Chapter 15
Madison
I was so excited to find out what Zach had planned, I barely slept all night. As I laid there watching the sun rise over the buildings through the window in my bedroom space, I let my mind run wild, imagining all the things he could possibly have planned. He was a man of great means, and between his money and his imagination, I didn’t know what to expect. I had texted him before bed to ask him what to wear, and his only response was something warm and comfortable. I assumed from that response, we would be outside, but I didn’t want to dress down and end up somewhere fancy to me, but relaxed to him.
I went through my closet about ten times through the night, finally picking out a low-cut sweater, a pair of jeans, and boots. I figured if he said comfortable, jeans would be fine. I was probably overthinking the whole thing, but I didn’t want to mess up the day by wearing the wrong thing. I sighed as the sunlight beamed through the window and decided to go ahead and get up. If I fell asleep now, I’d run the risk of being late, and I didn’t want to miss out on whatever this was.
I got out of bed, noticing Charlotte still wasn’t home and assuming she stayed with Avery again. She had seen him every night since she met him, which was a big thing for her. I guess feelings beyond infatuation were running wild in our circle, but I was happy for her. I could tell a long time ago, Charlotte wanted something solid, but she just wouldn’t make up her mind to do it. Instead, she spent night after night, jumping from one man’s bed to another, while I was over here perfectly content with being alone.
Now, I couldn’t get my mind off of Zach, and she was shacked up with a computer nerd artist, and I barely saw her anymore. I stood at the counter, watching the coffee drip into the pot, with my mind all over the place. I thought about Zach and me on the dance floor of the club, then us holding hands in the limo, and then back to whatever surprise Zach had worked out in his head. It was driving me absolutely mad wondering what he had cooked up.
After breakfast, I jumped in the shower and took my time getting ready, even shaving everything just in case we ended up fooling around again later. I loved the way his hands felt on my body, and I knew it was dangerous, but I was really not caring anymore. By the time I was done primping, it was getting closer to eleven, so I curled my hair a bit before pulling it back in a ponytail, threw a bit of light makeup on, and got dressed. I was completely ready to go and standing by the window at ten-thirty, hoping that Zach would be on time and not leave me in agony, wondering what was going on. With his usual punctuality, the limo rolled up at five minutes to eleven. I excitedly ran and grabbed my coat, meeting him at my front door with a huge smile.
“You ready?” He was in a really good mood.
“Yep,” I said excitedly.
I followed him down to the limo and stood on the curb as he pulled a red sash from his pocket and walked toward me. He smiled as he stood behind me, pulling the fabric over my eyes and tying it tightly behind my head. Either something really kinky was about to happen, or I was in for a bigger surprise than I thought. I reached out my hand, looking for his, and walked slowly as he guided me to the car. I scooted in and sat down, leaning my head against the seat. I couldn’t see anything, and the excitement in my stomach grew.
“You comfortable?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He laughed. “Just lean back and relax.”
I took in a deep breath and handed my trust over to him, knowing he wouldn’t do anything that didn’t have my best interests at heart. As we drove along, my heart would flutter every time we stopped at a red light, wondering if we were finally there. A million thoughts surged through my mind as to what I would possibly need a blindfold for. Obviously, wherever we were going, I would know by sight, but it seemed like we were driving forever. After about thirty minutes, I could feel the limo slowing down and turning into what felt like a parking area. When we had come to a complete stop, Zach pulled me toward the door. The cool air flooded the limo, and I stepped out, feeling wobbly on my feet as he led me forward.
“Step up,” he said, leading me with both hands.
I stepped up onto some sort of platform and walked forward, hearing the sound of water around me. I wobbled a bit, feeling the ground beneath my feet moving up and down. He pulled my arms out in front of me, and I grasped a cold metal railing as whatever I was standing on began to move forward. He stepped behind me and untied my blindfold, pulling it down, and leaning against me. Slowly I opened my eyes and looked around.
I was standing on a ferry that was moving forward through the water, and in front of me was Liberty Island. I gasped, pulling my hands to my face and looking up at the beautiful statue of Lady Liberty. It seemed so much bigger than any picture I had seen of her, and even when I would look out from the bridge, she looked small in comparison to what I was seeing.
“Surprise,” he whispered in my ear.
I turned around and lunged forward, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. I couldn’t believe he had brought me to the Statue of Liberty. Even more impressive, he had remembered me telling him I wanted to come. I thought, at that moment, he couldn’t have made things any better than they were right then, but then, that wouldn’t be his style. I let go of him and took a step back, watching as he pulled a bag from behind him. He handed me the bag and smiled.
“There are two canvasses, paint, and paintbrushes in there,” he said. “Now you can paint the sky from the Statue of Liberty like you always wanted.”
I reached forward and took the bag from him, peering down at the tubes of paint and really expensive brushes inside the fabric tote. At Zach’s feet, two canvasses were propped up, and he was smiling ear to ear. I shook my head in amazement, leaning forward and kissing his lips. He had thought of everything. I was going to get to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams of painting the scenery from the top of Lady Liberty, and I didn’t even have to plan any of it out.
“Zach,” I cooed. “You didn’t have to do this. It’s so amazing. Thank you.”
“I know I didn’t.” He shrugged. “But I wanted to see you happy, and I knew this was something that was really special to you.”
“You are so sweet,” I said, kissing him again and turning back toward the island. “I’m a little surprised it isn’t more crowded than this.”
“Well, I knew it would be hard to paint in a huge crowd of people so I bought all the tickets for the day,” he said shyly. “I figured it would be nice to have the place to ourselves for the day.”
“Are you kidding me?” I was absolutely shocked. Who does that? Really, who takes a girl on a date and rents out the Statue of Liberty? I felt like I was in a dream, but sure enough, as we approached the docks at the island, we were the only two people there. The staff greeted us, helping us off the boat and taking us to the door.
One of the staff members smiled sweetly as she grabbed my canvases and bags and led us to the staircase. I looked up the winding stairwell and remembered that it was over three hundred steps to the top. I assumed that we would be going to the pedestal which was what had been open to the public since 2001, but we passed that door and kept going until we reached inside Lady Liberty’s head. I looked over at Zach with confusion, and he winked as we continued to follow the guide.
Being inside the statue felt strange and almost eerie, and I was looking forward to getting back out to where there were windows. When we reached the crown, the guide held open the door and smiled as we passed through. I gasped as the light hit my face, and I looked out over the ocean from the windows. It had been a really long time since anyone had been up here, and immediately, I was taken back to the last time the crown was actually open. September eleventh had changed a lot of things.
“Enjoy,” the woman said, setting my things down and walking out.
“How did you get them to let us up here?”
“They are going to be opening it back up to the public soon, so I talked them into letting us come up here for the day,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I wanted you to have the best view of the place.”
“You are amazing,” I said, leaning in and kissing his mouth.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work, missy.” He laughed and leaned back against the poles, looking out over the water.
I pulled everything out of the bag and set up the easel, placing the first canvas up. I grabbed the charcoal in the bag and began to sketch the scene in front of me, remembering the colors as I went. When I had sketched the first canvas, I stopped, watching the staff come through the door carrying lunch. We took a break and ate sandwiches while looking out over the water and talking about my artwork. It was the perfect date, and the most elaborate and well-thought-out one I had ever been on. I was more excited that he had remembered every detail, than I was to actually paint the picture.
After lunch, I sketched out the second canvas, holding them up to next to each other to make sure they lined up. From there, I began mixing colors, sliding my brush across the white fabric and standing back, making sure it was absolutely perfect before moving on to the next color. As the sun began to set, I started to realize I wasn’t going to get these done before we left, so I stopped after applying the color on my palette and turned toward Zach. He had stood there all day, watching me paint, not a bit of boredom in his eye.
“Do you want to finish that up at my place?”
“I do,” I said excitedly.
“Good,” he said, leaning forward and helping me pack up my things.
I stood looking out the windows as the sun set below the horizon. It was even more beautiful than I had imagined, and part of me wished I could stay right here and watch the stars sparkle in the night sky. I took in a deep breath and sighed as the staff came back to escort us out. We rode the ferry back to the docks, and Zach wrapped his arms tightly around me as we moved toward land. This had been the perfect date, and it wasn’t over yet. I wanted to finish my painting and then give Zach the thank you he really deserved.