The Ballerina & The Fighter (Book 1) by Ursula Sinclair Page B

I’d
seen the famous landmark was with Ivy.
    The ride only took a half an
hour to get to Staten Island, but we didn’t get off. We stayed on and made the
returning trip back. This time we moved from the outside of the boat to the
inside café for cups of hot chocolate, then found seats on the top inside deck.
The wind had kicked up a little and the sky wasn’t quite as clear as when we’d
made the trip out. Still it was pretty cool. Ivy and I sat huddled together and
we talked, kissed and talked some more. I wanted this girl bad.
    It was after noon by the time
we got off the ferry and caught a cab. I didn’t want to take her home and told
her so.
    She shook her head. “I don’t
want to go back home. I thought we were spending the day together.”
    I smiled, glad she wanted to
be with me as much as I wanted to be with her. “Yeah, yeah we are. Where would
you like to go next?”
    “Mmm…even though I’ve lived
here for the last four years do you know I’ve never been to the Empire State
Building?”
    I laughed. “Me either so it
works. The Empire State Building it is.”
    We spent the day doing all
the things tourists would do, really that’s what we were. I don’t think I’d had
a more stress free day in the last few years. We paid our respects at Ground
Zero. Ivy was easy to be with; she made everything interesting and fun. For a
while she made me forget my reality and the things that waited for me the day
after tomorrow. That’s when I began to train again. Today though was for her,
us. It might be all we had and I aimed to make the most of it.
    “I’m getting hungry, let’s go
to Chinatown. We can eat there or get takeout and go back to my condo.”
    Her request had me
stiffening. We’d been all over the city, but Chinatown had been the one place I
tried to avoid. The risk was too high I’d run into someone who recognized me
there. I already knew I had a watcher. Although I was pretty sure none had been
able to follow me today. I’d spotted the one parked on the street in front of
the house where Joe and I stayed in Brooklyn. It was easy to hit the alley and
evade them. But going into Chinatown was risky.
    “How about little Italy, and
we can get something to go?” I figured Italian would be a good compromise and I
liked the thought of going back to her place. I’d take her home with me but Joe
would be there along with whoever was watching me. Plus I wanted that roommate
of hers to see me with her. If I was very, very lucky walking out of her room
in the morning.
    The cab couldn’t pull down
one of the side streets to take us into Little Italy the streets were blocked
off; some kind of block party or something seemed to be going on. People walked
in the middle of the street and there was a lot of music playing and the scent
of Italian spices permeated the air. We got out of the car and Ivy took my hand.
    “Come on,” she said and
tugging me behind her while she laughed as she led us farther into the crowd.
    I laughed and followed behind
her making sure not to let go of her hand as we made our way to the center of
the action, navigating through people as we moved. A carnival atmosphere
surrounded us; the restaurants seemed to have booths set up on the sidewalks
and in a central plaza selling their wares. A giant block party. We made our
way over to a live band, the source of the music. Ivy spun into my arms and
wrapped her arms around my waist, I grabbed on to her hips and pulled her close
and we swayed to the music. I lowered my head until I touched her forehead with
mine.
    “Thank you for today. I don’t
remember the last time I had so much fun,” I said to her and I meant every
word.
    She pulled away a little to
look up at me. “I loved spending the day with you, too. Thank you.”
    I lowered my head and
captured her lips. Her hands moved from my waist to around my neck, and I
opened my mouth to inhale her and she licked my lips. I moaned just as her
tongue entered my mouth and she took