Black Lace
Chapter 19
Chapter Playlist: Indefinitely by Travis
“Oh fuck.” Louis groaned as his head throbbed like it had been hit multiple times with a hammer. His eyelids felt as though someone had taped them shut. He held his arm over his eyes and tried to get his sluggish brain to think straight. The first image that popped to his mind was that of Alana, standing by the bedroom door last night.Louis instantly wrenched his eye open to realize that he was still at the suite and that Alana wasn't. He jolted upright on the bed, almost falling over from dizziness. He turned back to check the empty space next to him again.
“Alana?” He called out, but there was no response. He got up on heavy legs and dragged himself to the washroom to check if she was there. Louis, despite his drunken state, clearly remembered her being in the bed last night. The washroom too turned out empty. Where the fuck had she gone?
“Alana!” Louis called out for the second time as he exited the bedroom of the suite. He looked around the main sitting area in panic until his eyes met a golden head popping up from behind a couch. Louis felt relief wash over him as he watched Alana rub her eyes and yawn simultaneously.
“Hey!” Louis greeted her softly, despite the increasing headache.
“Hey.” Alana replied, yawning for the second time and looking at him in confusion. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Why are you sleeping on the sofa? I thought you were next to me in the bed. Why'd you shift?”
“Oh.” Alana felt more confused by his question. Hadn't he tried to wake her up last night? To get her to sleep elsewhere? Well, he hadn't exactly asked her to move or anything. “Umm...I just thought….Ground rules.”
“Huh?” Now it was his turn to look confused.
“Your rule in the contract states no sleeping together.”
Louis felt his cheeks warm at the reminder and felt extremely stupid for not having set the rules more clearly.
“Yeah..but..” He didn't know how to explain it to her, plus his brain was working slower because of the hangover. “That's for staying over the night at my place, not hotels and all.”
“Well...the rule stated that I was not to sleep next to you overnight and that I would have to go home as soon as we were done for the night. Since I don't exactly have anywhere to go for the time being, and since I don't want to breech any of the rules you've set down in the contract, I figured the couch would work just as well.” Alana explained, letting the frustration and disappointment from last night assail her.
Louis opened his mouth to argue but before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. It was Preston, Louis knew, so he walked to the door and opened it. Preston came in with one of the hotel staff, who brought in a trolley filled with breakfast. Louis noticed from the corner of his eyes that Alana had swiftly walked into the bedroom without the others noticing.
Preston began filling Louis in on the situation with the media, and put down some newspapers where his and Alana’s pictures had been imprinted in the gossip columns, with huge headlines. Thankfully, Alana's face had been covered by the hoodie and the shades. The only thing you could notice was her hair, which had also aided in concealing her identity.
Louis spoke to Preston for a few minutes about his plan on damage repair before sending him to an errand. As Louis headed to the bedroom to freshen up, he noticed an advil and orange juice sitting next to his breakfast. He hadn't noticed Preston putting it there, but he swallowed the pills and drank the juice gratefully none-the-less.
As he entered the bedroom, he noticed Alana sitting on the bed, reading a magazine. She looked fresh and at ease in the loose T-shirt that she had put on. She looked up as Louis entered, and before he could reach the bathroom, she called out.
“Louis!”
Louis turned back to look at her. She really was beautiful in that long tee and that sleek ponytail.
“Umm..do you think I could head out for a bit? It's been years since I walked around the streets, I just wanted to reconnect with the old city.”
Louis’ mood immediately went downhill and he pursed his lips before replying, “Sorry, but you can't. It's not safe to get out now after the whole paparazzi incident.”
“But...I have nothing to do-”
“Watch a youtube video...Instagram...Snapchat… Do whatever…But you can't get out of the hotel until I give you the clear. I have a party to attend tonight...maybe after that.”
“But-”
Before Alana could say anything else, he walked into the washroom and locked her words out.
“Didn’t know you had a thing for blondes, mate.” Niall commented, scanning the gossip columns.
“He's always had a thing for blondes.” Liam responded, “Hannah was blonde.”
“Oh yeah! I completely forgot about her. Lou, man, I swear I'm losing count with all these new ones you keep popping up with. What's this one's name? You introducing her to us or what?”
“Or what.” Louis replied dryly, looking through his email for the day.
“For real though, Louis. How do you plan on handling this? We don't even know if you're serious about this girl.” Liam perused, his voice more serious now.
“Easy. I'm taking someone else to the party today. The paps’ll photograph us together, and the rumors will be history.”
“So you’ve already dumped this poor girl?” Niall asked, pointing towards the picture.
Louis remained silent for a couple of minutes before adding. “Soon enough, she too will be history.”
Louis felt almost guilty as he said the words. He didn't know why and tried his utmost to distract himself for the rest of the hour. He opened Twitter and scrolled through some of his mentions; it was all about the ‘mystery blonde’ heading to the hotel with him. He had received a number of direct messages too. When he opened them up, his entire body froze as his eyes landed on a message from someone he hadn't expected to hear from anymore.
It read, ‘Eleanor Calder @EleanorJCalder: Hey lou! I noticed that you were in NY and thought that maybe we could grab lunch together. Let me know. xo’
“Oh fuck.” Louis groaned as his head throbbed like it had been hit multiple times with a hammer. His eyelids felt as though someone had taped them shut. He held his arm over his eyes and tried to get his sluggish brain to think straight. The first image that popped to his mind was that of Alana, standing by the bedroom door last night.Louis instantly wrenched his eye open to realize that he was still at the suite and that Alana wasn't. He jolted upright on the bed, almost falling over from dizziness. He turned back to check the empty space next to him again.
“Alana?” He called out, but there was no response. He got up on heavy legs and dragged himself to the washroom to check if she was there. Louis, despite his drunken state, clearly remembered her being in the bed last night. The washroom too turned out empty. Where the fuck had she gone?
“Alana!” Louis called out for the second time as he exited the bedroom of the suite. He looked around the main sitting area in panic until his eyes met a golden head popping up from behind a couch. Louis felt relief wash over him as he watched Alana rub her eyes and yawn simultaneously.
“Hey!” Louis greeted her softly, despite the increasing headache.
“Hey.” Alana replied, yawning for the second time and looking at him in confusion. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Why are you sleeping on the sofa? I thought you were next to me in the bed. Why'd you shift?”
“Oh.” Alana felt more confused by his question. Hadn't he tried to wake her up last night? To get her to sleep elsewhere? Well, he hadn't exactly asked her to move or anything. “Umm...I just thought….Ground rules.”
“Huh?” Now it was his turn to look confused.
“Your rule in the contract states no sleeping together.”
Louis felt his cheeks warm at the reminder and felt extremely stupid for not having set the rules more clearly.
“Yeah..but..” He didn't know how to explain it to her, plus his brain was working slower because of the hangover. “That's for staying over the night at my place, not hotels and all.”
“Well...the rule stated that I was not to sleep next to you overnight and that I would have to go home as soon as we were done for the night. Since I don't exactly have anywhere to go for the time being, and since I don't want to breech any of the rules you've set down in the contract, I figured the couch would work just as well.” Alana explained, letting the frustration and disappointment from last night assail her.
Louis opened his mouth to argue but before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. It was Preston, Louis knew, so he walked to the door and opened it. Preston came in with one of the hotel staff, who brought in a trolley filled with breakfast. Louis noticed from the corner of his eyes that Alana had swiftly walked into the bedroom without the others noticing.
Preston began filling Louis in on the situation with the media, and put down some newspapers where his and Alana’s pictures had been imprinted in the gossip columns, with huge headlines. Thankfully, Alana's face had been covered by the hoodie and the shades. The only thing you could notice was her hair, which had also aided in concealing her identity.
Louis spoke to Preston for a few minutes about his plan on damage repair before sending him to an errand. As Louis headed to the bedroom to freshen up, he noticed an advil and orange juice sitting next to his breakfast. He hadn't noticed Preston putting it there, but he swallowed the pills and drank the juice gratefully none-the-less.
As he entered the bedroom, he noticed Alana sitting on the bed, reading a magazine. She looked fresh and at ease in the loose T-shirt that she had put on. She looked up as Louis entered, and before he could reach the bathroom, she called out.
“Louis!”
Louis turned back to look at her. She really was beautiful in that long tee and that sleek ponytail.
“Umm..do you think I could head out for a bit? It's been years since I walked around the streets, I just wanted to reconnect with the old city.”
Louis’ mood immediately went downhill and he pursed his lips before replying, “Sorry, but you can't. It's not safe to get out now after the whole paparazzi incident.”
“But...I have nothing to do-”
“Watch a youtube video...Instagram...Snapchat… Do whatever…But you can't get out of the hotel until I give you the clear. I have a party to attend tonight...maybe after that.”
“But-”
Before Alana could say anything else, he walked into the washroom and locked her words out.
“Didn’t know you had a thing for blondes, mate.” Niall commented, scanning the gossip columns.
“He's always had a thing for blondes.” Liam responded, “Hannah was blonde.”
“Oh yeah! I completely forgot about her. Lou, man, I swear I'm losing count with all these new ones you keep popping up with. What's this one's name? You introducing her to us or what?”
“Or what.” Louis replied dryly, looking through his email for the day.
“For real though, Louis. How do you plan on handling this? We don't even know if you're serious about this girl.” Liam perused, his voice more serious now.
“Easy. I'm taking someone else to the party today. The paps’ll photograph us together, and the rumors will be history.”
“So you’ve already dumped this poor girl?” Niall asked, pointing towards the picture.
Louis remained silent for a couple of minutes before adding. “Soon enough, she too will be history.”
Louis felt almost guilty as he said the words. He didn't know why and tried his utmost to distract himself for the rest of the hour. He opened Twitter and scrolled through some of his mentions; it was all about the ‘mystery blonde’ heading to the hotel with him. He had received a number of direct messages too. When he opened them up, his entire body froze as his eyes landed on a message from someone he hadn't expected to hear from anymore.
It read, ‘Eleanor Calder @EleanorJCalder: Hey lou! I noticed that you were in NY and thought that maybe we could grab lunch together. Let me know. xo’
Notes
A/N: Hey, guys. This is a quick filler which'll lead to something big as you can guess. Am I going a little too slow? Do you guys want the story to be a little more fast-paced? Please let me know! xS/N: Love and shoutout to Shelbytch and xo_caitlyn_xo for the dedicated support and encouragement. You guys are incredible! :) <3
Next update: Liaison with the Boss
please update soon
9/25/16