Right Here, Waiting

Chapter Seven

March 6th, 2022

The steam that filled Liliana's bathroom allowed her to breathe for what felt like the first time since she'd left Taron's hotel room in New York. After an almost eight hour plane ride where she hadn't been able to sleep, a hot shower had been first on her to-do list when she finally fell through her door. A shower in her own bathroom. Something she hadn't realised she would miss as much as she did.

As soon as the first drops of hot water hit her skin, she sighed happily and let her head fall forward so that the water could trickle onto the back of her neck and down the length of her back. Goosebumps raced to the surface of her skin and she shivered involuntarily. Being away from home for almost a month had stressed her out more than she thought it would have, but that stress washed away instantly in the shower.

Every few days on tour she had been in yet another unknown bed, having nobody to talk to once Evelyn and Jacob left her room to go to bed themselves or do some work that they'd put off during the day. When she'd been in Boston, she'd been able to text Taron but after everything that happened in New York, her texts went unanswered, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the incessant nagging feeling of wanting to be home.

In the two weeks between leaving Taron's hotel room and getting home and him being at the airport waiting for her, she could count on one hand the number of messages he'd replied to. Things had ended so badly in New York and it was all she could think of on the flight home. She thought about going to his flat to see him and talk to him. But she didn't need to.

When she saw him, she had to rub her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. He was the last person she had expected to see when she got to the arrivals lounge at Heathrow. He'd made a sign reading 'NY Bestselling Author Liliana Esme' and held it in front of him with a grin just as cheesy as the sign. She ran into his arms and held him tight.

He held her back just as tightly after he dropped the sign to the floor. When they finally pulled apart, Taron grabbed the handle of her suitcase while she bent down to get the sign. He looked at her curiously to which she'd told him that she wanted to keep it.

Taron hadn't mentioned anything about New York during their journey to her flat, or when they got back and she'd told him to make himself comfortable while she had a shower. Taron's hoodie sat unfolded at the end of her bed from where she'd peeled it off before her shower. She'd lost count of how many times she'd worn it since that night in New York.

Neither of them had uttered a word about that night and as much as Liliana wanted to ignore everything that had happened and just continue as they were before, she knew that it would be near impossible. They were so close to sharing their first kiss and then she'd just...walked out on him and then hadn't spoken to him since. Not for lack of trying.

The shower had been so hot that as she stepped out, the room was filled with a humid mist. She cleared the bathroom mirror with the corner of her towel and took a minute to really look at herself. Her skin was dull and her under eyes were such a deep purple that it looked like she'd been in a boxing ring with Mike Tyson. She tugged and pulled at her face, inspecting it close up. She let out a frustrated sigh and let her hands drop to her sides. It would take some serious skin care to make her feel better.

The moisturiser she used everyday was still at the bottom of her suitcase and she didn't want to mess around trying to find it so she grabbed the expensive one that she kept for special occasions from the drawers next to the sink. She massaged it into her face and let her eyes fall closed. With the steam in the room, the feeling of exceptionally clean skin, and the smell of her moisturiser, she could close her eyes and pretend that she was at a spa being treated to the good stuff.