FLASHBACK
Moving to New York for the summer was probably the best idea I have ever thought of. I could use another scene to adjust to. I get to Penn Station and I see Sam standing there with a big "Welcome To NYC Nelly" all decked out in glitter and streamers. I smile and run to her.
"You sure know how to make a big deal out of nothing." I say with a hearty chuckle. She hugs me tightly and begins to laugh.
"Of course! One of my besties has decided to move in with me for a while and besides that whole family arguing thing doesn't agree with you." She says as she grabs my other luggage bag. We walk up to her car and we begin to drive.
"So what is there to do in NYC?" I ask oblivious to what actually goes on in this city. The only memory I have of this city is that tragic day and I don't want to think about that while I am here. Sam laughs at me.
"You're kidding? What isn't there to do in this city? First, we need to get you a job. How do you feel about being a bank teller?" She asked.
"I wouldn't mind it. Money is money in my opinion." I said with a snicker. We reach her apartment which is located in the Tribeca section of the city or so I thought. I never really cared because the scene was just so peaceful. We walked up to the elevator and climbed in. She hit the 12th floor and we began to go up. "I already love it here." I say. She smiled and reached her floor. She opens the door and I am floored by the amount of space she has.
"Welcome home Chanelle!" I'm in shock. She has to share this apartment with other people but come to find out her last roommate was a complete bitch to her and had to throw her out. So, I guess that argument came at the right time then.
"Thanks! This apartment is amazing Sam!" Sam smiled as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed two champagne flutes and filled them with champagne.
"Here's to us. Long nights, early mornings and classy times that await us in the near foreseeable future." We clink glasses and chugged down the sweet liquid. She showed me to my room and it was huge! Shit! What am I going to do with all of this space? I have time to plan it out.
"Well now that I am here, I need a gym badly." I say while laughing. Sam was all to excited to take me to her gym.
"It's a bit pricey but I'm sure your dad gave wired you money for bills and stuff. Let's go!" She said as she grab my hand and we ran out of the door. After about 25 minutes in traffic we've arrived to this magnificent building. This is a gym?! This looks more like an office building. She parked her car and we head to the front door. I look around and I'm flabbergasted.
"Dude! The gyms in Philadelphia have nothing on this gym. This makes my gym look like a small home gym." Sam broke out in a loud laughter.
"I said the same thing when I first joined. Let's get you to member services." We walk over to a desk and we saw this cute guy. Apparently, Sam has been crushing on him from day one but doesn't know how to approach him.
"Hey Sam! You are due for another session soon. Do you want to schedule it now?" Sam is off in her own little world. She responds with a girlish nod and like that she was scheduled. "And who is this?" He said.
"Oh! This is my new roomie Chanelle. Chanelle this is my personal trainer Mike." I hold my hand out for him to shake and he kiss the back of my hand.
"Welcome to CrossTrainer! Any friend of Sam's is a friend of mine. Are you looking to join?" He asked. I nod my head and he smiles. "Great! Let me get you set up with a membership pass and some other things. Here is a duffel bag full of goodies and your pass for a free smoothie from the smoothie bar downstairs. Hopefully we see you soon." I smiled and walked away.
3 Weeks Later...
I have been working at Citi Bank for two weeks now and I absolutely love it. The day is almost over and my drawer has been counted and as always it was correct. I decided to go to the gym and Sam choose to go with me since her session with Mike was the same day. I walk outside and I see Sam sitting on the hood of her car waiting for me.
"Hey Nelly! Ready to go?" She asked.
"Yup! Let's go!" I said as we both got into the car and drove off. About 10 minutes later we arrived to the gym and parked in the garage across the street. We finally made it to the gym and signed in. Mike was waiting for Sam.
"Hey guys! Sam are you ready?" She nodded and she winked at me. I went to go change into my workout clothes and decided on cardio today. I warm up with a quick walk so I could set up my iPod for running. I decided to put on 'Right Round' by Flo Rida and I begin to take off in a light jog. I decided to watch the news because if I watch TV while running the time goes by faster. After about 15 minutes of running, a wonderful, spicy, musky smell hit my nose to the point were I had to slow down and step on the sides of the treadmill. I turned to my left and I didn't see anybody next to me. I turned to my right and was nearly knocked off my feet. I began to blush and started to blush a little. I kept running and I looked over at him only to notice he was looking at me and he smiled. I paused the treadmill to catch my breath.
"You know, with a smile like that, you could possibly injure someone while they are running on a treadmill." I said wiping the sweat off of my forehead. He chuckled a bit and paused his treadmill.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw you off. You are just gorgeous. I couldn't help but to smile. Gideon Cross." He says as he holds out his hand for me to shake.
"Chanelle Howard-Jones. Nice to meet you." I said. He looks at my face and begins to laugh.
"I see you are a bit attracted to me." He says. He is really arrogant in a hot way.
"Oh really? What makes you think that?" I say crossing my arms.
"It's in your face. So you must be new around here. I haven't seen you here before." I want to tell him to mind his damn business but the words can't seem to form themselves.
"I just moved here three weeks ago. I'm staying with a friend." I walk off the treadmill to take a sip of water at the fountain. I go to walk away and I run into a hard body. I look up and it's Gideon holding me up. I love the way his muscles feel and his eyes are icy blue. The type of blue that can hypnotize any female and stop them dead in their tracks. "Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. I am such a klutz." I push away from him and stood up on my own feet.
"It's ok. I couldn't see you get hurt. Actually, I'm wondering if you would like to accompany me to dinner some time. Let's say tomorrow around 7pm. Think about it. Here's my card and on the back is my cell phone number. Call me." He says as he walks off and my brain is stuck on stupid! I feel a hand on my shoulders.
"Chanelle! I've been calling you for the past five minutes. Are you ready to go?" I'm still staring into space. My God was he hot or what. "CHANELLE?!" She yells out.
"Huh? Oh! Sorry! What was your question again?" I say.
"Are you ready to go?" Sam asked.
"Yeah! Let's go!" We walk toward the front door and I look back to see him talking to Mike. Our eyes lock on to each other and he winks at me. Oh he is too much!