Move

Riley and I didn't talk for the next few days. I didn't even know why he was the one that left. I'm the one with the secret. Not him.

Every day I went to the GWOOD building looking for him. Every day Lauren told me he was gone. Did I do something? Did he do something? I had no clue. I wanted to find him and just show him what I could do. I didn't know what he'd think though.

On Monday, the day before the Bouncer was due, I found Riley in his cubicle as I walked by. He was reading a copy of the new GWOOD magazine. He stopped me as I walked by.

"You have received a gift. It's in your office." He said without looking up from the magazine.

I paused amazed he was there before my eyes. It had been five days since I'd seen him. His beauty still dazzled me.

"Thanks?" I questioned. I walked away slowly curious of who could have possibly given me a gift.

As I entered the office I found a large bouquet of roses in red, yellow, and pink. I walked over to them in utter bewilderment.

Flowers? From whom exactly? And were those, chocolates? Only one person knew my true love for chocolate.

I grabbed the little card attached to the vase. It was soft velvet.

"Dear Alyssa," I read Riley's perfect writing out loud. "Meet me in the back alley after my shift is done."

The back alley? There surely wasn't anything special about it. I slipped the card into a drawer so no one could find it.

I spent my day talking with my friends about the magazine and products. usual business conversation. It was usual until Ann mentioned Riley.

"So, what happened?" She asked.

"You mean," I started, "you don't know?" I asked. Riley usually told them everything because he knew I didn't like to be asked. They shook their heads.

"Nope." Bria said. We sat there like that for a while. I was still suprised they didn't know.

"Alright," Diane said, "we do know. Not everything though."

I sighed. "You don't need to know what made him leave." They all frowned. If I told them I would be telling them my secret. So, I didn't.

Instead I said, "What if I told you the flowers were from Riley?" They all jumped from their seats and ran to the flowers. Diane started feeling one of them. I slid myself up on the desk so I sat next to the flowers.

"What are they for?" Ann asked.

"He wants to meet me after his shift." I replied. They all looked at the clock. I followed their gaze. It was 4:32. Riley was done at 4:30.

They all looked back at me. "Well, go get him tiger!" Bria said. I jumped off of the desk and grabbed my coat heading for the door. I was out of the office before I could say 'goodbye'.

I could still hear them as I rushed down the hall past the cubicles. I stopped at Riley's and he wasn't there. His computer was logged off. He was already gone.

My feet pushed me towards the elevator. I hopped in and pushed the "1" button over and over.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I said. The people behind me were staring at me. I turned to face them.

"Hello." I said in a hushed tone. One of them said, "It's Ms. Greenwood." The elevator door opened before they could start talking to me. I rushed out and ran down the escalator steps. I wanted to use my power to get there quicker but, I couldn't.

I rushed past Lauren, through the employee door, down the blank hall, and out into the alley. I looked around searching for Riley. My ears told me there wasn't another breath around. I spun around and almost fell down.

"Riley!" I shouted suprised by his presence. How did I not know he was coming? "Don't do that!" I shouted as I shoved him teasingly.

"I apologize." He said. My heartbeat slowed down.

"Well," I paused, "thank you for the flowers."

He grinned his perfect grin. "You're welcome. And," He paused, "you are prbably wondering why I invited you to an alley." That was exactly what I was thinking.

"Yes. Yes, I am." I replied.

He moved closer to me. I moved back slightly. "Do you trust me?" He asked with concern.

"You aren't the one that should be asking that question." I said with a hoarse giggle.

Riley picked me up in his arms with one single motion. He didn't look bothered by the extra weight he was holding in his arms.

"Well, I trust you." He said to me. His breath smelled like his cologne. It was amazing.

Riley crouched as if he were about to jump. He looked at me and he did jump. We didn't fall back to the ground though. Wind was rushing past my face. I looked away from his face and saw that we were flying over New York.

"Woah!" I said. We were flying higher than the GWOOD building which was 32 stories high. I looked at Riley and we both smiled. It felt great and scary at the same time.

So this is what flying was like. It felt the same way my running felt. Riley stopped flying higher and just hoovered. I pressed my head against his chest. He felt so strong.

We started going back down but, I didn't look where we were going. Riley gently let me go. I realized we were back in the alley.

He looked worried. Afraid of what I would say. "What do you think?" He asked.

I grinned. "I think I need to give you a back ride."

He gave me a frustrated look. "I just showed you I could fly and you want to give me a back ride?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He shook his head. "I don't know what you are up to Alyssa Greenwood but," He stopped and grasped my shoulders. "alright. I don't want to hurt you."

I smiled. "Trust me. You won't hurt me." He hopped on and I shifted him so his weight was balanced.

My feet started to run. I got faster and faster. Riley's grip tightened. I ran down the alley and into the forest. When he realized I was in control he loosened and looked at the whooshing trees going by.

I kept going and slowed down when I though Riley had enough. I stopped and let him off. I turned around to see what his expression would say.

He pursed his lips and gave a faint smile. "What else can you do?" I smiled a real smile for the first time in a long time.