The Fifth Floor ♡ COLIFER

Chapter 17 ♡ The fifth floor

"The hotel is on lockdown?"

"Yes. The police —and the hotel staff, for that matter— don't want to take any risks. They're trying to keep everyone where they are, because they don't know if there possibly is another threat."

We looked at each other, both slowly realizing what this meant. He was the first one to say it out loud.

"I can't go back to my room. I can't leave the fifth floor."

I wanted to say something, but I had no idea how to deal with this situation, so I grabbed the remote and turned on the news. As I flopped down on the bed, Colin tried to fix his messy hair, which was clear evidence of what just happened. He made sure not to touch me when he sat down.

I wanted him to touch me. I wanted to grab him and continue what we started.

But I was afraid to move, so I stared intensely at the TV screen.

The news anchor was talking about an attack in a bar on Sixth Avenue, which was only a few blocks away from the hotel. Amateur footage showed the atmosphere in the bar changing when suddenly a shot was fired, and people running for their lives.

"The situation is still unclear, but we have every reason to believe that this was an act of terrorism. We will keep you informed in the following hours."

"This is horrible." I looked up at him, suddenly realizing something else. "What does this mean for the convention tomorrow?"

"I don't know." His phone started buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out. "Josh is asking where I am."

My face was burning. "Well..."

"I'll just tell him I went to your room because he was the most boring company ever."

I tried to smile, but for some reason I was too nervous. Eventually I got up and walked to the big window, trying to cool myself down while he texted Josh back.

I did everything but cool down in the minutes that it was quiet.

"Hey, do you want to watch a show or something?"

I turned around, right as lightning struck. "I don't know... I mean, I'm not really in the mood for a show right now. You know, with the attack," I quickly added, because it sounded wrong in every way.

His eyes got big for a split second and he swallowed. The tension in the room was unbelievable when I sat back down next to him. 

I so wish I could take that back.

The air between us had been electrically charged, but now it felt as though I had to fight a magnetic force that was pulling me towards him. I swallowed, hyper-beware of his hand right next to mine, and I turned back to the TV.

Well, my eyes were focused on the screen. Everything else was drawn to the guy who was sitting right next to me, and who was brushing his leg against mine.

"Jen?"

I wasn't breathing. Damn it, Colin, I can't breathe.

I wanted to say it out loud, but I couldn't, so I just looked at him. "Yeah?"

He answered by wrapping his pinkie around mine and slowly moving towards me. Everything went much slower than a moment ago, when he was still pushing me against the wall and kissing me like there was no tomorrow.

God, I wanted to do that again.

"Jen."

This time it wasn't a question. I closed my eyes, right before he put a hand on my burning cheek and kissed me.

It was soft, and it wasn't that long, but when he pulled back and looked at me, he was smiling.

"Do you remember the day at the café?" he said.

The thunder outside was rolling, and lightning was illuminating the room every few minutes — just like that day. I smiled. "Of course I do."

"That's still one of my favorite days. It's also the day I realized we would get along."

My jaw barely didn't drop and I couldn't contain the smile on my face anymore. I wasn't thinking when I pushed him back on the bed and kissed him again, because this was something I could never get enough of.

And in some weird, parallel universe, he might even feel the same way about me.

As our kisses grew more intense and I felt the urge to pull his hoodie over his head, I had to stop myself and think. "Colin, what are we doing?"

"I don't know," he said, his voice muffled against the side of my neck. He rolled over so he was on top and looked deeply into my eyes. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," I said. "But I don't want to think."

"Then don't."

He didn't have to say it twice.

* * *

We didn't go all the way, although it was almost excruciating to stop once we started. But we both realized that it was too much, too soon, and I wanted to enjoy every single bit of him now that we had this moment together.

Another moment where the world couldn't see us, and it was just me and him. But this time really me and him.

"So now do you want to watch a show?"

I laughed, partly because it was getting ridiculously late. "Whatever," I said with a fake Irish accent, hitting him in the face with my pillow.

He caught it and pulled me towards him. As soon as we locked eyes, my heart started pounding like crazy again.

"You pick one," I said, trying to find the remote between the sheets. Once I found it, I gave it to him and he started flipping through the channels with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Ohh, this one," he said happily when he'd found a channel that was airing old episodes of House. I moaned, trying to seize the remote, but he stretched his arm out and grinned satisfied.

"We are going to watch this. I love you in this, and by the way, there's nothing else on the TV at this hour."

I swallowed, internally screaming about the fact that he basically just told me he loved me, but that was probably just the love-struck part of me speaking. 

"If we're going to watch this, I'm going to force you to watch The Clinic with me. Or The Tudors."

"Whatever." He nudged me playfully and leaned back in the pillows.

We watched the entire episode, during which Colin cheered a little every time I appeared on the screen and I just moaned in my pillow. I was in a weird, exultant state by the time we finished our second episode, but then I realized what time it was.

I tugged at his sleeve. "Colin."

"Yes?"

"It's almost four o'clock. We have to get up in about three hours."

"Darn." He turned off the TV and looked at me. "Darn."

"You could say that," I nodded, staring at his lips. I leaned forward without breaking the eye contact, checking if it was okay. We still didn't really know what we were doing.

He was smiling when I kissed him and he pulled me with him as he leaned back. We'd kissed before on set, but every time I kissed him now it seemed like the first time.

"Colin?"

"Yes?"

I leaned on his chest, looking into his sea blue eyes. The words were fighting to come out, but my vocal chords were on strike, so I kissed him instead.

"Goodnight, Colin," I said when I pulled back.

He slowly kissed my cheek with the same, lazy smile on his face, and then my other cheek. "Goodnight, Jen."