Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

Chapter Thirty Three
Hallie
I feel strangely accomplished and can’t hold back a smile as Calvin pulls out his phone to text
Hollis.
I got my way, and all I had to do was ask sweetly. I file that information away for later, but I’m
not sure I even need to. I’m acting on instinct, so if my instincts are leading me in the right direction,
maybe the key is not overthinking it.
I stand there rocking on my heels and passively gazing at the tourists sitting on a bench across the
street until he’s done. He puts his phone away immediately, and I loop an arm around his to keep him
close as we walk. This part of West 52 nd isn’t that busy, but that changes when we reach the light and
have to turn.
As we’re walking, I point out the Ray’s Pizza across the street. “That’s the first place I ever ate
in the city.”
He glances at the walk-in pizza place, then back at me. “Oh yeah?”
I nod. “Not even because it’s famous. I didn’t know that. My first trip here was with my mom.
I’ve wanted to live in New York City since I was a little girl, but my mom is so not a city person. We
only lived a couple of hours upstate, but we never visited. Well, after my stupid first love I told you
about took a sledgehammer to my heart, I was miserable. Mom wanted so badly to make the hurt go
away. Of course nothing could, but she knew how much I had always wanted to come here, so she got
the idea to surprise me with a weekend trip to the city.” I smile at the memory of my first time walking
these streets. “Since she had never been here herself, there was a lot she was unprepared for. Traffic
getting into the city, first of all. We left the house two hours before we were supposed to check in
because she didn’t want to get here early and not have anywhere to put our luggage, but then we ended
up sitting in traffic at the tunnel for about 30 years, so by the time we got checked in and settled into
our room, it was dark.”
“The city looks good in the dark,” Calvin remarks. “I’m sure it still made quite an impression.”
I nod my agreement. “For me, yes. My mom is also a more fearful person. One of the reasons she
never wanted to come to the city is that she was convinced it was a dangerous place with muggers
and bad guys around every corner. During the day she was okay with braving the city just the two of
us, but at night, she was afraid to walk around in the dark.”
“Your father didn’t come?” he asks conversationally.
I shake my head. “He wasn’t around. He moved to Chicago when my mom was still pregnant
with me. Anyway,” I say, glancing across the street before we pass it, “our hotel was in Times
Square. It was dark, but we were starving and we needed to have dinner. I wanted to go there,” I say,