"Here." Richard says, very gently grabbing my wrist again to guide me to another area of the roof. His touch felt so warm on my now cool skin, sending goosebumps to arise all over my body. I notice he seems to be very touchy with me. I usually hated being touched, but with him, I didn't mind it so much.
He pulls me toward a beat-up couch, with a small stained coffee table standing in front, coated with empty beer cans and candy wrappers. He very clearly spent a lot of time up here. I began to wonder if he ever actually did any sort of work in this Holiday Inn, or just sat up here to drink Budweiser and eat Kit-Kats.
Richard gestured for me to sit down on the couch. I obeyed, sitting myself down on the cream leather as he did the same, kicking his feet up on the table while scooting his back down a little to get comfortable. I sat upright with my legs pressed firmly together, looking rigid in comparison to Richard's relaxed demeanour.
"You must spend a lot of time up here, huh?" I ask shyly, picking at the crumbling leather on the arm rest.
"What? Oh. Yeah." He mumbled, lifting up his hips to dig around in the back pocket of his jeans.
"I like it up here. It's a get-away from all the shit down there, you know? I like places where I can just be alone." Richard adds, pulling what looks like a crumpled joint from his pocket, along with a golden Zippo lighter, engraved with the initials 'R.R'.
"Like the cemetery?" I question with a smirk. I watched him as he tried to smooth out the joint with his nimble fingers before he brought it up to his full lips.
"Like the cemetery." He nodded, smiling at me with sleepy looking eyes. "Why were you even out there at that time of night?"
"I couldn't sleep. Thought I would explore a little, you know? Get used to my surroundings a bit better." I responded, twisting my head to look at his face, but ended up just staring at his razor sharp cheekbones instead. I've never in my whole life seen a person with such defined features. He's really something else.
"You're new to the neighbourhood?" Richard asked. He furrowed his brows as he brought the lighter up to his mouth, using his hand as a shield from the wind as he lit it up.
"Yeah. I'm just here for the summer though, visiting my sister. She goes to college here." I answered, observing the smoke as it left his lips, forming a thick cloud around his head before it floated away into the stars.
"Oh. I see." He says in a low voice, almost with a sad tone to it. "Where are you coming from?"
"Las Vegas."
Richard scoffed with a laugh, shaking his head at me in disbelief. "Yeah right. Where really?" He questioned as he took the joint to hold between his index and middle finger.
"No, really. I'm from Vegas. Born and raised." I chuckle at him. I find it funny how people don't realise it's an actual city, with actual homes and actual families, not just a party resort.
"Damn. What's that like? Do you live in a fucking casino or what?" He asks, sitting upright to face me with his full body.
I let out a soft laugh and rolled my eyes at his comment. "Let's just say it's everything and nothing like what you would think. And no, I don't live in a Casino." I laugh, "I live in a house like a normal person. Have you ever been?"
"Never. I do go out to Los Angeles a lot to visit my brother, though. I love seeing the ocean out there." Richard tells me, flicking the ash falling from the burning weed.
"Hmm, that's nice. I've never seen the ocean before." I admit.
"Really? It's incredible. Maybe I can take you one day." He smirks, peering deep into my eyes as he takes another long drag, not breaking the intense eye contact whatsoever.
I blush hard. I had to look down at my hands to play with my rings so he couldn't see my cheeks burning up. After a couple moments, and after my heartbeat returned back to a regular speed, I glanced back up at him, only to find him still deeply glaring at me with those almond shaped eyes. Brown eyes were never my favourite until I saw Richards, they were different, spellbinding - the kind that sent shivers up your spine if you looked into them long enough, and that they did.
"You want a hit?" He mentions, reaching over with the joint between his fingers.
"No thanks, I'm alright. I don't smoke." I politely decline, waving my hand at his offer.
"Ahh, I get it. Little Miss Sin City is a good girl after all." He teased, running his tongue along his lower lip slowly.
I quickly look away before I start blushing like an idiot again. He knew what he was doing, but I wasn't going to give in. There's no way I'm gonna give him that satisfaction.
"Shut up, Richard." I giggle, finally allowing my body to relax by kicking my feet up on the coffee table, kicking over a few empty cans as I do so.
"Are all Texan boys this annoying?" I joke, leaning my head back to look up at the starry sky and crescent moon which hung low over the warm June night sky.
Richard and I sat up on that rooftop, with our bodies relaxed on that filthy couch for the next two hours or so. We talked about nothing and everything. Our conversation was so much more than words. It's the smiles, the laughs, and the light in our eyes as we spoke to one another. Time seemed to move in slow motion, but yet, passed by so fast. Richard seemed to be more of a listener, he listens as if my words are golden, like he's been waiting all his days to hear me speak.
"I should head back downstairs to do some work. I don't wanna get fired on my first shift." I sigh, not wanting to leave his side but forcing my body to stand up.
"You coming?" I ask Richard as I notice he's still sat down, arms up with his hands resting behind his head.
"Nah, you go. I gotta do some work upstairs. I'll come meet you before it's time to leave." He grunts, forcing a gentle smile upon his sleepy face.
"Fine." I quickly say, raising my hand to give him a little wave before shuffling my feet away towards the door and back into the building.
The hotel is still lifeless, just how we let it, with the guests sound asleep in their rooms. I guess we didn't miss a whole lot while we were up on the roof. There wasn't much to do but clean, so I decided to polish down all the surfaces in the lobby with some supplies I found in a closet.
I continue to shine down everything, from the reception desk to every table, chair, even every vase. By the time I'd finished, the lobby looked spotless.
I step back to admire my work, while checking the time on the clock behind the desk.
4:49. Almost time to go home. I was exhausted. I couldn't wait to get home and into my warm bed.
In that same moment, I hear the elevator doors ding. Richard steps out, his eyes meet mine as he walks over to me.
"Looks great in here." He beams, nodding his head as he scans the freshly cleaned room.
"Thanks. You finished up there?" I queried, placing away my cleaning supplies.
"Yeah. You want me to give you a ride home?" He asks, twirling his car keys around his finger.
"No, it's fine. It's only a 5 minute walk." I respond with a half smile.
"Come on, my car is out front." He says, already walking out the doors. I laugh to myself, before catching up to him with a little run.
YOU ARE READING
collided
Fanfiction"One glance of those brown eyes told of a lifetime of struggle that had never been put into words."
