Chapter 2 The one night stand

Tamara POV

"Last call? What a shame..." Royal said, actually looking pretty disappointed.

Then I did something that even surprised drunk me.

"Well, you heard him... We don't have to go home, we just can't stay here... My... My apartment is just down the street..." I offered and a sly grin spread across his face.

The look on his face made me blush even more than I already was.

"I...I have some drinks and maybe some wine plus we can pick the music ourselves." I stammered out shyly and he laughed.

"Sure. I like the sound of that." He said and moved to stand up.

Royal offered me his hand and I took it.

"Lead the way." He said but didn't drop my hand as we walked toward my apartment.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

This wasn't something I did.

Ever.

He was the only guy I had brought home the entire time I was in new York.

I didn't even have any doubts when I suggested it.

What if he wasn't who he said he was?

What if he was dangerous?

Those were thoughts for sober me.

When we reached the front door of my apartment, I could hear voices coming down the hallway.

They were talking about some music group; Band something.

I noticed that he leaned on the wall beside the door and kept his head low.

I gave him a confused look.

"Roya..." I was cut off when his hand covered my mouth.

He shook his head and held up a finger to signal me to be quiet.

The look on his face wasn't threatening but it was serious.

I nodded and fell silent.

I opened the door and stepped in, moving aside so he could step in after me.

"What was that about?" I asked, but I wasn't angry.

I was just really confused.

"I'm sorry" He said to me but didn't answer my question.

He looked kind of uneasy and I thought back to him questioning me about me recognizing him or not.

Those girls were talking about a group they listened to and I remembered how he had avoided all questions about his work.

It didn't take long to put the pieces together, but I didn't want to ruin the great night we had been having so far.

"It's okay, Royal" I said, and I was sure he saw the understanding on my face.

"Tamara, listen..." He started to explain himself but I shook my head and walked to the kitchen.

"Beer or the wine?" I offered and he looked taken back.

I sighed before smiling softly at him.

"I can tell that it's not something you want to talk about. You had that same look on your face at the beginning of the night, but then you looked like you were having fun. I don't want to ruin that just because of some curiosity. So, let us just enjoy the night, okay?"

He stared at me for a while before nodding and smiling at me.

"Beer or wine?" I asked again.

"Beer" He walked toward the living room.

I followed his lead with the bottle and two shot glasses.

Once I sat down, I poured us both a shot and handed him his.

He took it and looked at it in silence for a moment. "

"Thanks Mara"

"Woooah, It is just a shot of beer. why are you suddenly so formal?" I asked and he laughed.

"What? No!" He laughed and shook his head.

"For not pushing for information." He said as I took my shot.

"For not caring. For letting me be normal for a while." He took his own shot and poured us each another one.

"Of course..." I said softly.

The cap he was wearing was pushing his bangs into his eyes.

Without thinking, I reached up and brushed them away.

I hadn't even realized how close we were sitting until he turned his head to face me directly.

My heart pounded in my chest once again and given how close we were right now, I was almost convinced that he could hear it too.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face but I heard him setting the bottle down on the coffee table.

I watched his eyes roam around my face, like he was studying it.

My face felt like it was on fire when his eyes locked with mine again.

My eyes flickered down to his lips for a fraction of a second but I knew he noticed when I saw him smirking.

He started to lean in and I thought he was going to kiss me until he stopped just shy of my lips.

Our noses were close enough that they were lightly touching.

My breath hitched quietly and I realized that he was wordlessly asking my permission before going any further.

He got my answer when I leaned forward and closed the gap for him.

I could feel him smile lightly as my hands gripped onto the front of his shirt.

The kiss started off soft and sweet, but when I felt his tongue run across my bottom lip, I knew it wouldn't stay that way.

I let out a gasp and he pulled back to let out a quiet laugh.

My face burned a bright red again, this time embarrassed because I thought he was laughing at me.

"I...I'm sorry. I...I don't have mu..much experience with..."

He silenced me with another quick kiss.

"Don't worry." He said in a soft, soothing voice.

He flashed that bright smile again before letting out a light chuckle.

"So cute..."He muttered and lightly cupped the back of my head, pulling me in for a much more heated kiss.

My hands that had been gripping his shirt slid up his shoulders and then laced on the back of his neck so I could pull him closer.

When he started to push me to lay back, I didn't object at all.

***************

TAMARA POV

I woke up the next morning and groaned at the sun shining through the window.

I buried my face in the pillow and sighed.

I was still half-asleep but my senses were slowly coming back to me. When I felt the sheets in direct contact with my skin and an arm wrapped around my midsection, my breathing stopped.

I just listened for a moment as the memories of the previous night flooded my mind.

Royal's steady breathing behind me signaled that he was still asleep.

I released the breath I had been holding and slowly rolled over to look at him.

My cheeks were a deep crimson as I looked over his sleeping face.

I knew right then and there that I was ruined!

The peacefulness on his face with the sun shining brightly behind him was breathtaking.

I lightly slapped my cheek as I tried to figure out how I managed to get a guy like him to even talk to me.

Now in the light and in my completely sober state, I could fully take in his features.

I had known he was handsome but, damn....

He was completely out of my league!

He shifted in his sleep, nuzzling the pillow and tightening his hold on my waist.

I squeaked in surprise and he slowly lifted his head, looking at me through squinted eyes and he looked almost angry that I woke him up.

However, when he realized it was me, the look softened and he laid his head back down lazily.

"Good morning" He mumbled.

"What time is it?" He asked without opening his eyes.

I looked behind me at the clock on my nightstand.

"N...Nine o'clock." I said quietly and he cracked open one eye to look at me.

"Are you okay? Don't tell me you don't remember... You weren't that drunk..." His thumb gently rubbed circles on my back.

I quickly shook my head.

"I...I remember. I'm just... Surprised... You're still here." I said and he smiled sleepily.

"Good or bad surprised?" His eyes opened again and looked into mine.

"Good..." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

He reached up and brushed some of my hair from my face.

Royal looked as if he was about to say something but changed his mind at the last minute.

"Do..."

"I..."

We cut each other off before he smiled faintly and nodded at me to go first.

"Do you... Want to stay for breakfast?" I asked quietly, almost shyly.

"I...I mean, I understand if you want to leave..."

I had never woke up to someone that was practically a stranger, so I wasn't sure how to act.

He lifted up and peered behind me at the alarm clock.

"Hmm... It's nine...fifteen... I can't stay long. The others will be wondering where I am."

As if him saying the words opened the floodgates, texts and a call flooded his phone.

He groaned and sat up.

"Speak of the devil..." He huffed and fumbled around for his phone in the messy pile by the bed.

When he grabbed it, he answered it grumpily.

"What is it,Tony? "

I heard a man almost shrieking on the other end and Royal had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"What the hell do you mean by 'what is it'? You never came home last night! We thought you were dead or hurt, or some crazy fan kidnapped you!" The man, or Tony, screeched.

Royal rubbed his forehead and sighed, putting the phone back to his ear.

"Lower your voice, dude. Obviously I'm fine or I wouldn't have answered." He said, laying back down beside me.

"What about the other hundred texts and calls from the past three hours?" He asked and Royal groaned.

"Calm down. We literally just woke up." He said and glanced at me.

"It's already after nine...wait...'we'? Who is 'we'?"

There was a gasp on the other end of the line.

"Did you go home with someone last night? That's really unlike you"

Royal let out a heavy sigh and was silent for a moment.

"Goodbye, Tony. I'll be home soon. Tell the others that I'm fine." He said before hanging up on what I assumed was his bandmate.

He and I were both quiet for a moment.

It was the first time any silence between us felt awkward; granted, we hadn't had much silence between us to begin with.

"So..." I began, breaking the silence.

What I really wanted to ask was if this was actually something he didn't do, but I didn't.

"Do you have to go now or do you want breakfast first?" I sat up in bed, covering myself with the sheet, and he looked away when he saw the shy look on my face.

"Well, if I'm gonna have to deal with them being worried and angry either way, might as well stay." Royal shrugged and turned away completely to start getting dressed.

I took that chance to get up and run to my dresser for fresh clothes.

Once we were both fully dressed, I walked to the door that led to the rest of the apartment. He followed out close behind and I couldn't help but to smile. Except for the minor hiccup we just had where there was a moment of awkward silence after his phone call, everything had felt pretty natural.

I walked to the refrigerator to see what I even had that I could make.

"Royal, do you want a normal breakfast or something westernized?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.

He only shrugged and leaned on the counter.

"Doesn't matter to me." He said and looked passed me and into the refrigerator curiously.

I thought for a moment before pulling out a couple of different types of meat that I had made myself.

"Beef wraps sound okay?" I asked, holding up a container that I had been marinating beef in.

It was originally going to be my dinner tonight and my breakfast tomorrow before I went to the airport, but I didn't mind sharing with him.

"Yeah, of course. Do you need help with anything?" He offered.

"Uhh, sure." I smiled.

"Could you get the sesame oil and the soybean paste?" I asked, pointing at a cabinet and then the refrigerator.

I set the beef on the counter and went to start the rice since it would take the longest to cook.

Since I had my back turned, I could hear movement but I couldn't see it.

The cabinet doors and fridge both opened and closed, but I didn't hear him set anything on the counter or say anything.

Just to make sure he was okay, I looked at him over my shoulder.

He was staring at me but certainly not at my face.

My face went red hot and when we locked eyes, he only gave me a knowing grin and tried to play it off like he hadn't been caught.

"Here's the stuff you asked for." He said nonchalantly and I nodded.

"Thanks..." I muttered as he set them on the counter.

I quickly turned back to the rice cooker in front of me, dumping the measuring cup full of rice into the cooking pot. When I had to turn toward him to go to the sink, my face was still red and I heard him chuckle.

"As confident and open as you were last night, me stealing one little glance makes you this embarrassed?" He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind as I turned the water on.

"You do realize I've seen it already, right?" He asked and my face grew a shade darker.

He was right, so why was I so embarrassed by it?

"I...I'm just not used to people looking at me like that..." I admitted and looked up at him shyly.

I was surprised by how close his face was to mine.

NOur conversation stopped dead in its tracks as we stared at each other.

I bit my lip as his face started inching closer to mine, however, before we could make contact, water spilled over the edge of the measuring cup and startle