Chapter Thirteen – A Lucky night

Ever heard the tale that the number thirteen is an unlucky number? Well, if you haven't, many people believe that the number thirteen is cursed or gives bad luck. Due to this short definition, I have decided to number this chapter thirteen. I think it passes as both lucky and unlucky, but maybe you can tell me? You'll find out why quite soon.

We all arrived back at the inn together. That night, we didn't have any plans because we wanted to thoroughly research the particular Revenant and its area before encountering it. We scheduled that for the next day. After arriving at the inn, we had a light supper, played a few rounds of cards and headed upstairs. Not everyone was planning on going to bed. George was going to look at some Rotwell product that had failed him the night before and try to figure out what was wrong with it. Holly and Kipps went to one room while Lockwood and I headed to mine. Yes, to answer any questions that you might have, Holly and Quill were sharing a room. I mean why not? It was saving money.

Lockwood was the first one to change in the bathroom, and he did so quite quickly. Soon, he reappeared in his dark blue pajamas with a book in hand. He flapped it around so to ensure that I would notice it. I nodded and said, "Let me change first." Lockwood smiled and hopped up to his place on the bed. Before entering, I knocked on the bathroom door. No answer. I slowly eased it open to find it empty, thankfully. I was in no mood to walk in on Quill Kipps, or even Holly for that matter. The adjacent door was cracked and after I changed, I thought it'd be a good idea to ask Holly if she wanted the shower in the morning. I knocked on the door. "Come in," a voice called. I couldn't make out who it was, but I opened the door and began to walk in. There, in the bed, sat Quill Kipps. Shirtless. "Holly," he began. "I thought we'd –" he broke off. Kipps had noticed me. He stared at me. I stared at him. Neither of us moved. Suddenly, to my right, a door swung open, revealing Holly, heavy-laden with a lot of laundry. "I did a load of clothes. So now your work wear is clean," she said. Then she noticed me. I stared at the both of them, eyes bugging. "Lucy!" Holly said. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were in here." I ran out of the room and slammed the door behind me.

I stood in my room, leaning against the bathroom door. Lockwood was eyeing me curiously. "What on earth just happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I might as well have," I replied. Kipps was a red head. Light-haired and fair-skinned. Shirtless. White chest. UGH! I had seen horrible things in my time with Lockwood and Co., but that one beat most. Sitting in that bed, he looked like a ghost. I forced the thoughts out of my mind.

"Lucy," Lockwood said. "Come sit down."

I told him what had happened. "It was Kipps. In the bed."

"Well, I'm here, in this bed. There must've been something special about him that scared you so much."

"Well, yeah, but Lockwood…"

"Spill it," he said, grinning.

"He was shirtless."

At first, Lockwood looked annoyed. "It wasn't my fault," I began. I was suddenly interrupted by Lockwood's laugh. He was radiating with laughter. I'd never seen him find something so funny before. Lockwood reached out and clenched my arm to steady himself. He began wiping tears from his eyes. "Is that all?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Yes," I scowled.

"Well, I can do that, too, if you want." He grinned.

"What?" I asked, but it was too late. He'd found his chance. Lockwood was already unbuttoning his dark blue night shirt. After removing it, he folded it and threw it on a chair where his luggage sat.

I smiled. I'd seen Lockwood shirtless once or twice in knowing him. Those rare occasions usually occurred when he'd just gotten out of the shower or when he couldn't find a specific shirt that he wanted to wear. But never anything like this. I looked at him. Lockwood pulled me closer to him and started talking. "So, Holly and Quill are a thing now?" he asked. "I guess so. At least from what I can tell." Lockwood raised a dark eyebrow. There was a thump from the other side of the wall. George's room. "Oh goodness. I sure do hope he doesn't burn this place down," Lockwood said. I laughed, and Lockwood smiled down at me. "You tired?" he asked. "Most definitely," I said. Lockwood reached over and turned off the lamp. I snuggled down against his warm, slim body. Lockwood wrapped both of his arms around me. I turned around and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Lockwood."

"Goodnight."