My One True Love

Chapter Fifteen: Tourists

WILLIAM...

Adalet had really taken me by surprise back at the airport and since then I couldn't keep still. I considered that maybe I went too far when I had hugged her but I couldn't help it, something inside of me pulled me to her and I didn't know how to react or act when I was with her. Deep inside, in my suppressed thoughts, I still thought about the kiss we had shared back in Chicago. As much as I hated to admit it, that kiss with Adalet had felt right and nice, it was not similar to what I felt when I kissed Adrianna. But I ignored my thoughts and suppressed whatever those feelings were. I could only see Adalet as a friend and nothing else.

When we reached the hotel, Chris and I went up to the receptionist to book a room for us two since we thought it was pointless to have two rooms. After a few minutes, we were given our keys and we went on ahead to leave our things while the women waited for us at the reception's couches.

On the way up to our floor, Chris began talking. "I really like Adalet, she seems very different from what you are used to. She looks full of life and even a bit sarcastic, but in a good way," he added thoughtfully. I chuckled but didn't say anything.

We walked over to our door and I opened it for us. We went inside and each of us took a bed and placed our belongings on it. "I think you two will get along very well," I said referring to him and Adalet.

Chris' head popped out of the bathroom and he smiled. "I can honestly see the two of us becoming friends and plotting against you," he said and then added, "maybe I should ask her out."

My body stiffened and I didn't know why but I didn't like the idea of thinking of Adalet with Chris or with any other man for that fact. I heard Chris' laughter behind me and realized he had only said that to get a reaction from me. "Relax, mate. I am not going to try and steal Adalet from you. Besides, it is obvious there is something between the two of you, no matter how much you suppress and deny it," he said with a shrug.

I was beginning to feel uncomfortable because of where the conversation was going. I had already repeated Chris numerous times that Adalet and I were only friends and nothing more but he still insisted that I was in denial. Instead of continuing on the same topic, I decided to turn the tables. "What did you think of Judy?" I asked and Chris' eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected that.

"She is very serious, I think, or at least that is my first impression of her," he said as he thought about it.

"Who knows, only time would tell," I said teasingly as I shoved my friend while he glared at me. He wasn't much into dating, he had never been and for a while our other, more external friends, had begun to suspect he was gay but I knew he wasn't because he kept his flings with girls discrete but he did have many girls on his waiting list. I wouldn't consider him a player exactly, just somebody who had never experienced love first hand and I knew that until that day came, he would not stop sleeping and flirting with other women. That being said, he tried to avoid the topic of relationships that involved him because he had never had a very serious one.

"I do not think so, mate. She does not seem like my type so do not get any ideas of setting us up and please do not try and convince Adalet to help you in your schemes," he said warningly and I laughed but then his words sunk in.

"What schemes are we talking about?" I asked while crossing my arms and he understood what I meant.

"I am talking about both. Do not try to involve her in your fantasy of setting me up with Judy and second, do not use her to your advantage. If you want to pursue something with her than let Adrianna go and leave your terrible idea behind because from where I am standing and from what you told me about the dinner at your parents' house, I think your parents would prefer someone like Adalet," he said sparing no opinion, he was really direct when he wanted to be.

"I am marrying Adrianna because I love her and because she is the better option for being queen," I said sharply but Chris waved me off and shook his head as he headed towards the door.

"Do you really believe that, mate?" he asked and for a second I hesitated and that was all it took for Chris to step out. I quickly followed after him but neither of us continued the conversation.

We reunited with Adalet and Judy shortly after and we headed over to Central Park to get hot dogs even though there was snow on the ground. While Judy and Chris walked in front of us immersed in their own conversation, I decided it would be good to walk at Adalet's pace. She seemed a bit worn out and tired but she still looked as gorgeous as she had a little over a month ago when she was getting ready for her concert. Now that I thought about it, she had never been not gorgeous.

Her blue eyes were like the ocean, deep blue and you never knew what she truly was thinking unless you dared to ask. Her auburn hair was in their natural curls but now that I studied her, it looked like she had gotten a haircut. We talked for a while and it was nice to know she still liked to tease me and play along to my comments but the moment was cut short when Judy and Chris called us to hurry along.

After that we had gotten our hot dogs and decided to take shelter in the subway. Truth be told, I had never stepped foot in the New York subway but it was like in the movies, only a bit more dirty and crowded but it still looked similar.

"How about after this we all go see a musical at Broadway," suggested Judy excitedly. She sure didn't look like the woman we had met a few hours ago that Chris had called; serious.

"Yes! I am totally up for it," said Adalet and I looked at her quizzically. She blushed, "I haven't been to a musical since the last time my parents came to visit like three years ago."

"Let's go see the Phantom of the Opera," suggested my friend as he searched for the musical that was going to be available. All of us agreed and we headed to the theatre, to Broadway.

The theatre looked like it was going to fill up, we had barely managed to get tickets but he we were now, seated and waiting for the musical to begin.

The musical lasted two and a half hours but it had been worth it, I had enjoyed it very much. As we walked out of the theatre I yawned unconsciously. "You are already sleepy, Your Majesty? But the party is just getting started," said Adalet behind me as she laughed.

I laughed along with her, just seeing her laugh made me want to do the same, it was contagious. "Feel no shame, mate. I am also tired. The whole time zone difference is making it hard to keep my eyes open," said Chris with a smile.

"We should probably get you back to your hotel before you pass out," said Judy and I chuckled. I could see why she and Adalet were such good friends, they had the same humor.

"I think that would be for the best," admitted Adalet as she looked at the sky that was beginning to darken. "We can continue our touristic activities tomorrow," she said once Chris started to protest.

I walked up to my friend and placed a hand on his shoulder, "remember we will have enough time to get to know this city. We are staying for a month," I said calmly and Chris nodded.

The four of us walked more silently now and we reached the hotel just as it got dark. The women with us bid us farewell at the entrance of the building before heading to their car that was parked at the hotel's basement.

Christopher and I walked in silence up to our room and each of us took turns in the bathroom once we were at our room. A half an hour later, I was laying on my bed unable to sleep like I thought I would. I could hear Chris' soft snores coming from the other bed but that wasn't what was keeping me up. No, the restlessness was caused by something else, or rather, someone else.

I turned to my side and unlocked my phone. I had a message from Adalet.

Judy and I had a good time today, you guys are awesome.

I chuckled at her choice of words and responded quickly;

I also enjoyed our time together and you ladies are not so bad yourselves.

Good Night, Miss Trent

I looked through my other messages and decided to call my parents in the morning instead of sending them a text. I also had received some texts from Adrianna but I was in no mood or hurry to respond them so I left them for the morning. I slowly closed my eyes and this time, sleep consumed me.

.

The loud knocking at the door woke me up and I groggily got up to see who it was. When the door was open, Judy walked in, taking me by surprise, Adalet on the other hand stood at the door as she glared at her friend and began to apologize for her behavior.

"It is quite all right, Miss Trent," I said and she smiled but then turned to look the other way with redden cheeks. I was about to ask her why she was blushing when I realized that I was only wearing my pajama pants and my torso was bare. "I will be right back," I said quickly as I ran off to change my clothing.

A couple of minutes later I emerged from the bathroom wearing a green shirt and khaki dress pants. I had even showered in record time. I followed the laughter to a table in another part of the room and saw Chris teasing the girls. He was the first to see me, "Hey mate, I was just telling Judy and Adalet that you were going to take ages in the bathroom but I guess I lost the bet." Judy laughed while Adalet took her earnings since she won the bet.

I looked at the three of them and saw Chris had already showered and dressed for the day and the women in the room looked like they had been up hours ago since they were filled with energy. "Would you like to join us in our improvised breakfast, Your Majesty?" asked Adalet mimicking a British accent which made Judy snort and roll her eyes.

"I would be honored," I responded as I played along.

I sat down next to Chris and saw the food on the table. "We thought you might enjoy a more welcoming breakfast rather than the continental one downstairs," said Judy nicely as she took a sip of her coffee.

"It is really good, mate," said Chris as he winked at the women in front of us who only shook their heads and waved him off.

I took a bit of everything; scrambled eyes, bacon, biscuits and another thing I had never seen before. "That's a burrito, not really the Mexican type, more like Tex-Mex but it's good. My family used to make them back home," said Adalet as if reading my thoughts. Huh, I had never had Tex-Mex food.

After a very fulfilling breakfast, Christopher was the first to get up. "So, what do you have planned for today, ladies?" he asked curiously and Judy turned to look at her friend.

"That depends, would you like to do touristy stuff or would you prefer more of a casual get-to-know New York?" asked Adalet as she looked at Chris and I.

"The last time I was here I did not get to see much of New York so I think we should do more of the 'touristy stuff', as you put it, to get it off our list. What do you think, mate?" I asked as I turned to look at Chris. My friend agreed with me and the girls were up in a second.

"Then we have a lot of stuff to do," said Judy with excitement, "starting off with the Empire State Building." Adalet laughed as her friend and her led the way out of the room.

We spent the rest of the day sight-seeing, walking and we even boarded one of those Hop-on tours on a bus. Judy and Christopher were really hitting it off and they sometimes had their own conversation. Occasionally, Adalet and I would brush hands but she would pull away quickly and I would see her cover her face nervously with her hair.

It was now halfway trough December and Christmas was on everyone's mind. When the sun had set, the Christmas lights shinned brightly and everyone seemed to be more relaxed and happy than usual. I wondered if Chris and I would spend Christmas with Judy and Adalet since we had to stay here but I knew Adalet's family was back at Texas and thought she might go visit them for the holidays.

I wanted to get her something, a gift. Nothing too big or extravagant because I knew she wouldn't like that but something that showed my gratitude towards her and something that assured her I wanted her in my life as my friend.

"What are you guys going to do for Christmas?" asked Judy getting one step ahead of me.

Chris and I looked at each other and shrugged. "We have to stay here but we do not have anything planned for that day. Why?" I asked curiously and Judy smiled as she looked at Adalet who was sitting next to her on the bus.

"Are you going to go to your parents' house like you were planning?" Judy asked Adalet and I held my breath as I waited for her to answer.

"Nope, I can't I have to work remember? Besides, my parents were thinking of maybe spending the holidays here," she said casually and I let out a sigh of relief as I realized I was going to be able to spend more time with her.

Judy smiled brightly, "yay! And my parents won a trip to the beach in Cancun so that leaves me here all alone." Adalet rolled her eyes at Judy's dramatic scene.

"You know my parents would love to see you," she said and then she turned back to us, "in fact, I'm sure they'd be happy to spend the holidays with my friends."

I smiled and Chris cheered. "Yes! We are going to meet Adalet's parents and be able to hear all her embarrassing childhood stories," he said with a laugh and Judy high-fived him.

"On second thought, maybe I should go to Texas instead," said Adalet jokingly and I chuckled. The bus came to a stop and all of us got off near the hotel. Chris and Judy walked in front of us as they talked and I stayed behind with Adalet.

"What will you be working on in Christmas?" I asked her, I was intrigued. I thought people didn't work on the holidays.

Adalet smiled brightly, "since I got promoted I have to cover more articles and one of them involves the Christmas parade and the New York festivities so I am kind of obliged to go."

I nodded, she really seemed to enjoy her job, that was something not many people could say. "I bet that will be fun and you really enjoy your job do you not?"

She nodded her head eagerly, "I really do, both of them in fact, they're my favorite places to be. Don't you enjoy your job like that?" She looked at me deeply and I could see her eyes shinning even though it was dark. I turned away from her, those things only confused me and my thoughts, my feelings.

"I like what the company stands for, it's a lot of work and I am proud to be a part of it," I said honestly but Adalet didn't make anymore comments about it.

"Why don't we go back to our apartment? I'm sure Adalet wouldn't mind," I heard Judy say and Adalet shook her head.

We took a detour and we were now walking up to the fourth floor of the ladies' apartment. Adalet opened the door while turning on the lights and the four of us walked inside. It wasn't a very big apartment but it had two rooms, a cozy little living room and a small kitchen in front of it with an island. "Sorry, we hadn't had time to clean so much," said Adalet who was now blushing as she picked up a few dirty dishes and moved her music stand to where I guessed was her room.

"Your place is nice," commented Christopher as he sat down next to Judy on one of the couches. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged but I guessed he was in denial too. He looked at Judy like she was an art piece he wanted to know the story of and to look at it for a long time. He really didn't know what he was getting into.

"Would you guys like some water or there's some orange juice in the fridge and milk?" offered Adalet once she had finished cleaning the dishes and had now joined us. "Water is fine," said Chris and I nodded and she quickly hurried of to get us glasses of water.

I stood up and walked to help her but she didn't see me and we bumped into each other. Adalet had dropped all the water on her white blouse. I started to apologize and tried to help her dry off the water when I realized my hand that was holding a thin towel, was over her breast. I blushed and she did too before hurrying off to change in her room.

Judy walked over to me and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, she just smirked and gave me a look that probably said she knew what was going on. She took a mop out of a closet and I insisted on mopping the wet floor. Judy didn't object and left me to clean.

I heard as Adalet emerged from her room and she thanked me for mopping the floor but wouldn't meet my eyes. I cursed myself inside, I had really made things awkward. Adalet filled the glasses again and I help her take two of them to the coffee table back in the living room.

"So you are an editor and oboist, Adalet?" asked Chris trying to make a conversation to break the ice. I was sitting awkwardly next to Adalet on a loveseat.

She nodded and Chris opened his mouth in surprise, "that is incredible. How do you manage to do all that?"

Adalet shrugged, "well I go to work at the office until noon and then I come back home to eat and at around six the rehearsals start until ten but Judy has helped me so much. She takes us to work and she sometimes takes me to rehearsals or lets me borrow her car when I am late because I stayed studying."

Judy smiled at her friend, "that's what friends are for, A. I also do your laundry, don't forget," she said with a smirk and Adalet laughed.

"Have you always wanted to work in an office, Chris?" asked Judy as she looked at him.

Chris shook his head, "not really, when I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut."

"And why did you change your mind?" asked Judy with confusion in her eyes.

Chris sighed, "my parents were going through a tough time and there was no money to send me to the school I needed to go to. I had to work to help support my family considering I have three younger sisters and William offered me a job and since then I have been comfortable working there."

A silence settled over us. "Do you have any brothers or sisters, William?" asked Judy and I shook my head. I was an only child and my parents had really had a hard time trying to have a kid.

"Do you?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Yes, but I'm the youngest and my older sister lives in China so I barely get to see her," she explained with a shrug.

"I think it is getting late, mate, and the ladies need to sleep because they are working tomorrow," said Chris who was now tracing circles on Judy's hand. I nodded and both of us got up. Judy said goodbye first and then disappeared inside when the phone began to ring. "I am going to give you some space," whispered Chris in my ear and before I could object he walked down the stairs and left Adalet and I alone.

"I apologize for touching you, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable," I said sincerely and Adalet hid her face behind her hair for a moment.

"It's alright, I know you were just trying to help. It's just that I'm not a very touchy person," she admitted and I nodded. I would give her all the space she needed. "Good night, William, I had fun today. See you on Saturday?" she asked with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"I would not miss it. Good night, Adalet," I said and we stood there staring at each other and smiling.

"I better go inside," she said as she played with her hair sheepishly. Then she disappeared behind her door.

I walked down the stairs to catch up to Christopher who was sitting at the end of the stairs. He turned when he heard footsteps and quickly got up. "I take it back, Judy is a very nice woman and very fun too," was the first thing he said and I chuckled. "By the way, I am still team Adalet," he said with a smirk and I playfully shoved him as we walked out into the snowy night.