"Rosie, what are you doing here? What in God's name do you think you're doing?" Denny whispered at his daughter, after pulling her into another room. "He's my co-worker, my colleague, my friend!"
"That never stopped you before with my friends, why should it get in the way now?" Rosalie challenged, flicking her hair back into place angrily.
"Because… you're my daughter!"
"And you think I want to be?!"
"Just what do you mean by that, young lady?" Before the argument could go any further, Alan stepped into the fore, with a large glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Please, can we do this some other time? The guests will wonder who released the pit bulls."
"Yeah Denny," Rosalie said, suddenly looking slightly hurt. "We wouldn't want to get in the way of your party would we now?" Denny put his arm on his daughter's arm, and went to say something, but she shrugged it off. "I'm leaving. I wouldn't want to ruin your evening any further, even though it was you who invited me here." With that, she went and got her wrap, before leaving the hotel. Denny turned on his heel and muttered something unintelligible under his breath before returning to the large hall. Alan was left alone in the lobby.
"How the hell do you hail a taxi in this goddamn place?" Rosalie impatiently tucked a curl behind her ear, lighting a cigarette and gazing down the deserted street angrily.
"Allow me," said a voice from behind her, and Alan pulled a cell phone from his inside pocket. "It's hard to find cabs that go past here at this time of night."
"You should go back inside. I think Dad was expecting you to follow him in; you know, make a grand entrance like he usually does." She shivered delicately in the night air, and Alan gallantly took his suit jacket off.
"I think I can deal with your father. Here, put this on, you're turning blue." Draping it over her shoulders, he started to ring the firm's car company.
"Thanks for your concern," she said with a smile, taking another long drag on her cigarette. "It's good to know you're the kind of man who randomly kisses a woman, then has the decency to cover her up."
"There are a lot of things about me that surprise people." He took the phone away from his ear and frowned at it. "Damn, engaged."
"It's okay, I'll stand here a while longer. You go back to the party – it's in your honour remember."
"You really aren't a local, are you? There's no way you'll get a cab at this hour… where are you staying? I'll take you home."
"Yeah, that's the thing. I'm not staying anywhere right now; I only just got here. I was going to try and get a room this evening – I left my case with the porter until I could get a taxi."
"In that case, come and stay with me for the night. I'm not leaving a vulnerable young lady like you in a strange city all by herself."
"You don't need to do that, Alan. I'll be fine. Honestly, I'll just… I'll do something. I'm not some young Penelope Pitstop."
"Stop procrastinating, I'm booking a car. Go and get your case."
Driving through Boston, Alan fleetingly thought about ringing Denny and telling him where he was. But knowing Denny, he was telling people about his great adventures in the world, and he wouldn't be sorely missed. Glancing at Rosalie, he realised how striking she really was. The streetlights brought out the shape of her face, and picked out small details he hadn't noticed before, like the small stud in the top of her left ear. She looked younger than she was he thought – she must be in her mid thirties but sleeping she looked ten years younger. She began to doze off as they turned the corner into his block, and by the time they had pulled up she was fast asleep. Alan wondered whether or not to wake her, and decided that it would be far easier just to carry her indoors. And that's exactly what he proceeded to do.
Once in his suite, he laid Rosalie down on the couch and poured himself a whiskey soda. He was just about to walk out onto his balcony, when something made him stop and look back at her. A curl fell over her eye, and Alan moved closer to watch her sleep. Bending down slowly, so that he was next to her, he gently moved her hair and listened to her regular breathing. It soothed him somehow to hear the sound, and he gently stroked her cheek. She started and awoke, looking at him sleepily.
"Why are you so close to my face?"
"You fell asleep in the car."
"I am so sorry – I had a long day, and then the flight... I'm terrible company," she said with an embarrassed laugh, pushing more hair out of her face.
"Don't be sorry, it's my pleasure to have you here. Now, what's your poison?"
