'What the fuck are you doing in my room!' she shrieked, trying to disentangle her sheets from his.
'I'm not in your room!' he said, pushing her onto her side, 'You're in my room!'
She sat up, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes, and cursing the banging headache that meant one thing. Epic hangover.
'Ahhhh the light!' she moaned and dropped back down to the floor, snatching away his pillow and covering her face with it.
He got up, stretching, and winced at the pain in his shoulders. Closing the curtains fully, the room was dim enough for her to remove the pillow.
'What the hell happened? Don't say I slept with you, please.'
'Hah!' Luke retorted, 'You think I'd sleep with you?! You were blitzed! Annie left with her brother, and they tried to take you with them but you were pissed at the poor guy. So the hotel manager asked me if I'd escort you back to your room, but you couldn't find your god damed key and I didn't wanna parade you through reception in that state to get a replacement.....You took your dress off, you were dancing by the pool in your underwear....'
'Oh my God!' she slapped her hand to her mouth, cheeks burning. 'What happened then?'
'After we got here?'
'Yeah.'
'Well we talked' he said, heading to the mirror and running his hands through his shaggy mane. He didn't meet her eyes.
'About what', suddenly she realised that getting drunk last night was one of the most foolish things she had ever done. What if she had told him about his brother....
'About Mikey' he said, smiling humourlessly. 'You told me all about Mikey. I told you that the keychain was his, and then you spent an hour telling me about how you met, before falling asleep over the toilet. I carried you to the bed, and gave you my shirt.'
She looked down at the hideous shirt, now fastened around her, mind racing. He knew everything.
'I'm gonna have a shower then head into work. I need to speak to some investors this morning.'
'I'll come with you' she said quickly, too quickly.
'What?'
'I said I'll come too. I'm gonna run to Annie's room and get something to wear, and then meet you here in five, okay?'
He looked a little taken aback.
She speedily left the room and headed to the sixteenth floor. Annie answered the door sounding decidedly more perky that she did right now, and looking fresh faced and summery, in a pink floral sundress. She breezed past her, and rifled through her closet looking for something, anything. She found a white broderie anglaise dress and heading to the bathroom, she ran her hair under the taps so she felt a little less icky.
'You wanna tell me what happened?' grinned Annie. 'I'm about to have breakfast with Ellie and Sophia, I'll get it out of you here or downstairs.'
'I'm not coming to the breakfast' she muttered, towelling off her hair, and delving into Annie's makeup haul. 'I'm going to work with Luke today.'
Annie perched herself on the toilet seat and suppressed a snigger.
'Thought you didn't like the guy! Now you're going to work with him?'
Emily slicked on some lip balm and covered the huge dark circles under her eyes, indicative of too much alcohol. She found some paracetemol and swallowed them without water, hoping they'd take the edge off her blinding headache.
She faced Annie, still wearing an amused smirk. Right now she didn't have time to explain. She headed into the bedroom and found some white ballet flats and saw Annie leaning in the door frame, still amused.
'Annie it's not what you think. I'll explain more when we get back.'
'When will that be? We have to get out there and arrange the bachelorette party, you know, the hen do?'
'Annie I'm sorry, I'll explain it all later. I'll call you, okay?'
Feeling slightly refreshed, she headed back to Luke's room, and almost collided with him as he was locking the door. He looked far different to the Luke she had known in recent days. He wore a crisp white shirt, and a summer linen suit, in cream, perfect for the weather they experienced yesterday. She followed him to the lift, amusement undeniably covering his entire face.
As they left the hotel, she realised how hungry she was, and how liable she was to throw up if she didn't have something to eat. She was an eater, if she ever had a hangover, eating helped. It had to be pretty specific but if they could get their hands on bacon and eggs, that would be a life saver. Either he was reading her mind, or he was hungry himself, because he pulled up at a diner. As they sat down in a booth, she suddenly realised she had forgotten her purse. Her money, her cards, everything was back in her hotel room.
'I'll get this' he grinned. 'I didn't think you'd have presence of mind to do anything other than get dressed.'
She narrowed her eyes at him.
'I think it's more ladylike to say thank you when somebody offers to buy you breakfast little miss priss.' He challenged. 'Especially after I saved you from that sweaty sumo wrestler, he had his eye on you all night, you're lucky I didn't ditch you.'
'I can handle myself' she said, in a huff, as the waitress took their order.
'Really? Because so far I'm kinda getting the opposite from you. You like to pretend you're independent, Miss successful, Miss doing it on her own, but deep down inside you need someone to let you know when you have chocolate smeared around your mouth. Or coffee on your jeans.'
She folded her arms again. 'There you go again, Luke. Hitting on me.'
'Hah!' he said, looking mildly offended. 'I'm just being truthful. Besides, I wouldn't hit on you. Not after what you told me last night. And not as if we get on like a house on fire, anyway.'
'What I told you, you can't tell anyone.'
'Hmmm' he said, as their breakfast was laid out in front of them.
'What?!' she hissed, pushing his breakfast plate away from him. 'Don't hmmmm, this is serious! You can't tell a soul.'
'Then I guess we better make a deal then.'
'Are you kidding me? This isn't the mafia! Be a nice guy and just ignore whatever I said, I was drunk.'
'You had surprising clarity Emmy' he said, using her nickname and making her cringe.
'Just keep quiet. Please. Ellie's happiness depends on it.'
'If you care about your friend you'll agree to my terms' he grinned, taking a mouthful of eggs. Her headache had started to abate but his juvenile ways brought it back with a bang.
'What do you suggest?'
'Let me think about it.' He replied. 'Let's finish breakfast and head to my office, or I'm gonna be late.'
As she walked through the lobby, she raised her eyebrows at the modernity of the decoration, and the sparkling floor to ceiling windows, letting in copious amounts of natural light. A receptionist smiled warmly at them as they headed to a glass elevator, and she shut her eyes, knowing this form of transportation was not a good idea when at any moment she could lose her breakfast. The doors clicked open and they breezed into the strangest work place she had ever seen. There were bean bag stations, where young male employees played with games controllers, and the biggest snack bar she had ever seen, donuts of every colour and topping, and cakes iced to perfection. She raised her eyebrows as they passed a man shooting a zombie on a sixty inch screen, and he carried on, to an office space in the very middle of the huge open plan office.
Standing on his lime green reclining chair, as hideous as his shirt was, he clapped his hands. The hundred or so employees looked up instantly.
'Guys and girls, this is Emily, and she's here to see what we do, be nice, and no practical jokes!'
'You got it boss' a young Asian man called back, and they went back to 'work.'
She wondered what on Earth they did here, it couldn't be productive, and most of these 'men' looked about sixteen. She pondered the thought that perhaps he employed children, perhaps he was a slave driver, and perhaps she could get out of their deal that way. Or maybe these men hadn't gone through puberty yet, like Luke. The eternal child.
As she sat down on a soft white bean bag chair, the phone rang and he was occupied for a while. She spotted a board to his left, and was surprised by what she saw. It looked as if Luke owned a software company, and a very profitable, successful one at that. He seemed to be involved at ground level with Google, and she spotted posters for various video games she had heard of. All of them credited him. Video games were childish perhaps, but he was making a lot of money out of them, and that was not to be scoffed at. She found herself leaning over him as he cupped the phone to his ear, and spotted a painting pinned by his desk. It was a princess wearing a pink flowing gown, clutched by a prince, as he fought a dragon. The colours were so vivid and the illustration so crisp and bold, that she found herself admiring something she would have never appreciated before. It wasn't her kind of thing, she'd always seen art as unimportant, unless used in conjunction with her books, but this was quite stunning.
She walked around the office space, spotting more designs, perhaps scenes meant for the video games they produced. Many of the employees were too shy to talk to her, and some were so engrossed in their games that they didn't even notice her standing beside them. An hour or so went by, before she returned to Luke's desk. He was busy talking to a man in a suit, and they deliberated over something on Luke's Ipad.
'Once again you move me Mr Delaware! I agree, I'll call the studios and arrange a visit for you. They should start shooting next month all being well. It's always a pleasure.' He extended his hand to Luke, and they shook, warmly.
'The pleasure is all mine Mr Leonard. Take care my friend.'
The man nodded a greeting to Emily and headed out of the office.
'He looks important!' she gushed.
'Uh huh' he replied, typing out an E-mail.
He took another call, and a young spikey green haired woman tapped her on the shoulder.
'Emily, right?'
'Yeah?' she answered looking quizzically at the woman, who wore a track pants and what looked like a pyjama top.
'Here. I'm Luke's assistant Jess, he called me last night and said you needed a few things.'
She frowned at the woman, wondering what the hell he had said, and a little nervous incase a practical joke awaited her.
'Here' she passed her a silver gift bag. Opening it up, she discovered the latest Windows Phone and underneath it, a little red box. Opening it up, she found a beautiful gold bracelet watch and tacked into the lid, a $200 gift voucher.
'What is this?!' she asked Luke, but he was so engrossed in his phone call there was no way he could hear her, let alone acknowledge her.
'He said he ruined your clothes, and your watch and your phone.'
She didn't know what to say, but Jessie smiled and went back to her desk, her feet resting on the kidney shaped surface, and putting on a headset she appeared to be playing some kind of 3D computer game.
'Jeez, they want this done by Friday...they may as well want blood.' Luke said annoyed, spinning around on his chair and facing her.
'What is this?' she asked, an accusatory tone inflecting her voice. 'Your attempt to sweeten me up?'
He laughed warmly, and propped his feet up on a matching green footstool.
'No, this was my way of making sure your friends could contact you, and my way of making sure you weren't late to the wedding. And I knew you travelled lighter than your friend, so I thought you might want to get yourself something new.'
She scowled.
'If I wanted to pay for something, I'd do it myself.'
'Emily. There's no malicious intent. Just accept it graciously. I caused damage and I rectified it, anyone would do the same.'
He went back to his computer and she gazed reluctantly at the phone. It was very pretty. And pink. She had her sim card in the hotel room so she couldn't try it out, but she wanted to. Her hand itched, she wanted to touch the gifts but she was afraid of the look he'd give her if she did. Like he'd have won this round.
An hour later, and she had curled up on the bean bag, checking her emails on his Ipad. She felt a tap on her shoulder.
'Let's go Em, I'm done here.'
She nodded, and as they left, the employees waved to her, and shouted their goodbyes to Luke. He was popular here, she couldn't figure out why. Perhaps he paid them well, he'd have to pay her a hell of a lot to put up with his inane personality every day of the week.
As they got into the car, she knew it was coming but thought he might drop it, might forget the whole thing.
'I've decided what I want.' He smiled, starting the car. 'And you go along with it, no questions asked.'
There was silence, as she wondered what he might want. Would he demand they sleep together? Would he have a list of embarrassing things he wanted her to do, in the process completely humiliating her?
'Just tell me' she sighed, taking a dramatic look out of the window.
'I want you to be my girlfriend. Until you leave, if I call, you're there, if I say we're going out, you come with me.'
She looked at him, flabbergasted, shaking her head in reactiom.
'I am not sleeping with you!'
'I never asked you to.' He answered, raising an eyebrow. 'Why are you so convinced the whole world wants to sleep with you?' he laughed, slapping the wheel.
'So you just want me to accompany you, I don't have to do anything sexual.'
'Nope.'
'And you'll forget whatever I said.'
'Yep.'
Against her better judgment, she shook his free hand, and slumped in her chair.
'What's my first assignment then, Mr Delaware?'
'A little meeting over Lunch.'
'I can do that!'
'With all your friends present.'
They rolled up at the 'Alara' restaurant, and by the looks of things Ellie was already here. Laura's car was parked around the side, and she could hear Annie's laughter from here. No four walls could contain her! He snatched her hand, and she took a deep breath, mentally warning herself not to throw his hand away. This would be fine. She wanted a companion for this holiday. She wanted a taxi driver, well now she had both. Even if he was the most irritating of God's creations.
This had better be worth it!
As they stepped into the restaurant, she wasn't surprised to see that they had the table by the window. Meaning they saw that they were holding hands way before they entered the door. Which meant gossip was rife, and worse still, his mother was there. Laura seemed a nice woman and she needed to be civil for her sake, needed to hold it together for this meal and then he'd leave her alone for the rest of the day, even if she had to feign a headache.
This holiday is becoming a nightmare!
'Hi!' Ellie stood up, clapping her hands together. 'How are you? Both of you?'
Her eyes lit up, she wanted to speak to Emily, her eyes said it all. She'd prod and poke till she had all the details. Except the details she wanted were classified. She was definitely not the one to spill the beans to.
'We're good', smiled Luke, embracing his mother first, then Ellie, Annie and Sophia, before taking her hand again. She saw Annie's eyes fixated on their hands, her eyes were like saucers, jaw practically hitting the floor.
Emily embraced her friends and shook hands awkwardly with Laura and Sophia, before sitting opposite Annie, beside Laura. Luke took the seat to her right. She closed her eyes, hoping when she opened them, he would have retracted his hand, but his fingers were tightly entwined with hers. There was no way she could elegantly pull away unless he relaxed his grip.
'So....what's new?' Laura pried, taking a sip of her water.
She swallowed. They hadn't even discussed how any of this had supposedly happened. The girls would see right through the charade. She knew it. Ellie would storm out once Luke told her everything and she'd be furious that she hadn't told her.
'Well!' Luke pointed to their hands. 'It seems like Em and I found so much to argue about because we're so alike.'
She spluttered into her water, and felt all eyes on her.
'Sorry, it went down the wrong way', she lied, as Luke tightened his grip as a subtle warning.
'We spent last night talking and....'
'Really? She was totally drunk when I left!' giggled Annie.
'And where were you!' Emily retorted.
'Now now, Luke's telling us a story' Laura cut in. 'Continue darling.'
'We just ended up....this is embarrassing, but we spent the night together, and it was like kismet. Like it was meant to happen from the second I laid eyes on her.'
She turned her head to look at him, an incredulous look in her eyes, and she thought she saw something in his. Sincerity? It couldn't be. He was a barefaced liar like his brother, out for something, anything. A lonely loser who didn't have a date so he'd concocted a plan.
'Oh Luke, and Emily!' Laura gushed, squeezing her shoulder warmly. 'Well I hope you enjoy the rest of your time together. As we know, love knows no distance!'
She rolled her eyes, glancing downwards so nobody saw.
He soon let go of her hand, and she knew her friends had a flurry of questions but she wasn't prepared to face them now. Their starters arrived and as they tucked in, Sophia told them about a club she had been to the last time she danced in a Music Video, here in Miami.
A dancer and a model. Great.
'It's called 'Besito', great music, and a real Cuban vibe' Sophia grinned, showcasing her perfect set of teeth. 'We should go there tonight, all of us, and I'm gonna steal Ellie's phone and invite everyone she knows.' She slid her hand across the table and snatched her Blackberry.
'Sounds good to me!' Annie piped up. 'How about you guys, or do you have plans?'
'No' Luke answered for them, 'We'll be there!'
Throughout the rest of lunch, he left her alone, until they stood up to leave. The sun was bright and balmy, and although less warm than yesterday, she was thankful she had worn a dress. The plan was to spend the afternoon swimming, then have dinner at the hotel restaurant and head to the club after ten.
She feigned tiredness again to avoid having to speak to him, but this time didn't nod off, and soon they were back at the hotel. He had some work to do, so he walked her to her room, after a detour to reception. As she stepped through the door, Annie and Ellie were already sat on her bed, a chocolate cake and three forks propped against the plate.
'What are you two doing in here' she raised an eyebrow, knowing full well what they wanted.
'Come and sit down.' Ellie cooed, 'We missed you earlier.'
'Likewise', she said, 'I spent the morning in an adolescent males paradise.'
'I heard you went to Luke's workplace' teased Ellie. 'So that whole hatred thing was just a front, I knew you liked him!.'
She stayed quiet, praying they'd drop it, but knowing they were only getting started.
'He's got gorgeous green eyes' Annie quipped, 'That's the first thing I noticed, and he's got this cutesy humour about him, I think he's adorable.'
Then you 'date' him, Annie!
'I guess the sun got to my head' she smiled, flatly, and flopped down onto the bed. They snacked on the chocolate cake, and she managed to lead them away from the non-subject of her and Luke, to the wedding. They had their bridesmaids fitting on Thursday, just two days away. Then on Friday she would come face to face with Mikey.
After a long relaxing afternoon of swimming, she washed the chlorine from her hair and styled it into loose waves. Stealing the red dress from Annie, she smiled at herself in the mirror. The dress had a flared, flamenco style hem, and stopped mid thigh. The material was chiffon, but flattered her hourglass figure perfectly, and she added a pair of red wedge heels to finish off the outfit. Annie passed her some gold hoops, and as she admired her reflection, she saw Luke standing behind her.
'Sorry to barge in' he apologised, almost sounding genuine. 'The door was open...'
'It's fine, we're dressed!' Annie grinned, and twirled around. She wore a white strapless mini dress and her developing tan accompanied it beautifully. She headed back to her room for a spritz of perfume, while Emily fussed with her hair.
'You look amazing.' Luke stuttered, leaning against the dressing table. He lost his balance and the little bottles fell to the carpet with a thud.
'Luke!' she chastised, and busied herself picking up the lipsticks and nail polishes. As she raised her head, she clonked heads with Luke, who fell to his bottom.
'Shit now I'm gonna have a bruise!' Emily rushed to the mirror and spotted Luke behind her once more. He just wouldn't quit. He was everywhere.
He was rubbing his own head, and it was then she noticed that once again, he was well dressed. No Hawaiian shirt, no eighties sunglasses, but a dark navy summer suit and cream linen shirt.
He didn't look bad. He didn't look good, but it was an improvement.
She was pleased to see that her hair covered the site of impact and sighed, looking down at the mess. She would have to re-arrange them once she got back in the room.
And figure out how to get rid of Luke.
On the drive to the club, she was almost grateful to be sitting with Luke in the front. Annie, Sophia and Saul sat in the back, and as she expected Sophia looked runway ready. Saul wore a shirt and jeans, and yet still looked like a A list celebrity. She pulled on the hem of her dress, distractedly and took a deep breath. Adding to her discomfort at the situation, Luke found her hand again and she bit her lip to stop her saying something she might regret later.
The club was filling up quickly, but on the sight of Sophia, they were let past the velvet rope. It was a far more exclusive club than she had visited before, certainly nothing like the places Annie took them in London. About a dozen waitresses, dressed in feathers and sequins and little else danced and served, and gave the place a Las Vegas feel. As they ordered drinks at the bar, a tanned stranger, who reminded her a little of Enrique Iglesias, winked at her.
Too bad I'm chained to this monkey all night!
Leaving Luke at the bar, she chased after her girls as they hit the dancefloor. The music was latin inspired with lots of brass instruments and an infectious beat. Sophia danced all over Saul, who caught her eye and sent her back to Luke.
'Dance with me' she demanded.
'Sorry, what was that? It almost sounded like you wanted me to dance with you.'
'I do. Just do it.'
'Say it nicely.'
'Luke!'
'Kiss me'
'What?!'
'Kiss me. On the lips. Then I'll do whatever you want.'
'If I kiss you, will you leave me alone for the rest of the night?'
A kiss would be a big ask, considering she harboured little to no attraction to him, but it might boost her confidence in front of Saul. And she'd be able to dance with whoever she wanted for the rest of the night.
She grabbed for her drink, but he stopped her.
'Sober' he warned.
With him sat on the stool, and her standing, he was the perfect height for kissing. Shame he wasn't the perfect man.
She could do this. She'd kissed many a stranger before. There were times when she and the girls had gone on pub crawls and dared one another to kiss the most men in one night. She once clocked up eight men in just over two hours. This would be a walk in the park.
Just as she was getting ready, just as she was mentally preparing herself, she felt his lips crash into hers. His lips were surprisingly soft, surprisingly full, and more surprisingly, she felt her lips part. As he kissed her, she felt her knees buckle. This could not be happening. He was not allowed to be a good kisser. He was not permitted to be the best kisser she had ever encountered. This was completely unfair. She found her hand making its way to the back of his neck, running through his hair.
Please be greasy.
It wasn't. His hair was as soft as his lips, and she felt his arm snake around her, a delicious shiver coursing down her spine. This had to stop.
She pulled away, breathless, not knowing how long they had kissed for and hoping he hadn't timed them to embarrass her. His pupils were dilated, indicative of his desire to continue their clinch. She noticed for the first time how green his eyes were.
Stop it!
He was not her type. Not in a million years. He got under her skin, irritated the hell out of her. But the kiss was incredible.
Without thinking she went in for another, and he obliged, teasing the very breath away from her. His hand freely roamed her back, fingers gentle but persistent. Then he found her sensitive spot. The back of her neck. She rarely let a man touch her there, her whole nervous centre seemed to culminate there and as his fingers danced over her skin she was unable to stifle the moan that escaped her lips, unwittingly.
He pulled away, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and she blinked through the haze, the whirring of her mind, her obvious arousal, mixed with her distaste for him. It was confusing. He was confusing her.
'I need air' she muttered, and grabbed her drink, downing it in a second.
Someone followed her outside, and she turned, half hoping that he'd followed her, the other half hoping he was still sat at the bar. It must have been the latter, because Saul appeared inches away from her. Their kiss had been wonderful, but this kiss was Earth shattering. This kiss set the bar for future kisses so high that finding a perfect partner would be nigh on impossible from this moment forward.
'Em, we haven't had a chance to talk.'
'What is there to talk about?' she asked, dismissively.
'Well Sophia came back and we were getting along so well. We could have had something, couldn't we?'
'I guess we'll never know?' she offered.
'Don't say that.'
She felt him grab her arm, and pull her towards him. He pressed his lips to hers, but she felt nothing. No butterflies, no knee buckling, nothing. What was wrong with her?
'Saul Sophia is inside. She's Ellie's cousin.'
'I know, just hear me out....'
'No. I'm here with Luke.'
She entered the club again, and walked to the bar expecting to find him there. She searched the club with her eyes, and couldn't see him anywhere. Deciding on soda for the rest of the night, to keep her wits about her, she joined the girls once more. Before long she was having a ball, but her mind kept returning to her arch enemy, that vexatious, ignorant, clumsy fool.
Somewhere after 2am, he drove them back to the hotel. She had no idea where he had been and he didn't offer any explanation. This time he didn't walk her to her room, and she was left completely dizzy over her emotions. Luke kissing her and moving her world, Saul kissing her and leaving her cold. What was happening in Miami? Soon enough Mikey would be back, and there she would face even more insane dilemmas. It took her hours to fall asleep, and she knew she'd pay for this tomorrow, worse than any hangover could affect her.
On Wednesday they spent the day at the beach, and Luke failed to make any kind of appearance. Instead of feeling relieved, she felt his missing presence and submerged herself into her book whilst the girls frolicked in the sea. When Thursday arrived, she knew he was to be the one to drive them to the Bridal store, and found herself spending two hours getting ready. Annie was amused, watching her rifle through their joint holiday wardrobe. She finally settled on an emerald green tea dress and black killer heels. It wasn't couture, but the dress showed off her cleavage.
Yet again she got the silent treatment in the car, but he stuck around in the store, and whilst Ellie and Annie chatted with the sales assistant, she sat beside him on the curved white futon.
'How was work?' she asked, knowing no other way to begin a conversation with him.
'Busy' he replied, taking out his phone and tapping away, not giving her the benefit of eye contact.
'Luke'
He didn't reply.
She grabbed his phone and hurled it across the floor, the battery jumped out and the pieces fell under a rail of bridal gowns.
He glared at her. 'You are impossible.' He said, his tone low and snarling.
'Then talk to me' she demanded, and grabbed his hand. He looked down at her fingers, wrapped around his wrist and her cheeks reddened.
'That kiss....'she began.
'That kiss meant nothing.' He shrugged. 'Obviously.'
She fell silent.