(I'm sorry this is so late!)

Chapter 2.

- Thursday -

January 3, 2019

She finds that the bar it's just a couple of blocks from the hotel, in a hidden alley, clearly meant for the locals and not the tourists.

It's really big, to be honest, but not as unpleasant as Regina had thought. There are a few tables in the front, with colorful tablecloths covering its surface, and there is a pool table in the back, a fireplace lightening up that corner of the room.

It's... nice, truthfully, and it's clear she's not the only one holding this opinion about this place.

The bar is crowded, all the tables are full as people listen to someone singing on the stage. She can't quite see it from where she stands at the door, but she can tell whoever is performing has a good voice. Soft, comforting, maybe a bit hoarse, but she finds it quite beautiful.

She sneaks towards the bar in hopes to get a better view, and sure enough, that is not the view she had expected to be faced with. Up there, singing on the stage, it's the man who bumped into her at the airport, the same man who broke her damn phone. Regina has the sudden memory of his bright, blue eyes, but she never got the chance to get a good view of him. He's handsome, she has to admit, sitting in the glow of the stage lights, a guitar across his lap.

She watches his fingers run over the strings, his eyes closing as he sings. He's smiling, a dimpled smile that lets her know how much he's enjoying it. It's pleasing to the eye, not to mention how attractive he actually is...

"Hello, can I offer you our menu?" a brunette with red highlights approaches Regina from the other side of the counter, a friendly smile on her lips. She's young, maybe over twenty-five, but definitely younger than Regina. She is handing her something she now knows is the menu, and the brunette accepts it with a polite 'Thank you', only now realizing how hungry she actually is.

She hasn't really eaten too much in the airplane, and she could use a healthy, and delicious salad... Chicken salad it is.

"Coming right up. John! Get your arse out of that seat and let the lady sit down, would you?" the girl pats a man's arm, who turns to her with a confused look on his face.

He's a big man, really big, with curly hair falling to his shoulders, his beard covering most of his chin.

Regina is quick to assure, "Oh, no, it's alright," in an attempt to avoid any more problems, but the man is already on his feet, his voice surprisingly gentle when he tells her, "I'm sorry, lass."

"He's our security, he shouldn't even be sitting here," the girl explains with her eyes focused on the man, her face a clear warning that he should return to his assigned spot. The man sighs in defeat, but tilts his head in a silent sign of acceptance before disappearing into the crowd, while the girl turns to face Regina one more time, "I'm sorry, he's Robin's friend, he likes to watch him play."

Oh... so his name is Robin, Regina muses, recalling seeing the name written on the back of the flyer...

Oh, God.

Oh, no, God, of course, it had to be him.

She reaches for the piece of paper still tucked inside her coat pocket, the same flyer she had found inside the bag. Sure enough, 'Robin Locksley' is written in bold letters, apparently the name of the man she had the pleasure to meet at the airport.

The world really is small... but then again, he was the only person with whom she had an encounter earlier today, he was the most likely possibility, wasn't he?

"Can I get you something to drink?" the brunette startles as the girl hands her a new menu, this one listing all the beverages available at the bar. Regina's eyes are immediately drawn to the 'fruit cocktails' section, just in time to hear the girl suggesting, "Lacey's appletinis are to die for," and well, that's not a bad idea.

It's not a bad idea at all.

...

It's half an hour and two drinks later when Robin finishes his set, making his way towards the bar to, no doubt, reward himself with a well-deserved beer.

Regina's attention is drawn as the girl reaches for a clean glass, pulling the handle of the draft tower, and letting the gold liquid fill the empty cup. She watches almost mesmerized before taking a sip of her own drink, only then noticing the blue eyes staring intently at her from the other end of the bar.

It's clear Robin recognizes her from earlier, which only makes Regina feel more embarrassed than she should, as if she is being a stalker somehow.

She sighs, and focus her attention back on her drink, telling herself that this is stupid, that the bar is a public space. She could stop here for a drink if she so well desired, and it's not like she is here because she wants to - she'd much rather be laying in bed with a book, to be honest, curled up under the covers, but it's not like she had much of a choice, is it?

Soon enough, she watches as Robin grabs his beer and starts walking in her direction, his British accent so soft and familiar when he tells her, "I thought I had seen you from up there."

Regina smiles to herself, her fingers fidgeting with the glass in her hands. Maybe he's not so insufferable, after all, her anger at him had time to vanish, and maybe they can have a civilized conversation... Or at least she thought, "You are here because of what happened to your phone?" Robin continues, succeeding in wipe the smile off her lips.

"No, I'm not," she tells him, a little annoyed now, "I told you I don't need your money-"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Robin is quick to interrupt.

Regina takes a deep breath, tries to be reasonable and tell herself that she would think the same if she was in his place, that he probably hadn't even opened his bag since they left the airport, maybe too busy with his performance tonight to even notice such a thing. He's being sincere, she can tell, with his blue eyes wide open, regret written all over his face.

She decides to let this one slip, pointing to the bag now stationed between the two of them, and explaining, "I think we switched our bags earlier at the airport. I just want my clothes back."

Robin stares at the bag dumbfounded, it's almost comic. He's now a far cry from the confident man who meant to approach a woman at a bar tonight, and more resembled the guy she met earlier at the airport, the distracted and clumsy stranger. It's actually quite amusing how he runs a hand through his sandy, blonde hair, gesturing awkwardly to somewhere behind himself, and telling her, "I keep the luggage in the office, I didn't touch it yet."

And thank God for that, Regina can't help but think, almost red of embarrassment at the thought of Robin snooping through her things. It's not like there's something for her to be ashamed of inside that bag, it's just clothes, to be honest, but she thinks about her underwear, and how she had to see his as she searched for some clue of where her bag could be, and it's private enough that she doesn't want Robin to see it.

Still, she nods her head, pushing those thoughts out of her mind when he stretches his hand out for her to take it.

"Robin Locksley," he says, unnecessarily, but she accepts his gesture, anyway, introducing herself as her eyes drift to their joined hands. His fingers are calloused from playing the guitar, she imagines, but his touch is actually pleasant.

He is pleasant.

When he is not running through the airport, knocking people down as he passes.

"Come with me?" his voice brings her back to the present, watching him point towards the office again, harmlessly enough that she finds herself nodding her head.

She stands up from her seat to follow him through the crowd, and it doesn't go unnoticed that he makes a point of reaching for the bag, carrying it himself towards a narrow corridor, before opening the door that leads to the back office.

It's quite small, she notices, with a desk occupying most of the space, and a couch on the far corner. Regina's bag is placed beside Robin's things, his jacket covering most of the mess.

"I'm sorry," Robin chuckles, explaining, "We all have to share this place, and I have a few colleagues that are not as tidy as I am."

Regina rolls her eyes, but can't help but laugh softly at his words. 'Tidy' was not really the word she would choose when trying to describe this place - not even Robin's assigned little corner - but she's not the one who spends time here, and she's actually thankful that he's trying to break the ice, so she only shrugs in response, watches as Robin paves the way between all the mess until he's able to reach the bag, the way his muscles flex with the movement not going unnoticed by the brunette.

He has a good body, Regina thinks to herself, finds her eyes moving from his shoulders down his back, quickly catching a glimpse of his backside before she forces herself to keep her attention on the upper part of his body. She is only here for her belongings, she reminds herself, she's not here to flirt, not even if Robin has the body of a God, capable of stealing her attention with the simple movement of grabbing a bag-

"Here," the man places the suitcase in front of Regina, pointing to the tag wrapped around the handle and saying, "It has your name on it."

"Thank y-"

A buzz coming from his pocket interrupts her words, and she hears Robin muttering an apology as he reaches for his phone, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as his eyes study the words displayed on the screen, "I'm sorry, I need to run home. Do you need anything else?"

Regina frowns, but shakes her head, hopes it's not something bad that has him looking so worried all of a sudden.

Still, she grabs her bag and lets Robin walk her out of the office, turns to face him one more time and thank him again.

"No problem," he smiles, dimples and all, "I hope you enjoy London, Regina."

She watches him leave, and if her eyes cling to him until he's round the corner and out of sight, well... who can really blame her?

- Friday -

January 4, 2019

It's foggy in the morning. A cold breeze floating in the air, the chilly wind hitting Regina's face as she runs through the park in a failed attempt to keep her mind distracted from the events of the day.

The park is rather empty at such an early hour, and Regina is truly thankful for the peacefulness it provides. Her meeting scheduled for today is not before the two in the afternoon, so she has plenty of time before she needs to get back to the hotel and get ready for the first day with the new agency.

She is nervous about it, it's not even worth trying to deny it. This is everything she ever dreamt of, exactly what she needs to take her modeling experience to the next level. She tries not to give it too much thought, but it's difficult when it involves such boost to her career. She doesn't really know what to expect from today, but whatever pushes her away from those thoughts is a welcome distraction.

Jogging is always a welcome distraction.

She runs for about forty-five minutes before she starts to slow her pace to a simple, quick march, walking towards a drinking fountain and splashing the cold water on her face. She takes a moment to regain her breath, and when she leans back down to drink some of the water this time, she almost loses her balance when something small collides with her legs, something furry and noisy, barking incessantly to draw the brunette's attention.

And then she hears, "Lady!" and her heart stops.

"I'm so sorry, Regina, she's probably thirsty," she watches as he latches the leash back on the dog's collar, pulling her away from Regina's legs and filling a bowl with the water from the fountain to give it to the pup.

The brunette waits speechless as her eyes study Robin's sweaty self, still a bit confused about how had she managed to run into him yet again in less than twenty-four hours in this city, "It's alright, I... you have a dog?"

Robin wipes his wet hands on his own gym shorts, stands to face Regina and offers a small nod of his head.

"I have," he smiles, displaying the dimples on his cheeks, "She still needs a lot of training, though."

She shifts her gaze towards the little dog then, a small cocker spaniel with brown fur and big, black, adorable eyes. It can't be more than two months old, judging by how small the puppy is. It makes Regina remember the moment she set foot in Graham's house for the first time, their night being ruined by the big husky who kept barking at her until she decided it was better for her to leave. It's not like she is afraid of dogs, but she never considered herself an animal person, and it almost appears the dogs share the same opinion.

"She is... cute," she offers, with what she hopes is a convincing smile, "Though I never imagined you to be a cocker spaniel type of guy."

She cringes. What a stupid thing to say, really. It's not as though she knows him to the point of guessing what Robin's favorite dog breed is.

"You're right, I would've opted for a German Shepherd, but my apartment is pretty small," Robin smirks, bending down to run his hand through the dog's brown fur, "And my son is rather smitten with the 'Lady and the Tramp' film, so-"

"You have a son?" she can't help but ask, something changing in Robin's expression. His smile widens, and she feels her own lips tilting up at the sight of it, at the obvious adoration this man seems to have for his little boy. She knows the feeling too, it's exactly the same with Henry, and he's not even her child. God, she misses him terribly, she just can't wait to see him again, to be able to wrap him in her arms once she returns to New York after this crazy adventure.

"Why? You didn't think I would be a family type of guy either?" Robin catches her attention, and Regina feels the heat rising in her cheeks, hopes she is not blushing as hard as it feels, "I have a four-year-old boy. He was actually the reason why I had to run out so fast of our encounter last night."

"Oh... nothing serious I hope?"

"If you consider a tantrum before bed something serious," Robin smiles, and Regina smiles back, shifts her gaze towards the pup sitting at Robin's feet, "I've been away for the past week, and it's just me and him... he spent the week with a friend, so he just wanted me to put him to sleep last night."

She looks back at Robin then, notices his smile had diminished a little at his last words. She can't help but wonder what happened with his son's mother, why does it sound like she's not in their life anymore. It's really not her business to pry - she met the man last night, for God's sake - so she offers him the best sympathetic smile she can manage, takes a glance at the clock on her wrist before she says, "That's understandable. I shouldn't keep you then," she takes a step back, bites her lip before telling him, "And I have to run to the store to buy a new phone."

Robin laughs at that, picking up the bowl with the water for the dog and pouring what's left of the liquid on the grass, "I'm sorry about that too."

Regina turns, shrugging her shoulders as she walks the opposite direction of the man, "I'll see you around, Robin."

"Yeah..." she hears, though a bit quiet due to the distance, "I hope you will."

...

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Regina stares down at the brand new phone, sighing at the eight missed calls from Mal in contrast to the sad message she had received from Graham last night, asking if she was up for a 'private late-night call'.

She presses her lips together, not sure if she should feel insulted or flattered that he seems unable to spend a day without thinking of her to bring him release. Yes, there were more times than not, back in New York City, when Graham would drop by her house after his overnight shift, have an early morning session with Regina, right before she would make them coffee and leave the house for the day. She could say they had some sort of routine, but she would think that would end once she was far away in Europe.

Instead, it seems Graham decided to make this work from the other side of the ocean, and it's quite obvious that phone sex is one of the options on the table.

She doesn't really like to think that he only sees her as a sex object, had actually hoped that he would call just to see how she was doing, that they would be friends above everything else, but this is what they agreed on when they first started doing it, so she figures she can't really complain about his lack of affection.

'I will call you tonight,' she texts him without thinking too much, simple as that, before she focuses her attention back on the missed calls from Mal, a real friend who is worried about her and to whom she's happy to return the attention.

She presses the call button and waits for the woman to pick up the phone, which doesn't take too long before the blonde's voice echoes on the other side, a mixture of anger and concern when she asks, "Where the hell have you been?"

Regina bites her lip, knowing that her friend is absolutely right. She could've spared a call from the hotel reception, just as she did with Emma and her father, "I know, I'm so sorry, Mal, I'll explain everything-"

"Are you alright?" her agent asks, a wave of relief evident in her tone.

Regina nods her head, even if her friend can't really see her through the phone. She explains what happened with her own cell phone the day before, tells her about Robin and how they switched their bags, and why she didn't really have a minute to breathe until this exact moment. Her staying in this country didn't start as smoothly as she had hoped, had actually made her think twice about this whole adventure, though that's something she won't admit any time soon. Mal is one of her closest friends, and she imagines it hadn't been easy to get this opportunity for her, so she won't act like a spoiled brat over a minor hitch on her trip.

"I was so worried, Regina, where are you now?" the blonde asks from the other side, doesn't really give her time to answer before she offers, "Do you need me to reschedule your meeting with Jefferson?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Regina insists, shaking her head. It wouldn't be a good first impression to reschedule her first meeting with a new partner. Besides, she wants to get this done with, and the sooner she is done with the meeting, the sooner she will be able to breathe again, "I'm ready, I'm just... anxious."

"Don't be," Mal tells her, as if it's the simplest thing in the entire world.

Jefferson is one of the most renowned photographers in the entire industry. Had engaged in several types of projects throughout his career, though his area of expertise is fashion photography. His work has been published in the most prestigious magazines around the world, not to mention his photographs hanging around on the walls of several museums and galleries. It's quite an honor just to have the chance to even think about working with him, much less have the opportunity to actually do it.

So yes, she is more than entitled to be nervous. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, and she needs to be well-succeed.

"He has seen your work, Regina, just do your best," Mal tries, but well, that's the problem, isn't it?

"My best is probably not enough," Regina admits, her voice almost a whisper.

Mal won't have any of it, though, and before she could let herself believe in such nonsense, her friend tells her, "You are one of my best talents, and you know it. So stop acting like a virgin on this and go get him."

Regina scoffs, can't help it, though she won't admit that Mal's words had actually put a smile on her face.

"I'm leaving the hotel," Regina puts on her jacket and reaches for her purse.

"Good, let me know how it went," Mal offers, hanging up the phone without even waiting for the brunette's goodbye.

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Regina steps out of the room, decided to give her best on this interview. She has nothing to lose, and if this really won't go anywhere in the end, she still has friends and family in New York to which she can return to at the end of the day.

...

She is lost. Wandering around in circles down the same block, and walking by the same building where she had been standing in front of ten minutes ago. It's the same building with the Starbucks on the corner, the one where she stopped to buy a hot beverage, which, at least, is being successful in keeping her warm while she faces the cold and tries to find the place where she is supposed to meet Jefferson.

She has fifteen minutes before the meeting is supposed to start.

Damn navigation system. She is still getting used to the new device, and she has no idea where she is, if she is near, or if she even walked by the studio without even realizing it. For all she knows, she may be standing in front of the right building already, but the GPS keeps making her wandering around. She should've just taken a cab, even if she thought she was close, but the thought of a bit of fresh air had seemed appealing to her, and she never imagined she would get lost with a GPS in hand.

She sighs in relief when she sees a yellow car approaching the sidewalk, considers taking that cab now, but something, or rather, someone catches her attention on the other side of the street, the car driving past her before she can actually ask the driver to stop.

Robin. Again. What are the odds?

He waves when he sees her too, crosses the street with Lady's leash in hand, the dog following with a happy wagging of her tail.

"It looks like you are a woman of her word," Robin tells her, a smile on his face in contrast to Regina's stunned look.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You did say you would see me around," he repeats her words from earlier, though Regina seems confused anyway, "Forget it, it was a joke, a lousy one, to be honest, but... it's good to see you again."

Regina tilts her head in appreciation, sighing when she remembers she doesn't really have time to stay here, catching up with Robin when she is minutes away from her interview, "I'm sorry, I really need to go, I'm late for an interview, and lost-"

"Maybe I can help with that last bit. Where do you need to go?" he has a frown on his face, worry, she might say, but maybe he does can help to find Jefferson's studio, so Regina shows him the address displayed on the screen of her phone, hoping he will be able to give her instructions and save her some time, "Do you know this address?"

She hopes, prays, he does.

"It happens that I do," he nods, proudly, "But I might want something in return."

That makes Regina frown displeased. Can't he see she is really in a hurry? That she has no time to lose with this nonsense? "I was wondering if you would accept to have dinner with me?"

Wait... what? Is he serious? His he really trying to take advantage of the whole situation?

Regina's frown deepens at his words, getting more restless as the minutes tick by.

"D-dinner?" she stammers, surprised.

"I feel awful about everything that happened, Regina. Please, let me make it up to you."

The brunette scoffs, can't help it, "I told you I don't need anything from you-"

"Alright, this sounded awful, the truth is..." Robin sighs, genuinely sorry about the way he chose to handle this issue, "I had wanted to ask you out since you showed up at the bar last night."

Regina almost feels her chin drop at those words, her cheeks turning an embarrassing shade of red, "You... you did?"

That she was not expecting, at all. She never thought she had sparked any interest on Robin's part, considering they only have spoked more than a few minutes last night... Is he really being serious? Or maybe he just wants to make up to her and this is an excuse so she won't feel bad about it. Either way, it comes as a surprise that Robin would choose to ask her on something resembling as a real date, and she really doesn't know what to do about it now.

"I just blew this whole thing, didn't I?" Robin asks, looking too much like a kicked puppy, "It's been years since I let myself be vulnerable enough to actually invite someone to go out with me, it seems I'm a bit rusty when it comes to that."

Regina loosens a little at that, manages to chuckle sympathetic at his words, shrugging her shoulders as she explains, "It just sounded like you were taking advantage of my request for help."

"Never," Robin smiles, pointing to the building behind her.

This is it. This is where she agreed to meet Jefferson. She is a bit surprised that she didn't even notice they were walking in the first place, too stunned by the conversation that she actually forgot for a moment about the interview.

Regina smiles, genuinely, feels a special appreciation for the man standing in front of her at this very moment.

"Thank you," she tells him before turning around, hesitating for a second before focusing her attention on Robin one more time, "When exactly were you planning to have this dinner?"

Robin's smile widens, like a child on Christmas morning, leans down to scoop Lady in his arms when the dog keeps tugging the leash in his hand, "I'm going to spend the afternoon with my son, but I can meet you at your hotel once I get Roland ready and tucked in his bed."

"So... tonight?" she asks with a teasing smirk on her face.

She gives him her phone number and hotel address, and steps into the interview with a confident smile on her face, thankful her evenings seem to have improved compared to the previous night.

I'm excited to hear your thoughts! :)