Happy Friday!! GUYS. I'm obsessed with this chapter!! I've been sooo ready to post it, and I've finally gotten it edited to a place that I'm happy with! Let me know what you think!! :)
The drive to Munich had been just shy of five hours, and seeing as bringing a long a book to read hadn't been an option, most of it had been spent in silence. Officer Brandt, who she'd recognized immediately as the soldier who'd brought her to the study the night she and Phillip had met, had driven them. Phillip had sat in the passenger seat, while she and Luca had occupied the back. She'd spent the majority of her time either napping or counting the towering pine trees that lined either side of the road.
The four of them, had arrived to the hotel shortly after lunch, Phillip leaving soon after for whatever meeting he'd been there to attend. Luca had set to unpacking everything they'd brought with them, and she'd helped, Officer Brandt keeping a close eye on them as they worked. They'd all reconvened later that evening for dinner in the lobby's restaurant.
Climbing the stairs, Reyna followed behind Luca as Officer Brandt led them both up to their rooms. Stepping onto the landing, Officer Brandt turned the knob to the room, opening the door to allow her and Luca to step inside. A man of few words, he gave a slight nod, before closing the door, the lock clicking behind him as he turned the key.
"So what now?" She said, looking around the empty room. The hotel room was more like a suite, four rooms adjoined by a larger sitting area instead of your typical room with one or two beds.
"Well I imagine smoking and some kind of alcohol will be had," Luca said, plopping down on the sofa. "We're not invited to that bit though."
"So we just ... go to bed?" She asked. It was only half past seven. The thought of just retreating to her room for the night, without even a book to keep her company, didn't sound very appealing.
"Don't be ridiculous," Luca snorted. "The night's just getting started ... Let's see ... " Standing to his feet, he made his way to the bar cart in the corner of the room. Opening the cabinet, he peered inside. "These rooms always have a complimentary bottle of ... Ah, here it is," He said, pulling a bottle out, a triumphant smile on his face. "Champagne."
"I don't think we're meant to have that," She said, furrowing her brow apprehensively.
"Relax," He rolled his eyes as he began wiggling the cork free from the bottle. It's already charged to the room. Besides..." He paused, biting down on the cork and pulling it the rest of the way out with his teeth.
"Luca," She jumped as the bottle popped open.
"...Who else is gonna drink it?" He finished, holding up the bottle with a smirk. "Oh come on. Live a little," He added at the look she gave him.
Chewing on her lip, she looked around as if to make sure no one was watching them. There was no one though. They'd been locked in from the outside and she doubted anyone would be coming to check in on them for quite some time.
"Alright then," She sighed. "Pour me a glass."
"Oh, no," He shook his head. "There aren't any glasses." His smirk widened as he brought the bottle to his lips and tipped it back.
"You mean we're meant to drink from the bottle like savages?" She stared at him incredulously. Sighing again, she held out her hand. "Fine, give it here."
He extended the bottle with a grin, wiping his mouth with the back of his other hand. Rolling her eyes, she tipped the bottle up to her own lips and drank.
Luca had sat back down on the sofa, laughing when her face contorted into a grimace when she swallowed, the fizzy liquid burning her throat.
"Did you finish the book I gave you?" She asked, passing the bottle back to him and sitting down on the other end of the sofa.
"You know Reyna," He began taking another swig from the bottle. "Some of us have to work for a living. We don't have the time to sit around and read books all day."
She cut him a sarcastic look, and he laughed again.
"Yes," He nodded with a chuckle. "I finished it."
"What did you think?" She asked, accepting the bottle back and taking another drink.
"It was a bit depressing," He shrugged.
"It's moving," She corrected him. Leaning back against the arm of the sofa, she swung her legs around, extending them out onto the empty space between them.
"Yes," He conceded, doing the same so they were facing each other now. "But depressing."
"I didn't realize you were such a contrarian when you drink," She countered, tipping the bottle up again before passing it to him.
"It was good," He admitted, his tone a bit more serious now. "I just found myself wishing it could've turned out differently."
"That's the whole point though, isn't it?" She smiled.
"What? To be sad?" He raised his brow with a smirk.
"No," She shot him another look. "That love is something to hold onto, even though you might lose it."
"Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all," He said, holding the bottle up in a mock toast.
"How philosophical of you," She snorted.
"It's Alfred Tennyson," He said, passing the champagne back to her.
"And here I was thinking you were a poet," She quipped, hiding her satisfied smirk with a sip from the bottle.
"Maybe I am," He countered, with a satisfied smirk of his own. Taking the bottle back, he turned it up, gulping down several swallows until the bottle was nearing empty.
"Give me that," She laughed, pushing up onto her knees to grab the bottle from him. Jerking it from his grasp before he could finish it off, she leaned back, gulping down the last dregs herself.
~
"Reyna," Phillip said softly. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently. "Reyna, wake up."
Her eyes fluttered open. Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she gazed up at Phillip. He had taken his uniform coat off, and loosened his tie, the sleeves of his white button down folded up his forearms. She smiled lazily up at him, her head still swimming from the champagne she'd overindulged in.
"Come on," He whispered, helping her stand. "Let's get you to bed."
"What about Luca?" She whispered back, peering over her shoulder to where Luca lay sleeping on the other end of the sofa.
"I'll come back and wake him," Phillip reassured her. Nodding, she looped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her to her room.
"What time is it?" She asked groggily.
"A quarter past two." He whispered back. Leaning her head against his arm, she breathed in the sweet, earthy scent of the tobacco he'd been smoking.
"You smell nice," She drawled, closing her eyes in an effort to keep the room from spinning as much.
"How many glasses of champagne did you have?" He asked. She could hear the amused smirk on his face.
"Just half..." She paused, inhaling deeply, and smiled. She could smell that scent forever, and never grow tired of it. "A bottle."
He chuckled. "You're going to have a headache in the morning," He commented, stopping when they'd reached the door to her room. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him. "Get some rest," He smiled.
Before she could stop herself, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Wrapping an apprehensive arm around her waist, he returned the hug, nestling his face in the hair on the top of her head.
"Thank you for bringing me here," She said, pulling away slightly.
"Of course," He said, his voice a bit hoarser than it had been moments ago. Reaching up, he placed a hand on top of the one she was now resting against his chest. She held his gaze, standing in silence for what felt like an eternity. He was looking at her in a way that sent butterflies fluttering inside her stomach. She glanced away, fixing her eyes on their clasped hands instead.
"Goodnight," She said finally, her voice barely more than a whisper as she slid her hand out from under his and off his chest.
"Goodnight."
Neither one of them made an attempt to move. They just stood there, in the silence of the night. Looking back up, she met his eyes. His gaze was still fixed on her, holding the same intense look from before. She held it this time, refusing to look away. She felt as rigid as a statue. The fuzziness in her mind had cleared in an instant, and she was now hyper aware of the hand Phillip still had pressed against her back.
She scanned his face. She'd studied his features before, but never up this close. Even in the darkness she could still make out the rings of steel gray that encircled his blue irises, and the faintest hint of the five o'clock shadow that had started to appear on his jawline.
She felt his breath against her lips as he leaned in closer. Just as her eyes were drawing back up to meet his, his lips pressed against her's. The kiss was featherlight and was so quick she didn't even have time to close her eyes.
"Goodnight," He said again, his expression unreadable as he pulled away, releasing her entirely.
"Goodnight," She whispered, barely able to get the words out.
Grasping the doorknob, she clicked it open. Peering over her shoulder one last time before the door shut behind her, she watched as Phillip, a hand running through his hair, made his way back across the sitting room.
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EEEEEEEK!!! I told y'all... I'm obsessed! <3