Invited

Nine - Timber

I brushed my teeth while Talia finished up in the shower. According to the clock, it was some awful hour of the morning. I'd actually woken up before the sunrise, which I ended up watching from my room balcony while Talia continued to sleep. Once she woke up, we both started to get ready for the day, sharing a shower, and then I ordered room service as well as found her clothes for the day. All she had to wear otherwise was the dress she'd shown up in. Paul hadn't given me much to work with, but I was willing to repeat an outfit for her comfort.

Once my dental hygiene was done, I set a pair of shorts, a belt, and a t-shirt on to the bed. While I waited for breakfast to arrive, I flipped on the TV and finally found the cooking channel. Some show about making Italian food was on. Made me pretty hungry right away. When there was a knock on the door, I leaped to my feet and went to answer it. My stomach was growling in anticipation of breakfast. Room service wasn't at my door. Paul was.

"Hi," I said, letting him into the room. "Go ahead and get comfortable on the couch."

I picked up the clothes from the bedroom and brought them into the bathroom for Talia just as she was coming out of the shower.

"Food here? I heard someone at the door," she said.

I shook my head. "Paul. You can wear this. It'll be big, but you'll be decent and comfortable. Not like I'd complain if you wanted to keep wearing your dress."

"Comfort always wins over fashion when I get the choice." She winked, taking the bundle of clothes from me.

I gave her a kiss on the forehead. "No rush, take your time." And then I stepped back out to rejoin Paul. He sat in a chair across from the couch where I took my seat.

"Did you enjoy your first night back?" he asked, perhaps a little too casually and it made me wonder if I was in some kind of trouble.

I nodded, keeping cool. "Yeah, it was good."

"Since your girlfriend is already present, I do not need to schedule for her to come by," he said stiffly.

"Yeah, she surprised me when she showed up last night too."

"She surprised a lot of people," he stated. "Normally, such a thing wouldn't trouble me, but since she left a public event and never returned, naturally, a lot of people were curious about what she was doing. The media followed her here, and now everyone is speculating who she is seeing inside of the hotel."

Slowly, I swallowed, understanding now why he was so upset. "We can sneak her out. It's not that hard."

"And your parents? Aren't they coming back today to see you again?"

"Yeah, they said they were going to come by with my dog and some stuff."

"And your friend is coming today as well," Paul stated. "So if the press are lying in wait, notice that not only is your girlfriend here, but your parents and best friend, I think they will put two and two together. If they know you are here before you go to the press conference, it will complicate things."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. Like I said, it surprised me too. But I'm not going to complain about her coming early. We needed the extra time together. There are ways to work around it. All she has to do is make a phone call." Her manager was probably already freaking out as it was for not going to the award ceremony. Soon, none of that was going to matter.

"Between all of us, we can come up with a solution I'm sure. The staff has been very helpful in the matter for the time being. Even if offered enough money, I'm not confident they will keep a secret." He looked at me pointedly. "However, I'm glad she came around. When I spoke with her on the phone, she had a lot of not nice things to say to me."