The Hookup

Twenty three

"Dinner was interesting," Hero says as we walk step for step down the sidewalk away from Dan and Myra's house.

"Something like that," I say quietly as I pull my jacket a little tighter. It's beginning to flurry outside, typical east coast winter that no matter how long I've lived here, I'm still trying to get accustomed to.

"I'm sorry if you were embarrassed. But for what it's worth, I don't think you should be," He says politely.

"Myra acts like I'm some twenty something virgin who just had her first kiss. That's exactly what I feel.. embarrassed."

Hero chuckles from beside me but it does little to lighten my mood.

"I'm not some charity case. Like I can't attract the opposite sex," I say under my breath as I roll my eyes.

We continue walking slowly, the snow fall beginning to pick up a little bit more in the calmness of the night.

Suddenly, I feel Hero's hand grip my wrist closest to him lightly and bring me to a halt beside him. "You're not some charity case." He says as he looks into my eyes. "And I'm well aware of how the opposite sex looks at you."

"Oh, really?"

"The night of the wedding.. I watched you from across the room. I watched at least a dozen guys look at you like I was that night. You're beautiful."

I feel my cheeks instantly redden and not just from the cold air around me. Hero's eyes look like he's baring himself to me and I turn my head slightly to look away once it becomes too intense.

"You're too kind."

Hero lets out something between a sigh and a light laugh. "Will you stay with me tonight? At my hotel?"

"That depends," I smile and look around at the cars passing near us. "Do you have working heat?"

"Last time I checked."

"Will you be trying to undress me at any point tonight?" My stomach feels like it's twisting into some sort of complicated knot as the words leave me. Giddy to hear his answer.

"Honest truth?" He says as he licks his lips. "There's a one hundred percent chance I will try such a thing."

We look at each other, letting ourselves stare into one another's eyes as they grow darker with that of complete lust.

"I guess I could stay." I whisper and watch him smile. With that, we call a cab and make our way into the city.

•••••

"Why couldn't it have snowed like this on Christmas?" I laugh as we enter Hero's hotel room, wiping the collected snow from our jackets. It's really started picking up out there and I'm thanking the heavens that I don't have to sleep in my ice box of an apartment tonight. Who knows what I would have done if not for Hero's offer.

Hero closes the door, removes his jacket and tosses it onto the bed. Rubbing his hands together for warmth. The times we've been around each other, he's always been dressed to the nines in a fitted suit or something of the sort. But today, with our casual day in the city, he wore black form sitting jeans and a black long sleeve shirt and sneakers. The sight of him in street clothes startled me at first. Because honestly, if he were to wear a suit or nothing at all, I wouldn't complain.

"I can't remember a Christmas back home that it wasn't snowing," he smiles and removes his phone and wallet from his pockets and places them on the night stand.

"What's London like?" I ask. Suddenly intrigued by the foreign place.

Hero raises his eyes towards me and grins. "It's amazing. It reminds me of here in a way." The look in his eyes is one of pure happiness about his home. And it makes me smile to see him look like that. "What about you?" He asks. "What's your homeland like?" He begins to slowly walk towards me.