Chapter Two
The next morning, Regina woke with a start, momentarily forgetting that she had allowed Emma to stay the night in her bed. She had never let anyone sleep next to her in her life - not even Graham - but something about this little blonde vixen had gotten to her.
And little she was. Seventeen. Regina cringed at the thought. This girl was a full year and a half younger than Regina had been, herself, when she was forced to lay with the King on her wedding night. He had stolen her innocence, but something told her that Emma had lost her own innocence long before their two paths had crossed.
The morning sun streamed in from the large East facing window, illuminating Emma's golden tresses. Absently, Regina stroked her soft hair, while Emma continued to sleep. Regina couldn't shake the feeling that something was so familiar about her. She hadn't noticed it the last night, but now she had the feeling that she had met Emma some time before. It didn't make sense; the last time she was in Portland was well over two years ago. Emma would have only been fourteen then, a child. There was no way she had met her then. But still, there was something about her, like she reminded Regina of someone she had once known, a lifetime ago.
Regina banished the thought as Emma began to stir. Emma's eyes fluttered open as she turned to face Regina, with a smile. "Hey," she said softly, her voice raspy with early morning grogginess.
"Good morning," Regina replied, "sleep well?"
"Mmm-hmm," Emma murmured, and she turned to lay facing Regina. Regina couldn't help but notice how her green eyes sparkled in the morning light.
"I have to get up," Regina said, "I have to catch a flight back to Maine this morning."
"Do you really have to go?" Emma pouted.
Regina thought the reaction was a little strange, given that they had known each other all of ten hours, and spent most of that time sleeping, but she decided to brush it off. "Yes, I really have to go," she replied. "But I'll be back in six weeks," she added, almost as an after thought. The point of a one-night stand was that it lasted one night. Regina never went for seconds - at least not with someone whose heart she didn't control - but something about Emma just enticed her too much to let her go so easily.
Emma perked up at the prospect of a second rendez-vous. "Really?" she grinned, not even bothering to hide the excitement on her face.
"Yes, really," Regina said back in a playful, mocking tone. "Write down your phone number and I will call you."
"I don't have a phone," Emma said.
"Of course you don't," Regina sighed. Nothing about this was coming easy. She wondered if she should take that as a sign, but decided instead to ignore it. She got up and grabbed her leather-bound planner from her purse, flipping through the pages. "I will be back in Portland on December 2nd. I have a meeting that goes until seven. I'll be back at this hotel. If you want to see me again, meet me down in the lobby at 7:30. Don't be late, because I won't wait."
Emma grabbed the hotel notepad and pen from the nightstand beside her and jotted down the date and time. It seemed odd to her how Regina laid out instructions for a casual hook up as if she were scheduling a business meeting, but Emma figured if it meant another night with Regina, she would take what she could get.
Regina was already getting ready as Emma slid out of bed, glancing around for her clothes. "When do you have to leave?" she asked, as she pulled on her jeans that were strewn on the floor.
Regina glanced at her watch. "I have some time. I'll call room service and have them send us up some breakfast."
"Really?" Emma's eyes lit up, and she suddenly realized she might have sounded a little too eager. She wasn't sure which she was more excited for: more time with Regina, or actually getting to eat decent food for once.
"I don't do this… well, ever. Don't take that lightly, Miss…." Regina's voice trailed off as she realized she didn't even know her last name. She was reminded of exactly why she didn't do this often. Kicking her bedmate out immediately post-copulation allowed her to avoid this morning after awkwardness.
"Swan," Emma replied.
"Swan? Seriously?"
Emma shrugged, "it's not like I picked it." Emma found her camisole near the door and slipped it on as Regina called down for room service. She then sat on the bed and watched Regina get ready.
Regina donned a navy blue knee length dress, sheer black tights and black high heels. Emma watched in silent awe as Regina applied her make-up perfectly in front of the mirror. It amazed Emma how much effort she put into her appearance, when all she was doing was getting on a plane, and she wondered – not for the first time since they had met the night before – what Regina could possibly see in her.
Emma saw herself as nothing more than a scrawny orphan street kid. She had nothing to offer, and no one wanted her. So why did Regina?
I kind of like you, Emma. She heard Regina's words from last night repeat in her mind. Trust me, that's rare. She wondered if that were true. Was she really the first person Regina let stay for breakfast the next morning? She found that hard to believe and yet… she was pretty good at telling when people were lying, and she couldn't see any signs of a lie in anything Regina had said to her.
A knock on the door brought Emma back to reality. Regina was just finishing applying her mascara, so Emma jumped up to answer the door. The room service attendant pushed a large cart covered in platters covered in shiny silver dome lids into the room. Emma didn't even attempt to hide her grin.
The server pushed the cart over to the table on the other side of the room, and Regina walked over and casually handed him a tip, but didn't make any attempt to thank him. It appeared to Emma that the tip was just Regina following a certain protocol, more so than actually showing gratitude, but at this point, she didn't really care.
Once the server had left, Regina lifted the silver dome lids from the platters as Emma sat down. Emma felt like she had died and gone to Heaven when she saw the array of food: fruit, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, and waffles. While Regina filled her plate with mainly fruit, Emma put a little of everything on her own.
"Did you just tell them to send up the whole menu?" Emma asked, munching on bacon.
Regina's mouth gaped for a moment, but she thought better of criticizing Emma's table manners. In truth, she had told them to send up everything, because something told her Emma didn't eat like this often. The way she scarfed down her food like someone was about to steal it only confirmed Regina's suspicion.
When they finished eating, Regina checked her watch, and started piling all the breakfast leftovers onto one platter. "I have to leave soon," she said, "you should take this with you."
"You want me to steal the platter?" Emma asked, surprised. Not that she was any stranger to theft, but she didn't expect that suggestion from this sophisticated woman.
Regina shrugged. "I'm going to be charged for the food anyway. I doubt they'll notice one plate missing, to be completely honest. If they do, they have my card on file. It's fine." Even as she spoke, Regina surprised herself with how concerned she was about whether or not this young woman would have enough to eat.
What have you done to me, Emma Swan?
"I'll call you a cab to take you home. Where do you live?"
Panic rose in Emma's throat. She wasn't about to tell this woman she didn't have a place to stay at the moment, and that her intentions the night before had been to find some random guy to take her home, so she could steal some money and leave before the sun came up. Looking at Regina, she was sure she wasn't the type of person who understood doing whatever you had to, just to get by.
So, she lied. "I don't live far from here. I can walk, it's a beautiful morning and I can probably walk home faster than a cab could get here anyway," she said, gathering up the platter of leftover breakfast in her arms.
This was a commercial area, and Regina was sure there weren't any residential spaces for several blocks, but she was already behind schedule so she decided not to question Emma on this one. "Very well, I'll walk you out."
Emma smiled and tagged behind Regina, double checking that the paper she had jotted down their next meeting time was still safely crammed into her pocket. They headed out the back entrance so that none of the staff would see Emma with her platter.
Regina gave Emma a pick peck on the cheek before she left her. "Six weeks, my dear," she smiled.
Emma grinned and nodded. "I won't be late."
Regina stopped and watched Emma as she walked away. She shook her head with a smile as she watched her stop and hand the platter of food to a couple of homeless men sitting in the doorway of some abandoned store.
"What a strange girl," she muttered to herself as she headed toward the car waiting to take her to the airport. Six weeks, she reminded herself. She had never had a reason to want to come to Oregon before.
What have you done to me, Emma Swan? She asked herself again, though she knew there was no answer.
