Art Deco {Cherry Wine Sequel}

one

The plane ride stretched on, and eventually, I dozed off. Despite the bucking of the plane, I only woke when Benji unbuckled my harness.

"Take my shoulders." He said into my ear. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he lifted me from the plane. I clung to him, unsure of my own feet. He kept an arm around my waist, guiding me into the backseat of a car.

"Almost there." Benji said in my ear, sliding into the backseat next to me. "Just hang on." He closed the door solidly behind us. Wherever we were was mountainous. I held onto Benji's arm as we made hairpin turns, descending sharply.

"You must be Benjamin." The driver said, as we turned down a steep road. "I'm Carlisle, one of the security Mr. Luthor arranged. I've been with Mr. Luthor since Athens." He had an accent I couldn't place.

Benji shifted next to me. "Lex told me there were four of you that stayed with him permanently."

Carlisle paused, and I got the sense he was looking at me. It must have been a strange sight for him; seeing a blindfolded girl lifted from an airplane. I doubted I looked anything close to human after the hours of travel. I wasn't going to be making a stunning impression on Lex after four months apart.

"There are four of us. Me, with you, and you cannot see them, but there is one of us driving ahead and behind. For safety." Carlisle patted something metal. "And I have this, if there is any trouble."

"Has there been trouble?" Benji sounded worried. I bit the inside of my cheek. Technically, wherever we were, Lex couldn't be extradited for his American crimes, but if someone corrupt enough had spotted him, someone, somewhere, would find a loophole.

Carlisle barked a laugh. "I meant the girl."

My heart dropped, and I made a strangled sound in the back of my throat. Benji wove his fingers in mine, and I felt the familiar press of my gold ring in my palm.

"There's been a misunderstanding." Benji said coolly. "This is Ruth, Lex's fiancee."

"The fiancées, they run sometimes, too." Carlisle was nonchalant. "But if what you say is true, I am sorry. Hold tight, we are in town now." The car jolted as the mountain road turned to cobblestone streets. I heard singing in what sounded like russian, and someone knocked on the car window. I flinched as Carlisle laid on the horn, revving the engine. He swore under his breath.

Adrenaline flooded me as I realized I was minutes away from seeing Lex again. It had felt like hardly any time for me; even while I was unconscious my brain hadn't let me forget him. I knew, though, that that time had stretched on for him like years instead of months. Everyone in his life had abandoned him; that I had left him, too, was something I could not forgive myself for.

When Carlisle stopped the car, Benji finally reached behind my head and unknotted the blindfold. We were on a dock, jutting out from a black rock face. Gingerly, I stepped out of the car, holding onto the door for support as my knees got used to my weight. I stared around, unable to place where we were. All around us, mountains rose to block out the sun. A church perched on a cliff overlooking the sea, the bells tolling.

"Where...?" I trailed off. The Adriatic somewhere, that much I knew. Benji was as much in awe as I was, watching Carlisle untie a speedboat.

"I wish I could stay." He said to me. "Come on. One last leg, and you'll be home."

Carlisle offered me a hand into the little boat. I took, looking at the handgun tucked into his belt. He looked younger than he sounded, probably due to the cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He had white-blond hair and gold glittered at his throat and fingers. "Ruth." he smiled. "Nice to meet you. Luthor has been waiting for you."

Benji jumped into the boat, making it rock. Carlisle laughed as he fell into the seat next to me, shoving us away from the little wooden dock. We broke out of the shadow of the mountain, the sun hitting my delicate eyes. I shielded them from the glare, tucking my hand into the sleeve of my sweater. My skin was translucent, my veins still blown out from the IV port. Carlisle caught sight of them as he steered into the light, and raised a brow. Luckily, he said nothing.

The damp air eased the dryness in my throat, the salt spray blowing my hair back. It brought some warmth back into my cheeks. I was grateful for the feeling of life it brought me. Even as fragile as I felt, the ocean gave me a little strength. I tilted my face towards the sun. I had slept away the summer, but here, it was still balmy and warm.

Benji let out a whoop, and I looked to where he was pointing. To our left was a giant luxury yacht. Emblazoned on the side were the words The Haze. Lex's yacht. I twisted the gold ring on my finger, as Carlisle brought us alongside the yacht. My legs felt like spun sugar. I didn't think I could climb the stairs, but I could hear conversation, and that familiar cadence.

"Benji, I can't." I was crying. The tears had come on without warning. "I'm afraid."

"Of what, Ruth?" Benji asked. Carlisle was tying the boat to the yacht. "It's Lex. You have nothing to be afraid of. He loves you. I'll be right there with you."

"Okay." I whispered. Benji wiped my face with the blindfold.

"He's up those stairs." Carlisle gestured to a set of white stairs. "Up and turn right."

Benji gestured me forwards. I took a shaking step, and looked back out to sea. I could still see the little church, the stained glass gleaming red onto the waves below. Benji was behind me, and then I was up the stairs, on the deck, and I could see Lex, his back to me, leaning on the rail.