The Lady Next Door - A Sequel to "The Man Next Door"

Chapter 15: Passing The Storm

Patrick clears his throat before glancing at her, bashfully looking away only seconds later. The pair exit the elevator and start paving their way through the dimmed hallways in a rush.

"442... 443... ah, 444."

As they stop at their door, Patrick frantically searches his pockets. He looks up into her eyes before looking away out of the nerve that had been building up ever since they walked into the lobby of the old-fashioned hotel. He smiles as he finally got a good glimpse of her eyes. Patrick couldn't help but notice how they shone a brighter blue than each bit of glitter that she had on that tight, strapless dress.

He feels a wave of relief wash over him as he finally finds his card that was tucked away in his wallet, he could've sworn his heart would have stopped and shattered if he had lost it, and therefore miss the opportunity to spend the night with his date.

"So you get a free 2-night stay at this hotel once a year," Morgan continues as they step into the cold room, "and you decide to use it on me? I'm flattered, Patrick."

"I have a dorm room that's in the area," Patrick shrugs, "it's such a useless perk."

"It's not all that useless anymore," Morgan smiles, playing with the buttons of his shirt, "what other perks do you get as the busboy? Don't the women go ballistic for you?"

"Wow... I wish." Patrick flashes her a nervous grin, slowly leaning into her for a kiss as his hands travel down to his belt.

Their feet almost entirely come off the ground as they hear a loud pound at the door, startled, they start fixing themselves up, "who is it?" Morgan whispered.

Patrick shrugs, running his fingers through his brown hair in an attempt to put each strand back in its place. He swings the door open up to only about an inch, and on the other side of the door, he sees a familiar set of green eyes, followed by a smile he knew too well for his liking.

"Patrick?" Maria's smile instantly fades, "you look stressed, what's the matter?"

"How'd you know I was here?" Patrick asks.

"I saw you at the front desk," Maria shrugged, "I can only assume you were renting out your room for the year again, like we did together last year... are you alone?"

"Oh, um." Patrick looks to the ground, "No."

"Is Ryan with you-"

Morgan suddenly appears beside Patrick, forcing him to open the door wider, "Oh, hey Ari." she says enthusiastically, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Maria's face visibly flushes pale, and her eyes grow wide, "Oh." She looks between the pair, choking on her own words.

"Me and your sister are... dating," Patrick tells her as he looks toward the ground with his arms folded.

She nods, "... I understand." 

Patrick opens his mouth to speak but is quickly interrupted.

"Save it, Patrick." Her eyes slowly begin to well up with tears as she tries to muster up the right words, "I told you how I felt about you... and that's all I can ever do. It's up to you who you decide to date and I'm cool with it. It's okay." 

"I'm sorry Maria I-"

"I said save it." Maria huffs, "but to... date my own sister?-" 

Maria pauses, looking toward Morgan, an inevitable look of betrayal falling over her face, "anyways," she snuffles, taking a step back as tears visibly roll down her cheeks, "hope you two have fun... I'll see you around."

And with that, Maria storms off, leaving the young couple stranded in their room, "so," Morgan smiles, shoving the taller man back into the room and closing the door, "where were we?"

"Matter of fact, Morgan," Patrick takes a step back, "I think we should take things slow."

-

Patrick's hands land on Vera's shoulders before either woman can take another step forward, "let's get out of here," Patrick whispers into her ear, and Vera looks up at him. His dark blue eyes read nothing but concern, and so she decided to listen to him and follow him out of the construction grounds.

As the pair walked along the sidewalk, hand in hand, Vera looks up at Patrick, but before she could say a word, Patrick speaks in a mumble, "It's all my fault. All of this is."

Vera looks to the ground with a puzzled face, "how... is any of this your fault? If anything you stopped the situation from escalating."

"I... wasn't a good person to her, Vera." Patrick says solemnly, leading them both into the cafe that they had planned to stop at before making it back to their hotel.

"How so?" Vera asks him as they stand in line, watching as he browses the menu.

"She liked me, and I mean, she liked me alot... but I liked her sister." Patrick nods, his eyes still fixed on the large selection of coffee, "If I was in her shoes, I'd be angry with me too."

"I still don't see how any of this is your fault!" Vera says in an angry tone, making the elderly couple in front of them instinctively turn around, "sorry," she says quietly.

"Well, firstly, I decided to date her sister and keep it a secret from her. It was a dick move." Patrick hums, looking down at her as he naturally wraps his arm around her waist, "and, I could've probably gone to track you down instead of getting involved with Morgan."

Vera puts a hand over her mouth, blushing as Patrick kisses the top of her head and pulls her into a hug, "who in the world would want to be with you?" She says in a sarcastic tone, laughing as Patrick shakes his head and chuckles.

"Okay, what do you want baby?"

"I'll get whatever you're getting."

"So the usual?" They both chuckle.

She sighs as she relaxes against his warm chest, "I just can't wait to go home and go to Julia's cafe," Vera mutters, looking up to see him already smirking down at her.

"Why? It's not like your order request is any different." Patrick grins, failing to dodge her playful jab.