summer love / lewis redman

day 3

"First night on the town, and I am ready!" JJ shouted at his camera, spinning in a circle as he held it at arm's reach.

Lewis was again walking quietly in the background. He was mesmerized. It was like the city had a heartbeat of its own. The lights were glowing from every window and doorway, the music tangling as they moved past each bar and club, the voices and languages swirling and making him feel drunk without a drop of alcohol in his system.

"Alright, GPS says this is the one." Ethan announced, looking up from his phone and at the towering building before them, lights pulsing from within.

"I think any of the buildings we passed could have been the one too." Josh laughed, and Lewis found himself joining in. There was so much to choose from, and so many different ways to make their journey incredible.

They pulled out their IDs and soon were weaving their way through the gyrating bodies, already splitting up without making a plan for how to find their way back. They each at their own hotel keys and as far as Lewis was concerned, those and their phones would be enough to make it through the night.

He landed at the bar top by some miracle, resting his elbows on the bench as he leaned around a burly man speaking was sounded like Russian. "Can I have whatever's on tap?" He asked, waving down at bartender.

"He'll have a rum and coke." A voice cut in, catching the bartender's attention. He nodded, glancing back at Lewis as he turned to follow the feminine voice that had ordered his drink. She turned, pushing her curly hair back over her bare shoulder and meeting his brown eyes with her own.

"Hi." Lewis sputtered, smiling when he realized it was the girl he'd gone out of his way to see since he first caught sight at the cafe.

"Are you following me?" She asked, tilting her head to the side coyly.

"No!" Lewis gasped quickly, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment.

She let out the same musical laugh from the first day, leaning her head back before leaning slightly closer to Lewis. "I'm messing with you, London."

Lewis nodded, running a hand through his hair. He needed to get it together, or she was going to want nothing to do with him. She'd make some mad dash to the bathroom and then disappear from his life if he didn't stop acting like some sort of social imbecile. 

"London?" Lewis asked, gathering the nerve to step closer to her stool instead of trying to squeeze between Vladamir and Massimo and their discussion on foreign policy.

"You're going to pretend you're not British?" Luciana raised her eyebrows tauntingly, wrapping her lips around the straw sticking out of her pink drink.

"No, just curious how you decided I'm from London." Lewis responded quickly, resting an elbow on the counter and facing her. 

The bartender cut in, sliding Lewis' drink towards him. Lewis moved to get his credit card out, but the bartender held up a hand. "Friend of hers drinks free."

Lewis nodded at the burly guy, taking his drink and lifting it to his lips as he turned to Luciana, looking at her curiously. "That's my cousin, I don't think I've paid for a drop of alcohol in this bar." She admitted, her accent twisting her words elegantly.

Lewis nodded again, taking a drink and closing his eyes as his first drink on the island slid down his throat. When he opened his eyes, her chocolaty ones were already reading his face. "You're handsome, and you look like you have money. And, most of the British tourists are from London." Luciana added with a giggle that made Lewis feel like he'd taken more than just one drink, from the way it made his head spin.

"What are you, some sort of personal investigator?" Lewis joked, instantly wishing he could have smacked himself upside the head for the idiocy of the sentence he'd just tripped over.

Luciana gave him an evaluative look, her lips finally curling up into a smile. "No, just observant. I've kept an eye on you."

"You're much better at this than I am." Lewis admitted after taking another large gulp of his drink.

"What is this?" She asked, giving him a curious look.

"The conversation leading up to the sex." Lewis responded, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Luciana's jaw fell open, and he almost thought he'd screwed himself for good, but then she let out a laugh that turned heads from across the bar. She rested an elbow on the bar, balling her hand into a fist and using it to prop up her chin.

"Luciana," She smiled, holding out a hand for Lewis to shake.

"Lewis." He responded, giving her a small grin as he took her hand, lifting it to her lips.

"Lewis, why don't you buy me one of those silly drinks you get in London?" Luciana asked in her thick accent, pursing her bright red lips and tilting her head in a way that exposed her jaw. Lewis had to force his eyes away from the exposed skin of her neck, nodding with a chuckle.

"Do I have to buy it, or do I get that for free too?" He asked teasingly as he waved towards the bartender - her cousin - who held up a finger.

Luciana smirked. "I don't come cheap, London."