Issues / ROMAN GODFREY / #wattys2019

Thirteen.

The next morning, Mariana woke up to find that they had fallen asleep. Roman was half asleep, his fingers stroking her hair away from her face. She turned to face him fully and propped up her head with her hand. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he replied sleepily, hovering his fingertips over the skin of her cheek.

"I'm surprised you're still here..." she whispered. She didn't want to sound rude, but it was kind of hard to think otherwise with his reputation, and he was in no position to hold it against her. Roman shrugged, "I guess that means I like you, then,"

Mariana smiled and moved out of his grasp, sitting up and adjusting the dress that she had never changed out of. Roman had disregarded his tie and his shoes, but otherwise remained entirely clothed. He stood up from her bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn, that was some good fucking sleep," he mumbled to himself.

Mariana laughed, "Yeah, you aren't kidding,"

Roman left so she could change and she met him downstairs, wearing blue jeans and a simple gray top, her face clean of any makeup or oil. Roman had to smile at her natural beauty.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, reaching up to try and tame his hair. Roman gently grabbed her by the waist and kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, I'll take you out," he mumbled against her forehead before releasing her to jog up the steps. Mariana walked into the kitchen and cleaned out the coffee pot, switching the filter and adding fresh grounds for when her dad arrived home in a few hours. The sound of Roman's feet coming down the stairs caught her attention, and he paused in the doorway. "Peter wants to talk to us."

They hurried into his car and quickly started heading towards downtown. Roman had fixed his hair the best he could, and when they spoke she could faintly smell her dad's mouthwash, and she had to smile at the fact he had no problem making himself at home.

They eventually arrived at Mariana's diner, and she could see Peter's hair faintly from one of the large front windows. They climbed out, and she followed Roman inside, giving her boss a wave before sitting down at the booth. Peter had his own carafe and was downing as much hot coffee as he could before filling his mug up again. Roman watched him, concerned and a little put off by his actions.

Nicole had walked over with another one for him, "Slow down there, hun, you'll regret doing that later on," she said, giving him the fresh pot before taking the old one. "Could I get you two anything?" she asked.

Mariana asked for a mocha latte while Roman just asked for a mug. After Nicole left, Peter let out a burp and slunk back against his seat, his fingers tapping a rhythm on the table as if he was already pumped full of caffeine. Roman stared at him before gesturing his hands, impatiently, "Well?"

"There's nothing for us except for one thing," Peter began. Roman sighed in disappointment, and even Mariana felt her heart fall into her stomach. Nicole had brought over their stuff, but Peter was the only one who seemed to be able to communicate at the moment because he thanked her kindly. Mariana stared at her glass topped with whipped cream with sadness.

"What's the one thing?" Roman finally asked.