The Hookup

Twenty one

"Oh, thank god. You're okay," Myra breaths out as she pushes her way into my apartment.

"Um should I not be?" I ask as I close the door behind her and attempt to cover myself with my robe a little more. Myra and her impeccable timing.. I had to peel myself off of Hero to answer the door. Ten more seconds and he would have been inside me.

"Jo. You ran out of the party and didn't tell anyone where you were going! I called and texted. Did you lose your phone? Also, why is it so cold in here?" She asks as she runs her hands up and down her arms and looks around.

"I don't know. Maybe the heater didn't kick on."

"You're avoiding the question.." she gives me a stern look. One that says 'don't you dare think you're getting out of this'.

"I saw Marvin last night."

Her eyes go wide and she suddenly looks a little less agitated.

"We bumped into each other. Like literally. He bumped right into me at the bar," I say quietly and fold my arms over my chest.

"Asshole," she mutters just as my eyes shoot to Hero who's coming down the hallway towards us. Myra's back is to him, and she has no idea he's here. My eyes go wide as I take in his tall frame as he comes closer. He's put his pants on from last night but has his dress shirt held loosely in his hand.

"What—" Myra looks at me with confusion and then turns to look over her shoulder. Just as Hero enters the room.

"Who's an asshole?" Hero asks as he leans against the wall.

"Uh.." Myra looks back at me and then at Hero. "Her ex. She said she saw him last night.."

"Oh that guy? Definitely an asshole. We already established that. Trust me," Hero gives me a sly grin and I feel my cheeks start to warm.

"I just came to check on Jo.. she wasn't answering. I was worried she was.." Myra begins to explain before Hero cuts her off with a smile.

"She was alright. I kept her company all night."

Oh sweet Jesus. I'm full on blushing now and I think Myra is too. Throw in the fact that Hero is still shirtless into the equation and I'm suddenly weak in the knees.

"Right. Cool. Okay, I'm just gonna go then. Let you two.." she motions between the two of us awkwardly and begins to walk through the door.

"I'll walk you out," I say quietly and can feel Hero watching me from where he still stands. As soon as we're out in the hallway and the door to my apartment is closed, I brace myself for whatever Myra's about to say.

But instead, she's silent. And smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Spit it out," I sigh and cross my arms.

"I think I actually might hate you."

"What?!" I draw my brows together in confusion. Of all the things I can imagine running through her mind, her hating me was not on the list.

"Are you even aware of how god damn lucky you are?" She asks as she points towards my apartment door. "Don't get me wrong, I love my husband. Hell, he's the most attractive guy I've ever been with. But him? Jo.. you just won the lottery."

"Myra.." I roll my eyes and let out a breath.

"When does he leave for England?"

Shit. When does he leave for England? In the midst of all that New Year's Eve was, we never even talked about how long he's sticking around.

"I have no idea."

"K, well go back inside and figure it out. And then finish whatever it is you two were in the middle of," she smirks and begins to walk away.

"We weren't in the middle of anything," I call after her as she walks down the narrow hallway to the stairwell.

Over her shoulder I hear her say, "I know you Jo. It's not like you to not wear a bra."

Well shit. Can't say she's wrong.

•••••

As it turns out, the heater in my apartment is actually broken. Which explains why I could almost see my breath when I started making coffee once back inside.

What started off as a fantastic new year has now been knocked down a notch because it's a holiday and apparently the whole world shuts down on such days.

After finally reaching my landlord, he informed me that nothing could be done until tomorrow or even possibly later in the week, depending on how busy maintenance is. So now, I'm currently sitting in Hero's hotel room because he suggested we go back there to shower and figure out what to do next.

This whole thing is bizarre to me. How we're doing stuff like this when I thought for sure I would never see him again. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being around him, but a part of me feels like this is all too good to be true. Hero's kind, smart, funny, you name it. So what on earth does he want with me?

After our episode in bed before Myra made her appearance, he never tried to finish what we'd started. Instead, we sat at my kitchen island, drinking coffee and came up with a plan.

"Hey," I say as I place my clothes back into the small bag I brought with me. "When are you going back home?"

Hero's checking a few emails on his phone as he glances up at me from where he sits on the bed. "Haven't really decided yet. I took an extended leave."

Extended leave? His words shock me in a way. Last night, he told me he came to New York for me. To make things right between us after three months apart. What I didn't expect was him sticking around and to be honest, it makes me a little nervous. Nervous as to what this is between us. What that exactly means.

"Oh," I say as I zip up the bag and stand tall. Brushing my hair behind my ear.

"Do you want me to leave?" He says softly and it makes my heart hurt that he might think I want him to go.

"No, i—"

"Josephine," he places his phone down and begins making his way over to me. Standing in front of me toe to toe. "The last thing I wanted was to come back here to see you and then leave right away. I know we don't really know each other and I'm not asking to move in. I'm just wanting to see where this goes."

I look up at him and he cups my face in his hands. "I really like you. And at times, I feel like I'm crazy for willing to fly halfway across the world to see you. But I'm so sure when I say that I have never felt the way I feel about you when it comes to anyone else. You are so beautiful and so rare. I can't believe out of all the people in the world, we crossed paths. If you'd have me, I'd like to see where this could go."

My heart is beating fast. My throat feels like it's caved in. All that he's saying should make me feel like the happiest girl in the world. But truthfully, I'm scared.

When I met Marvin, it was like I was on top of the world. The way he looked at me, the way he made me feel like I was the only one for him. I had never fallen in love like that before and it was exciting and everything else good in the world. But when he broke my heart, it was like I had hit rock bottom. The pain he caused was more than I could bare.

The man I had loved had all but ripped my heart out and stomped it into the ground. Suddenly, everything bad in our relationship over shadowed all the good that came before. Just like he had given me my first true love, he gave me heart break as well.

So as I stand here, listening to Hero's words and looking at how he looks down at me; I'm struggling with how to feel. He's looking at me like Marvin used to. But even more so, I think. And I can't help but wonder, if I were to fall in love again with this man before me while he gives me everything he has, what will I be when he takes it all away?

My heart's still healing from the first time it was broken and I know for a fact it can't handle it again.