For Better Or For Worse | Rihanna

XXVI; December, 2017

"Robby baby... Wake up," I heard Eden whisper in my ear.

"I'm up," I groaned.

"Come on, we're about to land; we gotta go buckle up." She kissed my temple and I pushed her away.

"Okay, okay. I'm up."

Eden stood at the foot of the bed, bare-bodied if not for her loose pyjama pants, with her arms folded against her chest. She watched me silently.

"You good?" There was something weird about her stance, something off.

"Yeah... yeah." She finally moved from her position and picked up her shirt from the floor.

"You think I have time to change?" I asked.

"Yeah, if you hurry," Eden confirmed, then slipped out of the room.

I put her odd behaviour on the back burner for now. We were returning to Los Angeles from Barbados, and I understood that the last few days had weighed on both of us. Between the heart-to-heart we had, me coming out to my mother, the Independence Day ceremony and two 12-hour flights, I could understand if she was stretched thin.

After slipping out of the complementary pair of pyjamas and into my day clothes, I grabbed my purse and joined the rest of the party in the front of the jet. Mel, Eden, the full glam team plus Jen and my assistant sat around the small cabin, conversing amongst themselves.

I sat down across from Melissa, next to Eden who dropped her head on my shoulder.

"Tired?" I asked her.

"Not really," she hummed. "I slept a bit, like a few hours."

"Really? That's good."

"It's easier to sleep when I'm actually in bed with you," Eden remarked with a smile.

"Don't tell me y'all got freaky with us in the next room?" Melissa's face fell. Honestly, I forgot she could hear us too.

"Nah," Eden immediately denied.

I shrugged with indifference. "I've done worse."

"Yeah, I know," my best friend rolled her eyes and I waved her off.

"Did you do your sesh with Dr. Bennett too?" I returned my attention to my partner.

"Yeah, while you were asleep," Eden nodded.

"With me in the bed?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah but we couldn't see you," she chuckled. "I'm surprised the connection wasn't choppy or anything."

"I told you the jet has good wifi," I shrugged.

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting it to be so strong even flying over the ocean," Eden explained.

"Ocean?" My ears perked up.

"Yeah, well, I meant the Caribbean Sea, you know?" She tried to correct herself.

I hummed, knowing that she was lying about something. Regardless, I brushed it off knowing the truth was going to come out sooner rather than later. Besides, Eden was a shitty liar; the kind that got nervous and couldn't hold eye contact.

Soon enough, I felt the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac. After we waited the necessary time, the flight crew gave us the all-clear to disembark. Everyone began filing out of the plane, as Eden generously grabbed both our bags.

"So there's a car for just us, and two others for everyone else..." Eden started, but her voice drowned out as confusion washed over me.

"Are we in Paris?" I asked her, recognizing my surroundings almost immediately.