Sunrise Confessions
1099 Words
Ariana wanted the earth to swallow her up. She was standing barefoot in some billionaire's penthouse wearing a wrinkled blouse from the day. Her hair was a mess. Her face was red with embarrassment.
To make things worse Damian Vale was being really calm. He was standing near the kitchen door looking like a man that women would fall for.
Ariana thought that was very dangerous.
She said to him "You do not seem to care that some random woman slept in your bed." She took a cup of coffee from him.
Damian leaned against the counter. Said, "I thought about the situation."
Ariana looked at him. Said, "And?"
He looked at her briefly. Said, "You looked too tired to be a threat."
Ariana laughed, which surprised her. The coffee was really good. She almost moaned.
She said, "This is the coffee I have ever had."
Damian said, "Good."
Ariana asked him "Did you make this coffee?"
He said, "Yes I did."
She looked at him closely. Said, "So you are rich, good looking and you make great coffee?"
Damian's mouth curled up a little and he said, "I do not like to talk about it."
Ariana felt bad because it was easy to joke with him. This was not good.
Because under her embarrassment she felt something in the room. It was a spark, a comfort that she had not felt in a time.
Damian pointed to the windows where the sun was rising over Manhattan.
He said, "Since you are already in my home you should look at the view."
Ariana did not know what to do.. Then she walked to the window and her breath caught.
The city looked really big from there. The sunlight was shining between the buildings and the rooftops were sparkling.
She whispered, "It is beautiful."
Damian was not looking at the view. He said quietly "No it is not."
Ariana turned around. He was looking at her.
He said, "This is beautiful."
The air in the room. Ariana's heart skipped a beat.
For one second everything else. It was just them.
Ariana looked away quickly. Said, "So do you usually let strangers stay for sunrise?"
Damian's face. He said, "No I do not."
Ariana asked him "Then why me?"
It was a question but his answer was not.
He said, "Because for the first time in a long time something unexpected felt better than something planned."
His words touched Ariana deeply.
She understood being tired and lonely.
Somehow even though they were strangers from different worlds she recognized it in him.
She asked him softly "Who are you?"
Damian was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I am Damian Vale."
The name hit Ariana hard.
She almost choked on her coffee. Said, "Wait you are Vale as in Vale Hotels?"
He. Ariana stared at him.
She said, "You are the billionaire Damian Vale, the one who's sometimes on the cover of business magazines?"
His face showed pain and he said, "Unfortunately yes."
Ariana covered her face. Said, "Oh my God I slept in a billionaire's bed."
Damian laughed. It was a real laugh.
It was deep and warm. Made Ariana feel something.
She realized that he was even more attractive when he laughed.
This was very dangerous.
He said, "Relax, I will survive."
Ariana said, "It is easy for you to say but this will haunt me forever."
Damian moved towards her. Took her empty cup.
The simple act felt intimate.
He said, "You should call the desk before they realize they gave you my home by mistake."
Ariana said, "Right, yes my
Reality came back quickly and Ariana felt bad.
She did not know him well. Leaving felt disappointing.
She picked up her things near the door. Put on her heels.
She said, "Well thank you for not calling security."
Damian crossed his arms. Said, "You are welcome."
Ariana said, ". Thank you for the coffee."
He said, "You are welcome."
She said, ". Thank you for being nice about all this."
His eyes held hers. He said, "Thank you for reminding me that not everything unexpected is bad."
Ariana's caught breath. She felt something.
She opened the door. Then stopped.
She said, "I hope your hotel staff does not get fired because of me."
Damian said, "They will not."
Ariana said, "Good."
Then Damian said, "Ariana."
She turned around, surprised that he remembered her name.
She said, "Yes?"
His face was hard to read. He said, "I am glad it was you."
Ariana's heart skipped a beat. She left.
The elevator ride down felt unreal.
Ariana looked at herself in the mirror trying to understand what had just happened.
She had accidentally slept in a billionaire's penthouse, had coffee with him and flirted with him.
The worst part was she wanted to see him again.
She said to herself "This is insane."
At the desk people were panicking.
Managers were. Staff were running around.
The receptionist looked like she was going to faint.
One of the managers said, "Ms. Cole we are deeply sorry—"
Ariana interrupted him and said, "It is okay."
The manager said, "Your stay will be fully paid for—"
Ariana said, "Really it is fine."
The manager said, "Mr. Vale has made sure that no one will get in trouble."
That made Ariana pause.
Course he had done that.
In the mess Damian protected people.
That was very interesting.
By the time Ariana got to her room she should have been really tired.
Instead she sat on the bed thinking about everything that had happened.
Every look every word, every smile.
Especially his last smile.
He had said, "I am glad it was you."
Her phone. It was her friend Sienna.
Sienna said, "Lets have brunch tomorrow I have news!"
Ariana smiled tiredly. Thought that Sienna was just what she needed after her accident with the billionaire.
Nothing could be more surprising than the twelve hours.
Right?
Across the city Damian was standing in his penthouse.
For years the place had felt empty and quiet.
Now it feels different.
There was a hair tie on the bathroom counter and a coffee cup on the couch.
Somehow the silence felt louder.
Damian took off his tie. Looked out at the sunrise that Ariana had liked.
He did not even notice his phone buzzing.
It was his mother calling, about the wedding and Sienna and his duties.
His jaw tightened because for the time in years his future felt unbearable.
Because, between midnight and dawn a mistake had started to feel like fate.
- Writer
