"Wow! It's really beautiful up here," she exclaimed as the cold wind blew on her face. They were standing in one of the iconic buildings in New York City, the famous Empire State Building.
A total of a hundred ten stories high, the Empire State Building was considered one of the most beautiful tourist spots in Manhattan. Famous for its lights at night, thousands of people visited it everyday to get a glimpse of the whole city up in the building.
Right now, they were on the Observation Deck on the 86th Floor, and though Nikka had been in New York for a year, she had never gone to this building before. Now, standing on it, she gazed down below and marveled a fantastic sight. The once towering skycrapers were as small as her palm and the surrounding river could be seen around it as well.
She smiled as she clutched her beige puffer jacket. Marcus was standing behind her. She could feel him very close to her as his chest bumped to her back. She couldn't stop herself from feeling a sudden rush of blood through her body making her feel warm. Her heart raced inside her chest as she braced herself for what he did next.
"Are you cold?" he asked her.
She nodded and Marcus wrapped his arms around her. His chin rest on her shoulder.
"How do you feel now?" he whispered closer to her ear.
"B-Better," she stuttered, her cheeks all flushed.
Marcus closed his eyes as he smelled her hair. He shouldn't be doing this and yet he felt so intoxicated by her. It just felt right that she was in his arms, as he tried to give her warmth with his body. He felt his heart beating faster... and he couldn't understand why.
The cold wind continued to blow on their faces. Marcus pressed his cheek on hers as she bit her lip. He was too close for comfort and she felt like melting as he tightened his grip on her.
"Marcus?" a voice interrupted them and Marcus let her go to turn to the owner of the voice.
"Cynthia..." he uttered and looked back at Nikka whose eyebrow was raised. He swallowed hard as he suddenly felt uneasy.
"So, I didn't know you fancy young girls now," the woman named Cynthia commented. Her blue eyes pierced through Nikka. Whoever this woman was, it was surely one of those that possibly had encounters with Marcus by the way she acted differently to her.
"Cynthia, this is Nikka, and she's not what you think she is."
"Oh! Is she crushin' on you? How cute?" Cynthia mocked.
"Cynthia, if you don't mind, please leave us alone."
Cynthia snickered. "Is she the reason why I don't see you around? Well, enjoy your young blood, Marcus. But remember, it's not going to be the same with women like me. Mature, professional and..." her eyes summed up Nikka. "... sophisticated."
She then gave Marcus a peck on the cheek, leaving a kissmark on it. Narrowing her eyes, she smiled devilishly at Nikka who on the other hand, just looked away. She walked away, her hips swaying gracefully at her every move and Nikka couldn't help but feel envious of Cynthia. She wished she just have that perfect body like her.
"Hey, you okay?" Marcus held her shoulders.
"Yeah... I'm just cold. I think we better go inside now."
"Okay..." and they went inside the building.
After that encounter with the devilish woman, Nikka had never felt the same. She could not stop herself comparing to Cynthia. Her blue eyes, the plump red lips and the big breasts bothered her. Cynthia was right. She was a girl and had not fully developed yet. Her body was not like those of a perfect model figure and she suddenly hated herself.
Marcus noticed her silence right away. She had not uttered a word since they left the building and it was starting to worry him.
He reached for her hand across the table. They were sitting on the nearby restaurant right across the street of the landmark. Although her appetite was the same, since she finished her whole plate, he never saw her smile again and was avoiding his eyes. She just stared most of the time on her plate and he knew something was on her mind.
"Nikka..." She looked up the moment he held her hand. "Is everything okay?"
"Y-Yeah. Why do you ask?" she lied.
"You were so quiet eversince we left the building. Is it about Cynthia?"
She nodded. "Is she your girlfriend?"
He took his hand off her. Why did he suddenly felt guilty? It was not as if Nikka was his girlfriend but he felt like he was betraying her.
"Just... a friend," he said simply as he watched her reaction.
He was suddenly interested on how she will react which he never thought before.
Why is it that important? What exactly was he expecting her response to be?
"Hmmm... friends with.. benefits?" she asked. She could not stop her curious mind.
Marcus suddenly felt uncomfortable. Nikka had never met the women he dated and this would be the first time he would ever admit to it.
So what changed?
He decided he needed to come clean with her. No matter how he wanted to lie, he knew Nikka would keep asking him questions. Her innocent mind could only speculate so much and he, on the other hand, did not like to corrupt it.
But why did he have to explain to her?
He took a deep breath before speaking.
"Alright, you got me," he said as if in defeat. "We used to date..."
"I see... You really like blondes and big breasts, do you?" There was a slight hint of hate in her voice and it didn't pass Marcus ears. He studied her as her eyebrows creased.
Was she bothered by it? But why?
Marcus decided not to answer the question and looked away. He hated the fact that she knew his escapades and in some way, it embarassed him with her blunt question.
There was a sudden heaviness in the atmosphere between them and he couldn't help but think that maybe she was jealous.
But why would she be jealous? It's not as if they have something other than friendship.
He shoved those ideas from his mind and focused on another idea.
There was one thing that always changed the mood: ice cream and movies.
"Do you want to have your chocolate chip ice cream now?" he asked. He knew she would never be able to resist it.
Nikka's eyes lit up as she smiled broadly.
"You're going to buy me ice cream?" and she gave him the sweetest smile.
"Of course. Not only that, we're going to watch a movie."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Let's go then."
Marcus chuckled.
"Okay. Just give me a minute. I'll just pay for what we ate," and he raised his hand to call the waiter.
*********
"Thank you for today. It was really fun," Nikka said after he dropped him off at her house.
"You're welcome," replied Marcus, smiling.
"By the way... ummm..." and she moistened her lips. Marcus found himself staring at her lips and somehow his mins wandered off to the possibility of having a simple taste of them.
His throat suddenly felt dry as Nikka started saying something and he knew his bran had stopped a few seconds because suddenly raised her voice.
"Marcus!" she called and he felt like waking up from a trance.
"Y-yeah. Sorry. What were you saying?"
"I said... if you can be my prom date?"
"Prom date? I haven't been to prom in years."
"Well... I just thought... nevermind," and she was about to go inside the apartment building when he held her arm. Nikka looked up to him.
"I'm honored you asked me. Yes, I will be your date on the prom."
Nikka smiled.
"Thank you, Marcus," and she hugged him. He smiled as Nikka moved away slightly from him.
"Of course. Anything for my beautiful girl."
She smiled sweetly at him as he stepped closer and ran a finger on her left cheek. He pat it as he gazed into her eyes.
"How can someone resist that beautiful smile."
The sweet smile just captivated him so much that he just couldn't resist to not let his eyes lingered on her face much longer.
Why did he suddenly noticed how beautiful her eyes are... and her lips how he wanted to kiss it?
'Kiss it? Really, Marcus? Her?! No, not Nikka,' he thought and kicked himself mentally.
"I'll see you," she said and kissed him on the cheek. Then, she ran inside the building without looking back.
Marcus just shook his head and smiled. Then, he walked back to his car.