Emperor of Hearts

Tamara POV

I am a foreigner that has been living in New York for the past two years for college.

In that time, I had made only a handful of friends and I had missed my friends and family back home greatly. Now that I had graduated, my plan was to go back to my home country for a few months and visit before coming back to start work.

Since my flight leaves the day after tomorrow, I wanted to have some fun tonight.

Unfortunately, my friends couldn't join me, but I wasn't going to let that deter me.

I walked into the small corner bar and looked around. It was only about half full, so it wasn't very busy and there were plenty of places to sit.

I walked to the bar and sat down a few stools away from a man in a baggy black tshirt and a black cap that he seemed to pull down even further to hide his face.

There wasn't anything to be ashamed of by being in this place, so why was he hiding?

Is he a criminal?

Royal POV

A girl with a blonde hair sat down a few stool away from me.

She couldn't have been older than twenty-two.

Given her age, she was probably here for either schooling or vacation and for either option there was also the option that she liked diamond crew. If she did, then there's a good chance she would recognize me.

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked and I didn't move.

She was quiet for a moment before moving so there was only one stool between the two of us.

"Excuse me?" She repeated.

"Are you okay?"

I finally looked up, though extremely hesitant.

"I'm fine." I said simply, but she seemed to be very determined.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty down... Almost lonely." She pointed out.

I only gave a simple nod as response and she rested her elbow on the counter with her chin in her palm.

"You don't look very fine."

At this point, I was already getting annoyed.

I downed the rest of my drink and started to order another one.

This random girl held out money to the bartender.

"Whatever he's drinking and a beer please."

My head jerked up and I stared at her before looking down and sighing.

"You didn't have to do that. I really hate owing people things." I said and crossed my arms on the bar, leaning on them.

"Then don't owe me. Pay me back." She said and I scoffed in disbelief.

I went to reach for my wallet and she held out a hand to stop me.

"Not with money." I raised an eyebrow at her.

What exactly do this girl want?

She looked embarrassed so she must have realized how her words could have sounded to the wrong person.

"Tell me something about you. What is your name?" She asked, and it genuinely surprised me.

Was she asking for confirmation?

Did she really not know?

I gave her a hesitant look.

She was certainly starting to be more interesting than annoying.

"Royal" I said, intentionally leaving off my family name.

She smiled at me and held her hand out as if she wanted to shake hands.

I looked at her hand before locking eyes with her and bringing my hand up to shake hers.

I was a little embarrassed when I realized that her hand fit perfectly in mine.

"Nice to meet you, Royal." She said and smiled shyly at me.

"Well, since you know my name, isn't it fair for me to know yours?" I asked, quickly retracting my hands and turning my head back to the drink in front of me.

"Tamara. My name is Tamara." She even sounded a little shy now.

I couldn't help but laugh a little at her change in demeanor.

She must not have planned this approach at all.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You." I said simply and looked over at her.

"You started off very confident and now your demeanor has changed. What has changed?" I asked, already making assumptions that once she heard my name it was all the confirmation she needed that I was a rapper in Diamond crew.

She blushed but smiled as she looked down at her hands.

"I approached you because you seemed sad or lonely... You looked like you were almost hiding from something. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I expected you to just tell me to go away." She admitted.

While I thought it was very kind of her, I still had my suspicions she was a fan looking for an excuse to approach me.

"So you approached a random stranger just to check on them?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Why?" She took a sip of her drink before answering me.

"I would want someone to check on me. I just wanted to be friendly." She said and smiled at me.

My smile dropped in disbelief.

"You really don't recognize me?" I asked, dumbfounded.

With my current popularity it shocked me that someone at least didn't know me.

She looked confused.

"No... Should I?" Her confusion turned to worry.

"Did we have a class together or something?"

I quickly shook my head in response to her question.

"No! I just... Never mind." I let out a laugh and shook my head, relaxing a bit.

Her worry switched back to confusion again.

"Were you on some drama recently? Or maybe in a group? I wouldn't know. The past two years of my life have been filled with classes, studying and sleeping." She said casually, taking another drink.

"You are in university here? What for?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from my identity.

I looked around to make sure no one has heard her and saw most people where sitting at tables away from the bar.

"Majoring in business management and minoring in linguistics." She said and my confusion must have shown on my face.

"Where are you from? Why come all the way to new York for university when you can take those pretty much anywhere?" I asked and she smiled.

"I'm from Italy. I think Studying in a different society is good. I mean, I get to mix up with other cultures. The first year was pretty difficult, but this year was a lot better." She explained.

I noticed that both of our drinks were almost gone already.

"How much longer until you graduate?" I flagged the bartender down while still listening to her.

"I graduated last week." She shrugged and finished off her drink.

"The credits transferred from my University back home."

"That's great." I looked up at the bartender.

"Another round of drinks, please." I held out the money for him and he went off to grab our drinks.

"What was that for?" She asked and I returned my attention to her.

"You said you just graduated right? We are celebrating." I smiled and one spread across her face too.

Tamara POV

Most of the night continued that way.

We talked, getting to know each other and finding new reasons to keep buying each other drinks.

After about the tenth drink, my memory gets kind of fuzzy.

At some point, the casual conversation turned into light flirting.

"Your eyes are beautiful." Royal said to me and I blushed a bright red.

"T...Thank you... Your smile is also " I said shyly and as soon as the words left my mouth, he showed his bright, gummy smile.

"Last call! Raise your hand if you understand me!" The bartender called out to the crowd, which I hadn't noticed had grown since royal and I had started talking.

Just how long had we been talking?

He and I raised our hands before finishing off the last of our drinks.

When most of the crowd raised their hands, the bartender nodded.

"Good. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." He said and started to clean up.

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

TAMARA POV

"What is it?" He asked, a slightly concerned look on his face.

I quickly shook my head and dumped out the excess water, which was a surprising amount.

"No...Nothing." I set the measuring cup on the counter and turned the water off.

I tried to work up even a little bit of the courage I had the night before.

As I turned to face him, he started to let go of me but I gently grabbed his arms to stop him.

He smiled and now rested his clasped hands on the small of my back.

What was the harm in acting like this with him?

By this time tomorrow, he'll go back to being an idol and I'll be on a plane flying home.

My hands slid up his arms and rested on the back of his neck.

Royal gave a slight smirk as he started leaning down to kiss me again.

I didn't hesitate to meet him halfway.

This kiss was much like our first; soft and sweet.

However, before he, or I, could turn the kiss into anything remotely similar to the previous night's activities, I pulled away just enough that I could speak clearly.

"Royal... I should really finish working on breakfast..." I said, and he looked a little disappointed.

"Right... Do you need any help?"

I shook my head and gave his lips a quick peck.

"No, but thanks. I just need to get the rice and beef started." I smiled at him before moving out of his hold to pour the water in the rice cooker.

I started it and got out a skillet to cook the beef.

Royal sat at the table and watched me as I cooked.

It had been so long since I had cooked for anyone other than myself, and I was starting to feel nervous, wondering if he would even like it.

"Hey, Mara?" He asked and I looked over to see him picking at the side dishes I had made the night before.

"Did you make these?"

I nodded and turned back to the beef.

"Is it bad?" I asked, turning the meat in the skillet.

"No." He said around another bite and I smiled.

"Did you find a recipe online or did someone teach you?"

"Both? I found one online and then a friend from university helped me to perfect it." I explained, starting to get plates ready for us to use.

"Damn." He took a bite from a different side dish.

"I'm not even all that passionate about food, I just eat because I have to, but this is really good."

I blushed and leaned on the counter by the gas.

"Thank you..." I said, just as the rice cooker beeped.

I stood up and started to put our dishes in the sink when I saw the clock.

It was already almost eleven a.m..

"Royal, it is ten-fifty. Will you be in trouble when you get back?"

He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Probably." He said honestly before standing up.

"But, hey, the worst they will do is yell at me. It was worth it." Royal smiled, as did I.

"I am glad you feel that way..." I said and he chuckled before looking at the time again.

"I probably really should get going though..." He said, his smile fading like he was disappointed.

I nodded, honestly feeling a little disappointed myself.

"Right. I'll walk you out." I offered and he nodded.

Royal was silent until we reached the front door to my apartment.

"I am not really sure what to say to someone after a one night stand, but I do know that I want to thank you. Last night was one of the best nights of my life, in some ways it was the best night of my life." He smiled at me and my face turned tomato red.

Even if what he was saying was just flattery, it still made my heart pound in my chest.

"Thank you for letting me be myself for a night." He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer for what I assumed would be our last kiss.

It wasn't soft and sweet like the last one, and it wasn't heated like the ones from the night before, but there was still some force behind it.

It felt like he was trying to commit this feeling to memory, and it felt so genuine.

The kiss completely took my breath away.

It truly was a magical goodbye.

I gasped for air when he pulled away, and he only smiled at me.

"Goodbye,Mara" He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"By...Bye, Royal..." I choked out and watched him until he turned the corner and I couldn't see him anymore.

******

Royal POV

As I opened the front door to the house and walked in, I heard a stampede of feet running down the hall.

The other three members nearly tackled me as they searched me for any injuries.

"Hey bro, Where on earth were you? Tony told us you went home with someone! It took you over two hours to walk home? Why didn't you call someone to come get you?" Edwin asked me questions in such rapid succession that I didn't have any actual time to answer them.

"No, it only took me a half an hour to walk home." I said and received a mixed chorus of 'Seriously?' along with a surprisingly dangerous glare from Edwin.

"If it only took you half an hour, then where were you for the other hour and a half? I called you just a little after nine a.m.!" Tony chimed in.

I turned my attention to him and shrugged.

"I stayed for breakfast. So what? It is not like we had anything planned today."

Grey shook his head.

"That is not the point, the point is you just ran off last night and didn't answer any of our calls or texts. We thought something really bad happened to you and then we find out you slept with someone? That's not like you. We were worried. We are worried."

I looked at all of them and sighed.

"Sorry..." I grumbled.

"I will tell you the next time I just run off." I frowned and pushed through the three of them to get to my room.

"Does this mean Royal has a girlfriend now? He stayed over at her place and even stayed for breakfast? He really like her, right?" I heard Edwin ask Grey.

"Maybe it's a boyfriend. That could be why he's being so secretive." Grey speculated and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Hey, I'm not gay, alright? She just...I just...Don't worry about it. It is not going to be a regular thing. She leaves for Italy tomorrow morning anyway." I stormed off toward my room again and leaned on the closed door once I entered.

If she wasn't leaving tomorrow, would that have changed anything?

Would I have tried to pursue something with her?

I wish I had the time to figure that out, but she will be on a plane in less than twenty-four hours, probably forgetting all about me.