Page 34 of So This Is Love

My stomach rumbles, reminding me that I have neglected to feed it for most of the day unless you count the iced coffee and croissant that I had hours ago.

“Sushi sounds amazing, but I still don’t think being in public together is a great idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not trying to have pictures of me and you together sprawled all over the internet.”

“They won’t be,” Bryce says.

“You can’t guarantee that,” I argue. “I can see the headlines now ‘Singer Sonny seen out with mysterious woman’ and then they do a deep dive into my life and find pictures of me from when I was 12 with braces, fully in my awkward stage. No thank you.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Bryce says. I start to interject but he keeps talking. “And Icanguarantee that, if you come over instead. I’ll get the food delivered and we can watch whatever show that you love so much you can recite it from memory.”

I blink hard, shocked by the invitation Bryce just gave. Of all the retorts I expected him to give for my pushback on not wanting to be seen in public, this was not one of them. I chew on my bottom lip contemplating the offer.

“It’s not a big deal,” Bryce says, picking up on my hesitation. “If you don’t want to, that's cool too. I just thought I’d offer.”

“That would actually be really nice,” I say.

“I’ll send you the menu, tell me what you want and I’ll place the order.”

“Okay,” I reply in agreement.

My phone buzzes with a text notification from him and I see two links, one for the restaurant’s menu and another for the rideshare he ordered from my place to his.

“Thank you for the ride, you didn’t have to do that.”

“You don’t have to thank me Laila. I asked you to come over, it’s the least I could do. I was gonna offer to come get you myself, but I had a feeling you’d shoot a nigga down again.”

I giggle at his words.

“Mmhm, like I thought,” Bryce says. “When you get here, tell the front desk your name and they’ll let you up. Send me what you want and I’ll see you soon aight?”

I nod and we end the call. I send him the sushi I want and gather my things to leave my apartment right as the rideshare arrives.

I was expecting Bryce to live in a nice place but the bougie luxury that surrounds me when I walk into the lobby of his building still catches me off guard. The marble floors gleam, as if they have just been polished and are free of any signs of snow or salt that existed right outside the doors.

“Good evening miss,” the man at the desk says as I approach. “How can I help you?”

“Hello, I’m here to see someone.”

“What’s your name?”

“Laila, Laila Eden,” I reply.

“Ah yes, welcome Ms. Eden, Mr. Taylor already added you to his approved visitors list just give me one moment.”

The man taps away on the computer in front of him for a minute and then hands me a keycard. It’s black with the name of the building,Halcyon, etched into it with gold lettering. Slightly confused, I look towards the man for guidance, but he simply gestures towards the elevators behind him and says, “Floor 37.”

I take the short walk to the elevators and press the call button. The doors almost immediately open and I step on, pressing the ‘37’ button on the keypad. The doors close behind me, but the elevator doesn’t move. I start to press the button again but then see why I needed the keycard. I tap it against the nondescript scanner next to the numbers and the elevator is set in motion.

The elevator dings as the doors slide open to the middle of Bryce’s living room. I step off of the elevator and take in the large open concept space of the living room, kitchen and dining room all with floor to ceiling windows. The space feels masculine but not like a bachelor pad. Moody with the dark blues, black and gray but not cold.

I hear footsteps from the hallway to my right and then I see Bryce.

“My bad, I meant to be out here when you came up,” he says as he crosses the room to me.

He pulls me into a hug, the embrace warm and comforting even though it catches me off guard at first.

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