New York Surprise
Laeticia was feeling pleased with herself, she had booked a nice hotel on East 65
th
and Third after a search as she wanted to be near the NYC shops and a subway. All the rooms had small kitchenettes and apart from filling he fridge with emergency 'sodas' and chocolate she would eat out but if she just fancied a salad she had the option to buy one. The room was spacious, a nice bathroom and shower and there were numerous coffee shops and restaurants all close.
She had been here three days and had reconnected to the city. She loved its vibrancy, the New York drawl, the coffee and the shops. She had spent some lazy days, done a bit of sightseeing and window shopping and today had decided to be a bit more active. The hotel had a number of bikes and they were free to guests for two hours use. They came with a lock and a helmet and whilst they were fairly basic she thought it would be fun.
The weather was unseasonably hot for October and she was glad she had brought some shorts which she was wearing with a v neck t shirt which showed a little bit too much cleavage if she bent down but it wasn't like she was going to see anyone she knew and she had chosen her most sensible bra!
The concierge got her to sign the paperwork, reminded her to get back within the two hours and quickly showed her how the bike worked. They were fixed wheel which meant to brake you just pedalled backwards and the wheels locked. She did a little few circles and quickly got the hang of it. Just as she was setting off she saw another guest pick up his bike. He was similarly dressed, around sixty and looked in good shape, he saw her looking and smiled as she pedalled away. She quickly realised she was going the wrong way as she was an up road but she was at the junction with 3
rd
Avenue and she went one block down and then cycled all the way to Central Park in less than ten minutes.
The park had dedicated cycle lanes and she was loving the outdoors. The bike was a bit naff compared to some of the very obviously expensive cycles she saw but she didn't care as she went around the Pond and then across to Sheep Meadow where opposite a kids baseball game was just finishing. Suddenly a young boy run right in front of her as he was keen to get to the ice cream concession and hadn't looked. Laeticia went to brake but was trying to squeeze a handle that wasn't there as she forget to pedal backwards. She swerved and hit the verge and toppled over, banging her knee on the grass verge with the bike on top of her.
"Let me help you with that."
She looked up and it was the guy from the hotel.
"Thank you, he just ran out and I panicked slightly."
"No harm done, you seem to have missed him. I'm Chris by the way."
"Laeticia, thank you for your help."
As Laeticia stood up she was aware of a pain in her ankle and she had just gone over on it. She pressed her foot gingerly on the ground and winced.
"I'm not sure I can cycle back, what will I do?"
"Let's get a drink and see how you feel."
Chris took both the bikes and slowly they made their way over to the Ballfields Café. Laeticia sat down and Chris went to get two coffees and surprised her with an ice cream as well. They chatted and found they were both doing similar things. Both had been to New York before and they had seen and been to a lot of the same places. Conversation was easy and with the coffees finished Laeticia went to get up. Her ankle felt better and she bent down to rub it and then realised she had probably given Chris quite a view, delete probably she thought as she saw his face and he quickly averted his eyes but she'd seen him. Busted she thought and smiled. She didn't mind too much, he was an attractive guy and he'd been a real help.
"I have a plan." Chris said
"If you can make it back to the entrance to the Park you can get a cab back and I can push the bikes back to the hotel."
With that he put one hand on each of the handlebars and started to push.
Laeticia began to object but she realised it was sensible and Chris did seem to have the bike under control. They made it to Fifth Avenue and she was soon in a cab. She explained what had happened when she got back to the hotel and the concierge said he would walk to intercept Chris and give him a hand. Laeticia made her way back to the room and run herself a bath, took a painkiller and luxuriated in the hot water for a while before wrapping herself in a towel and laid on her bed. The next thing she knew she was aware of a telephone ringing and she rubbed her eyes and picked it up. It was reception asking if she was happy to take a call from another resident. She said yes and Chris came on the line.
"Hi, I was wondering if you are feeling better. No lasting damage?" Chris asked.
"No all good."
Laeticia answered and thanked him again and they chatted for a while. Laeticia was feeling a little chilly so she made her excuses and put on some clothes. Two minutes later the phone rang again. This time Chris was straight through.
"Hi Laeticia I put down the phone and realised how much I was enjoying talking to you and was wondering if you would do me the honour of joining me for dinner tonight. Please say Yes I know a wonderful restaurant that will give us an excuse to dress up assuming you have more than your shorts and revealing t shirts!"
Laeticia smiled and was just about ready to make her excuses when she immediately had a second thought. Why not she was on holiday, Chris seemed an interesting guy and she did like a good restaurant and she definitely had something to wear. She accepted and they agreed a time.
Chris had said they were going to Ai Fiori which was part of a hotel on 5