Two healing souls- Book 2

　　Gracie 　　I sat in the passenger’s seat wide-eyed as we drove through the streets of New York City. The place was incredible, the skyline beautiful. I was feeling a lot of emotions at once right now. I was excited to be here and nervous because I had no clue what the city held for us. 　　“We made it, and in one piece,” Ryland laughed. 　　“Yes, the long-assed drive was worth it,” I smiled. 　　I nearly changed my mind about coming here at the last minute, but Ryland and Melissa talked me into it. I knew it was for the best. I wanted answers. I needed them. We followed the directions to our hotel. It was close to central park, which surprised us with the price. We arrived, but it took time to find a space to park. It was NYC after all, and now I understand why not many people drive their own cars here. 　　I stepped out of the vehicle and took a better look around. 　　“I think I am in love,” I gushed. 　　I don’t think I have ever seen a place quite like that. I haven’t seen many places in my life, but I am sure even if I had, NYC would still be up there. New York has always been at the top of my list for college, along with Oxford and Yale. Though Oxford doesn’t have what I am looking for. I think that appealed more because it was on the other side of the world, and since Ryland that choice got put on the back burner. 　　“Already” Ryland chuckled, as he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. 　　“Yes. How can you not love this incredible city” I stated, looking over my shoulder at him. 　　“Hmm, am I going to have to drag you back home come Monday” he laughed. 　　“I shouldn’t think so, but I won’t make any promises,” I giggled. 　　Ryland shook his head at me, chuckling before turning me to face him. He stole a kiss before taking my hand and leading us inside. 　　“I can’t wait to explore!” Ryland announced. 　　He was as excited as me, and I couldn’t wait either. We left at six a.m. this morning, so we would still have most of the day by the time we got here. We ditched school because if we didn’t, we would not have gotten here until ten p.m. tonight. The plan was to enjoy the rest of today, and then tomorrow, we were going to NYU for a tour of the campus in the morning. In the afternoon we were going to try to find something on Peter. 　　Ryland grabbed our bags from the back seat as we went inside to get checked in. We had paid for everything, so it was only a case of letting them know we are here and get our key card. 　　“Good afternoon, welcome,” The receptionist smiled as we approached. 　　“Good afternoon,” I replied, smiling back at her. 　　Ryland gave her our details, and we soon had our key. We thanked her, and headed up to our room. 　　“I love how this weekend we can do as we please,” I smirked. 　　“Mmm, yes we can,” Ryland responded, smirking back at me. 　　Yes, we had a lot planned for this weekend, but we still need to enjoy the time we have alone, because we don’t get that often. We plan on making the most of everything this weekend! 　　“Shower and then food is what I need,” I announced as we entered the room. 　　We had been on the road for hours, and I felt yucky. We grabbed a quick breakfast before we left, but any stops after that was just for coffee because we didn’t want to add to our travel time. 　　“Wonder if it is big enough for two, and I mean to save time,” he said. 　　I raised my brow, I didn’t know if I believed him. Ryland laughed and shrugged. That was what I thought. He went through to check the shower. 　　“What is the verdict” I called out. 　　“Plenty of room, so get your sexy ass through here,” he called back. 　　I made sure to take my time. So much so, he came through and pouted at me. I gave him an innocent look, acting like I didn’t know why he was fretting. 　　“Fine! Be that way,” he huffed. 　　He pretended to be mad, storming off towards the bathroom again, chuckling to himself the entire time. I laughed loudly, following him. I didn’t know why he was pouting since he knew I would follow eventually. I had a feeling a lot of this weekend was going to be like this: a lot of teasing, but that is always fun. I didn’t plan on spending too long in the shower, so I just had to be strict; we had things to do, see and say. 　　*** 　　Ryland and I had finally gotten out of the hotel. It took longer than planned but was worth it. 　　“Where to first What should we do Where shall we go” I said quickly. 　　I think my excitement was getting the better of me. I was hyper all of the sudden. Ryland took hold of me and pressed his lips to mine. I knew that was his nice way of saying ‘be quiet’. 　　“And breathe,” he stated, pulling away. 　　“Sorry, I can’t help myself,” I giggled. 　　I kept myself calm, and we made our plans. We found a café to grab a take away lunch. Ryland had suggested sitting in, but my suggestion was better; lunch and coffee in Central park. What was the point in sitting inside when you can have lunch somewhere like that It wasn’t hard to convince Ryland to do that. 　　“Could you imagine staying here and coming to Central park every weekend” I smiled. 　　I would be moving here, and Lola too. Yes, Ryland said he would come with me, but we haven’t really discussed it in detail. Maybe today would be a good time for that. It would be fun if maybe Lola, Ben, Ryland, and I could get an apartment. None of us would have to pay for dorms, plus I am sure between the four of us we could manage an apartment. 　　I took Ryland’s hand in my free one as we got to the park and found somewhere to sit. It was not too busy because most people would be at work, school, or college. We found the perfect spot; it gave us a great view, and the sun was hitting us. I snapped a couple of photos, sending them to Lola. 　　Hey! Look where we are! Ahh! This could be our home soon! X 　　She asked me to send her photos. She and Ben were all set to come next month to get a campus tour. I would have invited them to come with us, but that would have meant I would have to tell her everything, and I didn’t want to, not until I knew what this weekend would bring. She was quick to text back. 　　I am so jealous! Could be It will be. And maybe we can talk the guys into coming with us X 　　Great minds think alike, right 　　Hell yeah! That is exactly what I was thinking! I am going to talk to Ryland about it right now. I will call you later X 　　Talk later, Gracie. Enjoy your day X 　　I put my phone away and turned my attention back to Ryland. 　　“Ryland, see, if you end up not going to college, will you still come here with me If you don’t want to, that is OK,” I said, “Just don’t feel like you need to,” I added. 　　We still had time before we graduated, but I would rather know in advance what was happening. If he didn’t come, I didn't know what I would do, or even what this all meant to him. How many long-distance relationships have I ever seen working I would miss him, and it would break my heart, but I couldn’t and wouldn’t hold it against him. 　　“Gracie, if I decided not to attend college, I still plan on coming here with you,” he smiled, “I couldn’t deal with us being apart like that,” he added. 　　“Are you sure I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have a choice,” I said, plus I didn’t want him to have any regrets or end up resenting me. 　　“I am positive, my love,” he stated, kissing me. 　　I did feel better after hearing him saying that. 　　“Yay! Which takes me to the next thing,” I said, “How would you feel about getting an apartment with Ben and Lola” I added. 　　“I think that would be great!” he beamed. 　　“Now, all we need is to talk Ben into it,” I laughed, “The rest of us are up for it,” I added. 　　I was sure we could convince Ben to join us. I was still hoping that Ryland would choose college, but this wasn’t something I would force on him. That was his choice. If he would instead go straight into work, I would support that. 　　Feeling lighter and happier we had that out in the open, I moved to rest between Ryland’s legs, and we started on lunch. He kissed my neck for a moment. It was enough to make me moan, but thankfully he stopped; it doesn’t take much for him to rev me up. 　　“How long is this tour tomorrow” he questioned. 　　“It starts at ten and finishes about twelve,” 　　“That is not so bad,” he said. 　　I was ecstatic about seeing the campus, see where I would spend my time after high school. New York would be a fresh start for everyone, and I think we both, if not all, needed that. 　　“What about your mom Will she be OK if you move here” I asked and turned myself around to face him. 　　“Yes, my mom will be fine, especially if she knows it is best for me,” he said, “And as long as she can come to visit and stay, she would be happy with that,” he added. 　　Leaving Melissa, after everything she had done for me, was the one thing I felt bad about. I would miss her, and Ryland would too. That was when I decided Melissa could come to visit anytime she wanted. 　　“Your mother is welcome anytime,” I said brightly. 　　“Not anytime, don’t tell her that. She will be here every weekend,” he laughed. 　　“Hmm, yes, maybe not anytime,” I giggled. 　　“We will work it all out. It will be good for us, starting over somewhere different,” he said, kissing me. 　　There would be a lot to plan before we could move, but we have the time. And we will get there. The four of us can come before graduation and find an apartment. 　　I know I may not even get into NYU, and I planned on applying for more than that anyway, there are other colleges here too, and if I didn’t get into any, I would come up with another plan. All I knew, no matter what, I was coming to New York. Everything works out the way it is supposed to, right I surely hoped that was true. 　　“I don’t know what is going to happen between now and when we graduate, but what I do know is as long as I have you, Lola and Ben, things will be fine,” I said confidently. 　　Ryland agreed with a nod and stole another quick kiss. If I didn’t get into college, I would work and try the following year again, and if that doesn’t work, I will consider somewhere else. 　　For now, there were other things I had to concentrate on, and I planned on doing that.