Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Before going through security at the airport, I hugged my mom goodbye.
“You be careful in New York City. I’m going to miss you, baby girl,” she pouted.
“I will, Mom, and I’ll miss you too. You know this is good for me. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”
“I know.” Tears started to fill her eyes. “Now get out of here and call me when you get there so I know you arrived safely. Please be careful. New York City is scary.”
“I will. I love you, Mom.” I laughed.
“I love you too, baby girl.”
She stood there and gave me a small wave as I cleared security and headed to my gate. Just as I made my way across the airport, my flight was already boarding. With bated breath, I stepped onto the plane, shoved my carry-on in the overhead compartment, and sat in my seat, taking out my phone and checking my emails before the plane took off. My heart started racing as I opened the email from the financial department at Parsons.
Dear Miss Knight,
We are sorry to inform you that we’ve mistakenly approved your financial loan for the fall semester at Parsons School of Design. We are so sorry for this inconvenience. If you still wish to attend the fall semester at Parsons, we are giving you five days to pay the tuition to hold your classes. After five days, if payment is not received in full, we will be forced to give your spot to another student.
Robert Foreman
Director of Financial Services
I couldn’t even process what I was reading. How could they take my loan away at the last minute? My eyes filled with tears. My dream was no longer going to become a reality. There was no way I could afford the $21,000 fall semester tuition. I only had enough money to live off of for a while. I started to panic as my mind raced with fear. I left my mom and friends back in Florida to move to New York to attend school, and now there was no school. A wave of nausea swept over me, and I needed to get up and use the bathroom. As I made my way down the aisle, I noticed the bathroom was occupied. Shit. I stood there, literally shaking, waiting for whoever it was in the bathroom to get out. Suddenly, the door opened, and a pair of spellbinding gray eyes looked at me.
“Hey. Emma, right?” Max smiled.
Oh my God, this can’t be happening.
“Are you okay?” He lightly took hold of my arm.
“Not really. I just need to use the bathroom, please.”
“Sure.” He stepped out of the way.
I shut the door and stood against the sink. First Parsons, and now the guy from last night? I took in a long, deep breath as I tried to rationalize the situation. This wasn’t the end of the world. I would talk to the financial department tomorrow and clear everything up. Max was standing there when I opened the door, waiting for me.
“Why are you still standing there?” I asked with irritation. He was the last person I wanted to deal with.
“I was making sure you were okay. You looked like you had tears in your eyes. Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine.” I walked away, and he followed behind.
I sat down in my seat and looked out the window.
“Hey, buddy, how would you like my seat in first class?” Max said to the guy sitting next to me.
“Dude, are you serious?”
“Yeah. It’s seat 2A. If you don’t mind, I would like to sit next to my friend here.”
“Sure. I don’t mind at all. Thanks.” He got up from the seat, and Max sat down.
“Really? Did you just give up your first-class seat to sit here? Are you crazy or something?”
“Maybe I am.” He smiled.
Damn. His smile was just as sexy as it was last night. In fact, he was just as sexy as last night. Thank God I didn’t sleep with him. What were the chances he would be on the same plane as me? I needed a drink, and I needed one badly. The flight attendant walked by, and I stopped her.
“Excuse me, can I please get a glass of red wine?”
“Sure. There’s a charge for the alcoholic beverages.”
“Fine.”
“Drinking already?” he asked.
I looked over at him and sighed. I didn’t need this shit right now.
“Can you please just go back to your seat and leave me alone? I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.”
“Sorry, but I gave my seat up. Looks like you’re stuck with me for the duration of the flight. By the way, are you traveling home?”
“No.” I turned my head and looked out the window.
The flight attendant walked over and handed me my glass of wine. Before I knew it, Max reached into his pocket, pulled out some money, and handed it to her.
“It’s on me.”
“Do you always habitually buy drinks for women on a plane?”
“No. Do you ever say, ‘thank you’?”
I sighed. “Thank you, and I’m sorry. I’m just having the worst life possible right now.” The sip of wine I intended to take turned into downing half the glass.
“I could tell something was wrong. Listen, I’m sorry for imposing on you. I’ll just sit here and listen to some music, and I won’t bother you again.”
Now I felt like a complete bitch. It wasn’t his fault that Parsons took back my loan.
“You wanted to have sex with me last night.” I smiled.
He turned his head, and the corners of his mouth slightly curved. “I never said that.”
“Oh, come on. You said you wanted to go somewhere and talk. That’s code for ‘let’s go have sex.’ Plus, you told me to live on the edge, skip all the romance stuff, and go straight to bed.”
He chuckled. “Okay, fine. The thought had crossed my mind. I mean, look at you, but I could tell you weren’t that type of girl anyway. We had harmless flirting, and you have to admit it was pretty hot.”
He wasn’t lying. It was hot, and unfortunately, after I left the club, I thought about him most of the night, leading me to take care of myself.
“You live in New York?” I asked.
“Yep. I spent the summer at our beach house in Miami, scouting out potential property for my dad’s company.”
“So you work for your dad?”
“Yep. I’m being groomed to take over once he retires.”
“That’s great.” I gave a small smile.
“Since we’ll probably never see each other again after this, I don’t see the harm in you telling me what’s wrong. Sometimes, it helps to tell your problems to a complete stranger.”
“You’re not a stranger. I know your name, and you tried to have sex with me.”
He shook his head while a wide smile splayed across his gorgeous face. “All right.”
I finished my wine and set the glass on the tray, and Max looked away from me. He was right. I probably would never see him again after this flight, so what was the harm?
“I was moving to New York to attend Parsons School of Design. Everything was arranged. My financial loan was approved. I had been saving my money from my full-time job for living expenses, and I was staying at my friend Macy’s apartment while she was out of the country. Attending Parsons was a dream I had ever since I could remember. I received an email from the school this morning telling me that they made a mistake in approving my loan and that I have five days to pay the full fall tuition, or else they’re giving my spot to someone else.”
“Wow. I’m really sorry, Emma. How can they just take it back like that?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to talk to them first thing tomorrow morning.” I looked out the window with tears in my eyes.
“Hey. Don’t let it get you down. I bet it’s just a mistake on their part.”
The plane finally landed, and Max took his phone out of airplane mode. Several dings came through, and I looked at him when he uttered, “Oh, shit.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Umm…nothing.”
He seemed really nervous. He got up from his seat, grabbed his bag from the overhead compartment in first class, then waited for me, and we walked off together.
“I have to use the bathroom.”
“Okay. Well, it was great meeting you, Emma. Maybe I’ll see you around New York. Good luck.” He turned around and ran off.
I went into the bathroom, feeling confused and unsure of what had just happened. Oh well, I couldn’t think about him. I needed to get my bags, get to Macy’s apartment, and figure out what to do next. I exited the bathroom and headed towards baggage claim. Once I found it, I was startled when I heard my name.
“Emma, there you are. After I left the bathroom, I couldn’t find you,” Max said as he walked over and hugged me. “Go along with me. Please, Emma. I will compensate you for this favor,” he whispered in my ear.
“What the fuck are you doing, Max?”
“Just smile,” he said through gritted teeth.
He hooked his arm around me and walked me over to where an older woman and gentleman were standing.
“Mom, Dad, this is my fiancée, Emma.” His grip around me tightened.
I gulped and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Emma, it’s so nice to meet you finally,” the woman said as she hugged me. “Look at you. You’re beautiful.”
“Emma, I’d like you to meet Bradshaw and Carol Hamilton, my parents.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you finally.” His dad smiled as he held out his hand.
I extended my hand, and we lightly shook. “It’s wonderful to meet the both of you.”
Everything happened so fast that I didn’t know what was going on. One minute, I was in the bathroom, and the next, I was meeting some guy’s parents who thought I was his fiancée.
“Mom, Dad. It was nice of you to come all the way here, but I have to take Emma home. We’ll catch up later, okay?”
“Nonsense, son. You both will ride with us, and we’ll drop her off on the way.”
“Seriously, Dad, we want to be alone for a while,” Max commanded. “Can you please respect that?”
“Certainly we can, Max.” His mom smiled. “Come on, Bradshaw. Let the two of them be for now. We can get to know Emma better at dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”
My eyes widened, and I took in a deep breath. “Looking forward to it.” I smiled.
They both walked away and exited the airport. I turned to Max, who let out a breath, and I smacked him.
“What the hell was that all about? Your fiancée? Are you fucking crazy?!”
“Ouch. Let me explain. Just calm down.”
“Oh, you’re going to explain. In fact, you have five seconds.” I walked away when I saw my luggage come around. I grabbed it, and Max grabbed his, following me as I stepped out the doors.
Max hailed us a cab, and I slid in the back seat.
“Do you have the address of where you’re staying?”
I pulled out the piece of paper from my purse and handed it to him.
“Tribeca, eh? Nice.” He rattled off the address to the cab driver.
“Now you have three seconds to tell me what the hell just happened back there.”
“Emma, it’s a long story. Can it please wait until we get to your apartment?”
How could this day get any worse? I should have just stayed in Miami, and none of this would be happening right now.