However Do You Want Me... || Chenford / The Rookie

Part 22

They take a private car to their hotel for the evening. The next day has been reserved for final interviews and capturing any remaining voice-overs before they will be hopping on a red-eye back to LA.

As the adrenaline of their victory wears off, exhaustion and maybe a little bit of confusion settles in. They sit quietly on opposite ends of the seat from each other. That weird wall between them has rebuilt itself in record time.

And with the competition officially over, they have their own separate rooms. Lucy mumbles a tired good night before exiting the elevator on her floor, feeling oddly unsettled by this anticlimactic end, a strange tug of sadness taking hold at the idea of sleeping without Tim by her side for the first time in weeks.

She takes what should be an illegally long shower, letting the warm water soothe her sore muscles as she mentally relives that kiss over and over in her head.

Maybe it had just been a spur of the moment thing? Maybe there isn't anything more to read into? They had put the idea of romance between them to bed weeks ago, hadn't they?

She picks out the only remaining clean set of pajamas left in her suitcase — a satin shorts and cami set that she'd never quite worked up the nerve to wear in the house.

She crawls into bed, fully expecting that she will be out like a light after the extreme intensity of the last few days, but instead, she can't relax, her eyes wide open as she stares at the ceiling and feels a lump in her throat at the thought of Tim, the thought of not spending every day and every night with him, the thought of that goddamn kiss.

The knock is so soft that she questions whether she's even actually heard it until it repeats. She feels a simultaneous flutter in her stomach and squeeze in her chest when she looks through the peephole and discovers it's him.

***

"Hey," Tim says softly when she opens the door, immediately even more certain that this is a terrible decision as he takes her in, fighting an urge to skip the talking and just bend her over the very tempting King bed conveniently positioned just a few feet away.

"Hey."

"I thought —" Tim raises a hand to rub the back of his neck, "Do we need to talk about what happened earlier?"

Lucy shrugs but steps back from the door, indicating he should come in and watching him carefully as she asks, "Do we?"

"Yeah — I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I got carried away in the moment, and, obviously, that was totally inappropriate."

Lucy isn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. "Okay... I just —" she swallows. She just what? Thought it was something more? Wanted it to be something more?

Tim watches her intently, "Just what?"

Lucy shakes her head, throat thick with emotion that she has no idea what to do with, "Nothing."

If she didn't know better, she'd think she sees disappointment flicker across Tim's face, but he just nods.

"Okay. Well, I should go... We both could use the rest after today."

And suddenly, faced with the reality that he needs to leave — that he isn't going to be spending a night cuddling his former boot ever again — Tim freezes, rooted in place, unwilling to return to a reality where they aren't sleeping side by side every night.

"I — shit." He rubs a hand over his face tiredly.

"Do you want to stay?" Lucy blurts it out before her brain can even catch up with her mouth, cheeks immediately flushing at the boldness of her invitation.

But Tim is already nodding because, without a doubt, he does, even if he absolutely shouldn't.

They're both quiet after that, neither quite knowing what to say, defaulting to settling into the bed — Lucy on her side facing the wall and Tim behind her — not touching, but close enough that she can feel his warmth. Close enough that it almost physically hurts, and Lucy has to wonder if they are really doing this again. Resigning themselves to yet another torturous night of awkwardness and unyielding tension. But also sure that she will always choose this over going a single night without him, even if it does hurt.

Tim makes the first move. His fingers brushing over her shoulder, gently pushing aside the strap of her cami, his breath warm against her skin as he shifts closer, and then a tiny crackle of electricity, lighting Lucy up from the inside as his lips softly brush against her bare shoulder.

She stops breathing. Lucy is certain that she is no longer breathing at all, her whole body tensed in response to his unexpected touch, that pulsing ache between her legs waiting, wanting, anticipating what could possibly come next. And this time more than just a brush, his mouth warm and wet against the tattooed skin of her neck.

And if the first kiss was a spark, this is most definitely a flame. She arches her head back against him in pleasure, reaching her hand back to find his face to... to what? Encourage him? Stop him?

She's not entirely sure of anything, her breaths shallow and goosebumps pricking all over her body as she finally twists onto her back so that she can look up at him, unsure of what she'll find in his blue eyes, scared that she might be expecting too much, that the moment may have been too impulsive and fleeting to withstand this kind of scrutiny.

Part of her is certain that she has to know. Certain that she can't do this again. Not now, not when she knows without a doubt that she loves him and cannot bear to lose him again.

And another part of her, a louder part of her, doesn't care that this is absolutely insane, negating everything that they've been through, because it is all Lucy wants. Because she is also certain that all of these questions will still be there in the morning but this... this might not be, and she simply isn't willing to let it go.

His gaze is intense, heated with passion but unyielding in that unequivocal way that both terrifies her and excites her. And for a moment they are frozen — a stillness betraying the million different emotions and thoughts flooding them both, until it's like someone finally presses play and they are moving at the same time, her hand slipping around his neck as he dips his head down to find her lips.

And it is absolutely insane how easily they meld together, how naturally his lips move over hers, how seamlessly her fingers thread through his hair as his arm wraps around her hips tugging her whole body into the kiss. And it is soft and sweet and sensual until it's not, giving way to an urgency and a passion and an unbridled boldness that leaves them both gasping for breath when they finally break apart.

And it's only a moment before Tim is pulling her back to him more roughly this time, that familiar, aching want for him spreading through her entire body as they kiss and kiss, hands wandering, limbs entwining, bodies pressing impossibly closer together.

Lucy slips her hands under his shirt and he pulls back from her to tug it up over his head without thinking, the movement breaking him out of his passion-induced fog as he looks down at her — all wild hair, swollen lips, and longing eyes.

"Shit... What are we doing?"

***

Author's Note: Yup, that is, in fact, Tim cock-blocking himself yet again, but I suppose we'll just have to blame it on the plot gods (and also he's honorable, I guess...🤨) 😂.  What do you think so far?  Hope you're enjoying the ride!