Strangers in the Night ▸ Javi Rivera

7

Luna suppressed a groan as she felt her bones crack and pull while she performed a whole routine of stretching in her bed that morning, careful not to wake Lily sleeping in the other bed or Dani who was sleeping on the air mattress they'd blown up on the floor between them. She'd had luck each morning of her week with the Wranglers, managing not to wake up anyone else with her traditions of early rising.

And wanting to keep the streak going, she silently tiptoed around the room, going into the bathroom and closing the door behind her to make quick work of brushing her teeth and hair before she was out again. Staying in the room just long enough to grab a bottle of water from the cooler they'd brought into the room last night she began making her way out the door and into the corridors of the motel.

Feeling the remaining nips of the cold night as she wore only a pair of loose shorts and one of Ty's old U of A shirts, she debated going back for another layer but decided against it. With the heat rising and the sun already having started its ascension, she knew it wouldn't be long before she didn't need it. So, instead, she unscrewed her bottle and brought it to her lips, starting to move through the corridors on her way to the other side of the building since she was currently facing east.

She heard someone along their stretch of corridor opening their doors as she rounded a corner, closing up her cap and looking around to see who else could possibly be as much of a morning bird as her, but upon seeing no one she gave a simple shrug of her shoulders and continued on her way. Only when she rounded the next corner, coming to the right side of the building, did she find the source of the sound.

And now, Luna had always been one of those women who thought one of the best things a man could wear were grey sweatpants. Especially when they were paired with nothing else. So, really, she absolutely could not be blamed for the way she stared as she caught sight of the man further down the hall, his hands leaning against the railing as he looked out to the sun rising over the field beyond the parking lot.

She watched as he brought a cup to his lips, steam coming from whatever hot beverage was inside as he drank it, her eyes focusing on his lips now instead of his body, remembering how they felt on her own and all over her skin, thinking what it might be like to get a taste of them now. And then she realized what she was thinking. And that she needed to get a fucking hold of herself!

"Good morning." The sound of his voice, greeting her and revealing that he was more than aware of her presence made Luna curse herself in her head again, awkwardly holding onto the bottle in her hands as she sent him a small smile once his head turned to look at her. At least, as she watched him do that, she didn't feel so nervous about getting caught staring considering the way his own eyes were quick to flash over her exposed legs.

"Mornin'." She greeted simply, deciding to get over herself and stop acting like a school girl with a crush as she walked further into the corridor, coming to join him at the railing as she looked out to the pink skies in front of them.

"What's go you up so early?" He asked curiously, his own eyes still on her as he found himself grateful for the fact that she didn't try to run away or continue the pretense of them being strangers. Then again, that might be why she was entertaining a conversation now, to tell him to start doing it himself.

"Routine." She said simply, turning to look at him with a smile. "I always watch the sunrise." She revealed, making a small chuckle escape him as he looked back to it now.

"That's good to know." He said, earning himself a slightly questioning look as she wondered why it would be. "Worried I might've slept through an alarm or something with how early you left that morning." He quipped, the words making Luna give out a small laugh that had him turning to her again, that had him realizing he hadn't imagined it that first night here and it had actually been her walking past his room.