Hi! I can't believe the response I got to the first chapter! Thank you to each and every one of you!
This is a long chapter in attempt to make up for not updating much this week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and if you do, let me know, class it as an early christmas present, I swear each review I get is like a present, they make my day. Haha, much love!
Regina stirred with a smile on her face, she could hear the sound of birds chirping happily outside. She hummed and snuggled further into the bed; only then did she become aware of the warm, hard chest that was flush against her back and the strong arm that was tight around her body. Her eyes went wide when she tried to move and he pulled her tighter into his grasp, their fingers were interlocked on her stomach.
Suddenly she remembered the owner of that arm, Robin Locksley, his thumb was rubbing lightly over her stomach through her chemise. She let out a soft moan, it felt like she had died and gone to heaven, being in his arms, she knew she shouldn't just lie there and let him hold her, but it just felt so good, somehow it felt right, like she belonged there.
She took a shuddery breath and carefully tried to unlock their fingers without waking him, when he shuffled she held her breath, thinking that he was going to just wake up and freak out because he was holding her and hadn't meant to be. She gently moved his arm from around her, stopping in the middle as he moved again, his arm, dropping back over her, his face nuzzling her neck. She took a shuddery breath, this was not happening, she was not snuggling with Robin Locksley, it just wasn't happening, well, maybe for a couple more minutes, maybe she could just enjoy this feeling for a little longer.
She closed her eyes and basked in the feeling of Robin, there was a scent too, a forest type smell, pine trees, fresh cut grass, just something that was uniquely him and it engulfed her. She tilted her head and placed a soft kiss on his arm before she even registered what she was doing, that was it, she needed to get out of his arms, out of that bed, out of that room and as far away from Robin Locksley as possible. She moved his arm and slipped out as quickly as carefully as she could, grabbing her bag and literally sprinting into the bathroom.
God, she needed to get a hold of herself, she had literally just been in bed with the man she loved and it felt perfect, for those brief minutes, she imagined herself having that, being with Robin, waking up in his arms in the morning. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her skinnies and jumped to get in them, shimmying as she pulled them up; she adorned a hoody and quickly brushed her teeth before shoving her hair up in a high ponytail.
She opened the bathroom door and looked at the guy laying in the bed. His hair was messed by sleep and he had moved, the quilt slipping down to his waist, exposing his perfectly toned chest; she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, wow he was really hot, she was tempted to snap a picture so that she could log this moment, but that would be totally inappropriate, not to mention slightly creepy.
Shaking her head, she walked over to the bed and looked down at him; carefully she moved her hand to adjust some of his hair and placed a light kiss on his forehead, then he moved, causing her to shoot towards the door, grab her boots and literally leg it out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She took a deep breath and pulled her boots on, before hurrying down the stairs and into the dining room, where every single other student and teacher was already sat eating.
She looked around, her eyes wide as she nodded, okay, this was not happening, it just wasn't. How had she and Robin slept in and conveniently both come late into breakfast? He wasn't even down yet, but that didn't mean people wouldn't talk. Regina poured a bowl of cereal and found an isolated table in the corner where she sat down and quietly ate. What had her life come to? She couldn't help herself, she just had the need to kiss him, it wasn't as if she kissed him on the lips, but he looked so perfect and she couldn't resist.
A couple of minutes later, a sleepy looking Robin stumbled through the door, he hadn't done anything with his hair, it was still how it had been when she left him. He was now dressed in dark jeans and a blue shirt, with navy jacket which made his eyes stand out spectacularly. He glanced over at her and she hurriedly looked down at the coloured froot loops that were floating in a sea of milk, she pushed them around with her spoon watching them bob up and down.
"Hey," she froze, dropping her spoon as she looked up and met his eye, her voice caught in her throat as she tried to form a response. "Still not talking to me," he sighed, "mind if I sit?"
She shook her head, "if I say no, you'll just sit there anyway."
"True," he laughed, sitting down in the seat opposite her, "so, what tedious tasks do you think are in store for us today?"
She shrugged taking a sip of the coffee that was in front of her, she had a feeling she was going to need as much of it as she could get, she filtered it through her teeth and quipped, "I should have thought they'd have you on mucking out duty."
"Why's that then?" he asked, casting her a trying grin as he bit into a piece of toast and rose his eyebrows at her.
She had a really inappropriate response in her head, but she filed it away and shrugged, "because we're on a farm," she chuckled, "I dunno."
"So how about you, would you muck out if so required?"
"I don't have a problem with getting down and dirty." She shook her head, casting him a flirtatious smile. Whoa, where had that come from, that had literally just spilled out before she even had chance to turn on her filter and stop it. "I mean, I've mucked out a horse or too in my time."
"I'm sure you have." He grinned.
"Actual horses, just to clarify, I have horses, oh god," fuck, fuck, if she could hit herself right now she would, what was wrong with her, seriously Regina, seriously.
"Yeah, I got that," he laughed, "so you're an expert horseman then?"
"Indeed," she nodded awkwardly, "I can ride," she looked up at him and rolled her eyes, "I'm just going to go, anywhere but here." She stood up, taking her tray with her, disposing of everything but her coffee, she walked out onto the terrace and looked at the rolling green fields. There was a smell to the countryside, it smelt different to the city, fresh and clean. She leant against the wooden banister and pulled her lip between her teeth, worrying it there.
She had totally embarrassed herself in there, he probably thought her a complete idiot, she was so awkward it was untrue, however at times she hadn't been, at times she had allowed herself to slip out and seemingly he liked it, he laughed, that was a good sign right? She had both hands on the coffee cup and was just staring into space when her thoughts were interrupted.
"Well hi there."
She looked up to see the stable hand approaching, handling the dapple-grey mare she had been admiring the day before, "hi," she waved shyly.
"Wanna ride her? I'm guessing you know how right, I don't have to teach you."
"You wouldn't have to teach me," she shook her head, she really wanted to ride, it cleared her head, "are you sure?"
"Yeah, show us what you got."
She smiled at him as he chucked a riding helmet at her, she secured it in place and walked towards him, "I believe I may have been slightly rude yesterday."
"Nah."
"Yes; Regina," she extended her hand.
"Daniel," he nodded, shaking her hand, "come on then."
"Thank you," she took the reins from him and mounted the horse, "she really is beautiful."
"She is."
Regina kick started her, beginning to walk slowly, "does she jump?"
"Of course," he pushed the gate open for her to enter the arena.
She was in her element here and sped up somewhat, maintaining the perfect stance on the horse as she trotted around the paddock. A smile played on her features as she glanced over to see a crowd forming, maybe she could put on a little show for them, one thing she was confident about was how she could jump a horse. Coming up to the first jump she flew over it, the horse jumped well, not as well as Rocinante, but she could give him a run for his money.
Looking up she saw Robin stood with a group of boys who weren't really paying all that much attention to her, that was except him, he was staring straight at her, watching her as she rode. Smiling she felt a sense of pride and continued to jump her horse; she had almost completed the circuit when she heard Archie shouting, "Regina Mills!"
Making a noise of protest, she did one last jump before slowing the horse down, gradually bringing her to a halt. "What?" She rolled her eyes, swinging her legs off the side of the horse, before leading it over to the side.
"You haven't been through the safety workshop, you shouldn't be riding."
"Sir I know how to ride, I've been riding since I was five years old."
"The safety briefing is mandatory."
"Of course, it is," she huffed, handing the reins back to Daniel, "thank you," she smiled.
"You are very welcome." She made her way to the side and climbed up over the fence, landing on the other side and wiping her hands on her jeans.
"Why you rebel," Robin joked
"I don't know what you're talking about." She shook her head.
"You can ride."
"I told you I could," she grinned, passing him and following Dr Hopper who looked less than impressed. "Sir."
"Regina, are you going to cause problems for me on this trip?"
"I don't understand why you are targeting me," she scoffed, "Daniel asked me if I wanted to ride and I took him up on the offer."
"Daniel?"
"The stable hand." She muttered as if it was something completely obvious.
"Regina look, I know you don't want to be here, you didn't ask to be here, but please, just comply with the rules."
"Fine, I didn't know I was breaking the rules, but whatever."
"Regina."
"Fine," she rubbed her hands across her face, god forbid should she have any fun on this trip. Dr Hopper walked off and she looked around over her shoulder, glancing at Robin who was talking to Will and the rest of his friends she sighed and shook her head, she was deluding herself thinking that he was being nice to her because he liked her, he didn't, no one did, he was just being nice because that was who he was. What had happened that morning was meaningless, accidental and she needed to get over it, concentrate on getting through the week instead of her love for Robin.
Whilst watching him, she continued to walk, she wasn't looking where she was going and was suddenly stopped in her tracks as she crashed directly into a wall, this caused her to let out a stunned little yelp. "Ow," she groaned, rubbing her cheek.
"Careful, don't want to break your nose, you need it to look down at people," Will laughed.
She noticed the way that Robin glared at his friend and shook his head, "Will."
"What?"
"Shut up would you," Robin turned to her and placed one hand on her upper arm, "are you alright?" he asked.
"Fine," she nodded, adjusting her hair before scurrying off. Embarrassment coursed through her veins; what the hell was wrong with her? She let out a literal growl as she pushed through trees and overgrown bushes, till coming across a fallen tree. Sighing she sat down on it and placed her head in her hands, she needed to pull herself together, it was getting ridiculous, she had just walked into a wall for heaven's sake whilst ogling him.
Then the notion occurred to her that maybe he had noticed her staring, she was tragic, she really was. What if he had caught her staring at him? She could never talk to him again, never mind the fact that they still had to share a room for another five nights!
There was a noise like a twig snapping behind her and she shot around, her eyes meeting those bright blues that made her heart beat that little bit faster. "Are you here to offer me your sympathy?"
"No, nothing of the sort."
"Good," she nodded, "because the it's the last thing I need."
"I'll bare that in mind," he sat down beside her on the log facing the other way.
"Not asking if I want company? Stepping up your game," she quipped, messing with the bark on the fallen tree.
"I have to keep up with you apparently."
"Hmm," she grinned, glancing up at him, "I don't know if you're up to that challenge."
"Oh, I think I can overcome the obstacles." He chuckled, moving his hand down onto the log beside hers. She was hyper aware of their closeness, if she moved her hand literally a centimetre to the left she would be touching him.
"Anyway, why are you here talking to me?" she asked, swallowing nervously, "won't your friends be missing you?"
"My friends are jerks," he sighed, "sorry, it's Will, he thinks he's funny, he isn't. Are you alright?"
"Is that sympathy?"
"Darn, gotta try harder to mask it."
"Definitely," she smiled.
"Seriously though, are you alright?" he brought his hand to touch her cheek briefly.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at him, oh god the things that had done to her, that tiny amount of contact had sparked so many things and she found herself freezing up.
"Sorry," he dropped his hand, "I shouldn't have, it's just a little red."
"Is it?" she was sure that was from the excessive amount of blushing she was doing and not from it being hurt, "I barely feel anything."
"Oh," he nodded, "so you're okay?"
"I said I was didn't I," she chuckled. Her own hand coming up to cup her cheek.
"So, show jumping?"
"Hmm."
"You were great out there."
"Thank you."
"Fancy teaching me?"
She rose her eyebrows at him, "you want me to teach you how to show jump?"
"Why not? "
"No reason, I just never had you down as the type of guy who'd want to do something like that."
"What type of guy do you think I am then?"
"How should I know, I don't know you."
"Sure you do."
"Not really Robin."
"I don't share a bed with any random woman."
"Oh, is that so?" She chuckled, "what sort of women do you share a bed with then Mr Locksley?" She asked, looking up at him and casting him a mischievous smirk.
"Well," he rose one eyebrow as he met her eyes, "she has to be intelligent, funny, actually have a personality. I can't deal with people who are fake."
"I see," she nodded.
"The last woman I had in my bed just happened to be stunningly beautiful also."
That caught her attention, her eyes going wide, was he talking about her? Surely not, there was no way he found her beautiful, she knew she was pretty, but beautiful? She certainly wasn't fake though, she hardly wore any makeup, didn't care about her hair. She knew the girls he'd been rumoured to date in the past and they were all crazily beautiful, much more so than her; maybe not, but they were confident in their beauty, she just wasn't. "Oh, so who was she, this girl?"
"Oh you know her"
"I do?"
"I should say so, in fact, you know her very well."
"I don't think anyone I know has ever been in bed with you."
"Really?" he grinned, "so you weren't in bed with me last night?"
A blush washed across her cheeks, "you must have been imagining it."
"Oh, I don't think so," he shuffled closer to her on the log, "I seem to remember…"
"Robin, hey mate!"
Will came crashing through the tree and Regina rolled her eyes and stood up. Robin looked at his friend and began talking to him, in the meantime, Regina snuck away heading back to the farm. She entered the room just in time to catch the end of the safety demonstration. They had been flirting, it had definitely been flirting and it excited her to think that just maybe she might stand a chance with him, maybe he might actually like her.
She leant against the wall and smiled to herself, why did Will have to interrupt their moment? It was so annoying and she was overwhelmed by the amount of tension between herself and Robin, it was scary, but at the same time exhilarating, she had been waiting for this for four years, waiting for him to talk to her and in the space of twenty-four hours, he had snuggled with her in bed, watched her show jump, instigated several conversations, sat with her at breakfast and told her she was beautiful, smart and quirky.
She looked down at her hands as she bit down on her bottom lip, she hoped it wouldn't be awkward later when it came to them sharing a bed again; granted it had been awkward the night before, but the morning had been well worth it, just laying in his arms was worth the awkwardness.
Someone nudged her playfully and she looked up with a grin expecting to see Robin, but Daniel was stood there. "Hey."
"Hi," her smile faltered in disappointment.
"You were great," he grinned, somehow it didn't sound as good coming from him as it did from Robin, it didn't give her butterflies in her stomach, it didn't make her heart tighten, he wasn't Robin, Robin was the only one who managed to make her feel like that.
"Thanks," she nodded.
"So you like that guy?"
"What?" she furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at him questioningly. What was he talking about, was he talking about Robin?
"The guy who won't stop staring at you, with doe-eyes." He gestured over to Robin who was looking in their direction as he stood with Will at the other side of the hall.
"He wasn't making doe-eyes," she scoffed. Oh my god, had Robin been making doe-eyes at her, had he been staring at her? What did it mean if he had?
"That's what you think, I was gonna come after you, but he beat me to it."
"He doesn't like me," she shook her head.
"I beg to differ."
"You do?" she asked, letting out a little laugh; Robin was still watching them and as soon as he caught her eye began to walk over. "No, Robin doesn't like me, he's too popular to be interested in someone like…"
"Hey."
"Oh, hi."
"So we missed the safety briefing."
"Seems we did," she smiled. She noticed how he made sure to stand closer to her than Daniel was.
"You're going to have to teach me how to behave around horses." He quipped, flashing his dimples at her.
"Am I now?"
"Yep," he then turned to Daniel and nodded, extending his hand, "Robin."
"Daniel," he shook his hand before looking back to Regina, "catch you later," he threw a wink her way before retreating out the door.
Robin looked back to her, "he seems nice."
"Hmm, I suppose he is." She shrugged, messing with her hair. The expression on his face changed a little, a flicker of what looked like doubt clouding his features, "but, not really my type."
"Oh, so then milady, what might your type be?"
"Well, I…" he had caught her off guard there, she hadn't been expecting him to ask her. She wanted to tell him that he was her type, but the truth was she didn't really have one, he had been the second boy she had ever had a crush on, the first being embarrassingly, a member of a boy band, that was over quicker than it had begun. She thought that her crush on Robin would have been like that one, that it would just dissipate over time, but she had been wrong, oh so very wrong, her feelings for him had just intensified to the point where she was infatuated with him.
"Come on, you there must be something you look for in a partner. I told you my type, it's only fair."
"I don't really have a type," she shook her head.
"Regina."
"Okay, I suppose he has to be kind, an animal lover," British accent, dimples to die for and blue eyes she could get lost in, she chuckled at the mere thought of actually saying those things out loud to him. "I guess, I just want someone to see me for me, accept me for who I am, properly see me."
He nodded, "I know what you mean."
"Oh, I bet you do," she chuckled.
"Regina." Dr Hopper beckoned her over.
"I swear to god he will have driven me insane by the end of this week."
"Probably," Robin agreed.
"Mr Locksley, your group just left to tend to the large farm animals."
"Oh, sorry sir, consider me gone," he looked at her and bit his bottom lip, "later?"
"Yes," she smiled. Him pulling his lip between his teeth like that made her shudder with desire, the way he smirked at her mischievously was amazing. Once he was out of the door, she turned to Dr Hopper, "okay, what'd I do now, because last time I checked…"
"I wanted to ask you if you might help some of the others learn the basics of equestrianism."
"Right, I suppose I could do that." She could do it, but it didn't mean she was going to be any good at it, not when she was so distracted with other things, other Robin Locksley shaped things. She did teach kids to ride at her stables on the weekends, but teaching a bunch of five to ten year olds was a hell of a lot different to a load of eighteen year olds who thought you were some insane, anti-socialite. Maybe it would be good, maybe it would help her get her mind of Robin for a little while, she was doubtful, but maybe.
She was absolutely shattered, as she had predicted it had been less than easy to teach a group of her classmates how to brush a horse properly and how not to make too much loud noise in case they spooked the horse. One boy had been insistent on making a racket and the horse he had been working with had nearly bucked and kicked him, luckily, she had been there to calm it down, otherwise the trip may have been brought to an abrupt halt. She had spent the day with Daniel, not really talking to him all that much, but now she was heading back to the room, wanting a much deserved lay down.
She dragged herself up the stairs, pulling her hair out of its tie and allowing it to flow around her; then her hands were at the buttons on her plaid shirt as she began undoing them, the stairs up here were to her room alone and she just wanted to get in and get a shower. She unlocked the door and walked in, stopping dead in her tracks when she spotted Robin, leaning back on the bed, book in hand and some glasses on. Aware of her presence, he pulled the glasses off as quick as he could, dropping them on the bedside table. Why had he taken them off? They made him look dorkily adorable.
"You're back…" his eyes went wide as he stared at her.
Looking down she remembered that her shirt was unbuttoned slightly, revealing the lacy black bra underneath, she adjusted her top and nodded, "indeed I am. I didn't expect you to be here, I thought you'd be spending time with the boys."
"I thought about it, but to be honest I'd rather not; that's alright with you, isn't it? I mean I'm not invading your privacy or anything?"
"No," she smiled. He wanted to spend time with her, he had blown out the offer of spending time with his friends so that he could be with her and she was flattered, she really was, but there was a big part of her working against herself, she was telling herself that she had to be crazy to believe that he was here to spend time with her. "It's fine with me. I was literally just going to sit here, maybe read a little."
"What you reading?" He asked.
She walked over to her bag and pulled out an old and worn hard back book, holding it up she chuckled, "I'm re-reading."
"Pride and Prejudice," he nodded.
"Don't judge," she placed it down on the bed.
"I'm not, it's well written, not necessarily my thing, but Jane Austen did a good job. Darcy was a bit of a jerk."
"Agreed," she nodded, "but if you think about it, she's just as bad as him, I suppose that's why I like it."
"So, how many times exactly have you read that?"
"Ah, too many," she knew exactly how many, it was way too many times to read any story, nearing a hundred now. "It's my favourite."
"Cool."
"So, what's your story of choice?"
"Stephen King."
"Horror?"
"Hmm, the suspense is great, you should read one."
"What makes you think I haven't already?" She quipped, picking her towel up off the radiator.
"You have?" He asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I read 'It' last year..."
"Really?" He held up his book, showing it to be a copy of that exact same book.
"Clowns freak me out," she shook her head, placing her towel down to pick up his book and look at it.
"Yeah but I quite like this."
"It was good, a little long maybe. I'm gonna go get a shower, I kinda smell like horse." She stated passing it back to him.
"Okay," he laughed, "I had to shower, apparently, we were on cow duty."
"It's a farm life," she chuckled, biting her bottom lip.
Regina moved to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She took a shuddery breath and closing her eyes, leant against the door. He was a literature buff, who knew? He also looked amazingly sexy in glasses, she needed them to read too, they could be cute dorky nerds together she thought. She shook her head and pulled her shirt off, before her pants and moving to turn on the shower; she was super conscious that he was outside, on the other side of that door whilst she was naked in here, it certainly was a strange feeling, it must have been how he felt the day before when he'd been in her position.
Shaking her head, she tied her hair up again and slipped into the shower; picking up the shower gel, she lathered it on a sponge and began to wash herself. She was going to have to spend all evening in his company, granted they would have to go down for dinner, but the rest of the night was theirs, that thought caused her stomach to flutter as if it contained little butterflies that were trying to escape any which way they could.
The thing was, flirting with him did things to her, turned her on, but she couldn't do anything about that now, she could hardly pleasure herself to thoughts of him, with him in the next room, she wouldn't be able to look at him without blushing, that and it was a completely awkward thing to do. Rubbing her hands over her face she turned the dial for the water down to cold, she needed to cool down, she hoped that the cold water might help with that.
This time she shuddered not from desire, but from the freezing water droplets that ran across every inch of her skin, she was physically shivering when she decided to cut the water off and get out, she was done anyway, but at least she wasn't as hot and bothered as she had been before. She went to grab her towel to wrap it around her body, the cold water probably hadn't been her best idea, because she was shivering.
She looked around the bathroom and then realisation hit her, her towel, she had left her towel on the bed! "Fuck," she muttered under her breath, what was she supposed to do? She needed her towel, she needed it, but how the hell was she supposed to get it? "Fuck, fuck," she dropped her head to her hands, "this is not happening." She looked for another towel, but there was nothing in the room big enough for her to use, she most certainly wasn't using a bath mat as a towel. There was only one thing she could do, ask him to get it for her.
She moved to the door, biting the inside of her cheek, "Robin?" She called, quietly, it was a reluctant call. When there was no reply, she sighed and increased her volume, "Robin."
"Regina?"
"Urm, I need… I left my towel on the bed."
"Oh."
"Please would you pass it to me?"
"Sure."
She shook her head, this was ridiculous, why the hell had she put that towel down? How stupid could she have been to walk into the bathroom without it?
There was a light knock on the door, "got it."
Carefully, she pulled on the door handle, making sure that her body was hidden behind the door, "don't look," she ordered.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"You better not." She wouldn't really be all that bothered if he did, but it was a rather awkward situation to be in wasn't it. She opened the door a crack and as soon as she had, a towel was held out through the door. She took it and glanced through the gap, Robin was stood with one hand over his eyes and it made her want to laugh, it was adorable. "Thank you."
"No problem."
She secured her towel around her, drying herself, before pulling on some clean clothes that she could go down to dinner in and opening the door again. "Thanks for that."
"Like I said, no problem," he was sat in the chair at the other side of the room, pulling his shoes onto his feet.
"Are you going out?" she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice, she had thought that he was staying in tonight, had he changed his mind, had she freaked him out with the whole towel situation?
"No, we both are, supper."
"Oh, yes of course," she chuckled, she really needed to stop overthinking things.
"Come on."
"What you want to go to supper together?"
"Who else were you planning on going with?"
"Nobody, but I just thought you might want to eat with your friends." She shrugged, thinking it might look slightly suspicious if they sat down and ate together. They weren't exactly a match in the eyes of the rest of their fellow students; he being so popular and liked, wasn't expected to hang out with her, the girl who couldn't be any further from that.
"No, come on," he laughed, taking her hand briefly as he pulled her towards the door. "I thought that maybe, we could go raid the buffet and slip away back up here to eat." He suggested, dropping her hand as he locked the door behind them.
"Ashamed to be seen sat with me?"
"Not at all, in fact I would be proud to be seen sat with you, I just rather not have to sit in the dining room, it can get tedious. Anyway, I thought you'd be happy to avoid Dr Hopper."
"I am," she chuckled, bending down to tie her shoelaces, "I'm just surprised you want to eat with me."
"Don't be."
She smiled at him, before following him down into the dining room, they both grabbed plates and collected an array of different foods, "okay, let's get a system, you get dessert on your plate, I'll get the mains on mine."
"Sounds good," she nodded collecting desserts, once her plate was full, she turned to look at him, "now what?"
"Now, we sneak out of here before anyone notices."
"Okay," they made their way to the door, laughing with each other.
They were just about to get through the door, when Will came into the dining room, "ey ey, what's going on here then?"
"Will," Robin rolled his eyes, "leave out of it."
"Ooh Robin," Will made kissing noises and Regina glanced at Robin, seeing his eyes go wide as he gave Will a look, she didn't know what it meant and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Seriously," Robin ground out, grabbing Will, "one second," he smiled at Regina, before pulling the other boy over to the side. She watched as Will laughed and Robin was, blushing? Was he blushing or was she mistaken? His cheeks were definitely tinted as Will carried on, she was trying to read their lips, but she wasn't very good at it, she could just make out Robin telling him to shut up. Then he was heading back to her, "I swear we need to just ignore him, he's such an ass."
"He likes winding you up?"
"You could say that, come on." They scurried upstairs and pushed open the door to their room. Robin placed his plate on the bedside table, before jumping onto the bed, flopping down on his back.
She chuckled and followed suit, turning to look at him, he was staring directly at her and she felt her breath catch. "So, do you suppose we are allowed to eat up here?"
"Probably not," he laughed, sitting up and placing the food in between them, "let's eat."
An hour and a half later, they had both finished eating and were sat cross legged facing each other on the bed, engaging in a proper full on conversation, it was easy talking to him Regina found. Once she had gotten over the initial awkwardness, she had discovered that she loved just sitting and listening to him talk about his passions, soon coming to realise that they were similar to her own. Currently he was telling her a story and she was fully engaged within it, wanting to know what was happening. "No way!" She laughed, leaning forward.
"Totally, I swear hand on heart." He placed his hand on his chest dramatically as he shuffled closer to her.
His eyes were sparkling as he told her his story and she was completely mesmerised by it, mesmerised by him. "Then what?"
"The ice was cracking and Will being the idiot he is, decides that maybe we should try and cross the pond. Obviously, it wasn't strong enough to hold his weight, it cracked and he ended up waist high in muddy pond water."
"Oh wow, I wish I had seen that."
"I have a video, one sec," he leant over and grabbed his phone, scrolling through it until he found what he was looking for. She took it from him, her fingers grazing over his, causing little tingles, she swore she heard him gasp, but it was probably all in her imagination. Pressing play, she smiled as she watched the video, hearing Robin's accented voice warning Will that what he was doing was a bad idea and then it happened, he fell straight through the ice, swearing at the same time, yelling at Robin to stop filming and pull him out.
"Oh god," she laughed, keeling over as she laid on the bed and chuckled, "his face was perfect."
"It was wasn't it."
"Totally, did you post this?"
"I'm saving it for when I might need it."
"Ah tactical, I like it." She yawned slightly, they had been busy all day and being outside riding tended to wear you out.
"Tired?"
"No, no."
"Liar."
"Hey, I don't lie," she scoffed, nudging him playfully. He gave her a look that had her rolling her eyes, "okay fine, I feel slightly drowsy, but I'm fine."
"I knew I could tell, you should sleep."
"I don't want to sleep yet," she shook her head. He hopped off the bed and she sat up to look at him, "where are you going?"
"You'll see," he took her hand and pulled her lightly, leading her to the window. He pushed it open and moved onto the window ledge.
"Robin!"
"Relax." He then reached out to grab something and was gone.
She hurried over to the widow and looked out, he was on a ladder that scaled the side of the wall, "what the hell are you doing?"
"You ask too many questions," he chuckled, "pass me that comforter." She complied handing it to him, "now are you coming?"
"Where?"
"Another question, just follow me." Instead of climbing down like she had expected him to, he went up and carried on going until he reached the top, "Regina."
She didn't know about this, was it safe? What if they got hurt? She had never tried to climb onto a roof before, or out of a window for that matter. Taking a deep breath she pulled herself onto the ledge; making the mistake of looking down she shook her head, "no, no way, nope, not gonna happen."
"You looked down? Why'd you look down?"
"Because, we are on the third floor of a building and there aren't many other places to look," she scoffed.
"Get your stubborn ass up here, you don't know what you're missing."
She shook her head and swung her legs out of the window, grabbing hold of the ladder, "I hate you," she snapped.
"No you don't," he laughed, "if you hated me, you wouldn't be climbing a ladder as we speak."
"Shut up, being smug doesn't suit you," it did though, it really did. "If I die, I'm blaming you."
"Good luck with that, you'd be dead."
"Again?"
"Couldn't resist milady."
"I would come back and haunt you."
"How about, you stay alive huh?"
"Good idea." She reached the top and he pulled her to sit beside him on the blanket he had placed there, "why did you…" her mouth dropped open as she looked at the night sky, it was scattered with stars, sparkling in the moonlight, "Oh wow." It was amazing, Robin had brought her up here to look at this, so that she could see the constellations in all their glory. "It's stunning." She gasped.
"Definitely is," he nodded.
She turned to look at him and he was staring at her in a way that caused her whole self to tingle, something she had felt way too often in the past day. "It's so beautiful Robin."
"You're so beautiful."
Her breath quickened as she looked at him, he turned back to look at the sight in front of them, as did she. She couldn't believe what he had just said, he thought she was beautiful! Did that mean that he liked her? Her hand was on the blanket below them and she felt his pinkie brush over hers, before it hooked around it. This was really happening, it wasn't a dream, she was awake and sitting on a roof, practically holding hands with the guy she'd been in love with for the past four years and during those years, she had thought it was unrequited, but here in this moment, it didn't seem so.
She shuddered slightly, it was actually freezing, but the view was worth it. "You cold?"
"Maybe a little."
He scooted closer to her and placed an arm around her, "do you mind?" he asked.
"No," she breathed, wanting more than anything to rest her head against his shoulder.
They sat there in a comfortable silence, before Robin pointed to something, "look, shooting star, make a wish."
She closed her eyes and made a wish, when she opened them he was looking at her inquisitively.
"What'd you wish for?"
"If I tell you it won't come true now will it." She giggled. She was really cold, but she didn't want to ruin the perfect moment by expressing it, she simply snuggled closer to him, hoping that it wouldn't freak him out. She was surrounded by his pine scent and needed more of it, "is it safe up here?"
"Oh it's safe, but I'm freezing my bloody balls off."
"You're cold too?" she asked looking up at him.
"Fucking freezing."
She laughed and shook her head, "why didn't you say?"
"You didn't either."
"So not the point."
"I guess I was enjoying the moment too much for it to be over."
"Me too," she nodded, bringing her bottom lip between her teeth. He liked her, he did and she really couldn't believe it, it was crazy.
"Shall we go back inside?"
"Definitely."
Once inside Regina hugged herself, rubbing at her arms and legs in attempt to warm them up.
"I'm beginning to regret the roof decision," Robin shivered as he closed the window behind them and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.
She shook her head, "no, it was amazing up there." Moving across to her bag, she found her chemise in her bag and pulled it out, it was late, she had realised how late until she looked at the clock just now, it was nearing twelve o'clock and she knew they would probably have another busy day tomorrow. "I'm just gonna go use the bathroom."
"Okay." He nodded, pulling his boots off, followed by his sweatshirt.
She closed the door to the bathroom and shook her head, this was insane, it really was; she didn't know the last time she'd had this much fun with anyone. Now came the hardest part, getting into bed beside him and going to sleep, the day before it had been easy, she had pretended to be asleep and he had just gotten in and drifted off, but tonight, they were both here, both going to bed at the same time, together. She freshened up and got into her night wear. She had a reminder of just how short it was when the cold air hit her legs, it made her wish she'd remembered her pyjamas.
She ran a hairbrush through her long locks, removing each and every knot, making sure that her fingers could run through it without any obstacles. Whist she was sorting her hair, she couldn't stop her mind from wondering, she'd had the perfect evening with Robin, there hadn't been a minute where he wasn't cracking a joke and trying to make her smile and she loved it. Sighing she looked at herself in the mirror, the black lace on the chemise covered the swell of her breasts, but still provided a cleavage; biting her bottom lip, she moved to the door and opened it, standing leant against the frame.
He was already in bed, sat up, shirtless, his bottom half covered by the quilt, he glanced towards her, his eyes washing across her features; he cast her a dimpled smile. "Alright?"
"Hmm," she nodded, walking over to the bed, making sure to add extra sway to her walk, swishing her hips, not in an over the top kinda way, but in a way that she deemed sexy, she'd seen it in films, the beautiful women who would walk towards the man they wanted and crash their lips against theirs. She wasn't going to do that to Robin though, she didn't think she was brave enough, so instead she slipped into bed beside him, flicking off the light on her bedside table.
She turned to face him, she could tell that his eyes were sparkling, even in the dark she could see that, he had laid down also. "Hi," he whispered.
"Hi," she smiled, moving her hand to the middle of the pillow in front of her face. Robin's hand found hers and he intertwined their fingers, they made them dance together on the pillow and it took Regina's breath away.
"You still cold?"
"Why, are you?" she asked swallowing heavily.
"Maybe a little."
"Me too."
His hand let go of hers and made purchase around her back as he shuffled closer to her; she turned in his arms so that her back was pressed against his front and she joined their hands over her stomach like they had been that morning. She closed her eyes, relishing in the contact; this time they both knew what they were doing, both knew they were holding the other and neither were complaining about it, in fact they were quite happy with the arrangement.
"Good night Regina," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
She couldn't believe he had just done that, he had kissed her, kissed her! It was unmistakably a kiss and it made her shiver as she snuggled deeper into his hold. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand lightly, before whispering, "Good night Robin."
I hope you liked the chapter and that it was worth the wait. I hope you have a great weekend! Muwah! xxx