I grasp Raisa's arms and push her away from me. "Stop this. It's over. I'm sorry you can't accept that, but you need to."
Tears shimmer in Raisa's eyes, but I don't have time to feel bad for her. After what she's done to me in the past, and her idiotic plot to win me back, I feel no obligations to her. Not anymore. I race down the hall to the elevator, reaching it as the doors shut. I get a glimpse of Elena and her stricken expression, then she's gone.
I sprint toward the stairs but stop at the door. Even if I can run down nineteen flights, I'll never get there before the elevator, before Elena leaves.
Raisa finds me standing at the stairwell door, staring at it. "That was your new lover, wasn't it?"
She doesn't sound irritated. Instead, I sense compassion in her voice. I can't help looking at her.
"Whoever she is, you don't need her," Raisa tells me, taking my hand. "Give me another chance. I'll be different this time, better, more what you need."
I know she's not making a pun when she tells me she wants another chance. She honestly believes I might take her back.
"You lost me a long time ago," I say. "It's too late. Move on, Raisa, please."
Her eyes grow large, lending her face an innocence and pain I haven't witnessed since the day I told her I was moving out of our apartment.
Christ, I don't want to hurt her. But this can't go on, Raisa scheming to win me back while I try to romance Elena. Maybe Elena's right, and we should declare our relationship to Raisa. I need to talk to Elena first.
"I'm sorry," I tell her. "I have to go. It's for the best."
And I swear fate is on my side when I run for the elevator and get there at the instant the doors slide open. An older couple exits the car. I hurry inside and punch the button for the lobby.
Half an hour later, after enduring a long taxi ride amid a traffic jam, I finally stand outside the door to Elena's apartment. I pray she's here. Though I'd checked the hotel restaurant and the bar, I hadn't found her there. She must have come home.
I knock.
A moment later, the door opens---and Elena gapes at me.
She's still wearing that dress, the green number with a low neckline, the one that molds to every curve on her body.
"Hi," she says, still seeming surprised and confused.
"May I come in? I want to explain what you saw."
"Raisa was trying to seduce you, right? I figured that one out already." Elena motions for me to enter. "My apartment isn't swanky, like your hotel, but it's comfortable."
"I'm not a snob."
"Yeah, I know." She hunches her shoulders. "Sorry I ran away, but I kind of freaked when I saw Raisa."
"No worries. I finally got the chance to run after a woman."
I walk into the apartment, taking in the small but very puffy sofa and two puffy recliners. Multi-layered white curtains frame the windows, beyond which I catch a glimpse of the Manhattan skyline glittering with lights. This building is far enough away from that view to be relatively affordable. As affordable as anything gets in New York.
Elena is barefoot.
My attention stalls on her dainty toes and the lavender nail polish on them.
She wanders into the kitchen. A bar separates it from the living room.
I follow her while she opens the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of beer. "Want one?"
"Love one. Thanks." I take the bottle she offers, watching while she grabs one for herself. "Could we sit down? I was on foot for the last two blocks. Traffic was terrible."
She leads me to the sofa and sits down, patting the cushion beside her. "Relax, I know Raisa surprised you with that kiss. It was obvious."
I drop onto the sofa a little too roughly, making it jump. "Sorry, I'm exhausted from the walk."