Ellie slid the card key into the hotel room door, pushing it open after the lock clicked and the light flashed green. Christopher followed flipped a light on with his elbow before tossing their luggage onto one of the queen-sized beds. Dropping the key onto the dresser, Ellie sat down on the empty bed, crossing her legs in front of her and pulling her phone from the side pocket of her carry-on bag.
"Someone needs to explain the concept of summer weather in the midwest to Alice," she said, shaking her head and scrolling through a stream of frantic text messages. Christopher laughed as he scanned the phone when Ellie held it for him to see.
"Are you volunteering?"
Ellie rolled her eyes and locked her phone, yawning as she searched her bag for a brush. "Definitely not." She dragged her brush through a section of hair, cringing ash she pulled through a mess of knots.
"You should sleep," Christopher said, taking the brush and carefully working through the tangles until the bristles glided smoothly through to the ends of each section of strands. The tension from the day's travel and unforeseen delays eased from her neck and shoulders as he proceeded to work his fingers into her hair, lightly scraping his nails against her scalp.
"I don't think I could," Ellie murmured, sighing when his hands pulled away. She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "I think I would just dream of that free fall the pilot called a landing."
Chuckling, Christopher tugged a lock of hair and tucked her brush back inside her backpack. "It wasn't that bad, Ellie." Lightning flashed outside their window, illuminating the Chicago skyline for several seconds before the building vibrated from the roar of thunder that followed. Fierce storms had erupted across a wide swath of the country, from the midwest to the east coast, bringing air travel to a sudden screeching halt. Though their initial flight from Alaska had landed on time at Midway Airport, the unstable weather canceled all departures for the rest of the evening. Thousands of travelers were stranded as a result. Instead of hunkering down in the airport, Christopher insisted on finding a hotel for the night.
"Actually," Ellie said, standing and stretching her arms up over her head. "I'm going to go shower. Maybe I can sleep when I don't feel like I was stuck in a tube all day."
Ellie lingered under the scalding stream for longer than she needed to, but the water was almost as relaxing as it massaged her skin as Christopher's fingertips had been against her scalp. When the temperature finally began to chill, she shut off the tap, taking her time as she patted herself dry, dressed, and wove her damp hair into a thick braid. When she emerged, the room was lit only by the city lights through the window and the glow of Christopher's computer, balanced on his lap. His eyes were closed, and his fingers rested against the soundproof headphones he wore over his ears. For the last two weeks, Christopher and Edward had been collaborating from opposite corners of the country on music for Renesmee and Jacob's wedding, and with the ceremony only a few days away, they were scrambling to finish everything in time.
With more care than necessary, for Christopher was too deep in concentration for her movements around the small suite to distract him, Ellie repacked her bag and crept to the far side of the bed. Without opening his eyes, Christopher reached over with his left hand and pulled back the covers for her, tossing them back over her body as she slid into the bed. Ellie laid down on her side, watching him for a few moments as he remained otherwise perfectly still and focused. Despite her earlier insistence that she wouldn't be able to sleep, she still felt warm and heavy from the long shower. It didn't take long for her eyes to drift closed, and the sound of Christopher's breathing and the occasional tap of his fingers on the keyboard blurred into the ether of her dreams.
When Ellie opened her eyes, she would have sworn she'd merely been napping for a few minutes if not for the sunlight streaming into the hotel room. Confusion gnawed at the corner of her mind, but the haze of having just woke up was preventing her from fully understanding at first. A room service tray with a covered plate and a pot of coffee had been placed on a corner table, and she could hear Christopher standing near the door, murmuring into his phone. She stood and walked to the table, pulling a piece of toast from under the tray and helping herself to a cup of coffee. As she turned around, she realized the time and that they should have been aboard their rescheduled flight by now.
"Chris, weren't we—"He held up one finger and nodded toward the tray with a wink. She shrugged and sat down. They had hunted before leaving Alaska, but he knew she would be hungry when their travel was delayed. Fully awake after a few sips of coffee, she could just make out Alice's voice on the other end of his conversation, trilling on about storms in the east and assumed their plans had once again been diverted. When he finally hung up, he dropped his phone on the bed with their belongings, rubbing his temples for a moment before striding across the room. He smiled as he sat down across from Ellie, leaning across the small table to kiss her good morning.
"I think I need a nap now," he quipped, leaning back in his chair.
Ellie picked up the hotel-white cup, eyeing him as she took a sip. "Is she sending a hunting party for us?"
Christopher laughed and shook his head. "Actually, she suggested we give up on flying at this point."
"More storms?"
"All along the coast through tomorrow. She thinks if we wait and time our arrival for late tomorrow night, we should be fine." He quirked one eyebrow and picked up the carafe, refilling Ellie's cup. "Then she proceeded to lecture me about talking to her first before booking flights. As if I haven't been arranging my own travel for longer than she's existed."
Ellie giggled and popped a forkful of eggs into her mouth, holding her hand in front of her lips as she chewed. "So," she said thoughtfully a moment later, "I guess we have some time to kill." Leaning forward in her chair, she curled her lips into a half-smile. Her fingers traced featherlight patterns along the back of his hand, which now rested flat against the table. Christopher cleared his throat, linking their fingers before standing.
"Hold that thought, love." He leaned in to kiss her once before pulling away before she could persuade him to abandon the plans he'd made for their free day. Ellie tried to keep hold of his hand, but he freed himself from her grip, chuckling and winking when she leaned back in her seat with a playful pout. Her expression turned suspicious as she watched the gleeful grin widen on his face.
"What did you do, Christopher?"
He glanced at his phone, suddenly busy poring over messages. "Nothing," he said with a shrug. "I rented a car, that's all."
Ellie tried to bite back a grin of her own. "That's all?"
Christopher looked up, enjoying the little game between them. "Yup. And I thought since we'll have a car handy, we could take a drive."
Shaking her head and laughing, Ellie waved her hand in a circular motion, prodding him to go on. "A drive to...?"
Shutting off his phone and sliding it into his pocket, Christopher picked his wallet up from the dresser on his right. "No hints." He put his wallet in his left front pocket and picked up a navy suit jacket, slipping his arms through the sleeves and turning to check his reflection in the mirror. As he straightened his open collar, he caught Ellie's eye in the reflective glass. "The car's here. Get dressed and meet me in the lobby."
Christopher leaned against the driver's side of the rented Ferrari parked beneath the hotel portico. Hidden behind dark sunglasses, his eyes were trained on the sliding entrance doors. He'd heard the thrum of Ellie's heartbeat getting closer as she left their room, entered the elevator, and finally reached the lobby. When she finally appeared, Christopher straightened his stance beside the car, removing the sunglasses and stowing them in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. Ellie worked her way around the small throng of guests moving in and out of the hotel, smiling when she heard him suck in a sharp breath. He couldn't help but stare. She was a vision walking confidentially toward him in a short green pleated skirt, a cream-colored top with a light gray blazer with sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms. The outfit was a modern approximation of what she was wearing the day they'd met, and he knew she was enjoying his reaction to her surprise.
The breath he'd been holding rushed from his lungs when she was near enough to put his hands on his hips. "You know where we're going," Christopher declared.
"Well, we're only two hours from Madison. I made an educated guess," Ellie replied coyly. She stepped back out of reach just long enough to turn in a circle. "I thought you would approve."
Only Ellie could hear the low rumble in Christopher's chest when his arms closed around her waist, and he lifted her up to kiss her forcefully. "You better get in the car, Els," he growled, setting her down and pulling open the passenger door. "People are starting to watch." Ellie giggled as he shut the door, and she could see from his intentional movements that he had to remind himself not to move too quickly in front of the humans surrounding them.
Watching Christopher get into the car and fasten his seatbelt, Ellie chewed her bottom lip. "You're not upset that I guessed, are you?" She knew he wouldn't be, but she couldn't repress a pang of guilt that she'd taken the wind out of his surprise when this trip was their first return to the place where they met since leaving Madison only months later.
"Upset? Not even a little." Christopher laughed and shook his head, placing his hand on Ellie's thigh, his fingertips just brushing against the hem of her skirt. "This is better." Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he drummed his fingers against her skin. "How have I not seen this skirt before?"
Crossing her right leg over her left, Ellie leaned back against the headrest and smiled. "I was waiting for the right occasion to wear it." She giggled to herself, turning to look out the window.
"What's funny?" Christopher nudged her knee after a moment when she didn't respond right away.
"Did you know that I only just figured out your thing about green?"
Christopher turned his head and stared. "Come again?"
"You always get all worked up when I wear this color green. I never knew why until I remembered packing this skirt."
"Eleanor. You can't be serious." It was true; he could easily forget his own name whenever she wore emerald green. It was the color of the skirt she'd been wearing the first time he laid eyes on her. His shoulders shook with laughter when Ellie shrugged sheepishly, confirming that she was indeed serious.
"I know, I know," she said, holding up her hands and laughing with him. "It took me twice as long to get dressed because I couldn't stop laughing at myself when I realized."
Still chuckling, Christopher wove his fingers through hers and pulled her hand to his lips. "You," he murmured, kissing the back of her hand, "are ridiculously adorable." He let their hands drop to his lap, his eyes focused on the road as brake lights lit up in front of them across the highway. When they cleared the jam, and the road opened up again, his hand found its way back to her inner thigh. Ellie shivered as he slipped his fingers under the edge of her skirt.
"Now," his voice taking a sharp edge that made her breath hitch as she inhaled, "let's see what we can do about getting you worked up, love."
A/N:
Hi, hi, hi!
I didn't mean to take a long break but pandemic brain kept me from writing. I hope you like this quick little update and I've got more in the works. If you're reading this, thank you!