Free There's Something About Her, A Manhattan Love Story by Z.L. Arkadie Page A

soon as I’m on my feet. His fingers massage me twice before he lets go. I skip a breath. He takes my hand and leads me across the pavement and up the ramp. Once inside, I fall into the first seat I see. Our hands pull apart, and I crave his touch again. He goes into the control center and closes the door.  
    Now that I’m alone, I can work on centering myself. Maybe I can fall asleep before he comes out. I wish I had a book or something. Instead, I turn on my computer and start a list of venues I should look into for the IK App. But I keep glancing at the door Vincent disappeared behind.  
    When he returns, he sits in a seat across the aisle from me. “Are you comfortable?”  
      “Yes,” I squeak. I swallow and try to find my normal voice. “So who are we meeting?” That’s the magic question I should’ve asked earlier.
    He fastens his seatbelt. “Darius Shockey. You should put yours on.”
    “Oh, right.” I buckle up. “So who is Darius Shockey?”  
    “He’s the organizer of the event.”
    I frown. “Humph.”
    “Why do you look so curious?”  
    I’m distracted by his teeth. They’re two shades lighter than the whites of his eyes. Then it strikes me that the reason I can see his teeth is because he’s flashing that mesmerizing smile. I look down. He’s the boss, he’s the boss, he’s the boss . Not only that, but I’m positive the leggy, slim woman I’ve seen him with is his girlfriend.
    “And she ignores me,” he says.
    “No, I’m sorry. What did you ask?” I’m setting an unprofessional precedence. “Wait, I remember. My research turned up the name Reginald Champion.”
    He’s studying me as if I’m a mental patient. “I see.”
    I turn away from that gorgeous face of his and gaze out over the airfield. The engine roars to life. Not long after, the airplane trucks backward. The sound and movement have made the silence between us less awkward. I can’t believe I’m going to have to spend the rest of the day alone with him.
    “He was surprised to see you,” he says out of nowhere.
    “I’m sorry?” I ask.
    “Yesterday, at the polo match. Robert was surprised to see you.”
    “I didn’t know you two were still acquainted,” I say. I wonder why he’d omitted that factoid from our discussion in the limousine yesterday.
    “I didn’t know he would be there.”  
    “So you’re business partners?”
    “He’s a silent one, and I’m the boisterous one.”  
    I laugh weakly. His joke did nothing to cure my anxiety.
    “Seeing him again probably wasn’t easy for you.” He tilts his head as if he’s evaluating my reaction. “If I knew he was going to show up, I would’ve told you he would be there.”
    I shrug. “Why would you think it’d be a problem for me? I haven’t seen him in twelve years. I only had a crush on him for four months. I was over it as soon as I got back to New York.”
    He looks conflicted. “He’s going through a divorce. It’s pretty nasty.”
    “Why aren’t you married?” I ask, totally off the subject.
    “I’m waiting for the butterflies. They felt so damn good the first time.” His deep penetrating gaze holds me captive. “What about you? Why aren’t you married?”
    I laugh loudly as the small plane stops in front of the runway. “I’ve never even thought about it.”
    “Not even to Robert when we were in high school?”  
    I look at him as if he’s insane. High school? Marriage? Really?  
    “That was a joke.”
    I snort. “Glad you clarified. But no, I just wanted to make out with him feverishly or something.”
    “What do you mean by ‘or something’?”
    His strange fascination with my crush on Robert is making me believe my earlier theory. “I know you said Robert was married but he’s getting a divorce.” I narrow my eyes. “Are you guys together? All the weird discussions we’ve been having about the past would make way more sense if you’re, you know, lovers.”
    Vincent laughs his head off. I’m warm