Lend Me Your Heart
Forty-Nine
 
I was so overwhelmed with happy emotions that I just through my arms around his neck and kissed him.
It was definitely the most passionate kiss we’d ever had.
It wasn’t long or sexy or sloppy; it was quick, sweet, and breathtaking.
And then we were apart again, looking into each other’s eyes, surrounded by quick-moving people who just didn’t seem to know how to use the term “excuse me”.
So, Zach took my hand again and we walked to the end of the sidewalk.
There were so many people here for Christmas time that the sidewalks had gates surrounding them and police officers literally had to herd people from one sidewalk to another using caution tape.
“You’d think we were sheep or something,” I said to Zach.
But, as soon as I looked up at him to see his expression after I’d made my funny remark, I noticed he wasn’t there.
But…he was still holding my hand, wasn’t he?
I could feel it.
I could feel someone’s hand wrapped around mine, but I was surrounded by so many people that I wasn’t sure if it was Zach’s or not.
As people started to disperse, I soon noticed that it wasn’t Zach holding onto me at all.
Rather, it was an older man with tan skin and shiny, gelled, black hair.
My eyes widened in fear and I immediately stumbled backwards into some strangers, trying to break loose from the man’s grip, but he was too strong.
“Follow me, beautiful,” the man said, not even bothering to look back at me.
“Let go!” I screamed at him, tugging more.
My heart was beating a million miles per second.
“Zach!” I cried, trying to be loud enough that he could hear me over the bustling city noises surrounding us, even though I could barely hear my own thoughts. “Zach!”
Suddenly, somebody’s strong hand yanked my arm away from the strange man’s grip, spinning me to the left and away from the current of people moving towards Time Square.
“Argh,” he grumbled in frustration, this time putting his entire arm over my shoulders in a very protective grip.
“The disadvantages of bringing your overly attractive girlfriend to New York City on Christmas Eve,” he said, repeating what I’d said to him earlier today.
“Sorry,” I said, my voice still sounding panicked.
What if I got lost?
What if I got kidnapped and never got to see Zach or my family again?
“Just stay with me,” he warned, yelling at me over the loud noises. “We’ve already made it this far. Now, let’s see if we can make it back to the hotel without either of us getting lost, shall we?”
I nodded and clung closer to him as we made our way to the hotel.
Two bellboys opened the large, French doors for us as we walked inside.
There was a huge Christmas tree in the center of the lobby, with decorative ornaments and wrapped, cardboard gifts underneath.
There was a man playing piano, too, with a hat turned upside-down for donations sitting on top of the big instrument.
I dropped a dollar in his homemade tip jar, shooting him a smile as we walked by.
I loved the feeling of Christmas; always have, but being here with Zach in New York City around this time of year made everything more perfect.
After giving the hostess my mom’s phone and credit card number, we got our room key and took the elevator up to our room.
It was very pretty, with cranberry colored curtains, ivory bed sheets, dark brown furniture, and a bathroom with marbled floors and countertops.
Needless to say, it was fancy, and I could feel myself getting more and more nervous by the second.
I didn’t want Zach to push me to do anything tonight now that we were away from everything at were sharing a hotel room together, especially considering my parents were the ones who paid for this whole trip.
Knowing him, though, he would never do that to me.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I told him after I set my bags on the ground.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll take one after you.”
He flopped down on the soft, white, king-sized bed in the middle of our room and flipped on the TV.
I dug through my black back, found my silk, red Victoria’s Secret pajamas, clean underwear that matched, and my toothbrush.
After taking a quick shower, I put on my pajamas and brushed my teeth.
When I got out, Zach was already fast asleep on the bed.
I rolled my eyes and laughed quietly, walking over to him and carefully slipping off his shoes, which, of course, made him wake up.
“Sorry,” I whispered, biting my lip. “You fell asleep.”
“I can see that,” he said in a sleepy voice.
He sat up and checked me out, his eyes scanning from my eyes to my feet.
“Damn,” he said, his face flushing slightly. “You don’t wear those pajamas at school.”
“I wanted to look nice,” I shrugged, my face red.
“You look better than nice,” he breathed, pulling me towards him by my waist.
I crawled on top of his torso and kissed him numerous times, our lips morphing together until we were one.
Our hands got tangled in the other’s hair, trying to pull each other closer to the point where we could barely breathe.
I pulled away after a while, resting my head on the top of his chest and sighing contently.
“You’re so good at kissing,” Zach mumbled, combing his fingers through my hair.
“So are you,” I whispered back before yawning.
“Do you mind sitting up for a second, Laynie? I have to change into my pajamas.”
“And by pajamas do you mean boxers?”
“Precisely,” he laughed. “I’m just going to save my shower for the morning.”
“Okay.”
With that, he stripped down to his boxers and slid back next to me in bed, kissing me once more on the forehead before I drifted to sleep.
It was nice to know we could be so comfortable around each other, even as boyfriend and girlfriend.
Well, he was my best friend, too.
He was my everything.