No Place Like You : A Short Story

Excerpt

He dropped his head back with closed eyes as he waited for the elevator. It couldn't come fast enough. His phone was buzzing with texts most likely from Michael and Steven who were already back at the hotel and looking for him. He quickly let them know he was back and silenced his phone.

"Yo." Her sweet voice met his ears and he let out an incredulous chuckle before looking down at her. He took in her appearance, almost forgetting that she'd stood him up. The way her dress hugged her body made him draw a blank for a split second. She was stunning.

"....you look beautiful. You have a date or something?" He spoke with little enthusiasm and barely looked at her after the first glance. Bria smacked her lips and shifted her weight to one hip.

"No, I was- can you look at me please? I know you're upset but that's straight up disrespectful." Florian took his sweet time facing her and crossing his hands at his waist as if that would create some barrier between his large body and her small one.

Bria knew he was upset and she understood; she respected that but his stance and the cold, dead-pan expression he was giving her was kind of turning her on. His head slight tilted back as he looked down at her made her want to snatch him down to her height and crash her lips to his but she had to explain herself and she couldn't do that if she was doing the most.

They both watched strangers pass them and get onto the elevator then Florian nodded for them to get on as well. Their conversation wasn't for curious ears. They rode up to the eighth floor in complete silence and although Bria knew her reason for not being with him tonight was valid, she still felt like she was in trouble. She felt like she'd lost him as a friend.

"Ok, what happened?" He said as he closed the door behind them. Bria made a b-line for his bed-- plopping down at the foot of it and kicking her heels off.

"I was on my way. I promise I was, I mean hello..." she gestured towards her outfit that Florian couldn't resist getting a look at for the fifth time since he'd seen her. He raised an eyebrow as he shed his black jacket and put his shoes back in line at the foot of his bed, giving Bria a chance to take in his cologne. She stifled a hum of satisfaction and continued as he sat at the desk next to his bed, fully focused on her now.

"Look I got caught up writing so I was already going to be thirty minutes late, that wasn't horrible but traffic was horrible on I-76 and come to find out there was a three car accident. Traffic wasn't moving." Bria knew it sounded outrageous. A night sculpted by Murphy's Law but he had to believe her. She had no reason to lie. Bria had lied her way out of many things but lying to Florian? She had no desire to do.

She watched his eyes roam around the room as he scratched his ear lobe then dropped his hands between his legs with a shrug. He wasn't convinced and Bria's spirit instantly dropped.

"And your phone? Why you didn't call or text me?"

She pulled the phone from her clutch and tossed it to him.

"Cause I was rushing and forgot to charge it like a bird brain so it died while I was sittin' on the freeway." She muttered, picking at her painted nails.

She could feel Florian's eyes on her but her head stayed in her lap as only her eyes looked his way to try and read him. He sat flipping her phone over in his hand, never taking his eyes off of her and her body got hotter with each second he stared at her.

Bria let out a breath she'd been holding when he finally plugged her phone into his charger on the nightstand outlet.

"I really wanted to be there tonight. I wouldn't miss your last night on purpose. I don't stand up people who can beat me up." She grinned smugly earning a laugh from Florian.