprised when he saw that Josh had a visitor at such an early hour. It didn’t occur to me what that could mean. My access also meant that I didn’t have to be announced. I felt a bit nervous at being such an early morning surprise. When I arrived at Josh’s door on the twenty-third floor, I took a minute to fix my outfit. I wasn’t sure why I suddenly felt the need to make myself look presentable, but I suppose it had something to do with not seeing Josh for two months and the feeling of loss of his presence in my life. I smoothed out my top, and ran my hands down my flared jeans. My hair was tied back in a messy bun with strands falling all around my face. I pushed the hair that had fallen in front of my face, behind my ears, and knocked on his door. I stared at the wood and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Nothing, no response. Perhaps Josh was not home. Perhaps the doorman had it wrong.
Finally, I heard the lock on the other side of the door come undone. The door cracked open and I came face to face with a blond haired, blue eyed girl, wearing nothing except a bright pink polka dot bra and panties. She eyed me up and down suspiciously as I stood breathless, trying to formulate a sentence in my head. I found a hint of jealousy roll off my tongue as I managed to find my voice.
“Who are you?” I asked, a slight bite to my tone. I’m not sure where the bite came from, but it was there, and it’s presence immediately made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a while, although I was too stunned by this vision to figure out what it was. The blond, who looked like she could feature in the pages of Playboy, scrunched up her face like it offended her to give me any kind of information.
“I am Melanie. And who, might you be?” she asked leaning up against the door, still keeping it closed so I could barely see in. She didn’t know who I was, but her claws appeared to be out.
“I’m Norah, and I’m looking for...”
There was a sudden break in our conversation as another voice entered the air between us.