No pressure: A Rihanna/ Justin Bieber fanfic

Chapter 8: Rendevous

6:58am, 2014: The Carlyle Hotel: New York City

*****

The doors closed behind Justin. The morning light , was lost in the cool shadows of the neighboring buildings. The street buzzed before him, with dozens of yellow taxis, coming and going. Some driving deep into the heart of the city, others leaving the hub of the city all together. He swung his head both ways. He thought he had seen it...There it was! The rose stand he had just barely seen out of the corner of his eye as rushed into the hotel.
Briskly, he cut through the passer by till he got to the stand.

"How much for one Pink Rose?" Justin asked.
The florist looked at him as Justin rocked back and forth on his heels.

"You can have it on the house, you look like you're in a rush."the vendor said as he handed him a pristine pink rose.

"I am, thank you so much!" He said as he took it.
He ran to the double doors of the hotel.
"Back so soon?" the doorman inquired inquistively

Justin just laughed and rushed into the lobby. A jazz pianist had started to play. The slow lazy melody wound it's way through the foyer like a river. It was a beautiful piece. The song reminded him of old black and white movies that his Grandma Diana used to watch late at night on TCM. Another memory came to mind as the pianists finger tapped out a meandering piano riff. Justin's mind briefly ventures to long rides down the coast of California on his MV Augusta motorcycle when the sea glittered with the yellow green light of the afternoon sun. He had wished he could share those rides with someone. His mind floated back down to earth, and he looked round the lobby again. She wasn't anywhere in sight. The clock said 7:01am. He scanned the room, his  breath beginning  to syncopate with the music.  He couldn't hear the ding of the elevator door opening cut through the melody. His gaze landed on a middle aged woman half across the room was. She stared up, seemingly transfixed. He followed the line of her gaze up to the mezzanine.

There, leaning up against the railing was Rihanna.  She looked dreamily off into the distance, her chin tilted upwards. She had come, she had really come. A brief shudder of laughter rushed through his body and out of his mouth. He couldn't believe this was real. It looked like she was looking for someone . It occurred to him that he was the  target of her gaze.

"She can't see me from over here!" he thought.

He pushed his way past the other guests , his brown eyes fixed on her as he put his hands on the shoulders of suit jackets.

He grasped the winding iron rail at the bottom of the staircase. Her eyes glanced and the around the room one last time and then looked down.
                                     *****
   There he was, at the bottom of the staircase. He looked sharp, in a navy blue suit, tailored perfectly to his body. His shiny black shoes, blending in with the tiles. His lips were parted, his honey blonde hair perfectly coiffed into a neat pompadour.
She locked eyes with him.

                                     *****
He locked eyes with her. She descended the staircase  her hands gently touching the rail. The Swarovski crystals on her shoes sparkled underneath the trumpeting skirts of her dress which clung to her hips and the oozed down to her toes in a swathe of satin. She seemed carried by the music as she floated down the stairs. It felt like a dream, but it was time to put his game face on.

He smiled. It was 7:03.

"You're late" He said.

She chuckled.
"A rockstar is never late, everyone else is merely early."

He raised an eyebrow as he offered her his hand.
"Is that from The Princess diaries 2?"

"You watched The Princess Diaries 2?" She scoffed.
The joke had backfired. He had to think of a quick recovery.

"Chris Pine is my homie, got to support, you know. " He looked her up and down, flipping his breath mint in his mouth."You look nice ." He said confidently.

"Thank you" she said.

He hugged her. The aroma on her neck was sweet, playful even. It reminded him of something really specific but he just couldn't put his finger on it-

The concierge approached them

"Morning Mr. Bieber, I had to pull some strings, but I believe we found an available table for you and Ms. Fenty. If you would just follow me."

"Sweet, thank you so much."
He placed his arm on Rihanna's shoulder and the pair followed them into the restaurant.