Lost (Liam Payne)

Part 26

Despite Paddy's best effort, they were not only followed, photographers were waiting in front of the hotel. Paddy pulled up to the doors and Penny put on Liam's hat and her sunglasses. "Are you ready? Deep breath, don't let go of my hand. Paddy will get us in and they can't follow us into the hotel. Ready?"

Penny nodded and Liam opened the door. He stepped out of the car, pulling her with him. Paddy went behind them as Liam pushed though, trying to get to the door. Hotel security stepped out, pushing people back as lights flashed everywhere. Penny meant to keep her head down, but every time a light flashed, she looked up.

Liam pulled her into the lobby and the noise and flashes stopped."See, Love?" he smiled. "No problem."

Penny just nodded, not wanting to think about trying to go to the museum with a zillion people following her. Would they be allowed to follow them? Liam had also promised the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Would people watch her eat? The thought made her shutter.

"You okay?" Liam asked. She just nodded, not wanting to burden him further with her fears. "I've got the room keys. Let's go."he said, leading her to the bank of elevators. He put his arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head as they waited. "It will be great, don't worry."

Penny also hadn't been to many hotels. She grew up in a mini hotel,but as far as fancy hotels? The closest she'd been was the hotel in Frankenmuth. As kids, Jon and her mom used to take her and the boys to the water park when it was cold and rainy. The rooms there were pretty basic. Two beds, a TV, and a bathroom. Plus, she'd always sleep on the roll away bed, never in the real bed. Walking into a suite at this hotel, the Wyndham, was amazing. First, it wasn't a normal "room." It had a foyer. Off of the foyer, there were two doors that were closed and an opening that led into a living room.This was more like an apartment than a hotel. Liam pulled her to one of the closed doors. "This is our room." he said, opening thedoor.

She walked into the bedroom, sinking into the lush blue carpet. To her right was another door and peeking in, she could see that it was a bathroom. A huge tub sat in the corner of the room, surrounded by white tile. There were plush white robes hanging on the door and clean fluffy towels everywhere. She couldn't wait to try it and soak for hours.

The bedroom had a huge bed that dominated the room. The entire room was done in shades of blue and cream. The effect was calming. Liam had walked into the bedroom and around a corner. There was an opening and a small dressing room that was also attached to the bathroom. He opened his suitcase and started to unpack. "Penny!" he called."Come unpack so we can decide what to do today. This day is ours.Tomorrow I have to record and on Thursday I will be, too. Art Museum today?" he asked.

Penny wandered over to him and put her arms around his neck.Surprised, he grabbed her waist and kissed her. "So, you aren't angry with me?" he asked softly. "I am really sorry you were scared."

"It's okay. I just will make you stay with me forever so you aren't famous anymore. Then, no worries. You can't leave me until I tell you to, remember?" she said giving him a wink.

He winked back. "I remember!"

They slunk out the backdoor of the hotel and took the bus to the art museum. Liam made Paddy stay at the hotel, figuring he'd just attract attention. They wore baseball hats and regular clothes, hoping that they'd just blend into the crowd. Nobody was looking for Liam on a bus. They walked around for hours, nobody looking twice at them. Penny talked to him about the art, showing off her art history degree. "You love this, Pen. This is what you should be doing. Why not move to a bigger city and DO what you love?"

"It is what I want. I do! I've always dreamed of living in Paris.But...I don't know. I'm a chicken and I don't have the money to up and leave. Plus, I love The Lake House."

Liam sighed. "You can find another house to love! Even here! You could live on Lake Michigan instead of Lake Huron. I could record all I wanted. You can work at the museum and paint. What could be better?" Penny didn't answer. She just walked away. Liam chased after her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around. "I'm being serious. I want to be with you."

"Stop, Liam. Stop. I don't want to talk about this. I just want to have fun." Penny pleaded. "We've only been dating for a few months. Give me time, okay?"

"I'll give you forever, Pen. I swear." he said. Smiling, he took her hand. "Now, lets go look at more naked people and can explain how it's art and not dirty pictures."

They stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner before walking back to the hotel. "I can't believe how easy it is to get around the city! I thought I'd be lost, but this isn't too bad." Penny said.

Liam only smiled, knowing that he was winning her over to the idea that she could leave her small town and still be happy. Some day, maybe, he could have everything he wanted. Maybe he found the girl who won't leave when things get hard.

The next day, Liam had an a recording session set up with his producer. He was going to record the two songs he had let Penny hear, plus a few others his producer wanted to hear him sing. Liam told her to go shopping and that she didn't need to come, but she insisted. After a few hours of reading and sketching while listening to him sing, she fell asleep on a couch in the control room.

She woke, she thought, because the music stopped. She could hear Liam and producer talking, Liam still in the sound booth. "You've got great stuff here, Liam. Enough for an EP. Almost enough for an album. I'm going to play around with a few of them, but they sound great how they are, Seriously, man, what are you waiting for?"

She heard Liam speak though his microphone. "You see that girl sleeping in there? I want to be with her right now and I'm not willing to leave her. I don't want to release something and them have to tour and travel to support it right now. I'm happy with the way things are. I'll keep sending you stuff and maybe I'll be ready later. I don't really have "the song" yet either. I'm not happy enough with these to be a single."

"The world won't wait forever, Liam."

"Well, they have to wait a bit longer. I'm not going to lose her like I lost all the others because I was too busy and they were too lonely. I was lost until I found that girl, man. I can't give he rup." Liam replied.

As much as Penny was glad to hear this, she also felt guilty. Was she keeping him from releasing new material? She thought about what he had said about moving to a bigger city. Was he hinting that he wanted to move? Did he want her to come? Was she enough in love with him to go? She was certain the answer to all of her questions was YES, but were his, too?

She heard Liam open the door to the control room and shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep. He walked over and shook her, slightly, whispering for her to wake up. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Sorry. I told you to go shopping." Liam said.

"No. Don't be. It was great. Honestly." Penny smiled.

Liam looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "So great that you fell sleep listening to me sing?" He pulled her up and kissed her. "Louis in town and he wants to see us. What do you say to clubbing tonight?"

Penny felt her heart jump. "Lou? Louis Tomlinson? Wants to meet me?" she squeaked.

"Hey! You are a Liam girl, now, remember?" He laughed. "And yes. He wants to meet the girl that is keeping me in the tundra."

"It's not the tundra! It's warm, now! Nearly beach weather!"

This just made Liam laugh even more. "I need to take to a warm place. Your sense of warm and cold is way off. Beach weather?"

"It's not my fault you are a baby." she smiled. "What time are we supposed to meet him?"

"He's coming up to the hotel around 8. We are going to have dinner at the hotel and we will leave from there. We need to share Paddy. Let's go back and get ready. Plus, I need a nap." Liam said.

"I'm not tired anymore." Penny said.

Liam grabbed her and pulled her into a long, deep kiss. "You will be when I'm done with you. Let's go take that nap."

Kind of a filler chapter. Sorry. - Eva