Chapter 32

Grace

I’m in New York, baby!!! Are you here yet? Let’s meet up, can’t wait to see you and your man.

My brow furrows as I read the text message from Anna. I know she said she wanted to come see me in New York, but I didn’t think she meant so soon.

Why are you here?

The car turns a sharp corner and my body falls into Leo’s. We spent the better part of the day painting the bedroom and then flew to New York. Now we’re in the car on the way to my new home.

My phone chimes, and I look back at the screen.

To see you, silly. And give you a big hug for your mother. I’m here all week, don’t worry, I’m sightseeing too.

I sigh. As much as I love Anna and all the support she’s given me, the only person I want to spend time with right now is Leo. She’s flown entirely across the country to see me, so I can’t not see her. I wonder what the least amount of time I can reasonably spend with her is. Maybe a lunch is enough.

“I know it’s been kind of a long day and that you’re probably tired, but I organized something for you this evening. I set it up from the motel before we found out about your mother. I’m giving you the option on whether you want to go or not. We can go now, or I can reschedule it. It’s totally up to you,” Leo says.

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Then how do I know if I want to go or not right now?”

“That’s your problem. You decide.”

“Will I like the surprise?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Leo says and pats my knee.

“And we’d go right now? Or would we go to your apartment first?”

“It’s your apartment too. And no, we wouldn’t go there first, we have to go straight there now.”

“I’m only wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I doubt there’s anywhere I can go in New York dressed like this,” I say, gesturing over my outfit with my hand.

“On the contrary, you’re dressed perfectly. If you weren’t wearing jeans, I’d tell you to put some on.”

“That’s intriguing. Now I want to know what it is.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Okay, let’s go.” I’m suddenly re-energized, eager to find out what the surprise is.

Leo puts his arm around me and rests his hand on my arm. “Good choice.”

“I don’t know what it is yet. Are you going to tell me what is now?”

“Nope.”

“Then I don’t know if it’s a good choice or not. It might be a terrible one,” I say, and laugh.

The car carries on through the dense buildings. I rest my head against Leo’s shoulder, completely content with where I am right now. I don’t even care where we’re going or what the surprise is, as long as I’m with him.

We slow down and turn. There’s a sign that says Bronx Zoo, but it’s empty and looks closed.

“The zoo?” I say, surprised and a little confused.

“It’s the closest I can take you to a safari in Africa right now.”

My mind immediately returns to the motel and our discussion about Africa. I look up at Leo and our eyes meet. It’s difficult to read the expression on his face, but a happiness fills me and I can’t help but smile.

“That’s so thoughtful, thank you,” I say.

His face softens and he says, “I’m glad you’re not disappointed.”

“But it looks closed,” I say, noting the lack of people.

“It’s closed for everyone but us, that’s why I have an arrangement. I had to let them know if we were coming or not.” He pauses and looks at me, unable to contain his smile, “And we had to get here right away in time to feed the giraffes.”

“We get to feed the giraffes?” I exclaim, my eyes wide.

“And some of the other animals. I think some monkeys and the sea lions. I don’t know what all there is.”

“This is incredible,” I say, sitting tall in my seat and craning to see the window.

Our car eventually stops at what looks like a service door. A woman in a zoo uniform appears through it, and Leo opens the car door.

“Hi, welcome to the Bronx Zoo. I’m Sally, one of the zookeepers here. We’ve got some great experiences for you this evening,” she says.

“This is amazing,” I say, unable to contain my excitement. I feel like a little kid.

“Good, I’m glad you’re excited. Have you been before?” she asks.

“No, never. I’ve only been to New York once. And I’ve never even seen giraffes in real life before.”

“Well, let’s not wait a moment longer, follow me,” she says.

I grab Leo’s hand and eagerly follow Sally through the door. We are in the zookeeper area, and she tells us about some of the projects they are working on as she leads us through to the animals.

A golf cart is waiting for us, and we all climb on. Sally drives us through the deserted zoo, stopping whenever I ask to get a closer look at the various animals.

“Next stop, giraffes,” she says. “They’re waiting for their dinner.”

My smile stretches from ear to ear and I wrap my arms around Leo’s arm and bounce enthusiastically.

“Thank you for this,” I say.

“I told you it was a good choice to come.”

“I’ll never doubt you again.”

“Follow me,” Sally says, grabbing some bundles of tree branches off the back of the golf cart.

She leads us into the giraffe enclosure and up the steps of a wooden platform.

“Hold these out and they’ll come over to you,” Sally says passing each of us a small branch covered in green leaves.

I hold mine out and three giraffes quickly move to the platform. Their long, black tongues twist around the branches and deftly strip them of the leaves. Their tongue control is amazing. Imagine if people had the ability to use their tongues like fingers. No one would ever stop having oral sex.

“Hold yours out,” I say to Leo. He’s leaning on the wooden railing, watching me with as much wonder as the way I’m watching the giraffes.

“You can have my branches,” he says. “I’m quite happy watching.”

A thought hits me, and I turn to him. “I definitely want to do a safari nursery. Do you think we can get a giant stuffed giraffe?!”

“That’s a great idea.” Leo stands up against me, and holds me in his arms as I feed the giraffes.

We talk more about ways to decorate the nursery, and how old the baby will be when we go on a real safari.

When the branches are gone, Sally takes us to the sea lions. We feed them and watch as they swim around playfully just for us. We go on to the several kinds of monkeys, help feed the flamingos and watch the daring zookeeper feed the tiger.

I’m buzzing throughout the entire experience, and by the time it’s finished I’m flying high on adrenaline. We say goodbye to Sally and the other zookeepers and climb back into the car.

“That was incredible. I think in all honesty it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” I say and give Leo the biggest hug I can in the back of the car.

“We can do it again, anytime.”

Leo’s lips brush mine, and I quickly grow eager for more. I press my lips against his, and in response he cups the back of my head and probes my mouth with his tongue.

I’m vaguely aware of the car moving until it stops at Leo’s building — at my building — and we rush out of the car into the building and the waiting elevator.

“I didn’t think I was going to make this long,” Leo says and pushes my hand to his groin, where his cock is hard and straining against the fabric. “As much as I enjoyed last night, I’ve been dying to fuck you.”

The elevator door opens Leo’s floor, and we half sprint to his door.