"Hi, Jack," the elevator attendant said. He reached over and pressed 42 before Jack said a thing.
Jack immediately shook his hand and smiled at him. "Martin, how are you tonight?"
"Just fine," he said with a nod. "And madam, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks," I said, trying to remain as polite as possible. This guy was just doing his job, even if he didn't really care how I was doing. The door closed and then we ascended.
There was silence for the first couple of floors, well, until I broke it. "You guys know each other well?" I asked.
"Jack has a permanent suite," Martin said.
"I like it here. A lot. Just wait until you see the view." Jack put his arm around the small of my back and pulled me close against him. My head fell slightly until it was resting against his chest. It was pure comfort.
The ride was quick. A few short minutes later, the door was opening into the hall and Jack was tipping the attendant. "Thanks, Jack. Have a nice night, you two," he said. Once again, he was just being nice. However, I certainly hadn't planned on that moment being the last time I'd see Martin. I'd just see whatever Jack wanted to show me and then leave.
Upon re-examination, I wasn't so sure I liked what Martin had said. It made me feel a little more like a number than a real girl.
He disappeared behind us as the elevator door closed, and Jack took us into the hall. "Why do you have to tip the elevator guy?" I asked. "We could have run that elevator just fine."
"It's just the way it is," Jack said. "They make a living like anyone else, only theirs is primarily from the tips of rich folks." I didn't have anything to say to that.
After a short walk, we reached Jack's suite. He unlocked and opened the door and led me inside. The lights were out and the room happened to be very dark at that point. Light filled the room as he flipped the switch, the sheer beauty of the suite overwhelming. We were in a living room area that had a huge dining table.
"Do you host a lot of dinners here?" I asked jokingly.
"No, not really." He looked a little perplexed by my question.
"Why don't you get a smaller suite then?" After noticing that there was a whole other, equivalent side to the room around the corner, my mind was blown even further.
"They gave me a deal. Helps with business, I guess. They list me as a customer in some of the promotional materials."
"Oh, so you're a sellout then?" I gave him a sardonic grin.
"Whatever you want to call it is just fine. But hey, I'm happy with what I do, one way or another." He fiddled with the thermostat slightly and then led me toward the corner of the room. I was suddenly worried that I had offended him or something and not entirely sure why I should care so much.
"So what did you want to show me?" I tried to sound as excited as possible to drown out the fact that my previous question may have been misinterpreted. He immediately perked up.
"Are you ready?" He stood at the window, his hand on the lever to open the curtains.
"Okay." I stood there with my hands at my sides, just waiting for whatever. It didn't look as if he were going to drop his pants—well, unless rich folks had levers that would do it for them. I wasn't sure.
Jack pulled the curtains open, revealing an incredible view of the New York cityscape. "Come closer," he said.
I stepped near the window and caught my breath. "This is incredible, Jack."
"I'm still impressed even though I'm here a lot. Home away from home, I guess." He pointed toward the closest, biggest thing in view. "That's St. Patrick's Cathedral."
The architecture was so classic and unique, so Gothic. It looked kind of like the centerpiece in a horror movie or something in a Stephen King novel. "That doesn't give you nightmares, does it?"
He let out a small chuckle. "No. I live here with it. We've got to get along, you know."
It honestly looked like a painting, the giant, sprawling buildings dotted with random little splotches of light. This was a view I was not used to, one that would have been difficult for me to obtain with my limited finances. It blew my mind that this lifestyle could exist, that all of this beauty was within reach only when huge sums of money were involved. Honestly, it was both disheartening and exhilarating.
"Effie?" Jack's eyes met mine with utter intensity.
"Huh?" I ended my gawking over the incredible view and turned to face him. Seeing it had softened me up, that was for sure.
"You're absolutely beautiful." He kept his eyes trained on me, studying my face as if he were hypnotized.
My brain was overloaded with thought and emotion. Sensory overload. In a way, it felt as if I had walked right into a trap. So many things were questionable about being here with Jack, but all sense had just fled from my brain, running away and hiding somewhere else. My body wanted something else entirely—and it was in this gorgeous room, right next to me.
"Jack, I—" My heart had skipped so many beats that I didn't know what was going on anymore and feared that I might have died. I watched him approach me in slow motion, as if I were just a witness, not a participant. And then he pressed me against the wall, meeting my lips with a scorching kiss. Waves of pleasure rippled through me, instantly causing goose bumps on my skin. His tongue explored every interior surface of my mouth while his hands caressed my neck and gently traversed through the strands of my hair.
My back to the wall, I felt
