Chapter 24 – New York, New York

"Rizzo liked the restaurant we went to last night," Regan said. "My parents really think he's great."

"The parents approval, it's always the thing you worry about," Marie replied, "until the very moment they meet."

"I think we took all of Casa Bella's food for the entire week," Connie joked. "When I called and told them that there will be twenty-five people coming, I think the hostess had a brief stroke."

The girls were sitting outside the Circle Line pier waiting for the guys. It was noon and the plan for the day was to sight see. They thought a two hour tour around the island was a great idea to view the skyline and learn a few things about Manhattan. They weren't really sure who was coming because the guys had practice that morning, so some of them could be going back to the hotel to get some rest.

Marie's hair blew into her face and she closed her jacket tighter when the air became a little colder. "Are we nuts about going onto a boat during the winter?"

"Well, if we plan on heading to the Empire State Building after, think about how much colder it will be up there than down here," Connie told her. "However, it might not be considering we'll have a guy to keep us warm."

"My question is, you call this cold? It's much colder at home. What are you bitching about?" Regan asked.

Marie smiled. No matter what the degree was in the winter, shall it be -10 or 36, Marie was always freezing. "Maybe the store inside has hot chocolate. I'll be back." Marie got up and walked into the building. Sure enough the little store had some. When she got back out there, the guys were still no where in sight.

"Have you thought more about seducing your boyfriend?" Connie asked quietly to Marie when she sat down.

Marie looked at Connie, smiled before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "Here's the thing, would it be safe to have sex when you have a cast on your hand?" She looked down at her hand where the white was peaking out beneath her jacket.

Regan laughed. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Marie said, "You sweat during the act. What if I make the healing process longer or my hand doesn't heal correctly?"

Connie asked, "You mean sweat underneath the cast? I don't think that can cause any problems. Usually there's a scratch that you can't reach."

Marie took another sip. "What if I crack the cast?"

Regan put am arm around her shoulder. "Nobody said you have to have sex right now. Besides I bet he'll be gentle."

Marie rolled her eyes.

"You don't think so?" Connie asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure he will be. Where are the guys?" She turned her head to look at the street.

Regan smirked. "Trying to change the subject?"

"Are you afraid that you haven't waited a long time?" Connie asked.

Marie sighed. "Why is this so important all of a sudden?" Marie stayed quiet for a few seconds before she answered. "I know I shouldn't let the asshole and the apprentice in, but look where it led me. I'm nervous… for what the future is going to bring. I love him very, very much and I know he loves me."

"There's your answer," Regan said. "Let the moment come to you. Don't fret over this."

"I found them!" a shout came.

The three girls looked over and saw Rizzo, Jack, Silk, Rob, Jannie, Jimmy, Mark, Bah, Pav, Baker, and Verchota walking up. After a brief hello, the boys got into the line to pay for the boat ride.

Marie was taking a sip of her hot chocolate when Silk came up. "They're selling them in the shop," she told him after he asked if he could take a sip.

Silk raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid of backwash? Do I even have to mention that we know every crevice of each other's…"

"Ok, I thought you said you weren't immature?"

Verchota came up behind them. "What's this? A lover's spat."

"She won't share her hot chocolate, Phillie." Silk put an arm around her shoulder as he told him.

"Have you ever had mono?" Marie asked him. He shook his head. "You get it by sharing stuff like drinks."

"And you know how?" Silk asked.

"One of my cousins," she replied. "I just don't want you getting sick only a few days before the Olympics start."

"Seriously?" Regan asked, more like yelled at Rizzo. "No freakin' way!" She jumped into his arms and squealed.

Marie handed Silk her hot chocolate, finally letting him take a taste when he gave her a puppy dog look, and went over to the couple. "What's going on?"

Connie came up, too. "Rob told me to come see you."

Rizzo's smile was seriously a thousand watt one. "Herb called me into his office, and he named me captain."

Connie's eyes widened and she gave him a hug.

Marie smiled and said, "I told you."

Rizzo let go of Connie and took Marie into his arms. "You were right."

The group headed onto the boat and they split up into smaller groups. In 15 minutes the boat was floating by the two towers and getting closer to the Statue of Liberty. Marie had brought her camera with her, so she traveled a little ways from Connie, Silk, Rob, and Mark to get a better picture. When the boat started off again, she headed back. Silk put an arm around her shoulder, but a few minutes later she left to get a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge, then after she went to the restroom.

When she exited the restroom, Silk was by the wall right across from it. "It was cold, but I wanted to wait for you."

Marie smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head against his chest. "Are you nervous about tomorrow night?"

She felt him shrug. "Yeah."

"No matter what…" she lifted her head and stared into his eyes. "…everything is going to be fine."

He smiled that smile she adored, leaned down and kissed her. "It won't be the end of the world."

"No, it won't be," Marie replied. "The game is for charity after all."

They stayed together for the rest of the boat ride admiring the skyline. When the boat got to the Queensborough Bridge and Roosevelt Island they headed back to the group. Right as the boat was to go into port again, Marie saw some apartment buildings in New Jersey and pointed them out to Silk telling him that one day they'll be living there. Silk kissed her head and smiled.

It took an hour to get up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. First they had to go to the basement to buy tickets, then they had to wait in a line to go up to the 80th floor to get a picture taken with a false background. After that another few minutes before they got up to the observation deck, and of course it was cold. Marie took a few pictures of the city and was amazed how beautiful it looked up there.

"Amazing isn't it?" she asked Silk.

"What?"

"The view of the island. Up here, you can't hear the cars honking or driving," she replied. "Since it's a clear day, you can totally see the Atlantic Ocean."

Silk wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed his chin on top of her head. "It sure is."

After a few minutes of staring at the east, they traveled to the south side of the building. The statue of liberty stood proud pointing toward Europe. From where they were standing, the lady looked tiny, but she was like a mile away almost and they were 86 floors off the ground. The twin towers looked so huge and Marie was amazed by them. Next up was the New Jersey coast, after that downtown Manhattan and uptown. When they caught up with Regan and Rizzo, they started talking about how beautiful it was.

"Hey Regan, remember An Affair to Remember?"

Regan nodded. "It's a shame she didn't get to experience this with him."

"What?" Rizzo asked.

"Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr," Regan answered.

"They meet on a boat, they have significant others, they fall for one another. When they part they make a deal to meet again at the Empire State Building a few months later. She gets into a car accident or something when she gets to New York. He thinks she changed her mind because he was waiting for her up here, but they end up getting together at the end," Marie explained.

"Sounds interesting," Jack said behind them. "Are you guy's hungry?"

"It's only four," Rizzo said.

"So?"

"Where is everyone? Maybe we should get them together and decide what to do next," Regan said.

With one person going inside to see if anyone is there and the others going around the small observation deck, they gathered everyone and they decided they saw enough. So they headed down to the main floor and noticed a small pizza place. They ate, and after that they headed to Times Square. They were amazed of course of how beautiful it was. They looked where the ball drops on New Year's Eve and the rod still stood there like it was waiting to be used again. They traveled north, crossed the street, and saw the New York Sightseeing bus. Marie asked about the night tour and told the others about it.

"It goes all over the area, except uptown," she told the group.

Only Silk, Marie, Regan, Rizzo, Connie, Rob, Jimmy, and Mark decided to do the tour. The rest of the guys had decided to call it quits for the day and headed back to the hotel. While they were riding the bus, the group saw a lot. They saw The Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, Lower East Side, NYU, a part of Brooklyn, Rockefeller center, the Plaza, the Central Park entrance, and ended up at Times Square again. They were happy with the choice on going on the tour because they saw stuff that they wouldn't have seen. After, it was around 8:30 and the group decided to split. Marie and Silk went to Central Park.

Marie mentioned she wanted to do the carriage ride around the park and so they did. They enjoyed the few minutes they rode in the carriage. They decided to head to the little skating park area they saw during the ride. They rented a few skates and went out there. After a few minutes, Marie started acting like they were playing a game of hockey and she announced every movement he made like she was a commentator. When he pretended to score she cheered, but lost her balance. She laughed her ass off, but Silk was more concerned that she hurt herself. They went and sat down at one of the benches for a break.

"It's a shame that they can't see any of the stars," Marie said looking up at the night sky.

Silk looked up and agreed. "When the guy mentioned you can only see Venus, I was about to tell him that I see another star." He pointed it out.

"Can you see any stars in Boston?"

"Not really. Light pollution sucks," he replied.

Marie smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few more minutes before heading back to their rightful places. Marie at Regan's parent's place, and Silk at the hotel.