“I need a favor.” Nadia said bluntly by way of greeting. Aurora had a particularly terrible day at work and was intent on drinking her troubles away, but Nadia was not having it. She had a date that night with this new guy she was seeing, an investment banker she met through some dating service, and couldn’t go comfort her cousin herself. That’s why she was on the other end of the line, trying to recruit Damien for the job.
“Pleeease, D?” Nadia begged, “I need you. She needs you!”
“Alright,” He sighed, a false air of annoyance in his voice, “But you owe me one.” In truth, he would’ve done anything for Aurora, but he wasn’t about let on to that. His feelings for her were something he’s barely been able to admit to himself, let alone other people. He immediately got on a Manhattan bound train and typed out a text.
D: Where are you?
A: why?
D: I want to send you an Edible Arrangement.
D: Why do you think?
A: ha ha
A: flatiron hall
He walked into the popular post-work bar and scanned the room for purple hair. He found Aurora sitting alone at a table with a full pint in front of her.
“You waited for me? How thoughtful of you, Rory!”
“Ha! You wish. This is my second beer. Third? No, yeah, second.”
“You’re losing track already?” He asked, shaking his head in faux disappointment, “That’s not a good sign.”
“Yeah, well, I’m in the mood to lose track of a lot of things.” She took a big gulp of her brimming beer. Damien flagged down a waitress and ordered one for himself as well as a large Bavarian pretzel; he wasn’t going to have her drinking this determinedly on an empty stomach. He sat down across from her and leaned over the table.
“So, you going to tell me what happened?”
“Hmm…” She considered, “Not yet.”
He nodded, “Okay, fair. How about we play a game, then? Familiar with Quarters?” Aurora shook her head.
Damien explained the rules as the waitress brought over his beer, the pretzel, and the empty glass he requested. “Put simply, you want to bounce the coin off the table and into this glass. You get it in? I drink. I get it in? You drink. If someone gets three in a row, that person gets to make a rule.”
She cracked her first smile of the night, “Alright, you’re on!”
Aurora was starting to get the hang of it during their first beer, but by the next one, Damien had landed three quarters in the glass. “Alright, Rory. My rule is that every time you miss, you have to tell me one thing that’s been bothering you.”
“Seriously, D?”
“I’m always serious.”
“That’s like, the opposite of true. But… okay.” He knew she always felt better once she’s talked through her problems, but he also knew that it took some nudging for her to open up. She bounced. It missed. Damien lifted a brow. “I’m bothered by the fact that I have to tell you what’s bothering me.” She said, chin jutting out defiantly.
“Well, it’s a start at least.” He bounced. It landed. She drank.
She bounced again. It missed again.“I’m bothered…” Aurora gave a deep sigh, “I’m bothered that with today’s technology, you’re pretty much always on the clock. That you can work all day and into the night when you should be having a life of your own, and it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Damien nodded; they were getting somewhere. “That’s one of the perks of working for myself, I make my own hours.”
“Lucky…” She muttered into the foam of her beer.
He bounced. It missed. She bounced. It landed. He drank.
“So,” Damien leaned back in his seat and placed his hands on his beer-filled belly after both their pints were drained, “What’s next?”
“Next? As in next tonight?”
He flashed her a roguish grin. “The night’s still young.”
“Not for me, I’ve got work in the morning.”
“Call in sick.” He shrugged, “Or quit.”
She let out a surprised laugh, “Just like that?”
“Why not? You’re clearly miserable there.”
“Well one very good reason why not is that I don’t have another job lined up.”
“Have you considered working freelance?” Aurora raised an eyebrow at him, “I’m serious, Rory. I’ve seen your work, you’re good. And with that annoying friendly thing you do—“ she threw a piece of pretzel at him, “Hey! I mean, you won’t have any trouble finding and keeping clients. Listen, I know I joke around a lot, but I honestly think you could strike it on your own. You’re clever, charming, resourceful, and talented as hell. I have my own business after all, and I’m doing pretty damn well for myself. If someone like me can do it, so can you.”
“It’s…” She paused, absentmindedly biting the inside of her cheek, “An interesting idea. I’ll think it over. But first I want a rematch!” She tossed a quarter in the air and completely missed as she made to snatch it back. God, she’s adorable, he thought, tenderly shaking his head as he reached into his pocket for another coin.
“I wanna go to the High Line!” Aurora twirled in a circle with her arms out wide as they stepped out of the bar. She suffered a devastating loss during their final round of Quarters and it was showing.
“Rory, that sounds like a spectacularly bad idea at this hour.”
She shot a wink at him over her shoulder as she began her westerly walk, “You’ll protect me, won’t you, tough guy? C’mon!” She linked her arm in his when she noticed he wasn’t following and dragged him down the street. Despite his misgivings, he relented.
They strolled downtown on the elevated walkway, talking and laughing, until they reached a spot that had reclined benches. Aurora laid down on one that was wide enough for two, but Damien chose the single one next to hers. They laid there in silence as he stared up at the invisible stars above them.
Aurora let out a deep sigh. “Have you ever had what you thought was your dream job, felt like you’ve finally made it, only to realize it’s so completely wrong for you?”
He hesitated. “Actually, yeah.” He could see Aurora prop herself up on her elbow and look at him out of the corner of his eye. He never talked much about his career, and even now he wasn’t sure how much he was ready to share. “You know that I worked for the NYPD before starting my private investigation business, but in between that I actually had another job abroad. I thought it was going to be incredible working overseas—and it was, for a time. But ultimately, it… it didn’t work out too well for me, at all. So I left.”
“Damien, I’m sorry,” Aurora replied softly, “I didn’t know.” He turned to face her with a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Don’t be. I’m much happier now. And I didn’t tell you that story for sympathy so you can get that look off your face. I told you because while it can be scary, making a major career shift can leave you much better off in the long run.”
Aurora was quiet for a moment, and then she spoke: “We got a new client at work—a beauty brand, really nice products, cruelty free. I spent almost two weeks working on this presentation of my ideas for our very first project for them. I basically gave up my entire weekend to perfect it. I was really excited about the brand and really proud of the designs I had come up with. Then my art director put my coworker, who essentially contributed nothing apart from snarky comments, in charge of the whole thing. I just… I put so much work into this. I really thought this project was going to be my chance to show the whole company what I’m capable of.”
“I’m sorry, Rory. I’ve seen what you can do,” He instinctively reached over and put his hand on hers, “They’re idiots for not recognizing your potential.”
“Thank you, D.” She wiped the tears that were beginning to form with the hand that was not under his. They stayed like that for a few moments until Damien became far too conscious of the feel of her skin against his and pulled his hand back, pretending to scratch his nose.
“You know,” She said, a resolved tone taking over, “I’m going to do it! Call in sick at least. I’ve gotta take some time and really think about what I want… Career-wise, I mean.”
He smiled, “Good for you, Rory.”
She pulled out her phone and typed up an email, “Aaand… Done!”
He sat up and reached out a hand to her. “Ready to get out of here?”
“Yeah.” She accepted his hand and he pulled her to her feet. They made their way towards the closest set of stairs, Damien walking a few steps ahead as he could tell she needed a few moments alone with her thoughts.
After a short time, Damien realized it was a little too quiet—he couldn’t hear Aurora’s footsteps. He turned around and saw her standing perfectly still, eyes wide. Next to her was an older man with wild hair and bulging eyes, his hand in his coat pocket pressed up against her side.
“I’ve got a knife,” He growled, “Give me both of your wallets and she won’t get hurt.”
“Okay, okay. Calm down.” Damien slowly stepped towards them with his hands up disarmingly. Aurora was biting down on her lip, a tear rolling down her cheek. The mugger kept glancing over his shoulders, the hand in his pocket shaking.
“I mean it,” He barked, “I’ll do it!” Damien needed to act quickly; from his blood shot eyes to his jerky movements, there was clearly something not right with this man.
“I know. Hold on, I’ll give you what you want. Just don’t—don’t hurt her, please.”
He carefully took his wallet out of his pocket, displaying it clearly for the man, and slowly reached forward, offering it up. The man released his hold on Aurora’s arm and made to grab it. Just what he was counting on. Damien gently but firmly pushed Aurora out of harm’s way and decked the mugger in the face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. He moved to tower over the shell-shocked man, grabbed him by his collar, and growled, “Get the hell out of here. Now!” The mugger scrambled to his feet and took off in the direction which they came, disappearing into the darkness. Damien had to take a steadying breath to keep from taking off after him and making him pay for threatening Aurora.
He rushed back over to Aurora, who was still standing there stunned, staring at the ground. He gripped her shoulders, careful not to squeeze too tightly despite every fiber of his being wanting to grab her in his arms and never let go. “Aurora! Are you okay?” He asked urgently, searching her face as she raised her eyes to meet his. Much to his confusion, she burst out into hysterical laughter. He stepped back slightly as her breaths became shorter with each laugh. Before he knew what was happening, those laughs dissolved into wracking sobs. Damien pulled her close as she cried into his chest.
“Damien,” She lifted her tear stained face to look back at him after she had cried herself out, “You saved me!”
“I said I’d protect you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah but… that guy had a knife! You risked your life for me!”
“He didn’t really.” Damien shrugged, “I’ve seen enough of these junkie types in my time on the force to know when someone is bluffing. It was just his hand in his pocket.”
“Still, he was unstable and you were brave.” She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, and Damien prayed she couldn’t feel how much it was burning up. “Thank you.”
“Oh! Uh, anytime. You know I’ve got your back.” He gave her a light punch to the arm. Smooth, Nazario, he thought. Though she was trying to put on a brave face, he could tell she was still shaken up. “I know somewhere we can go, come on.” They headed down the stairs, away from the High Line and towards a more populated part of the city, Damien’s arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder.
The two of them sat at a small table in the coffee shop, near empty at this time of night. Damien observed Aurora carefully as she sipped her chamomile tea.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I told you!”
“And you really don’t want me to bring you home?”
She shook her head vigorously, “I’m not ready to go home yet.”
“But—“
“D, I’m fine! I’m not as fragile as you seem to think.”
He stared into her eyes, trying to get a true read on how she was feeling. She stared defiantly back, not breaking eye contact even as she finished the last drop of her tea.
“Alright, fine.” He sighed, “What do you want to do if you don’t want to go home?”
“Gah, I still have so much adrenaline running through my veins! I need to get it out of my system. I want… I want to dance!” He rolled his eyes as she started to dance playfully right there in her seat, but inclined his head in the direction of the Bowery. She pumped her fist and they were on their way.
As they stood in line for the first club they came across, Damien leaned in and whispered, “See those girls in front of us? Definitely not twenty-one.”
“How do you know? They could just look young.” She countered.
“Look at what they’re doing, pay attention.”
Damien gestured for Aurora to watch as the girls carefully ordered and then re-ordered themselves in the line, occasionally intently looking down at their IDs, as if to study them.
“They’re going in based on who has the most convincing fake ID.” She puzzled out, “My guess is they’re putting the best ones at the front and back and spreading the others out in the middle.”
Damien grinned proudly, “If I were a betting man, I’d say two out of the five? Not getting in.”
The pair chatted as the line crawled forward, keeping an eye on the shifty group in front of them. When finally it was the girls’ turn to face the bouncer, he let the first one in with no problem. As predicted, the three in the middle were turned away. The last girl shrugged apologetically once she got her all clear and promised the others she would call in the morning.
“Nailed it.” Damien said, beaming.
“That you did,” Aurora conceded and tilted her head to the side with a small smirk, “If you had been a betting man, what would you have wanted for your prize?”
Damien’s words caught in his throat. Is she flirting? He asked himself, With me? As unbelievable as he found it, he couldn’t deny that there was something in her voice, something in her eyes, that confirmed his hope. He steeled himself, ready to test the waters. “Rory—” Just as he started to speak, he heard the bouncer yell “Next!”
Aurora was a hurricane out on the dance floor. Damien couldn’t take his eyes off her, and clearly he wasn’t the only one. She was dancing with this finance bro; expensive button down shirt and overly styled hair aside, every guy in the immediate area looked like they wanted to trade places with him. Aurora moved so fluidly with the music it was as if it were written just for her. Effortlessly sexy, it was clear that she wasn’t doing it for the attention, but for the joy of dancing. Damien leaned in to take a sip of his Old Fashioned and completely missed the straw, refusing to glance down for even a second.
After the song ended, Aurora left her partner and sauntered up to Damien, much to the dismay of her admirers. “All right, wallflower,” she shouted over the music, “You’re up!” She grabbed both of his hands and pulled him into the sea of people. She threw her arms onto his shoulders and started moving with the music as he stiffly rocked from side to side. She flashed a seductive smile over her shoulder as she turned around, swaying her hips with her back towards him. Damien swallowed hard and took a small step back.
“Stop being such a baby!” She laughed and placed his hands on her hips, moving in closer. His heart raced. You’re too old for her, Nazario, he told himself, these twenty-something guys are more her speed. But as even as he was thinking it, he knew it wasn’t true. He could keep up with her just fine. The thudding bass of the too loud music mixed with the feel of Aurora pressed against him made his head spin, but he liked it. He allowed himself to loosen up and get into it, moving his body in time with hers. She shifted her hair over to one side and Damien breathed her in, straining against his desire to brush his lips against her newly exposed neck. Instead he tightened his grip on her hips, keeping his own moving in perfect synchronization.
Soon, sooner than Damien hoped, the song changed. Aurora let out an excited squeal as the sounds of Toxic by Britney Spears filled the club. She, and every other woman of her age group in the place, started scream-singing along. Damien couldn’t stop laughing as she broke into elaborate choreography.
“Nadia and I put together a routine when we were younger!” She yelled while completing a less than graceful turn.
“It’s impressive!” He responded truthfully. It wasn’t the routine that impressed him though, it was Aurora herself. She brought a vivaciousness into everything she did and was full of life in a way that he never was, even before everything that happened with Interpol. She inspired him, broke him out of his comfort zone, and he loved her for it.
The song faded out and Aurora giggled, giving a small bow as Damien applauded. They made their way over to a booth on the side of the club so she could catch her breath. The two of them stared out at the club’s patrons; the couple mid-argument off to the side of the bar, the guy waving around a twenty dollar bill, desperately trying to catch the attention of the bartender, the girl coming to rescue her friend from a guy who obviously couldn’t take a hint on the dance floor. There was a whole ecosystem surrounding them but he was with Aurora, it was easy to forget that there were any other people around. He stole a few glances in her direction and noticed that her eyes start to glaze over after a while.
“Food time?” He asked.
“Food time.” She agreed.
Damien and Aurora wandered until they came across a 24 hour diner.
“I’ll have the tall stack of blueberry pancakes, please.” Damien said, handing his menu to the waiter.
“D, it’s three thirty in the morning.”
“Exactly, in the morning. Perfectly acceptable time to have pancakes. Plus it’s ideal for soaking up the alcohol.”
“Alright, I’m convinced. I’ll have a tall stack of pancakes too, please, but I’ll go with chocolate chip.”
“You’re easily swayed.” Damien teased as the waiter walked away.
Aurora shrugged, “Maybe I just trust your opinion.”
She flipped her paper placemat over to the blank side and dug around in her purse until she pulled out a pen. He lifted his mug to take a sip of coffee.
“Hold still! Right there!” Damien froze in place and gave her a confused look.
“I’m drawing you silly,” Aurora said with an air of exasperation. “Look off into the distance a little bit. Yes perfect, just like that. You’ve got this sexy, mysterious thing going on.” He tried to keep his blushing to a minimum given that she was staring directly at his face.
“Rory, my wrist is getting tired.”
“Don’t be such a wimp! This wont take long.”
To keep his mind off of his aching wrist, he watched her work. The way her steady hand flew across the paper. The way her eyes would flit up from her work, taking sections of him in. The way her typically smiling face was so serious. She was mesmerizing when she was concentrated.
“Hey!” She scolded with a giggle, “I’m supposed to be looking at you, not the other way around!”
He resumed his pensive stare into the distance with a small smirk on his face, sneaking sips of his coffee when she wasn’t looking.
“There!” She pushed the drawing across the table with a yawn. “But be warned, I’m no Nadia. Plus it’s not even my best work—I’m a bit tired due to someone keeping me out all night.”
He looked down at the sketched out version of himself. For someone who wasn’t the artist of her family it wasn’t half bad. Though not a perfectly precise rendition, Damien felt that she had really captured his spirit.
While he was admiring her drawing, the waiter arrived with their pancakes. Aurora reached over to grab the placemat out of his hand and, much to Damien’s dismay, put her plate right on top of it. The two munched away at their late night meal, Damien flinching slightly with every small mess Aurora made.
“Well, it’s past four.” he announced, checking his watch once they had finished, “What do you say we call it?” He didn’t want their time together to come to an end, but her exhaustion was clearly written across her face.
She nodded, “Probably for the best given that I have some life altering career decisions to make tomorrow.”
Damien flagged down the waiter to bring them their bill. Aurora reached for the check but he was faster, “Nope! My treat for keeping you out all night, as you phrased it.”
“Thank you, D. And for the record that was a joke; I’ve been having a great time.”
“Attempted mugging aside?”
“Possibly even including it, I haven’t let it fully sink in.”
As they headed out of the diner, Damien lingered by the table a moment. As he put down the tip, he grabbed the now syrup-stained placemat, folded it up, and placed it in his pocket.
They waited for a train at the Essex street stop. And waited. And waited. Damien slowly paced back and forth on the platform as Aurora sank to a squat. Nearly twenty minutes had passed and they had no way of knowing how much longer it would be; of course this was one of the only stations in the entire city without a subway countdown clock.
Aurora perked her head up at the soft sounds of music drifting up from below. She stood up and looked over at Damien. “Wanna check it out?”
“Why not? Not like it’s going to make the train take even longer.”
They descended the steps to the F train platform where they saw an older man playing the saxophone. Aurora swayed from side to side with her eyes closed. Damien dropped a dollar into his case as the old man gave him a smiling nod and started up again.
“Oh, I love this song.” Aurora sighed. Damien grinned and offered his hand. She accepted and he pulled her close, one hand holding hers up and the other placed lightly on her waist as they swayed back and forth to the music. She rested her head onto his shoulder, having her floral yet musky scent so close was almost intoxicating. She lifted her head slightly and started softly singing along to the song. “I only have eyes for you, dear.” The sound of her airy voice in his ear and the feel of her warm breath against his skin sent shivers down his spine. And those lyrics… Suddenly, it was as if the temperature raised twenty degrees; he could feel himself start to sweat. It was all too much. He let his arms drop as he stepped back and caught a flash of what looked like disappointment on Aurora’s face.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s go.” He could sense her struggling to keep up as he swiftly strode up the stairs, bur he didn’t slow. He needed air. When they got back out onto the road, the first light of the new day started to peek through.
They began to make their way towards the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge, walking in a comfortable silence.
“Oh, D! Look!” Aurora exclaimed, hurrying towards the side of the bridge. They were about halfway across and the sun was now fully rising over the still-sleeping Manhattan. Damien came to stand behind her as she placed both hands on the railing, as if trying to lean into the colors themselves. The sight of the city silhouetted against the colorful sky with the East River sparkling really was breathtaking.
He looked over at Aurora. She was so beautiful, the pink-orange glow of the sunrise dancing across her features, the wind coming off the river below whipping her hair around. She turned her gaze to him, smile lighting up her face. Damien reached over and brushed the wind-blown hair out of her face, not taking his eyes from hers. He took a readying breath, glanced down at her lips, and leaned in.
“Aurora, I…”
Suddenly, they heard the sharp ring of a bell and jumped back. A harried looking commuter rode past them on a bicycle and shouted, “You’re on the wrong side of the bridge, assholes!” The unexpected shock wore off after a few seconds and the two of them burst out laughing. Damien looked back over at Aurora, but he knew the moment had passed.
He cleared his throat. “C’mon, Rory, let’s get you home.” The two of them ambled the remaining distance of the bridge and made their way to the Marcy Avenue stop. They had finally arrived in Brooklyn.
“I could always nap at your place, if you would just tell me where it is.” Aurora yawned as they sat down on the train.
“Heh, not a chance, Rory. A man’s gotta have have some secrets.”
“Too many if you ask me.” She mumbled as her eyes began to droop. She leaned her head against his shoulder and her breathing steadied. He hesitated for a second before wrapping his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in a little closer. Staring down at her asleep in his arms, he let himself imagine what it would be like if they were together, if she were his. They would be… happy. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.
“I love you.” He whispered into her hair, “I hope you know that.” Aurora replied by drooling onto his shoulder. Damien smiled sadly and held her tighter.
Before he knew it, the voice of automated announcement sounded: “This is Myrtle Avenue-Broadway. The next stop is Kosciuszko Street.” He sighed, this train ride was entirely too short. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” he said, after dropping his arm and shaking her shoulder gently, “Next stop is you.”
“Hnnf?” She sat up bleary-eyed and looked around. “Aw D, your shirt.”
He gave her a small smile, patting the drool stain, “Don’t worry about it, it’s a badge on honor.” She shot him a half-awake grin back, poking the stain as the train slowed to a stop
“Ugh!” Aurora moaned as they stood up and disembarked, “My legs are shaking!”
“Well, we did walk about seven miles total. And if you’re thinking I’m going to give you a piggyback ride home you can forget about it.”
“Fine.” She pouted jokingly while descending the steps of the station.
“Thank you. For everything tonight.” She said as they approached her apartment building, “I really needed this.”
“Yeah, well, happy to help. I… I care about you, Rory.”
She pulled him into a quick, warm hug and smiled sleepily, “Yeah, I know.” She climbed the steps to the front door. “Hey, you’re going to Nadia’s art show tomorrow right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Great, I’ll see you there, then.” She unlocked the building door, pushed it open, and turned around. “Love ya, D.”
“Yeah, you too, Rory.” He placed his hands in his pockets and strode back towards the train.
