…..

Saturday, September 8, 2017, 12:10 pm

Unknown Hotel

...

Light filtered into the room through the blinds, warming her bareback. Amia buried her face further into the hotel pillow as rough fingers ran up and down her spine. Her back arched at the sensation.

"Wake up." A deep voice vibrated next to her. "Are all Hatos this lazy?"

"Shut up Uri." She mumbled and snuggled deeper into his warmth.

She groaned when he moved away from her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her onto her stomach. He leaned over her, careful not to bear too much weight on her, and poked her backside with something rather hard. Amia shivered as he licked the shell of her ear.

"You are terrible at pretending to sleep." He whispered. Amia smiled and squirmed away from him. "Where are you going Hato?"

He crawled over her and placed a short kiss on her lips. Amia noted that for some reason Sylas was in a rather affectionate mood.

"Morning." She said when he released her and rolled onto his back with a huff. "What time is it?"

"No idea." He responded.

Amia leaned up and looked out the hotel room window. Judging by the sun's position, it must be at least noon. It was terribly irresponsible of her to have slept in this long. She was absolutely positive that her phone was full of concerned phone calls and messages. She looked over at the man beside her and her heart skipped a beat. They were going to be in so, so, so much trouble.

"I should probably go." Amia said softly as she clutched the sheets to her chest but didn't move from the bed. A heavy arm came across her chest and barred her from moving even if she had.

"Sylas!" She squeaked and he growled.

"Do you have somewhere important to be?"

"N-no." She replied trepidatiously as he hovered over her once more.

"Then stay."

"Sylas-" she started but was interrupted by a knock on the suite's main door.

As he climbed off of her and walked through the bedroom door, she couldn't help but notice how good he looked naked. He returned a moment later with a large silver tray full of food in one hand and two kettles of coffee and tea in the other. Amia stared at him wide-eyed as he set the items on the bedside table. In a cup, he scooped the exact amounts of sugar and honey. When in the world had he taken notice of the way she liked her tea?

"What?" Sylas asked when he noticed that she was staring.

"Nothing." She said softly. "I just didn't know that you noticed I liked tea."

Sylas looked at her incredulously as he handed her the steaming cup before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"It is difficult not to notice the things a person does when they sit only a few feet away from you."

"Even so, I never took you for the type." She said and blew into her cup to cool it down. Sylas sat down on the edge of the bed at her feet.

"The type?"

"The type of guy to notice little things."

"There's a lot you don't know about me Hato." he said with a smirk.

Amia took a small sip of tea before placing it on the bedside table and bringing her knees to her chest. Sylas was right, there was so much that she didn't know about him but she wanted to. Who was this man that sat before her and knew exactly which buttons to press? What made Sylas Uri tick? She drudged up as much courage as she could and scooted over to sit shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the bed.

"Who are you?"

….

It was odd for him to be around a woman like Amia. Maintaining a relationship was the last thing on his mind as it would be impossible to juggle with the work he did. He wasn't sure why he threw himself into work as much as he did. It wasn't like he would ever take over when his father stepped down. He was merely an insurance policy in the highly improbable event that misfortune befell his brother Ira. He supposed it was easier to focus on working. The desired outcomes were easier to predict. People were easier to control. That was why remaining by this woman's side was so odd. That was why when she asked him 'Who are you?' it was almost impossible to reply.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He stared back at her, stumped. Pale eyes looked back at him full of curiosity. It would have been amusing if not for the mini-existential crisis that it triggered. Who was he? He was no one.

"Sylas?" Amia asked as she gently grabbed his hand. "Sylas, did I say something wrong?"

"No, its just…I never thought about who I am."

Amia seemed to appreciate the honesty as his response elicited a smile from her lips.

"I think about it all the time." She said. "Maybe it's a quarter-life crisis but sometimes I have no idea who I am either. You just seem so confident and self assured all the time…I…I thought you would know."

Sylas smirked. She thought him to be confident. That was a rather euphemistic way of framing 'cocky' as his father preferred to describe him.

"You flatter me Hato."

"It's true."

Her eyes held nothing but genuine affection, affection he wasn't used to. He was used to women that wanted to get close to him through flattery. He may be a spare but he was a spare with money and a family name to back it up. Amia did not need any of that. In fact, she was much better off with someone like George as he had nothing to offer her. He couldn't even give her a relationship- not that she'd expressed wanting one. Sylas laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was getting way ahead of himself.

Whatever this was, he would simply enjoy it in the moment. No need to ask questions. No need to clarify what exactly they were. The day he would have to break this off was rapidly approaching so he would have his fun now. The future could wait. With that, he pulled Amia down and kissed her.

…

Saturday, September 8, 2017, 12:10 pm

Azaelia Park

….

How long is an eternity because that was precisely how long she would be grounded for. Aviva squinted up at the bright sky overhead. Clouds slowly drifted by. Each second that passed was another tacked on to her life sentence. She hadn't meant to stay out all night. In fact, she'd tried staying up to see her sister but a certain someone never came back.

She supposed this was a good thing. Who wouldn't want to stay the night with one of the country's most eligible bachelors? However, when the clock struck midnight and Amia didn't enter the home, she gave up waiting in favor of excitement. She shouldn't be stuck inside on a Friday night when all her friends were out having fun. No, that was just lame.

Sneaking out to spend time with her friends had been the easy part. It was getting back in that was going to be more complicated. Ezra was probably pissed when he found their beds empty this morning. Maybe if she stayed out long enough Ezra would forget all about being mad? No, at this point she should just run away and assume a new name.

'A new life wouldn't be so bad.' She thought. 'I think there's a travelling circus somewhere I can join.'

She mentally calculated how much money she had in her accounts to see how far her dollar would stretch but nixed the idea. Ezra was in control of all of her accounts. He would easily be able to track her down based on her transactions. Why did her father put Ezra in charge of everything?

"Stupid Ezra."

With a sigh she rolled her sore next before standing. She would have to face the music soon; she may as well get on with it. Reluctantly she stretched this way and that, her muscles sore from overuse. It was nice though. At least there was one aspect of her life that her family couldn't control. Keeping secrets were sometimes a good thing.

"Aviva?" a deep voice called and she froze. If Ezra or one of her father's men had already found her she was in serious shit!

Stealing her nerves, she turned to see who was calling out to her. Instead of one of her father's goons, she was met with the weirdest sight. Ira Uri running backward towards her wearing a black t-shirt and joggers. He was soaked in sweat and she wondered how he was even staying on his feet in this heat. Ira didn't seem bothered by it as he stopped his jog and popped out an earbud. What was he even doing here?

"I knew it was you when I passed." He said, a slight pant in voice from earlier exercise. "What are you doing out here alone?"

"None of your business." She replied defensively. If he thought he could scold her he had another thing coming!

Ira raised a questioning eyebrow as he regarded her wrinkled clothing but didn't question her further. Instead, he put his ear bud back in and proceeded to jog away. Instantly a feeling of guilt filled the pit of her stomach. It was one thing to be rude to her cousin. Ezra was used to her attitude and obligated to love her regardless. It was another thing to be rude to someone her father did business with. Besides…Ira had been nothing but kind to her up to this point…

Aviva felt her feet move before she'd fully convinced herself of the need to make amends. However, once she was up to a sprint she knew she couldn't turn back. Ira had yet to go far. In fact, it was quite easy to catch up with him and even easier to keep pace once she did. He glanced at her briefly, keeping his stride despite her appearance.

"I'm sorry for snapping." She puffed and Ira smirked.

"Apology accepted."

"You're not going to pry?" she asked, genuinely surprised that it didn't seem like he would lecture her.

"It's none of my business remember?"

Aviva laughed and shook her head, speeding up their pace. She'd head home when they were done. Maybe she could even work this in as an alibi…

….

Sunday, September 9, 2017, 9:50 am

DayBreak Coffee

...

Amia hummed to herself as she absently flipped through the book she was 'reading.' None of the words on the page were sticking. Still, she occasionally flipped through the novel to make it appear like she was occupied by more appropriate ventures. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the day before and how she and Sylas hadn't left the hotel room for twenty-four hours. The man was insatiable. Her body was sore and her voice was a little hoarse but she was thoroughly satisfied. While she had learned as much about him as he was willing to talk about, Sylas was still very much a mystery to her. In front of her, a body dropped down into the seat.

"Hey! If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean!" A voice from behind the coffee bar yelled.

"So! Tell me about the date!" Ellie asked eagerly, ignoring the grumblings of her boss.

"It was nothing to write home about. "Amia answered, dropping a hefty spoonful of honey into her tea.

She knew that she should feel guilty but she just couldn't. She had only gone out on a date with George because Sara had pressured her to. If she had resisted more would she and Sylas have inevitably ended up like they did anyway?

"Oh yea, that's not what I heard from Sara." Ellie grinned and leaned back into her chair. Amia sat up straighter.

"What do you mean?" She asked and Ellie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You walked into here glowing! I haven't seen you look that happy in well...ever!"

Amia desperately wanted to tell Ellie that it had nothing to do with the man she had introduced her to the other day but she thought better of it. She didn't want to divulge the dirty little secret worming its way into her heart. How did one confess they were having a secret tryst with their coworker? A colleague who, up until a few weeks ago, was part of a family her father despised? Not only that, said colleague was also someone her friend had a crush on. Ellie was her best friend but she would have to keep this a secret from even her.

At that moment her phone vibrated loudly on the table and her good mood instantly dropped. The screen flashed FATHER in bold, bright letters. Even Ellie was able to see it from across the table. The brunette quickly stood up and scurried over to assist other tables. Amia swiped to answer the phone, knowing full well that it was only to her disadvantage to keep her father waiting much longer.

"Amia." A deep voice on the other end said.

"Hello, father." She said, trying desperately to keep her voice from betraying the amount of nervousness she felt.

"I have been informed of the results of your meetings with George Sabaku."

Amia gulped and absently stirred her tea. She had meant to reply to George's texts and apologize for Friday night’s disastrous date but every time she tried, Sylas had found a way to distract her. It wasn't like she had put up that much of a fight anyway. Nagging at her was the thought that she had to call things off, as minuscule as things were, with George as soon as he returned from Dallas.

"This is an advantageous match for you. Better than we could have hoped for." He said and Amia felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

"Do not disappoint me."