The Doorman

You Belong To Me

It was Monday, and I was on the train heading to work. John did his usual, a smile and a wink. I smiled and waved at him. A couple of minutes later, I received a text from John. It read.

"What time will you be at the park? I would love to see you?"

"1:00 pm."

"Great, I will see you then!"

I sent a smiley face emoji.

Entering the building, I walked to the elevator and pushed the button to the fifth floor. The elevator door parted, and I stepped out, fishing around in my purse for my keys as I walked towards my intended door. Turning the key in the lock, I praised and placed my ear on the door. I could hear my sweet little angel's giggles as she waited to ambush me. Quickly opening the door, I scooped her up in my arms and gently pressed my lips on her head.

"Ready for breakfast?"

Sara nodded.

I made her some oatmeal. I placed her in her highchair, gave her a cup of milk and her oatmeal. While she was eating, I was busy packing our bags for the park. I changed her into her play clothes, and we headed for the elevator. We met with Susan on the third floor, and we went down together.

We chatted on the way. Said hello to Tony our doorman and headed out of the building in the direction of the park.

"How was your weekend with John?" Susan inquired playfully.

"It was great! He really is a nice guy. I responded. "By the way, I think he might drop by the park around 1:00 pm."

"Really! You are having lunch with your boyfriend today?"

"He is not my boyfriend, and I don't know about having lunch with him. All he said was what time would be at the park."

"I guess the girls will be meeting him today." Susan nudged me with her shoulder.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

We arrived at the park, and soon the ladies joined us. At about 12:59 pm, I heard Liv say,

"Who's that hunk?

We all looked at Liv and followed in the direction she was looking. There he was John, approaching us with a big smile on his face, holding a bag.

"That is John, Katie's beau," Susan replied.

"He is not my beau."

John came close to me and said, "Hi."

His scent was intoxicating." Hey! I said in a low voice."

I turned around and introduced him to the girls. "This is Mia, Ava, Rose, Liv and Susan."

"It is nice to finally meet you," they all said in unison.

"Hi ladies."

John lifted the bag and said, "I brought us lunch."

"That was very sweet of you."

I turned to the girls and said, "Would you mind keeping an eye on Sara for me while I have lunch with John?" "No problem, Mia said.

John and I walked to the far corner where there was an empty bench where we sat. He opened the bag and took out two packages and handed me one. It was a plain bagel lightly toasted with tomatoes, lettuce, turkey, mayo and cheese, and also gave me ginger ale. "This looks yummy."

"It is, I get all my sandwiches from Bagel & Co. They are the best."

"I will be the judge of that." We chuckled.

"Thank you so much for doing this."

"I could not have you starving all day."

I looked down and a bit into my sandwich, as I did, mayo got on the right side of my face, as I reached to get a napkin. John reached at the same time and our hands touched, and the electric shock passed through my body was unlike anything I had ever felt. It was as if the air between us had suddenly ignited, leaving me breathless and staring into his eyes, John held my gaze, a knowing, almost smirk-like expression spreading across his face.

"Well, how do you like it?"

"It is so good. You were right."

"I have had bagels from other places before, but this one takes the cake." I watched him as he bit into his bagel. I could not help but watch him as his tongue swiped his lower lip to clean the excess crumbs. I was mesmerize. I shook my head out of my daze and said, I wanted to thank you again for this weekend. I had a wonderful time. I was touched by all the planning you did to make our date so special.

"So happy you had a great time. Katie, I really like you and would love to see more of you. Would you like to go out with me on Friday?"

"I would love that."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Not sure yet."

"Making plans, Mr. Daniels?" he chuckled.

"I am Ms. Summers. I smiled." I love the way his mouth curved when he smiled.

"I will discuss the plans with you later, is that OK?"

"Sure it is."

We finished our lunch and John threw out the trash.

"I have to head back to work. I will see you later."

"Yes you will."

"Bye ladies, and it was nice to meet each one of you."

John gave me a hug, a kiss on top of my head, then left. I could not help but watch him walk away. The way his butt looked in his pants, he looked scrumptious.

Mia called out to me. "Stop drooling over your guy in public."

"I am not drooling over anyone."

"Katie, Steven was giving you and John the stink eye the entire time," Rose told me.

"Oh no, I have forgotten all about Steven and his threats. What do you think he will say or do?"

"We will not leave your side. If he calls you over, tell him he has nothing to say that you would want to hear," Rose said quietly.

When we were leaving, Steven called me over. The girls stood in listening ear, they wanted to hear exactly what he would say.

"Who was that?" He interrogated me.

"None of your business."

"He insisted you are my business."

"No I am not. I am just someone that went out on a date with you, which I regretted. Why don't you leave me alone?

"That will never happen. You need to stop seeing this guy," Steven demanded.

"Why are you doing this?

"You belong to me and only me."

My face became red, and I was on the verge of crying. I walked over to the girls who were standing just a few meters away from me. I took the stroller and began pushing it fast. I was scared, my heart beating fast, and my breathing was heavy, "Ava fumed.

"That's it, I'm kicking his ass."

"It's not worth it." I hang my head dejectedly.

"You may need to notify the police about this," Rose piped in.

Guys, this situation is getting out of hand. I don't want him to hurt me or John. Should I just stop seeing John all together?

"No, don't do that. You can't let him win," Mia said.

I hurried back to the building with the girls following behind me. When I arrived outside my building, I stopped and waited for them to catch up. "Did you hear what he said?"

"Yes, we all heard him," Liv replied.

"What am I going to do?" I panicked.

"I cannot tell my employers because they will think I am putting their daughter in danger and possibly get fired over this."

"Go upstairs, continue with your routine and when you get home we will get on our group chat and figure out what we can do to handle this problem," Ava told us. We all agreed.

After getting upstairs to the apartment. I gave Sara dinner and a bath, dressed her in her pajamas and I began reading to her. Shortly after, her dad walked in, and it was time for me to head home. I said goodbye and headed for the elevator. I pushed the button for the lobby.

I got out, waved goodbye to Tony and headed to second avenue. I saw John speaking to one of the tenants in the building. When he saw me, we locked eyes. The gentleman he was speaking to looked behind him to find me looking right back at John. All of a sudden, John walked up to me and said.

"I missed you."

Then they did the unthinkable. He engulfed me in a hug and then proceeded to kiss the top of my head. I was stunned, but happy at the same time. I buried my face in his chest. It's like he knew I needed that hug at that precise moment.

"Are you not afraid of people seeing us?"

"No, why should I?"

We pulled away and he looked at me intensely. I just could not stop staring at him.

"If you wait for me, we can have dinner together."

"Are you sure?" "Where would I wait for you?"

"That is the best part, come with me."

He escorted me to his building, holding the door open for me like a gentleman as I entered. When I walked in, there was another door to the left. It was an office. There was a desk, a chair and a computer. He pulled out the chair and said. "Sit here."

"Are you sure this will be okay?"

"Yes, it will be fine. That man I was speaking to was my boss, and he said it would be OK for you to wait for me inside."

While waiting for John to get off work, I saw him texting someone on his phone. He looked up at me and gave me a smile. I smiled back shyly. I texted the girls and informed them that I would be having dinner with John this evening, so we will talk tomorrow. John came in to where I was sitting and said, "I just made us a reservation online."

When John got off work, he went to the locker room to change out of his uniform. When he returned, he took my hand and said. "Let's go."

We walked out hand in hand. My heart was jumping with excitement just by this intimate gesture. His hand felt soft and warm. He looked down at me, lifted our clasped hand and kissed the back of my hand. I smiled up at him.

We walked one block over to Chez Nick. It was a contemporary bistro with whitewashed brick walls and dark wood decor. It was beautiful. When we arrived, the hostess asked.

"Do you have a reservation?"

John said. "Yes we do, it is under Daniels."

"Right this way."

We were seated at our table and handed our menu. The hostess said. "Your waiter will be with you shortly."

A few minutes later, we saw this gentleman approaching our table. "Good evening! I am Antonio, I will be your waiter. Would you like to start with any drinks?"

"I will have a sprite and the lady will have a ginger ale," John ordered.

"Would you like to order now or do you need a minute?"

I told the waiter, "I am ready to order. I will have the Spaghettoni with meatballs and roasted Branzion." "That sounds delicious. I will do the same," John announced.

The waiter said, "I will be right back with your drinks," and left. Our drinks came shortly after. John took a sip of his drink and I could not help but watch as his Adam's apple moved up and down as he swallowed.

While conversing with John, I was watching his lips move while my index finger was making circles around the rim of my glass. I was just so taken with how handsome he was. I sipped my drink and looked at him over the rim of my glass, indicating I was still listening to him.

Our food arrived, and I was a bit hungry after seeing the dish. The Spaghettoni is thicker, more robust, than your classic spaghetti. The aroma was warm, comforting and savory. The taste was a nutty wheat flavor, and you can tell the sauce was made fresh. The meal was delectable.

After finishing our meal, we decided to go on a short walk before heading home. John paid the bill. Then he extended his hand to me, helping me up from my chair. We exited the bistro and just strolled along the sidewalk. Then John stopped and turned to me and said, "I do not want this evening to end."

"I don't either."

Just then I received a text from an unknown number that read.

"I told you to leave this guy, now you will see what happens to people that don't listen."

I froze. My heart dropped, and a shiver ran down my spine. I knew this had to be Steven. I looked around me with fear in my eyes. I fumble with my phone trying to put it in my pocket. I told John I had to go, and ran off. My breath hitched in my throat and I could barely get the words out to John before leaving.

John is running behind me. "Katie stops. What's wrong? Katie, I'm sorry if I did anything wrong? "Please stop?"

I just kept on running and lost him in a crowd of people. I was crying hysterically.