My Summer Affair

Chapter 6: Hungover in London

I wake up to chatter outside in the living room and the smell of burning toast. Remembering the events of the previous night, I look down and see that Lucas is still fast asleep on the floor. He must have gotten hot during the night because the blanket is half off his body but it looks like he managed to keep his shirt on.

“You like what you see?" Lucas's gruff voice startles me.

“Good morning," is my response. I lay back, looking at the ceiling. I hear Lucas shift on the floor then the bed dips under his weight. His weight is enough to make me roll toward him. “Hello."

“Hello, thanks for letting me stay on the floor. It was quite comfortable," Lucas teases me and I snort a little with laughter. I immediately cover my mouth and my cheeks flush. “Well, that was hot."

I laugh again and smack him on the arm for making fun of me. He rubs the spot I hit him, pretending like I hurt him and exaggerating his facial expressions. We fall into an awkward silence and Lucas doesn't shift on the bed.

“Will I see you again?" He asks after a few seconds of silence. I hesitate to answer, mostly because I'm not sure what the answer is. I wouldn't mind seeing him again, but I doubt we will run into each other. This is already the second time and it would be too weird if we did anymore.

“I don't think so," I admit and move to a sitting position. Lucas looks back at me and I can see him studying my face. I smile at him and awkwardly move around him to get up off the bed. I go to the bathroom to freshen up and when I come back Lucas is dressed and standing a few feet from the door.

“Mandy, I want to tell you something," I look up at Lucas and he looks like he wants to tell me something. I wait but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he reaches out for me. I don't stop him. He takes my hand and pulls me closer to him, I let him, stopping inches from him. I look up into his eyes as he leans down toward me. I close my eyes as soon as I feel his lips touching mine. He kisses me softly, testing it out. When I don't pull away he deepens the kiss. I kiss him back and when he releases my hand, both of us find each other. His hand pushes against my lower back, drawing me closer to him and both of my hands rest on his chest.

We kiss a few seconds more and before it can go further I push firmly on his chest, taking a step back.

“Lucas," I fix my hair, not having realized his other hand was in it.

“I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," Lucas takes another step back and it makes me a little embarrassed.

“It's fine," I say trying to brush it away, pretending like I didn't just feel amazing fireworks. “What did you want to tell me?"

“Oh, um it's nothing," Lucas seems to change his mind.

“You sure?" I ask, giving him another chance.

Lucas nods and then quickly leaves the room to join everyone else in the living room. When he leaves, I touch my lips. They're still tingling from our kiss. I want to pull him back into the room and spend the rest of the day with him, the rest of the trip even but I can't. He's just a boy from another country, that I will never see again after today.

I push aside all of those crazy thoughts and leave the room to find everyone spread out in the kitchen and living room, munching on breakfast items.

“Hey! How was your night?" Jackie grins at me with a piece of bacon in her hand and Cadence's arms wrapped around his waist. She looks quite cozy. I narrow my eyes at her and she giggles, leaning back against Cadence.

“You two have any fun last night?" Natalie says when I join her with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. She also receives a look from me. “I was going to spy on you two but I couldn't hear anything over the boys snoring and Jackie." She looks over at Jackie who still has a big grin on her face. She laughs and I chuckle with her. I could hear her as well, not that Cadence was any quieter.

“Nothing last night," I admit and Natalie catches my phrasing. She raises her eyebrows at me. “This morning, he kissed me."

“Oh? How was it? Was it magical? Royal?" Natalie peppers me with questions but before I can respond to her, Lucas is standing over us.

“Royal?" Lucas questions us and he looks a little unsettled.

“Oh no, it's nothing. Natalie has been talking about how this trip and this place are like a fairy tale," I explain and he seems to relax a little, even offering a small smile.

“Ah, yes," he nods his head in agreement. “A fairy tale indeed." Lucas looks at me when he says this and I can feel Natalie squirming in her seat. I kick my leg out and Natalie gasps a little when I make contact with her shin, but she stops moving.

“We should probably get going," Cadence says after releasing his hold on Jackie. He walks over to Lucas and they exchange a look before Lucas nods.

“It was very nice to meet you all," Lucas says, again looking directly at me. Then he looks up at my friends and gives them each a pleasant smile. He turns back to me and offers me his hand. I take it and he pulls me to a standing position. He looks like he wants to say something again but with one look at Cadence, he changes his mind. Instead, he drops my hand and envelopes me in a hug. “Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Mandy," he says softly in my ear. I blush but smile at him when he pulls back. He holds onto me a little longer before letting go and taking a few steps back.

I sit back down and watch the rest of them say their goodbye's then the boys walk out the door and Jackie turns around to face all of us. She claps her hands together.

“Alright! Where to next?" Jackie looks around at us and notices my demeanor. “You okay, kiddo?" Margot and Natalie look over at me too.

“You starting to regret letting him walk out that door?" Natalie takes a sip from her mug and I look over at her. She might be right.

“No," I say, firmly. “No, no regrets. It is way too early in our trip to have any regrets."

“Okay then, let's keep it moving people," Jackie claps at us again and it elicits a few groans. Everyone, including myself, has a massive hangover. “Right, sorry, that hurt even my head. But seriously, 20 minutes then we are out the door and onto the next adventure! We're heading into Brighton today!"