"I'll be right back," she beams to her companion. The truth is she probably won't. The music is too loud. The hotel bar was filled with too many people. The smells of stale sweat, overbearing colognes, and perfumes, and noxious alcohols was too overbearing for Lilliana. She could deal with large crowds. She could.
Just tonight she can't.
She reaches down for her purse and pulls out her phone. Finding a lonely nook, she sends a text message to a contact titled The Braznado. It only takes a moment before the screen flashes and Lilliana smiles, shaking her head as she reads the reproach in the few words. They are fine. She leans her head against the wall after putting her phone away, considering her options. There had been a bookstore around the corner that had looked like it was open late. A latte and browsing the fiction section didn't sound like a bad way to spend the rest of her evening.
Lilliana very rarely had free time. Not when there were three children to look after.
Pulling herself away from her nook, she rounds a corner to head back to the bar to excuse herself. Her friend shouts over the music, "Stay! The next set is gonna be great!" Lilliana just plasters a smile and politely shakes her head, "Next time! Promise." It makes her glad for the dim setting and her long auburn hair. It makes it easier to hide her relief when she leaves the bar behind her. As she passes through the lobby, the elevator makes her pause. The resort was a beachfront one and the temptation was too good to pass up. She and Elaina had always loved their ocean views.
The number 13 illuminated on the metallic control lift.
That was all it took. Striding forward, she pushed the glowing number and slid into the waiting elevator. The hotel clerk never even looked up.
She wandered briefly through the upper-level corridors until finally, two window paneled doors revealed what she had been searching for. The ocean. Quietly walking forward, she slipped through the doors much the same way as she had through the elevator. Was she supposed to be up here? Something gave her the impression that it was only for hotel patrons but who was here?
He was. She learned as Lilliana approached. Her blue eyes drop to where she imagines the paleness of his knuckles as he grips the railing. They flick back up from where she regards him beneath her dark lashes. "Mind some company?"
@[Leilan]