Crowns and Pastries

Chapter Twenty-Two | The Morning After The Night Before

~V~

It was five AM when the taxi came to a halt in front of its destination.

"Bye, girlie!" Breanna said, hugging me.

I laughed, wiping her red hair out of my face. "See you tomorrow," I replied, grinning before I stepped out of the taxi. The sun was just barely coming up and my feet ached from wearing my heels for so long but I loved the feeling I had. The adrenaline of being in the club still coursed through my veins as I watched the taxi drive off with my friends.

Then I entered the building and to the elevator. I greeted our doorman who looked at me tiredly. I grinned, knowing he got stuck with the night shift and was probably exhausted.

"Morning, Mr Mina!" I greeted enthusiastically.

He grumbled something that I took as a good morning while he sipped his coffee. "Had a fun night?" he asked.

"That I did." I nodded. "You?"

"Very." He replied sarcastically. "Tell Corey he shouldn't leave his guests out in the hallway for the entire night."

The elevator dinged but I waited, turning in surprise. "What do you mean?"

In response, Mr Mani simply nodded his head over to the couches in the lobby. "He was out in your hallway until midnight. Could barely convince him to at least wait here so he could get some shut-eye. Wouldn't tell me why he was out there in the first place, just told me he was waiting for your roommate."

I followed his gaze and saw a brown-haired guy slumped over on one of the sofas. He wore a black suit which looked rumpled but I recognised him instantly. "Thanks, Mr Mani. I'll take care of it." I said, smiling back at the man.

My heels clicked against the tile floor as I made my way over to the guy. I shook him gently, perching on the space next to him. "Hey," I said softly, trying not to startle him.

The subtle movement was enough to wake him though because he shot up, his eyes flying open as he looked around wildly before he seemed to notice where he was. Then his gaze found me and he blinked. "Who are you?" his voice was raspy from sleep and he had an accent which I couldn't quite place.

"I'm Valerie. What are you doing here?"

"Just waiting on a friend." He replied, his voice clipped.

I nodded as if I understood. "Well, I'm sure your friend is busy with my friend so why don't you just come up to the apartment?"

He furrowed his brows in confusion.

"You're Dylan, right? Ethan's bodyguard?" I asked, lowering my voice in case Mr Mani was listening.

I saw his eyes widen for a brief moment before his gaze hardened again. "You're Corey's roommate." He stated to which I nodded.

"I am. C'mon, I'll brew us some coffee." I got up, straightening my dress and ignoring the way my feet protested from standing up again.

Dylan followed my example and stood up. I blinked up at him. Even in my heels, he was still taller than me. I shook my head and headed back to the elevator.

Dylan grinned sheepishly at Mr Mani. "Thank you for letting me crash here, sir." He said.

Mr Mani grunted. "I don't know what you did to let Corey ignore your presence but don't make a habit of it."

"I won't, Sir," Dylan replied as we stepped into the elevator.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Why did you spent the night here anyway? I thought the prince had to leave."