Thursday July 9th
8:30am Montgomery, AL

There was a knock at my hotel room door, letting me know our breakfast I ordered was here. I ordered omelets and bacon for both of us. I was nervous about taking Sean the food. After our almost-kiss yesterday, I didn't really know if I should bring it up to him or not.

If I was being honest with myself, I had no idea what I felt for him. I'm still dealing with a lot and trying to figure stuff out. He's the only real friend I've ever had.

I walked to our adjoining door, and knocked slightly. When I didn't hear anything, I opened the door and stepped inside. Sean had his back to the door and looks like he was packing up some of his clothes.

"Hey, I got breakfast."

When he turned towards me, my eyes went wide. He looked like he barely got any sleep. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he could barely stand.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just didn't sleep well. Nothing to worry about," he said. Unfortunately, I've gotten to know him enough to call bullshit.

"Wow," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest, "Your first lie to me."

"Lydia-"

"Is this about last night?"

His features seemed to soften at my question. "No, it isn't."

"Then what?"

He let out a long breath and ran his hands through his hair. "Remember the phone call I got last night? Well, I went down to the front desk and it was my assistant. Apparently, the crazy ex I told you about went by my apartment again and saw you and I leaving."

I didn't like where this was headed, but I remained silent until he finished.

He started pacing as he continued, "My assistant got a restraining order against her, which is good. But there's something about this girl. I think she's tracking me somehow."

Well, that explained why he couldn't sleep. I wouldn't be able to either knowing some crazy person was following me. "Are you sure she's tracking you?" I asked.

"I have no idea. It's a feeling. I asked my assistant to have the cops try to locate her."

"Well, that's good then."

He stopped and gave me a worried look. "Listen, I don't want you to get caught in the middle of this. I can get you a plane ticket to wherever you-"

"No," was my immediate response.

His expression was serious when he said, "I won't let you get hurt over this."

His statement gave me that same butterfly feeling that I've felt before. Pushing it aside, I said, "Sean, I'm not going to get hurt. We don't even know if she left New York City. Look, if you don't want me here, I'll leave." I sighed as I added, "Ever since I was little, I never felt like I was free to make my own choices. You helped me realize that I can. I choose to stay on this crazy adventure we've started. Now, do you want me to leave?"

"No, I don't," was his automatic response

I gave him a smile and motioned to the breakfast that probably grew cold. "Good. Now, can we please eat our breakfast? Because, if I remember correctly, you promised me an awesome weekend in NOLA. You know, since you got me lost in a state park."

Some of the tension seemed to ease out of him at he laughed at my statement. He walked over to the bed and sat beside me, where we ate our breakfast in that same comfortable silence.

New Orleans

5:48pm Maison Dupuy Hotel

We arrived at our hotel about three hours ago. I insisted that Sean try to take a nap and get some sleep before we started exploring. The hotel we were at was extremely nice. I almost regretted our deal about letting him pay for the hotels. On the other hand, I was sitting on the balcony to my room, drinking not-so-bad hotel coffee, and people watching.

To my delight, our hotel was in the French Quarter. Down below, there were couples kissing, drunks arguing, artists sketching, and vendors selling different items.

The Café Du Monde was within eyesight and I could smell the divine chicory coffee I heard so much about. Not to mention, I was dying to try beignets. Sean said we could do whatever I wanted while we were here. The café was first. Then I wanted to see the St. Luis Cathedral, the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, and visit all the shops.

I tried not to think about the bombshell Sean dropped on me in Montgomery. He was afraid his ex-girlfriend, PSYCHO Amy he called her, was following us. He didn't tell me much about her. Just that they had a short fling a couple years back and she became a little obsessed with him.

As soon as we left Montgomery, he went to Verizon and shut off his phone. Just cancelled the whole damn thing. I looked at him like he was nuts. But, what could I say? He was worried. Very worried. He went to a gas station and bought one of those pre-paid phones to use instead. Unfortunately, he got me one, too. We argued over it for a good five minutes. But he said just in case she was following us, if we got separated for any reason, he wanted to be able to get ahold of me.

I got confused when he said stuff like that. I know he cared about me. I cared about him, too. The two of us seemed to build a good friendship since we met. After the almost-kiss, it's been a little awkward. Not to the point of being completely obvious, but still...I wondered if he was thinking about it as much as I was.

A knock at my hotel room door startled me, causing me to jump in my chair. I walked to the door, and even though I knew who it was, I checked through the peephole. Per, Sean's request.

"It's me, Lydia," he said through the door.

Deciding to have a little fun with him, I teased, "How do I know? You could be a PSYCHO in disguise?"

He looked up at the peephole, almost as if he could see me, and gave me a sly smile. "Would a PSYCHO know that you are a pepperoni pizza lover? Or that you're a huge Jim Carrey fan? Or perhaps that you like to hum when you cook?"

I couldn't hold back my smile, even though he couldn't see it. "Actually, they might know those things. But," I said as I opened the door, meeting his gaze, "I think I'll take my chances."

I stepped back, holding the door open while he came inside. "So, milady, what's on the agenda today?"

I had to admit, he looked a lot better after getting some sleep. I was worried about him before, so it was a relief. "Stop number one is Café Du Monde. I need chicory coffee and I need it now."

His laugh was deep and almost intoxicating. "Your wish, my command."

I followed him out of the room, and we headed out of the hotel and down Decatur St. towards the café. We took our time, taking in the sounds of someone playing jazz music on the corner. He was a tall Hispanic man who was wearing black pants, a plaid sweater vest over a red shirt, and a fedora. He had his saxophone case open with money inside. Most likely from people walking by.

Sean walked over to him and pulled his wallet out. I didn't see how much he put in there, but knowing him, it was probably a few hundred.

"That was nice of you," I said as he rejoined me.

He shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. "I have respect for people like that. I never told you, but before my father joined the Navy and my mom became a nurse, they didn't have much. My father would tell me stories about how there were times they couldn't make rent for the month. He was working at a restaurant at the time and my mom was in nursing school. "

He kept his eyes forward as he continued, "He taught me the value of a dollar and that if you're lucky enough to be rich, don't forget where you come from. It stuck with me and that's one reason why I donate to charities and try to help people who need it."

"You really are a good guy, Sean." The more I got to know him, the more intrigued I was. Here was a millionaire who refused to be waited on, who cooked his own meals, helped the needy, and was even kind enough to help someone like me. The world was lucky to have him in it.

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "Way to boost up a guy's ego."

"Oh, please," I said with a laugh, "you're full of it."

Finally getting to the Café Du Monde, we sat in one of the available tables in the patio area. I could barely hide my excitement as I looked over the menu. There were so many different options, it was hard to choose.

Suddenly feeling Sean's eyes on me, I looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said with a shake of his head. "I like seeing you like this."

"Like what?" I wasn't sure how I felt about his statement, and even more unsure when I heard his answer.

"Like this. Smiling, excited. It looks good on you."

Clearly uncomfortable, I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and glanced back at the menu. There's those damn butterflies again. "Thank you."

The waitress arrived to the table a few minutes later and Sean spoke up first. "Okay, I'll have a chicory coffee with an order of beignets."

"I'll have the same," I said and handed her my menu.

Sean leaned back in his chair, hands resting on his knees. He was wearing a pair of black running pants and a dark blue Under Armour shirt that made it hard to not see how fit he was. Also, a set of abs I had the opportunity to see in his hotel room last night.

"Lydia?" He asked.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He smiled as if he knew what I was thinking before saying, "I asked what you had planned for the rest of the day."

"Well, I want to go inside the St. Louis Cathedral, then maybe to St. Louis Cemetery."

Curiosity and interest appeared on his face at that. "That actually sounds like fun. Okay, cool. Let's do that. There's one thing I would like to add to your list of things to do."

"Okay. What is it?"

He leaned forward and held my stare, "May I take you to dinner tonight, Lydia?"