I typed back my response as I heard footsteps come down the stairs.
The guy sailing down them had platinum blond hair, a shirt complete with a scarf, and the tightest jeans I’d ever seen. He glided past me and opened the front door.
I turned to see the guy from the airport beaming at me.
“Hey, it’s you!Ooh, are you my roomie?” he beamed, dragging his case behind him.
“Erm, no—I’m sharing with Nancy. You’ve just missed her…” I mumbled, looking at his case pointedly. “There are no elevators.”
The guy with the blond hair just looked bored. “Floor 2. I’m Nicholas.”
Josh reached his hand out, to which Nicholas shuddered.
“I don’t shake hands. Germs,” he sniffed and ran his hand over his perfect hair.
I stared at his waist, which must’ve been the width of my thigh.
Wow.
“You’re kidding me, right? I’m rooming with a germaphobe. Brilliant,” Josh laughed.
Nicholas glared at him. “I’mnota phobe of any kind. I just don’t like to take risks withstrangers.”
I smiled secretly, aware that was the second time today Josh had been called a stranger.
Nicholas looked at me disdainfully. “Are you going to sit on that until an elevator magically appears?”
I flushed, standing up quickly. “No. I’m going to break my back getting it upstairs. But thank you for your concern,” I replied sarcastically.
Nicholas’s eyebrows shoot up at my response. “Oh, you havespirit. I like that.”
I glared at him. I wanted to dislike him, but his demeanour had something about it I quite liked.
Josh yawned. “Look, Curly, I can take it up for you. Seeing as yourboyfriendisn’t here. You can buy me some beers later. Deal?”
I grinned. “Yes, deal. I can’t do this on my own, I hate being such a girl...but I can’t drag that case up there. Thank you so much.” I gushed.
He nodded; his playful side suddenly replaced by a serious version. “No worries, Curls. I got this.”
He reached down and lifted my suitcase in one hand and his in the other. Nicholas met my eyes, and we lifted our eyebrows up simultaneously.
“How gallant of him. He must beverystrong,” murmured Nicholas, watching Josh as he walked up the stairs effortlessly.
I was grateful as we followed him up the steep stairs, because by the second floor, I was out of breath and holding onto the railing for dear life. I heard my phone beep as I pulled it out.
CAL:
Raven, don’t tell me you are trying to drag that case up three flights of stairs...
I grinned as I typed back,
GRETCHEN:
No, someone else is doing it for me. Gretchen 1, NYC 0.
No sooner had I sent the text did a ping come straight back. I smiled knowingly.
CAL:
