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The air hitting her face wasn't as painful as it had been before, signaling the end of the winter. Spring would soon arrive and Ava couldn't wait to see all the trees and flowers bloom again. Thoughts of what Central Park would look like during the spring filled her head, almost making her forget the man next to her.

Sébastien was casually walking with his hands in his pockets, only taking them out every now and then to point at something and tell her about it. It was fun, she noted to herself.

They were having fun, together.

"When do you think you'll go back to the estate?" Ava asked after a moment of silence. It was a question that had been bugging her for a while not and the greenery around them reminded her of the estate, making her miss the place.

"Why? You don't like New York?"

"It's... Nice," she replied, struggling to find the right words. She had forced herself to give the cityscape a chance, but it hadn't worked. It just wasn't for her and being surrounded by skyscrapers on all sides made her feel trapped, even when outside.

"You don't have to lie, I know it's not what you're used to," he replied while looking at the looming skyline that had reappeared as they neared the end of the park. "But I really don't know when I'll be finished here. But if you want to go back, you can."

The last part was added afterward in a much softer tone, almost as if it was an afterthought he didn't really want to share.

"No, it's fine. I mean, who's going to heat up the chicken soup when I'm gone?" she said, causing him to laugh.

A genuine laugh, a carefree one where he made no attempt to stifle it or be quieter than he wanted to be. She couldn't help but smile along while admiring his stunning smile. Why wasn't he like this more often, she wondered.

There was something about him, a wall that he'd put up that didn't allow people to see the real him. The emotions he did express were calculated and shielded, making it nearly impossible to know what he really thought about something.

She wondered if something had happened to make him this way, or if he'd always been like this. It was hard to imagine him as a child since he towered over her and his rugged face was nothing but manly.

"I'm glad you're here," he said after a while and she wasn't sure if he was still building on the chicken soup joke or if he meant something else there. "It's only eleven," he said suddenly, coming to a stop.

Only now she noticed they had reached the end of the park and were almost back at the apartment again, much to her disappointment. She wasn't ready to go back yet and tried to think of things to say to prolong their walk, but in the end, it was Sébastien who had an idea.

"I know a place I think you'll like, if you want me to show you?" he said, making her heart beat faster from the hope that he felt the same way and wanted to spend time with her too.

Or maybe he just wants to enjoy his weekend, and you're only allowed to come with him because he feels bad for you, a voice in her head told her.

"What kind of place?" she asked carefully, noting his vagueness.

"That's a surprise."

"I won't be if you tell me, so go ahead."

"No, I think I'll keep it this way," he replied smugly. "Come on, we'll need to take the subway."

"Is it far away?" she asked after they'd started walking again and he shook his head. "It isn't that far but I'm also not willing to walk for a few hours."

It seemed fair enough to her, but she didn't want to say how much she disliked the subway. The smells, the closed space, and the crowd of people tended to overwhelm her. But she definitely didn't want to complain to him and look annoying.

The mass of people became thicker until they reached the crowded steps down the subway and she struggled to keep up with him. Losing him here would be disastrous as he hadn't told her where they were going so she didn't know which subway to take.

They reached the platform without her losing sight of him and they arrived just in time to catch the subway. The car was pretty full already so they had to stand close, which felt a little awkward to Ava but she tried to ignore it best as she could while looking at the people around her.

She'd never seen a group of people as diverse as the one in front of her and she tried her best not to stare at each individual. There was a woman with a bright orange knit hat with spiky hair poking out from under it. A man with a walking stick decorated with Christmas ornaments even though Christmas had long passed.

There were two kids struggling to sit still while their mother kept a close eye on them. A man in a neat suit was fast asleep in a corner, making Ava fear he'd miss his stop.

And every time the subway reached a station a good portion of the colorful bunch of people was replaced with a new group, giving her new people to stealthily stare at.

It took a while for them to arrive at their own station, and when they did Sébastien nudged her with his arm to indicate they'd have to get out. This one wasn't nearly as busy as the previous one, making it easier to follow along with him.

The first thing she did after arriving above ground again was take a breath of crisp, fresh air in an attempt to get the musty subway air out of her lungs. It was windier here, too, she noted. There weren't many skyscrapers around either and she could only spot them off in the distance when she looked back.

"We're almost there," he said to her, making her nod. The environment was a lot different from what she'd seen of the city so far as she found that she didn't dislike it at all.

As they got closer to their destination she could faintly hear music playing and she wondered what was going on up ahead. The low sun shone directly in her eyes, making her squint yet hope she didn't look annoyed or anything.

The music got louder until she suddenly noticed the unmistakable rails of a rollercoaster and she realized they'd arrived at an amusement park of some sort.

"An amusement park?" she asked him.

When he turned to her there was an excited, but hopeful glint in his eyes. "You do like amusement parks, right?"

"I don't know, probably?" she replied. Everyone was supposed to like amusement parks, right? They were made to have fun at so she doubted she'd have a bad time.

"Don't tell me you've never been to one," he asked her, all glints were gone from his eyes and replaced with a serious look right at her.

"I just never really got to it," she admitted. There were worse things to have never done, like eating at a Burger King probably.

"No one's ever taken you?"

"No, I wouldn't know who anyway."

The excited glint in his eyes returned in an instant before he answered, "Glad be here when you go for the first time, then."

"I'm glad you're here too," she admitted sheepishly, before realizing what she'd said. But the blinding smile she got in return made her feel too good to feel embarrassed. Before she could say anything else he'd slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.

"Let's go then," he said before starting to walk again, pulling Ava along with him and making no move to release her. They were close enough where she could smell his manly cologne and it was interfering with her brain activity.

She wished they'd never arrive at the entrance so he'd never let go of her, but unfortunately, her moment ended when the entrance came into sight and he had to let go of her.

Only then she realized what the gesture could've meant, or what it could not have meant. It confused her, it felt like an intimate gesture, yet it was something she could've read completely wrong.

What if he only had friendly feelings? She knew at one point Justin had slung his arm around Sébastien's shoulders, and she doubted the two of them were romantically involved in any way.

But he was still her boss and she internally reprimanded herself for allowing her to feel this way with him again. She'd already decided it was a bad idea to feel anything, so why couldn't she just stop? Her body betrayed her every step of the way and every time she thought she had it under control he had to touch her or even talk to her and she'd feel that way all over again.

It was messing with her head and she didn't know how much longer she could ignore it, or if she even wanted to ignore it at this point.

They'd reached the entrance now, and she could only fear in what ways her body would embarrass her in the coming hours.

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Hi guys! New update!

Chapters one to 32 are up on my patreon if you want to check it out!

Did you guys like this chapter?

Seems like some person is starting to get comfortable with another person o,o.

See you guys next chapter!

xx May