19
Maeve
THERE WAS SOMEONE IN my room—in my bed.
My eyes shot open, taking a moment to adjust to the light, my heart continued to race as I tried to figure out where I was.
The scent of unfamiliar sheets hit me, my one leg caught beneath the duvet and my cheek pressed into something warm.
For several seconds, I didn't move, stuck somewhere between flight and fight.
Before realisation sunk in.
I was Rihaan’s room.
Rihaan was asleep beside me.
Close enough that I could feel the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
Close enough that our legs had somehow become hopelessly tangled beneath the duvet, his arm resting loosely around my waist as though he’d put it there without thinking.
Close enough that my head rested against his chest.
Rihaan’s tattoos had always made me curious, but until now I hadn’t given myself permission to stare at them long enough to truly understand him, but now they were here, and there was nothing more I wanted than run my hand across his chest.
Clearly mind was still in a haze, a part of it trying to focus on how we fitted together with an ease that felt almost obscene.
Two pieces that had no business belonging to the same puzzle.
My heart stumbled at that, and I pulled back from his hold.
His arm tightened instinctively.
I froze, making me watch him carefully.
He didn’t wake.
I waited until his grip loosened again before slipping away.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands.
What the hell had happened?
I remembered taking a shower, before the heaviness of my ibuprofen sunk in and I fell asleep.
My eyes tried to find the alarm clock that I’d spotted earlier, only to realise it was the next day.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, more to myself, only my voice was incredibly groggy and rough.
When Rihaan remained asleep, I couldn’t help myself but stare at his peaceful state.
Too bad.
Grabbing my pillow, I hit him hard enough to wake him up.
Waking him up instantly, his eyes squinted in confusion, before he noticed me. “What the hell?”
“What are you doing in bed with me!?” I asked, not giving any shit at how loud I’d been. “You said you’d call for a single bed.”
He rubbed the spot. “I did. They didn’t have any.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked, making an effort to be softer this time.
“I tried. I swear I did, but you sleep like the dead,” He replied, shifting until he was sitting against the headboard. “I had made a pillow barrier between us, and thought you wouldn’t mind that.”
I frowned, my gaze roaming around the bed, before I leaned over and found the pile on the floor.
“So, I take it that didn’t work?”
“Clearly.”
He opened his mouth to reply when someone knocked on the joining door.
“Rihaan? Everything okay?” Raina’s muffled voice boomed through the room.
“Yeah,” Rihaan said loud enough to make me cringe.
“Are you coming for breakfast? We’re just about to head down.”
“No. I’m just getting up, so I’ll be down in a few.”
A beat.
“Okay.” If I could hear the uncertainty in her voice, I was sure Rihaan could too, and his expressions confirmed just that.
“They didn’t call up, by the way.” Rihaan spoke softly. “I asked them when I went downstairs for dinner.”
I nodded, unsure what to say.
“I’m actually surprised you slept through most of the yesterday. Aren’t you hungry? I’m pretty sure your breakfast yesterday didn’t count, considering you threw it all up.”
I sighed, choosing to share an alternate version of the truth. “I woke up sometime during mid-day. You weren’t here, so I just had the snacks you got me. I tried reading my book afterwards, but I had barely slept the night before, and with the meds, I was so drowsy, I went back to sleep.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his curls more apparent in the humid hair than they had been back home. His tattooed skin was on full display, and this time, I couldn’t help but stare…appreciatively.
Noticing my gaze, his eyes flicked back in my direction and he raised a brow. “Yes?”
When I didn’t look away this time, his gaze darkened.
Not like it had before—but there had been something different.
He wasn’t angry, but it was almost like he’d just realised what we’d done.
As I was sure, it was evident in my gaze.
We hadn’t just shared a bed, we’d cuddled.
For most of the morning—if not, the night too.
I had considered myself to be a somewhat soft sleeper when it came to being around someone.
I remembered it had taken me ages to get used to sleeping alone, in strange places—let alone with someone I’d shared a night with.
So the fact I hadn’t woken up once when he’d entered the room, gotten in bed with me or cuddled me had me raising a sense of alarm inside me.
Mainly, why in the world was my subconscious so trust worthy of him in my sleep, when I wasn’t even trusting of the dreams—or nightmares—it gave me.
I hadn’t exactly been lying to him when I had told him I hadn’t slept the night before.
Only, I hadn’t slept at all the past week.
Ever since I was a little kid, I’d had a recurring nightmare.
They often started the same way: me as a child, out with my parents.
It’d be us having a dinner at a restaurant, at the zoo, at the Royal Theatre watching the ballet—that never mattered.
It was what happened after that did. Because we’d begun to have a good time, and out of no where there would be something that would make them leave me.
I’d beg for them to choose me. To pick me as they both went in different directions to save their life, while I stood there frozen, unable to leave.
“Maeve?” Rihaan started again, his voice had been gentle, yet, it had been enough to startle me.
Snapping back my focus, I moved my gaze. “Do your tattoos have meanings?”
He blinked, almost like he hadn’t expected the question.
A beat.
He slowly shook his head. “Not all of them.”
I frowned, as he continued.
“Some are just because I liked the design.”
“How many do you have?” I asked.
“I’ve honestly lost count.”
I pressed my lips together from asking more questions. It suddenly felt too personal. Because not only did I want to see them all, I wanted to reach out and touch them, and ask him about the ones that meant something.
Like he could see it in his eyes too, his eyes sparkled with a dare. Almost like he wanted me to rise to my curiosity.
I hated how easy it was for him to read me.
I hated more how much I loved it.
As a child, it had been such a “difficult” part of my personality.
My teachers hated the amount of times I used to raise my hand in class; what they hated even more was when I diverged into questions that took us off topic from what the class needed, no matter the relevance of my questions.
My mother loved to comment how I could go further with my social group if I didn’t constantly question everyone around me.
My father had only been who never seemed to mind it, at least on the days I was with him.
“Do you mind if I freshen up first?” I asked, my voice lower than I’d intended.
Rihaan watched me intently before shaking his head once. “Go for it.”
“Thanks.” I replied before moving like there was a fire under my arse, scrambling to open my suitcase, grab my things, and rush into the bathroom.
I DID MY BEST to avoid Rihaan as much as I could once I left his room.
Not just because I didn’t want to impose on him any longer, but even if I wanted to, I couldn’t hold an eye contact with him for longer than a second, even when I tried to.
So, I was stuck sitting around the lounge in the lobby, waiting for my room to finally open up…
with a laptop, that was about to run out of battery soon.
It was the only thing I could grab before I needed to make myself scarce from the room when I heard the shower turn off.
Only, when I’d asked the reception for an update, they’d informed me that the person had asked for a late check out, but they’ll prioritise on cleaning the room for me.
Still, it didn’t help I had another couple hours of roaming around the hotel until I had my own space.
The small irony didn’t fail to land on me.
“Hey,” A voice made me snap my head up. “What are you doing here?”
Raina watched me with a concerned look, as she closed the gap between us.
“Just trying to get some admin work done. What about you?”
“Just came to inform the reception about a package that’s coming from NexGen’s local campus, so they’d hold it back for later.” She frowned, then. “What about your room? It’s so muggy down here.”
I hesitated, and before I could stop myself, the lie was spilling out of me. “There was a…leak in my room. Something about the air-con? I’m not too sure but they asked me to wait down here, while they fix it or swap me for another room.”
“Huh,” She said, unconvinced. “Do you want to hang out in mine and Oliver’s room? We’re just about to head out and take Lilli and Milo out for some air. We’ll be gone for an hour or so.”
I blinked, before shaking my head. “Thank you. I don’t mind being down here. They said it wouldn’t be that long.”
She gave me a nod, then. But I could see that she was still not entirely convinced. “Well, if you change your mind. Our room number is 11011. We’re thinking of leaving in another fifteen minutes.”
I gave her a smile then. “Thank you, Raina.”
“Of course.”
I watched her go, my attention easily moving to the couple of boys from the team as they exited the lift.
Shit.
If any of them found me sitting here and had the same instinct to reach out, I wasn’t sure how I long I could string the lie along. Especially, if my father was the one who’d spotted me.