Christmas in the City

Chapter Two

I BEGIN TO question my luck when I realize I'll be sitting next to Brandon.

Brandon only smiles. "You're welcome to take the aisle seat," he says.

I shake my head. "No thanks. I would rather have the window seat, so the aisle seat is all yours."

I set my bag in the overhead bin and take a seat. The rest of our group is already situated with smiles on their faces.

I expect Brandon to take a seat in the aisle seat, but instead he plops down right next to me.

"There's a perfectly good seat right there, and instead you choose the middle on." I glare at him.

"But I hate the aisle seat." He pouts.

I sigh. I hope these two and half hours won't feel like an eternity.

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"We've now made it to JFK airport.  The local time is 12:30 p.m. and the outside temperature is forty three degrees Fahrenheit. Please keep your seatbelts fastened until we come to a complete stop. Thank you for flying with us. On the behalf of our team, I wish you a merry Christmas," The air hostess says.

Everyone on the plane starts cheering. I look to my left to see Brandon snoring in the midst of the cheering.

I gently nudge him . He moves around a bit and mumble something incoherently.

"Brandon," I shout in his ear and he jumps up.

"Jeez, Nia." He places his hand on his chest.

"I deeply apologize for scaring you," I say sarcastically.

He crosses his arm. "You did not scare me."

"Sure. You were also snoring and talking in your sleep," I say playfully.

"Now you're just making stuff up."

"Let's go with that." I laugh.

Across from us, my brother looks from me to Brandon and raises his eyebrows.

"Stop," I mouthed at him.

Thankfully, Brandon wasn't paying attention to my brother. I don't need him thinking I have a crush on him. It would add to his ever growing ego, and I definitely can't let that happen.

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Our Uber driver is really in the Christmas spirit. He has Hallmark's Christmas radio station on and is humming along to Michale Buble.

I hum along to the song as well while looking out the window. I smile as we pass by many tall buildings and people. My eyes try to take in everything. I take in the thousands of Christmas decorations. The trees are beautifully decorated and stand as tall as the Statue of Liberty. I take in the people hurriedly walking to wherever they are going.

Magical is the word to describe it all. New York is lively all the time, but there's something about it during Christmas time. I can't believe I get to experience it all.

I take a few pictures on my phone. It's not the best because I'm sitting in a car, but I want to capture every moment.

We finally made it to Times Square. The hotel we're staying at is right in the middle of Times Square, and I couldn't be more excited. A lot of things are within walking distance from our hotel.

Most of the buildings are covered in digital displays that range from a new Reese's ad to promoting an artist's new album. Taxis and humans crowd the street. Most people are walking with shopping bags in their hands and smiles on their faces.