Hidden Tracks | ✓

35 | flash your green eyes

I turned towards Soler, and noticed his eyes were already on me, a slightly nervous expression on his face.

"Um," he began, "You--you were kind of shivering in your sleep. So I put that comforter over you. I, uh, I figured it'd help you sleep better. You need sleep."

His cheeks were ever so slightly flushed, and I couldn't help but smile. "That was...that was nice of you, thanks Soler."

He nodded, and I couldn't make sense of his mood swings. One minute he was being an asshole, and then the next he was sweet, almost like he cared.

Hah, Soler and sweet. Never thought I'd associate those two words with each other.

After a while, our plane landed at the airport in Florence and sure enough, our TIA authorised black Range Rover was waiting for us, ready to take us to our new hotel.

The missions might've been exhausting, but this luxury treatment of private jets and Range Rovers was definitely something I appreciated.

We reached our hotel within a few minutes. It was called Alfieri Collezione and was located right on the banks of the river Arno. A sprawling property, it was quite a beautiful place to stay in, just a stone's throw from the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace.

I sometimes wished I were a normal, everyday tourist, who was travelling the world and seeing everything she possibly could. But unfortunately, my travelling was only limited to putting up at hotels and navigating dirty roads to spy on shady criminals.

Shaking my head to rid my mind of these pointless thoughts, I took a quick, much needed shower and wore the soft bathrobe given by the hotel. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. I actually looked like I was on vacation.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I hurried out and opened it, to reveal Soler. His dark hair was wet and he was wearing a simple black t-shirt and joggers. But even simple clothes managed to looked great on him. Life was so unfair.

He seemed a bit hesitant as he entered my room. "Hey."

I was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that I was only in a bathrobe, as I felt his eyes travelling over my form. Heat rose up my cheeks, but I didn't want to let him know he was affecting me.

I nodded at him. "Hey, what's up?"

He looked down at his feet for a second, then raised his head to stare at me again. The green of his eyes was excruciating.

"I, um, wanted to apologise for being a jerk on the flight. I was feeling pissed at myself, and I kind of let it out on you."

I was indeed surprised at how far we'd come from the stubborn, fighting mess we used to be.

I shook my head. "It's fine, but if you want, you can tell me what was bothering you. We're friends, and I thought friends share stuff with each other."

He took a deep breath in. "That's the thing. I--I can't tell you. Sorry, Winter, but this is just something which is my own problem and I don't want you knowing about it. At least, not now."

"What do you mean?"

He looked pained. "I mean...I want to tell you, but I can't right now. Maybe one day, I will. I don't know yet. I wish you knew, Winter, but I just can't bring myself to tell you."

I frowned. What was so secret that he couldn't share it with me? "Are you a double agent?" I blurted out before I could help myself.

I really wished I could've kept my mouth shut, but my idiot brain just refused to listen. What kind of a stupid move was that? Soler wouldn't be a double agent, and if he was, this was the most rookie move I could've played.

I was honestly starting to believe my brain switched off whenever I was around him.

Soler stared at me for a solid five seconds before bursting into laughter. I'd never seen him laugh like this before, the full and laugh-until-your-cheeks-hurt kind.

Even though I felt like an idiot, hearing and seeing him laugh like this made me happy, for some strange reason.

He spluttered out between his laughs. "Is--is that what you think? I'm a double agent? Winter, after ten years of knowing me, this is what you could come up with?"

He was shaking his head and grinning at me, making me glare at him. "Shut up. You--you never know."

He took a step closer and stood directly in front of me, his voice smooth and deep. "But you know. You know me best out of all the other agents, Winter."

I gulped. We were again standing too close, far too close for my own good. This wasn't done. Why was he affecting me so much with his proximity?

Suddenly, Miranda's words came back to me. I've seen the way he looks at you sometimes, Kaia.

No, I needed to focus on the case. I needed to devote all my thoughts towards finding Mason and Amélie, and bringing them back in one piece. Thoughts about Soler, puzzling, confusing thoughts and muddled emotions couldn't get in the way.

Then why couldn't I tear my gaze away?

His eyes, god, his eyes were pretty. Why couldn't my eyes be like his? So brilliantly green, like a forest after rain. The kind of green you can't take your eyes off, the kind of green that can draw you in like a black hole.

He was staring at me like he was deep in thought, as if his eyes were committing my face to memory. Why was he looking at me like that?

God, I needed to stop this now.

I turned my head away to look at the ground, shrugging. "Yeah, that was stupid of me to say. I should've known better."

I heard his exhale as he ran a hand through his hair. He was frustrated, I could feel it.

So was I.

There was this growing tension between us, and I couldn't figure out if it was good or bad. The uncertainty was killing me.

"Right," he finally said. He cleared his throat and looked away. "I'd better get going. I--I'll let you change now."

I felt his eyes linger on my monogrammed bathrobe for a tense moment, before he turned and walked out. 

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and sat down on the bed. This was officially more confusing than the case itself.

a/n: you know your feelings have gotten *really* messed up when you think they're more confusing than a case like this.