The Bartender's Daughter

Chapter 16

I woke up as I heard the wheels in the bottom of the plane coming down. I blinked a couple times and realized my head was still on Jack's lap, and he was fast asleep; his head was leaning back and his mouth was slightly open. The door to the bedroom was closed and I didn't see Emmit anywhere so I presumed he was asleep but then I saw a light click on.

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes and yawned. "Jack wake up. Jack." I poked his shoulder and then nudged him softly.

  His eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, almost hitting me in the process. When he came back to reality and figured out where he was he gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry Alli..."

I smiled back. "It's fine."

The bedroom door and Emmit walked out in a button down black shirt and dark jeans, yawning. "I need coffee. Who else needs coffee."

  He called to Jeff who quickly prepared all three of us a large cup of coffee as the plane touched down at a small, private airport outside of London. Our bags were taken out from inside the plane and the three of us plus Jeff piled into a black SUV and pulled away from the plane.

I kept having to blink rapidly and take long sips of my coffee to stay away. Everything seemed to be in a blur, not to mention it was slightly chilly outside. I come from southern California, I don't really do cold, or anything below 65 degrees.

  "Are you cold?" Jack asked me, giving me a concerned look as we continued down a worn dirt road to a highway.

I gave a small nod, rubbing my arms trying to get rid of the goosebumps. He slipped his jacket off his shoulders and handed it to me and I slipped it on quickly. It was already warm from his body heat and smelled good, just like him. It was like I had him just cocooned around me.

Wait did I just say that.

  "Thank you." I said, pulling it tightly around me.

He nodded, smiling. Emmit rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. "Hi dad, were here. ... No we're on the way to the hotel now. ... Yes I will. ... He is? Can that wait until the morning? ... Okay, thanks dad." He hung up and sighed.

  "Whats wrong?" Jack asked.

  "Anderson is at the hotel. We're going to meet him in the morning for breakfast in the lobby."

Jack raised his eyebrow but didn't say a word. "I hope you packed the right clothes." He said after a few minutes, giving me quick look.

Emmit chuckled. "Don't you worry, I did. You'll thank me later for it."

  "What does that mean?" He began but Emmit just chuckled an didn't answer.

In my state of tiredness I had no idea that they were talking about the clothes Emmit had packed for me. All I was concerned about was my almost-empty cup of coffee and the fact that we were about to pull out into oncoming traffic.

  "Oh my god! Stop! Turn around!" I shouted, causing both guys to jump, but the driver just ignored me.

  "What! What's wrong?" Emmit asked, looking around wildly.

  "We're driving on the wrong side of the street!" I shouted, my eyes widening.

Emmit and Jack looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "Alli darling, they do that here in England. Don't worry, everything is fine." Emmit told me.

I blushed furiously and looked down at my cup of coffee. I was really tired. I laced my fingers together around the cup of coffee and twiddled my thumbs. I only wanted two things in that moment: One, a hole to crawl into that, Two, led to a nice, warm, comfy bed that I could disappear into and sleep forever.

  "When are we going to get to the hotel?" I asked, taking the last drink of my coffee.

  "Soon, don't fall back asleep yet Alli. You need to look somewhat composed when we get there." Emmit instructed me.

  "Ugh, why. Is it super pompous that only the rich and famous can afford to stay at that serve expensive tea three times a day, and have grand chandeliers and shining, polished floors?"

  "Actually, yes."

I opened my mouth to give another snarky remark but I shut it quickly. Great, I'll totally blend in there, I thought. I looked down at my shorts, tank top, and leather boots. Not exactly what you would wear to these kinds of places. I sighed and settled back in my seat and watched all the scenery go by. I saw the skyline of London from a distance and then I suppose I must have fallen asleep again because I was awoken by Jack shaking my shoulder.

  "Alli we're here. C'mon and you can get into bed." I followed him, rubbing my eyes. A man in a funny looking uniform wearing a long black coat, top hat, and white gloves opened my door and greeted me with a head nod. I smiled at him and followed the entourage inside to the lobby.

Yeah, it was pretty lavish. The tiled floors shined and made tiny squeaky noises under my boots, and all the furniture looked like it was purely there for only decoration. There some portraits hanging on the wall of old people in fancy dress, some hanging above fireplaces. I was right about the chandeliers, and matching, elaborate crystal ones hung from the ceiling, shining brightly as if it was daylight in here.

I tried to make myself appear as though I belonged, but after I almost ran into a table and had to save a priceless looking vase from smashing to the floor, I almost cowered behind Jeff who looked like he was trying his best not to laugh at me.

  "Hello sir, yes here are your room keys." The man behind the reception desk told Emmit, handing him three keys.

  "Did I get the correct room?" Emmit asked, raising his eyebrow.

  "Of course sir, just like you requested." The responded with a confident smile.

Emmit returned it and we were led to an elevator that took us all the way up to the top floor. Emmit led us all the way down to the end of the hallway before stopping before a pair of double doors. He slipped the key into the lock and pushed the doors open with a dramatic flourish.

  "Emmit, I love you." I blurted.

He turned around and smirked at me. "I know."

The sitting room was beautifully decorated with an assortment of black leather furniture gathered around coffee tables and the fireplace, but I don't think it could have battled with the breathtaking views coming from the floor to ceiling windows that led out onto a balcony.

  "Okay, so where are the bedrooms. Aka, where can I pass out now?" I asked. Emmit led Jack and I over to two sets of doors. "This is Jack and I's bedroom," he pointed to the door on the left, "and that one is yours. The bathrooms connect between the rooms so don't forget to lock both doors before you shower or anything."

Emmit handed me my room key and I almost sprinted to my bedroom. I pushed the door open and was taken away, yet again. "Holy shit..." I mumbled.

  The room was incredible. It was mostly light colors and cremes, contrasting with the blacks outside. Against the back wall was the bed; oh the bed! It was a king sized bed with pink and gold embroidered sheets, framed by a canopy. A vanity sat opposite the bed and two chairs and a table with a fresh vase of roses sat by the fireplace, right towards the window.

  "Emmit you truly are a wonderful person..." He gave the room with the best views, almost a 180 of the entire city. I threw the curtains aside, climbed into bed with my clothes still on, and fell back asleep looking out at the city.

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Hey guys, sorry for the short-ish chapter! If I hadn't stopped it there if would have gotten insanely long, so I'll save that for the next chapter.

Thanks for everything so far, keep on voting and I really enjoy seeing the comments (and I'm really sorry for not responding, but I smile like an idiot when I see them)!

Love,       M