The Kings II

13

Alexis

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, and I hadn't heard birds chirping in a while.

I felt around in the bed for Fred, sitting up slightly when I didn't feel him.

I noticed my shirt had somehow gotten back on me, and I was wearing sweatpants that were Fred's, I was assuming.

I rolled over on the bed and sighed, resting my forearm on my forehead.

So last night happened?

I propped myself up on my elbow and noticed a little sticky note on the bedside table.

Gone to the gym. I'll bring back breakfast

I bit down on my lip.

I sat upright and threw the covers off of me. My first order of duty was always to brush my teeth.

I walked into the bathroom and stretched, noticing my bra was definitely still gone from last night.

So it did happen.

I looked in the mirror and noticed that my under eye circles were definitely noticeable. Fred and I had gone back to sleep after our... escapade, so I'd actually slept really well.

I brushed my teeth and turned off the bathroom light, stopping in my tracks when I saw a shirtless, glistening Fred King standing at the desk.

His back was glistening from sweat, I was assuming- his hands full with a drink carrier and food.

He placed the food and drinks on the desk and turned around, his eyes boring into me.

What are you supposed to say?

So, uh, you've got some talented fingers.

Don't say that. That's creepy.

"I just brushed my teeth and you brought me orange juice?" I asked.

He looked at me almost surprised, and nodded. "Yeah, it's all they had."

I just nodded, biting down on my lip gently.

"Hi," he greeted, "sorry this was the first thing you saw."

I just smiled and looked down at his abdomen. "Really put some work in, huh?"

He nodded, leaning against the desk as he folded his arms over his chest.

I reached in the bag and grabbed out the muffin he'd brought back.

"Wanna split it?"

He shook his head. "No, my eating hours start at ten."

"Why?" I asked, sitting down on the bed as I bit into the muffin.

"Intermittent fasting," he said, his voice a low hum.

I just nodded, wiping the corner of my mouth. "Where's the gym at?"

"It's right outside the lobby," he said, "I was surprised, motels don't typically have gyms."

"Hey, this one's special," I said.

He just looked down at me, his green eyes boring into me so deeply.

"Are we going to talk about last night?"

So it did happen.

"Yeah, about that," I said, nodding, "no, I wasn't planning on it."

"Well, I am," he said, sitting down next to me.

I looked over at him. "I-I was kidding."

He looked away from me, his jaw taut. "I thought about it a lot this morning."