I have passed by many,
But I only got lost in yours
~unknown
_____________
This week has been quite slow, excluding when Aaron got me lunch multiple times this week which did make my day,
now that its Saturday Ive realized I barely slept with the excitement that Aaron's showing me around New York today,
I throw on a pair of black jeans and tucked in a grey cropped sweater in them, I quickly put on my black belt and grabbed my everyday jewelry, and then put my hair up in a ponytail,
I grab an oversized leather jacket and purse, then make my way out of the door to meet Aaron outside
The minute my eyes meet his it's like a wave of happiness overcomes my body, I'm not quite sure why.
He's just a man, I don't need a man to be the source of my happiness,
Yet here I am grinning like an idiot the moment my eyes lock with his,
My heart rate spiked, contentment in my chest, and the feeling of pure joy overtaken me.
But he's just my boss so I have no right to be thinking this way, this is just him being nice and showing me places I might like in New York
"Hi Aaron," I say as I walk toward his car
As I walk closer I can't help my eyes looking over his outfit,
He has simple black pants and a black shirt on that is so perfectly fitted that his abs are peeking out of it,
My mind can't help but stray to thoughts of what he may look like without a shirt,
I mentally slap myself for thinking such thoughts of the man I work for, the same man who doesn't have patience when it comes to women and them flirting.
"Hi Vanessa, you look nice" he smirks looking me up and down
My body lights with heat, and my heart hammers in my chest, being under his stare gives me the same feelings as being naked in front of a whole group of people, terrifying but you can't help but be paralyzed in place unable to move,
My eyes betray me as they lower down his body, up and down and up and down once more, when my eyes connect with his, his eyes hold heat, and his lip is curled in a cocky little grin as if he can understand just what I'm thinking of, almost like he knows the scenarios that have interrupted my thoughts,
"Thank you," I say a little on the quiet side as I clear my throat
He opens the door for me and my heart soars at the small act,
My mom always said the men who do the small acts of kindness have great hearts,
My mom used to remind me that the men who do small acts that only seem special to you are keepers, like holding a door open for you, giving you secret smiles or touches just for you, doing little acts that he knows are special just. for. you.
She used to tell me men who say please and thank you, and open doors for all are the kind of guys who secretly have big hearts.
Men who would do anything to see something as simple as your smile or laughs, a man who treats you like royalty as if you are higher than anyone in his life, a kind of man who strives on making sure you know you're loved and cared for...that's the kind of man that you should look out for, the kind of man you should pray on.
It's funny because many people don't care to do something as small as open a door, so the fact Aaron does it for me makes me feel like a damn fool on the inside.
The slight act shows I was slightly on his mind because most people wouldn't wait around to see you getting in their car, they won't walk all the way around to open a door you're capable of opening.
My mind is aware it's not that deep...that it isn't about him wanting to make sure I'm safely in his car before he gets in, but the slightly pathetic side of me doesn't listen.
"So what will we be doing today?" I ask when Aaron pulls out of his parking spot and I finally shake off my ridiculous thoughts
"I thought today we could get over the touristy shit that everyone likes to do when they come to New York, and then go somewhere to eat" he shrugs with a small smile
For the past 2 years, I have seen him as a boring grump who shuts everyone out and hates anyone he sets his eyes on,
But slowly he's gotten comfortable with me, he sometimes smiles, laughs and it's even gotten to the point he's suggesting he could be my tour guide,
I stayed up late being confused because any normal person might tell me some great places to go to or send a list, but Aaron did neither...instead he offered to show me around himself,
"That sounds fun, but why exactly do you think touristy places are shit?" I ask, a breathy laugh escapes as I try holding in my smile
He glances at me and I see the ghost of a smile on his face
And with that tiny smile, I allow my grin to appear
"There just overhyped in a way, their way too packed, trashed up, and dirty as shit, and don't even get me started on the influencers that take thousands of pictures In the same pose in front of a building or a God damn green statue" he shakes his head with clear displeasure
I can't help the laugh that escapes me at his comment, I mean for a guy who has a clear hatred for tourist spots he's still taking me to them, which is slightly strange I won't even lie.
"Well I guess you're right there, but they're hyped up for a reason, right? If the Places sucked so much they wouldn't have all these people wanting to take pictures there" I shrug with a small smile
"Sunshine the only reason those places are packed is by social influence, think about it a celebrity poses in front of some damn wall with wings or graffiti, and other bullshit, then their followers see it and get shocked realizing they have easy access to this regular wall, so they take pictures by it and can say they posed at the same palace a celebrity did" his voice is steady and clear as he speaks
"In reality, it's just a regular old wall, building, or random statue with no real value other than a person you follow posed there as well"
Well, he got me there.
"Well looks like you're going to have to take a thousand pictures of me in front of a statue and wall because I want to have my Instagram New York moment" I wiggle my brows
"well at least don't do the same pose the whole time" He sighs a slight puff of air that's close to a laugh escapes his mouth making me smile
"Deal" I grin
"So what things do you like Aaron?" I smile leaning back on the seat
He stays silent for a while, I almost think he won't answer or that he didn't hear me,
Turning my head to look at him I watch as a small frown sets on his face, his brows scrunched, eyes focused on the road, and knuckles slightly white on his grip on the steering wheel,
His expression almost looks cute but makes me frown at the thought that he doesn't know what he likes
"Not sure" he shrugs after a long moment
"Well let's start easy, what's your favorite color?" I sigh looking at him
"What color are your eyes specifically?" He questions glancing at me for a moment
"Ummm There like a deep green with some light brown in there I think" I shrug in confusion
"That's my favorite color," he says nodding to himself as he takes a left turn
His favorite color is my eyes? Well that's cute
"you like my eye color?" I smile lightly
He half-smiles and my heart just soars with happiness
"Yes," he says confidently
"Well I like your eyes" I grin
"Yeah?" He smirks
"Yeah they remind me of the ocean, or the sky, I love the sky" I sigh thinking about taking a vacation far from New York for even a day
Our conversation gets cut short as we arrive at our first stop
Empire State Building.
I smile looking at it
I've driven past it a few times but never had time to look at it,
Aaron opens the door for me and I take his hand and we walk to the building
"Okay...well we saw it, now we can leave" he huffs
I shake my head keeping my laughter at bay "okay...but first can you take some pictures of me" I wiggle my brows
"Please?" I smile
He sighs grabbing my phone "fine"
__________
"One more from farther away"
"You're killing me here Vanessa" he levels me with an irritating gleam in his eyes
I give him a small smile to which he shakes his head and backs away taking a few more pictures
After taking most likely hundreds of pictures of me by the Empire State Building and then forcing Aaron to be in some of them we head to the Statue of Liberty
"It's just a damn skyscraper" he shakes his head with a slight eye roll, his face holds clear amusement that makes me feel less guilty for not saying he could leave if he wants
"I guess, but now we're cool Instagramers who have been 'at the Empire State Building '" I laugh looking through the photos
He just shakes his head and chuckles
___________
I can't contain my laughter as we arrive at the Statue of Liberty because there are so many influencers and people that in every picture there are at least 10 people in the background no matter where we go,
Aaron grunts and eyes me as I walk to a less crowded area "told you everyone would want a picture with the green statue lady"
"Yeah yeah just come here" I call him over
I grab my phone and turn to take a selfie
"Smileeee," I say
I snap a couple of pictures
My arm rests slightly on his shoulder pulling him closer to me so you can see the statue behind us
I sigh looking at the pictures "why didn't you smile" I pout
His body moves towards mine, his face immensely close to my mine, and against my ear, he whispers "why do you want me to smile so bad"
I look at him deeply in the eyes trying to think of a reason, And coming up short with an answer, I genuinely don't know why, I just wanna see how he looks smiling, I want to see him truly happy
"I just want to see how you look happy" I smile with a slight shrug
"I am happy," he says looking in my eyes, his eyes briefly find my lips he's so close, and the eye contact is so intense that I have to hold my breath
"Well it would be more obvious if you would smile, come on one photo" I give a small smile, I may have batted my eyelashes slightly but oh well
"No, and your little sexy faces aren't going to sway me" he shakes his head pointing at my face
Sexy? He thinks I have sexy faces...?
"You think I'm sexy...?" I ask with my voice way more steady than how I'm feeling
His smirk has my eyes briefly settling on his lips, but I was probably staring too long because the next thing I know Aaron's finger is under my chin and I'm meeting his heated gaze
"You know...you always staring at me makes me think if your the one who finds me so sexy" his voice is low and Husky, his gaze never strays from mine
"I don't know what you're talking about" I clear my throat talking quietly
His thumb grazes over my bottom lip and my lips part with a sharp intake of air, I stop breathing for a moment as a smirk settles alone his beautiful face
"You sure about that Vanessa?" He asks quietly
I'm panicking and nervous that he will realize that I indeed do look at him in a way I shouldn't, or that I have wondered what it's like to kiss him,
"So is that a no to the pictures or....?" I give him a small smile
"You know...you're a terrible liar so I know you do know what I'm talking about" he talks so close to my ear that I have to close my eyes for a moment to collect my thoughts
"I'm not a liar and you don't know what you're talking about" I shake my head not meeting his eyes
His chuckle makes me close my eyes "you are sunshine...you're the worst liar I've come across"
"Am not" I huff
"It's okay...the first stage is always denial" he smirks
I wanna slap that damn sexy smirk right off his face
I smile as I wonder if he's ticklish...
I tickle him and he starts laughing I immediately take a bunch of pictures
"What the heck Vanessa" he narrows his eyes
And then he starts tickling me while my hand is on the button so I end up taking a bunch of random pictures of me laughing while he's attacking me with tickles
"S-S-STOP STOP IT," I say in between laughs
His hands snake around my waist from behind and I look at the photos
"I'll stop...but if you tickle me one more time I won't," he says low in my ear
"Deal" I clear my throat as I look at the photos
"You have a beautiful smile" I grin looking at the photo I captured of him laughing
I feel his breath on my ear "didn't notice"
"How couldn't you, look at the photo" I smile as I put the phone closer to him
But his chin is resting on my shoulder so it's impossible for him to 'not notice'
"All I'm busy staring at is a pair of green eyes grinning because she tickled me" he chuckles
And that chuckle makes it's through every crevice of my body
"Yeah well I'm glad I did because look how happy you look" I smile turning my head to look at him
He rests his forehead on mine "you're cute" he chuckles
I grin at the small comment, and I feel my cheeks heat as I close my eyes
Suddenly an older woman comes up to us
"You guys are so cute, I was trying to take a photo of the statue but you guys are right in front of it and I ended up capturing some cute pictures of you guys and I'm sure you would want the pictures," she says grinning
I look at the photo and my heart sores, the first one is him tickling me,
The next is us looking at the photos and him resting his chin on my shoulder looking at my face while I grin down at my phone,
And the last one is our foreheads resting on each other, my eyes are closed with a blush covering my face, and he has a slight smile on his,
"Can you please send me these if possible?" I grin
I exchange numbers with the kind woman and she sends me them
"Thank you so much have a good day" I smile
"No problem and you guys make an adorable couple" she chuckles walking away
Huh that's the second time someone thought we were a couple
I just grin down looking at the pictures of us
"We're pretty adorable aren't we," Aaron says sarcastically
"Yes we are" I laugh
We continue going to touristy spots taking pictures and just talking
We ended up going to a pizza place and just talking
_________
I'm now back at my apartment, I hugged Aaron goodbye and said that I had an amazing time and I can't wait for next Saturday and he said he's also excited for next week
I just sent him my favorite pictures from each touristy place we went to and some secret ones I took of him at the pizza place and the tourist attractions
Aaron: the pictures almost look like there weren't a million people there
I ended up changing his contact name once again
he's right most of the pictures we managed to make it look like we were just there, and If there were people I just used an app to get rid of people in the background
Me: guess we have to quit work and be full-time Instagram influencers
I grin at my phone as I type
Aaron: so funny Vanessa
Me: of course I am!
Aaron: definitely... goodnight sunshine I had a good time
Me: goodnight Aaron I had a good time too, you're a pretty cool tourist guide
I fall asleep with a smile on my face for the first time in a while, usually, my Saturdays are pretty boring so today was a great change, I can't wait till the next time we spend time together outside of work,
I think we may be friends....
-----notes-----
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (I was stressing be dry badly because I needed to get this out today but I feel like it's not good enough) (when I get around to editing this story I might make it a little better)
Vote and comment
Word count: 2943