Chapter Six

Waking up at 8 o'clock I check my phone and there was a message from Brad 'do you want to meet for lunch there is a great cafe on 43rd Street' I hadn't heard from him all day yesterday and after a great night the other night I was looking for seeing Bra. I text him back to say that I meet him at 1 o'clock, this morning there was a Gossip Girl tour leaving at 10 o'clock from Central Park, it was an hour touring New York of all the scenes made famous in Gossip Girl. With nothing to do and plans to meet Brad and Jenny later I decided to give it a go I grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee and headed up the block to Central Park, memories of being here with Brad made me smile to myself as I walked across the still snow covered park. The bus that was taking us on the on the tour was similar to the red buses we have back at home. I grabbed a seat on the top deck at the back of the bus, checking my phone and texting mum as I waited for my fellow gossip girl fans to join me. mum taxed back that she'd missed me and was looking forward to me coming home. By this point I was a bit homesick I missed my bed, my family and my dog I said I'd be home soon and to make sure she had the kettle on when I got there. As we departed for the tour the tour guide give us a map and a gossip girl key ring and although I'm not a big fan of tours I was looking forward to seeing the sights as we began to set off. The tour lasted for two hours taking goes all through Manhattan and finishing at the Empire hotel which was a big focus in the series, as we departed the bus I made my way towards the cafe Brad had mentioned.

I was early so decided to look in a few shops and redo my make up in the restroom obviously I wasn't looking as good as the last time Brad had seen me but I would do I thought. Not wanting to turn up to early and be sat on my own waiting for him, I purposely was fifteen minutes late. Arriving at the coffee shop, it was a small intimate place that looked like it was family owned, the cafe served comfort food such as chicken, Mac and cheese and sandwiches. I was quite relieved as I wasn't dressed for anywhere up market as I had many layers on from the cold. As I went in to the cafe Brad was that in view sat at the front of the cafe, looking quite casual too, he had a jumper and chino's on, he actually look quite good at sporting the casual look, I mean he could look good in a bin bag. As I approached the table Brad stood up and kissed me on the cheek and said 'you look freezing' and I told him I've been on the Gossip Girl tour. He apologise for the lack of contact yesterday said work had kept him there till 8 o'clock at night. I told him about the theatre and he said I should have waited because it was something he wanted to see too 'well you should spend the whole day at work then should you?' I said. I practically described the whole show to him, he said that he might as well leave it now because he knows exactly what happens 'everyone knows what happens in the Lion King l' I joked. I ordered a large glass of wine and a chicken club sandwich as I was still full from breakfast. Brad ordered chicken and coleslaw as we waited for food I also told him about Jenny how weird it was to see an old school friend here in New York. I told him I was jealous of her working here and if we would've stayed friends I probably would have been here too, who knows. Brad was listening to me talk and talk and although he couldn't get a word in anyway he seemed quite quiet, not his normal flirty self. At first I just put him down as being tired from work but as I went on I started to think maybe it was something else. He just seemed like he wasn't on this planet he had a glazed look in his eyes and was just be replying basic answers. The food was really good definitely home classic food and the wine went down well as well, so well I ordered another large glass I thought I'd enjoy myself .Brad got up to go to the restroom as we finished our food I took this opportunity to reapply my lipstick and reply to message from Jenny to say she was looking forward to seeing me later, she wanted to go out but I have nothing to wear maybe I could wear the red dress again but with the jacket this time so didn't look too over the top. I had really no choice so I set my mind on wearing that I hope I didn't bump into Brad recycling his dress dress. Just as I'd finished thinking about what I was going to wear, Brads phone which he left on the table received a text message the name was 'SC' and from what I could see of the message on his lock screen it read 'yesterday was great' with about five heart emojis. The message went on but I couldn't see the remainder of the message who is 'SC' 'Side chick' maybe and I thought he was at work yesterday. Brad arrived back at the table I didn't mention anything and it was a good five minutes before he looked at his phone pressing the home button and his lock screen came up with the message I had seen, he quickly turned the phone over so the screen was against the table and asked if I wanted to get the bill I think he could tell by my face that I had seen the message for the second that it was up but I don't think he knew that the message came through whilst he was on the toilet. In my mind I was thinking do I say something? do I ask who was that? we have only been on one actual date, I would look like a psycho surely so I decided not to say nothing.

We walked along fifth Avenue and Brad still seemed not fully with it 'so why was it a long day yesterday at work? is that something you regular?' Brad looked at me and I could tell that he knew I was questioning him 'yeah sometimes I have to work long hours, it's the nature of the job, I get a lot of days off but some days I am called into the office by back-to-back meetings and that's what it was like yesterday' 'alright well I suppose it's not too bad then' 'you don't seem yourself today' I said 'sorry' he replied 'I just got a lot on my mind 'he replied as we sat on a bench overlooking a few shops on the other side of the road. 'I go home in two days' I said 'yeah I know, that's a shame' he replied with no emotion at all but I thought he'd be a bit more gutted I thought to myself. I can feel myself getting more frustrated as Brad replied one word answers to my questions I just laughed as I blurted out 'well maybe when I go home you can see whoever you seen yesterday and had a great time with you, sending heart emojis' I raised my eyebrows. He obviously knew what I was on about 'I wasn't being nosy the text message came through when you was on the toilet and I had a look and that was the front of the message so was you really at work yesterday' 'it was a work colleague' he said 'we had a few meetings together.' I stayed silent I didn't really believe what he was saying his attitude was different today and he was obviously distracted by something else. I just rolled my eyes and looked straight forward watching people go in and out of the shops. After two minutes I was just sitting there in silence and he turned around and said 'well what's that got to do with you anyway?' I couldn't believe he was giving me attitude and talking to me like this. This was a completely different person that had been on the date with, that I was getting to know, I didn't fully understand what I had done wrong I thought if it was that much of a secret he should've took his phone with him . I just stared at him raising my eyebrows and frowning. Brad stood up and said that he had to go somewhere as I watched him walk down the avenue I still sat on the bench wondering what the hell is going on. His attitude reminded me of them selfish ex-boyfriend's I had previously dated, yes I had a good time with Brad abut now I was kind of glad I was going home and I didn't have the same again. I text Brad and said maybe we shouldn't meet each other for the remainder of the time I was here, I deleted the messages that we had sent and accepted that I wouldn't speak to him again.

I was annoyed upset but I wasn't too bothered, this trip was about me and I should go and enjoy myself. I felt stupid for the things I have done I mean who goes walking round the park and on the boat with a complete stranger anyway. I had a good time with Brad and was just going to put it down as part of my adventure. I headed back to my hotel I was freezing, I needed a bath to warm up after sitting on the bench for around an hour. I also needed to get ready for a major maybe night out and to see New York's nightlife maybe it would help me forget about Brad.

The hotel I delivered the toiletries basket to my bathroom when I got back , nice bubble bath, face masks and conditioning treatments and a note to say they hope I was enjoying my trip and I had a great time in the hotel. Perfect timing I thought as I applied the face masks and ran myself a bath using all of the products, they all looked very nice and you could tell they wasn't the cheap stuff you got in hotels back at home. As I lay in the bath and listened to some chill out music I was still annoyed by what had just happened, if anything I just felt stupid, Brad was obviously a womaniser and you must do this all the time. must look out for tourist on their own, maybe his plan was to sleep with me and he would disappear but I didn't given the opportunity. I didn't felt like he was pushing for it but I can imagine many girls would given after being wined and dined. As I was getting ready I put on the dress, a jacket and the shoes I had brought a few days earlier.

I headed to the bar and met Jenny, she was finishing her shift 'give this gorgeous girly a drink 'she said to the waiter as he passed me a beer. Jenny said that she needed to go and get ready and should be back there in half an hour 'have you had something to eat' she said I shook my head said 'not up not since dinnertime' 'okay will go and grab something to eat and a few cocktails I've got is on the guest list for a few clubs tonight'. Jenny reappeared from the back of the bar it was definitely not the look I was used to seeing her in, leather pants and a red crop top, her make up was quite dark and she look like she walked out of the rock band. 'Check you out' I said admiring her for slim figure 'come on you let's go' I quickly finished my drink and we headed out onto the street .

I was definitely ready for a girls night, I don't really get much at home apart from the work friends but I guess they not my work friends any more just my friends thing is I don't work there. As we headed through Time Square we went to the Hard Rock Cafe where we should nachos and a few cocktails Jenny knew quite a lots of the staff working there so the cocktails were stronger than I think they normally make them, I could deafly feel the effects after two, when I drink I know it's getting to me as my face becomes numb so I definitely knew that the way we was going it was going to be a good night and a horrible morning due to my hangover. I definitely wanted to make the most of it and I definitely wanted a night to remember with Jenny. When we had finished at the Hard Rock Cafe it was heading towards11 PM. She said we was a bit early for the clubs so we would go to another bar she knew just off Broadway. This bar was clearly popular as the queue outside already had around fifty people waiting to go in. As I went to join the queue not looking forward to standing in the cold to get in Jenny grabbed hold of my hand and headed to the front of the queue. The other people waiting looked in disgusted as we queue jumped as we got to the front. Jenny flung her arms around the one of the door staff she clearly knew him and they clearly had a good relationship by the looks of things. He pulled back the red rope and checked out Jenny as she walked past him. I could just tell that there is something going on and she definitely made us leave the Hard Rock Cafe early on purpose so she could come here, I have done the same tricks and I was definitely on her, I thought she was seeing the guy in the other bar but maybe I was mistaken. As we sat in the booth that was covered in red velvet seats and a table with a ice bucket in the middle Jenny screamed as another girl come over 'what would you like' she said 'the usual' Jenny said 'but make them good ones' winking at me. 'So who is the guy in the door?' I said winking back at her 'No one just a friend' ' just a friend' I said 'yeah sure' she put her head down and smiled 'well it's Jason we have been texting for a few weeks he is the brother of my room mates, he actually is a really nice guy not like the guys you get home' she said still smiling. You could tell that she did really like him by the way she was smiling 'well what's going to happen' I said as the girl appeared with two jugs of cocktails Jenny looked to me as if to tell me to shut up. 'That was his ex-girlfriend and because we are friends I don't want her knowing not yet until I am sure it was definitely worth having it out with her over, I'm sure she won't mind she's moved on already it's just a bit awkward'. 'I know what you mean we've all been there' I replied pouring the cocktail out of the jug into two glasses. The blue cocktail looked slightly sweet and I just wondered how we was going to get through both of them but by what I've seen in the past couple of hours we would definitely get through them! Jenny went on to tell me about Jason and how they had a couple of dates, it sounded really sweet and I actually hoped that it would work out for them. Jenny was never into boys at school she kept her head down and I can't remember ever hearing of her having a boyfriend at home she had six brothers which probably made it rather hard for her back in the UK . Jenny downed the cocktail and told me to hurry up with my glass so she could pour some more, I asked what clubs we was going to she said there was a party on at the club round the corner and I promotion night for a new vodka brand that her friends will hosting, she seem to have a lot of friends here and there she spoke about them I was slightly jealous that she had settled in and seem to be having a whale of a time. Quite surprisingly we finished the cocktails in record time, by this point I could deafly feel it. Jenny was getting more and more loud screaming at songs that came on from the DJ, dancing sat down, I could definitely tell she was a fun girl to go out with and thought I best get her address written down in my phone so I could drop her off home later because it seem like she wouldn't be in a state to talk never mind get home. She was showing no signs of slowing down on the drinks I thought that I might have to look after jess if she carried on drinking like this. To my surprise she ordered two glasses of water and the girl with her who she knew brought over a bowl of chips and peanuts. 'Let's ourselves' she said 'we've got a long night ahead of us' 'just what I was thinking, I didn't think you was going to last if you carried on that' she laughed and said she was actually quite sensible. The bar had typical 'get the party started music' a bit of Dolly Parton and Spice Girls, this was my type of bar I'm not into grime or any hard-core music that they normally play in clubs. I like a good dance Jenny said the club we was going to was pretty similar up-to-date R&B music and a few golden classics. I was looking forward to the night ahead I normally get home early from nights out as I can't hack the pace and crave my bed and a kebab around 12 o'clock. It was already 12 o'clock and I just wanted to get to the club that Jenny had bigged up all night.

We left the bar and I waited as Jenny had another warm embrace with Jason at the doors, he said that he probably would see us later after he'd finished here and got changed. 'Don't leave me for him' I said 'you need to stay with me, I don't know where I am' 'don't be daft, Jason will probably take us home, he doesn't drink so he will drive to the club, is not one of these typical lads he's actually quite caring'. We walked a couple of blocks from the bar and I could see in the distance that the club was quite busy, there was girls outside blowing fire and what seemed like a circus theme going on. There were cameras and a lot of security outside with a huge red carpet leading into the club. Jenny pulled out two tickets from her bag and passed me one 'you need this to get in not many people have did you know think yourself lucky' I wondered where we was actually going. When we arrived at the door our tickets were swapped with wrist bands and we was guided to an area to get a picture taken in front of the backdrop of promoting the vodka. Me and Jenny posed like we used to do when we was kids and we laughed as we reminisced walking away from the booth. When we are got into the club an assistant guided us to a an area that had white tables and comfy looking white leather seats and ropes around. 'What would you like to drink ladies?' A familiar English accent said as a man appeared with no clothes on just small white PVC shorts on, body paint and a masquerade style mask on. 'We would have a bottle of champagne' Jenny said as we sat in the seats. Jenny grabbed my arms in excitement and said how much of a great night we was going to have. It seemed like we was getting the VIP treatment 'where did you get the tickets from?' I said 'oh we get them for work because we stock the vodka there was a competition to win the tickets, obviously I fixed it so we would get them' she laughed. As the nearly naked man appeared with our champagne . As I expected the night was absolute blast me and Jenny danced on tables and was supplied with ridiculous amounts of champagne. She was right about the music it was definitely the type I was in to, we was dancing to Rihanna and Drake, Justin Bieber, anything you can think up that gets the club going.

By the time I knew it, it was heading towards 4 AM, the night had gone so fast and it was possibly the best night I've had in my entire life. Me and Jenny were constantly in fits of laughter taking the mick out of each other's dance moves and even getting the nearly naked assistants involved which we weren't complaining about. About 4:30 Jason arrived with a friend who he obviously brought to keep me entertained, as him and Jenny were all over each other. His friend was very good looking but wasn't my type but he did a good job of keeping me company whilst they enjoyed their loved up moments together. Jason and Jenny obviously wanted to get back home and it was looking like the relationship was going to progress to the next level as they couldn't keep their hands off each other. As we all headed for the exit, the club was still in full for, this is definitely going to be a good night for those staying behind. Jason told us to wait outside while he went and got his car he then pulled up in a black range Rover and we all got in. I don't know how much bouncers make here but he must have another job to afford a car like this but who was I to pry. He dropped me off at my hotel, there was no door staff on but no surprise as it was approaching 5 o'clock. I had taken the shoes off in the car so I walked through reception shamelessly in bare feet.

I got to my room grabbed some water and painkillers for the morning, took my make-up off and climbed into the huge bed. I was definitely ready to be here and don't think I could've lasted in the club much longer, my feet with the size of canoes through all the dancing, they had swelled so I covered them in cream and raised them on a pillow. I got comfy in bed as I set my alarm for the morning as I had a big busy day of trying to fit in all my remaining sightseeing. I noticed I had a text message from five hours ago it was from Brad 'I'm sorry I can explain, please don't think of me badly because of today. can we meet tomorrow xx' I deleted the message and turned over leaving my phone at the other side of the bed. I definitely wasn't interested in hearing his excuses after treating me the way he did today.

I had had a great night and was looking forward to tomorrow, well not the hangover but visiting the last places I wanted to see. I had done quite well with money so I had a couple of hundred dollars left over that I decided I would go shopping with treating myself to something nice whilst I was over here. I can't believe it has gone so fast, I have completely fell in love with New York and couldn't wait to come back, maybe next time Jenny will put me up and I won't even have to pay for a Hotel, who knows. Thinking about of what I have seen here, I have seen quite a bit on the first day, I think I seen most of my list of what I wanted to see. It was definitely trip I needed, to relax and enjoy myself, get away from home. When I get back the first thing I'm going to have to do is to go job hunting, get myself a job quickly, hopefully not in sales but earning some good money. I didn't want to be unemployed for long that was for sure. I was tossing and turning for ages, I couldn't get to sleep. I think the Red Bull I had consumed with the vodka earlier on in the night was going to give me up. I put on the TV hoping I would drop off at some point, on the other side of the bed was the teddy that Brad had bought me. I grabbed it and cuddled up to it, trying not to think it was associated with Brad, it was just a souvenir that I had got along the way in my trip.