Diamonds in the Sky

Sean entered Central Park near the lake and they walked leisurely around for several hours. He took her through Strawberry Fields and then Shakespeare Garden. They walked quietly, Elise snapping pictures of this and that with her phone as they walked. Sean watched her from the corner of his eye, smiling at the smile that that never faded from her face. He guided her by the elbow towards Belvedere Castle and then to the Loeb Boathouse for lunch.

“This is amazing, Sean. I can not thank you enough for showing me around today,” Elise gushed after they had ordered.

“It’s nothing,” Sean replied. “I haven’t had a day to just relax like this in awhile.”

Elise smiled. “Well it means a lot to me. You don’t even know me and you took a whole day to show me around.”

Sean shrugged. “You're Max’s friend, which means you’re Zoe’s friend. She’d kill me if I didn’t take care of her friend. She’s funny that way.”

Elise laughed. “I think I saw that first hand once.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I made some off the cuff remark about Danny and got the cold shoulder from her for two days.”

Sean chuckled. “I hope you took that as a lesson learned. You can say whatever you want about anyone, Max included, but never say an unkind word about Danny. She’ll cut you over that.”

“Tell me about it. She’s very.....” she searched for the right word.

“Protective,” Sean supplied.

“Yes,” Elise agreed. “So tell me more about you, Sean.”

“What do you want to know?”

Elise shrugged. “All I know about you is that you’re a retired hockey player who is best friends with my friend’s wife. And that you’re an admitted douche. So what else should I know?”

“I’m a great lay,” he answered with a smug smile.

She shook her head at him. “Not what I was looking for. Just tell me about you.”

He began to tell Elise about his childhood, how he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Red Wings, and his travels through the NHL to now. He talked about his Vogue internship, becoming an owner of Warren 77, and he told her the story of how he and Zoe had become friends. She laughed throughout that tale, mostly at Sean’s expense. He prodded her to tell him about her life so she obliged him with a condensed version of her childhood, her life in college and then getting her start in the financial world, working up the position she was in now. They talked through their meal and as their waiter brought him the check, he asked the question that had been on his mind since he met Elise.

“Boyfriend?” Sean asked.

Elise shook her head. “Last one cheated on me; said I was a workaholic and started sleeping with my roommate so I took a job here and moved.”

“His loss.” Elise smiled shyly as Sean sat back in his chair and studied her. He had dated actresses and models for years, vapid, self centered girls that didn’t give two shits about what he did so long as he paid them attention when he was around. Elise was none of those, actually leaning forward to listen to him when he talked about his former career. She was around 5’5” with a set of curves Sean had a hard time not thinking about. Even in her jeans and simple navy blue sweater, he couldn’t stop looking at the v-neck that showed her small but perky cleavage, or the way the sweater clung to her waist, or the way her jeans fit her ass like a second skin. No heels, no makeup, a simple ponytail and he was hooked. He had to keep reminding himself of his promise to Max and Zoe and resist the urge to hold her hand. He remembered how her honey brown hair fell in waves past her shoulders that night in Zoe’s kitchen and his fingers ached to free her hair from her ponytail and run through the silky locks.

“What’s next Mr. Tour Guide?” Elise asked, pulling Sean from his thoughts.

“I thought we’d hit the carousel before we headed back,” he suggested.

“Are you serious?” Elise asked excitedly. “I love carousels.”

“Most girls do.”

“Ah, I see now. You take all the girls to the carousel, don’t you? Is that how you get in their panties?”

“That usually doesn't take much work. Its usually an open invitation there.” Elise blushed. “I didn’t mean...shit! I’m sorry, Elise. I’m not really known for my tact...or thinking before I speak,” Sean said contritely. “I’ve actually never visited the carousel before. I've walked past it but never taken anyone there.”

“You want to take me there?”

“Seemed like something you have to do at least once, right?”
Elise smiled warmly.

“Yes, definitely something you have to do at least once.”

Sean signed the receipt for lunch and rose from his chair, pulling Elise’s chair back as she rose to her feet as well. He offered his arm to her and she linked hers through his and Sean led them back through the park to the carousel. There was a short line of people waiting and they stood in line with them, chatting about nothing in particular. After ten minutes, it was their turn to climb on. Elise walked around the entire carousel, carefully appraising each horse before settling on two. She climbed atop one and patted the other one, inviting Sean to sit.

“Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone you rode on a carousel today,” Elise promised. Sean pulled himself up on the horse next to Elise, thankful it was on the inside row. She smiled at him and he smiled back. The ride started moments later and Elise pulled her phone out, snapping a quick picture of Sean as the horses moved up and down. He grabbed the phone from her and took one of her. He smirked as he sent the pictures to himself via text message.

“Lean over here,” he commanded, leaning off his horse towards her. She leaned into him, using one hand to hold herself in place, the other on Sean’s horse to steady herself. He held her phone out in front of them and snapped a picture. She settled back onto her horse when he did the same. He sent the picture to himself and then saved his number under her contacts before handing her phone back to her. He pulled his own phone out as it vibrated in his pocket, promptly tweeting the picture of the both of them, the carousel filling the background.

As the ride came to a stop, Sean hopped down from his horse and grabbed Elise around the waist and pulled her from her horse. His arm automatically tightened around her once he had her in his arms. He stared down into her gentle blue eyes and fought the desire to kiss her right then and there. Elise sighed and went on tiptoe, laying her lips softly across his and kissing him. “Thank you,” she whispered before skipping off the carousel. He stood frozen in place and watched her. He could still feel the light pressure of her lips on his. Dazed, he followed her and she slipped her arm through his as they walked out of the park and back home.