Love Of My Life

20

I love you guys so much. Thank you for reading

...

Ben

This eleven hour flight feels more like 30 minutes, honestly. I've flown from London to Los Angeles previously and it was absolute torture. Eleven hours of sitting and watching movies I had already seen several times.

Maybe it seems faster because I'm on a private plane. But I have a feeling it's the people I'm with.

We watched a couple movies from a television that magically appeared from one of the plane walls. Joe and Aria were making commentary the whole time which had the rest of us laughing our heads off. Somehow by the end of the ride we were all singing showtunes. I've never heard Aria sing before now but she has an amazing voice. I could hear her quietly amongst the others. She definitely has her father's vocals.

Once we land we are shipped away to our hotel. I'm definitely tired as hell. I don't even know what time it is in London but I'm jet lagged beyond belief.

The ride to the hotel is quick. At least it feels quick anyways. It could be because a really nice limo picked us all up. The hotel we are staying at is also insanely nice.

A couple bell boys bring our luggage up to our rooms. They have been expecting us, clearly.

"Hi how are you?" Aria greets the lady at the front desk.

"I'm well and you?" She responds. Her ginger hair is pulled back into a tight bun, making her skin appear tighter than it probably is.

"I'm good. We're checking in for Mercury,"

The lady types into her computer and then hands Aria 6 room keys.

"My name is Tiffany. If you need anything at all please call the front desk, extension one. Your luggage's are all brought up and in the rooms already. A car is going to pick you up at 10 am tomorrow," the lady says, giving Aria a tight smile.

"Thank you so much," Aria says, and turns around to greet us all who are crowded around her.  "Lucy you're in 560, Gwilym 562, Ben, 564, Joe 563, Rami 565and I'm in 561," Aria hands out the rooms keys to us. Each is in a slip with our name written on it.

We walk silently to the elevator. The hotel is extremely nice, I don't know how we swung this last moment. Most likely Aria's name had something to do with it but what are the chances? Especially getting all our rooms together like that.

Once we get to the fifth floor, we all follow Aria into her room and make ourselves comfortable. Her room is a suite with a large living area, with two couches and a huge television.

"I see this is what's happening," Aria laughs. She stands at the kitchen table and we all take up the couch space.

"What time is it?" Rami asks, yawning.

"Seven," Aria responds. So in our time it's 3 in the morning. Good.

"Is it wrong to go to bed now?" Joe asks.

"No, in fact I advise it so we can film and not be completely dead in the morning,"  Aria laughs.

The lot of us stand up and exchange goodbyes, too tired to really do anything else. I linger a little, letting the others go.

I reach out and Aria walks into my arms. I would ask her to spend the night with me, but I don't want to pressure her. Instead I kiss the top of her head before pulling away.

"Get some rest okay?" I tell her.

"I have to make a couple phone calls," she tells me.

"After that,"

She smiles. "I will,"

I lean forward and kiss the top of her head. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," I tell her when we pull away. I give her one last smile before I head to my room for the night.

...

Aria

I wake up in a cold sweat. Another nightmare. Tears stream down my face but I don't know why. I don't remember my nightmare, but I have this anxious feeling in me that I can't shake.

I turn over. The clock reads 1 am. I groan and roll back over staring at the ceiling.

Before I can process what I'm doing, I get out of bed, grab my roomkey and phone, and leave. I pad down the hall until I reach his room. I knock loud enough so he'll hear me, hopefully.

Ben finally answers the door. His hair sticks up everywhere and his eyes look foggy.

"Ari?" He asks. He rubs his eyes, a concerned look spreading on his face.

"I had a nightmare," I say. I suddenly feel like coming was a bad decision. I'm also self conscious being so exposed. My hair is messy and I have no makeup on. I wear a tight black T-shirt and shorts. "I- just - I couldn't sleep and maybe I should have come-"

Before I can finish Ben grabs my hand and gently pulls me in. He continues to lead me in towards his bed, where we both get in. I immediately cuddle up to him and rest my head on his chest. He wraps both his arms around me.

"You're always welcome here, Ari," Ben tells me softly.

I tilt my head up so I can see his face. He leans down ever so slightly and plants a kiss on my lips. My stomach erupts with butterflies. I kiss his jaw and neck before settling back into my comfortable position.

"Was it a bad one?" He asks me, about the nightmare.

"They're always bad," I whisper. "Always about dad. I don't really remember this one, but I know the feeling,"

His grip tightens on me. I find myself drifting off in his arms as his breathing slows. I fall into a deep sleep, better than any sleep I've gotten in years, the only thing waking me is my alarm in the morning.