Below Deck || C. Leclerc

xvii

Liliana woke up because of the light shining into the cabin from outside. Her hands curled around the fabric of the duvet, feeling a warm body next to her, holding her, not wanting her to go yet. Liliana looked over her shoulder to find Charles still asleep, a certain feeling flooding her chest, which she couldn't quite put her finger on. She reached for her phone, which she had thrown on the nightstand in a rush last night. Shit, the battery was dead. Charles' arm that was draped around her was clad with a watch, and she gently took his wrist in her hand to check the time. Oh god, it was past nine already, she should have been up half an hour at least. 

Charles was woken up by her shuffling around, making him groan softly. He buried his head deeper into the pillow, tightening his grip on her. 

"No, Charles, I need to go," Liliana muttered, taking his arm, lifting it off her, and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. 

"Baby..." Charles whined. "Five minutes, come on," he urged, but she shook her head.

"I'm already late for work," Liliana said, hurrying to find her clothes. She sighed deeply as she had only her service dress from last night. If she came across any of her colleagues, they would look at her weirdly for sure. 

"It's just nine," Charles complained, folding his hands behind his head as he laid back on the pillows again. 

Liliana tried not to let her eyes linger on his abs which were on full display, his biceps bulging up. He knew what he was doing, and she was not falling for it this time. 

"Yes, and I should have been in the galley speaking through the day with Sophie and Marion forty minutes ago already," she muttered. 

"Fuck, sorry, Lili," Charles said, his face looking truly apologetic as he realized he had only slowed her down. 

"It's okay, I should have thought of charging my phone, so I would hear my alarm going off," Liliana said, quickly slipping into her shoes. "I have to run," she said, already heading for the door. 

"Not yet," Charles said, causing her to look at him with raised eyebrows. His fingers moved to his lips, and she scoffed, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. "See you," Charles grinned, watching her walk out of his cabin.

Liliana made sure she saw no one as she rushed down the hallway and further down to the cabins of the crew. She went inside the one she shared with Marion. Liliana quickly threw her dress over her head and dumped it into the laundry, reaching for the shirt and skirt she was actually meant to wear for the day. Overnight, they made their way back from Cannes to Monte Carlo. 

"Lili!" 

She gasped at the sudden sound of Sophie's voice, a harsh couple of knocks on her door following. 

"Are you in there? I've been looking for you!" Sophie continued. 

"Calm down, I'm getting changed," Liliana replied, opening the door while still pulling her shirt down her waist. 

"Where the hell were you?" Sophie asked first, her cheeks a little red. She had the work phone in her hand and a notebook in the other. 

"I overslept," Liliana decided to say, which was partly true. 

"Yeah, but you weren't in here when I came by earlier," Sophie pressed. 

"I was in the bathroom and probably didn't hear you, sorry," Liliana said, looking at her a little irritated now. "Care to tell me what's wrong now?" She continued, hoping to steer Sophie away from the subject.

It worked. "I thought you arranged groceries for the next charter to arrive ahead today, but they say they're not coming. We're in trouble now, and I don't know who else to call," Sophie whined.