That Blue Gibson

CH 10

Liz leaned against the upholstered headboard of her hotel bed, gripping a cup of tea in one hand and her phone in the other. Scrolling through the red carpet photos from earlier that night, she finally found the few of herself. She was surprised at how comfortable she looked and made a mental note to find gifts for her team. The dark blue Posen gown fit her perfectly and her hair and makeup were flawless, even under the harsh lights. Funny, she thought, all the hard work her team puts in and I get the all the damn credit. "Effortless!" the caption screamed. Effortless, my ass! It literally took all day to get me to look like that, she thought glancing down at her black bralette and boy shorts. She continued scrolling through the photos until she landed on the Foo Fighters. Her heart sped up a little when she focused on Dave, looking relaxed and happy as well. Liz mulled over whether or not she should scold or kiss Paul for introducing her to Dave. He should at least work on his technique, she thought bitterly, remembering the painful green room introductions. She sighed and set her tea on the nightstand before plugging in her phone and settling into the bed. She pulled the fluffy comforter up to her neck and glanced at the clock before closing her eyes. She hadn't felt this tired since her kids were newborns and she fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

*

"Travis!" Liz called, "Someone's at the door!"

She was laying in bed staring at the plaster ceiling of her hotel room, listening to an insistent knocking at the suite's main door.

"Travis!" she tried again. "Goddamnit," she grumbled and kicked back the down comforter.

She stomped out of the bedroom, grabbing a tee shirt on the way and yanking it over her head. She saw Travis's helmet and keys were gone from the coffee table and thought he had either forgotten his key or it was Mark with yet another booking. Liz hurried over to the door, the cold hotel air biting at the exposed skin on her legs and without bothering to check the peephole, yanked the door open. Her jaw went a little slack when she saw Dave grinning back at her holding two large cups of coffee. His smile faltered a little when he saw what she was wearing. "Hey," he tipped his head back a little and Liz caught her reflection in his aviators.

"... hey," she managed, stepping back to let him in.

He brushed past her and set the cups on the table. "I thought you could use some quality coffee. This place only serves Starbucks," he explained, wrinkling his nose a bit.

"You... would be correct," Liz said quietly closing the door behind him. She was suddenly very aware that her shirt only covered the hip part of her boy shorts. "Thank you."

Dave watched her for a minute then quickly turned away. "This is a nice place! Aside from the Starbucks thing," he said, looking around.

Liz glanced around for a moment and picked up her coffee. "It's home for a couple more weeks, so it'll do," she took a long sip and involuntarily sighed.

"Good, right?" Dave grinned excitedly and grabbed his cup as well.

"Very, thank you," Liz agreed. She was desperately thinking of a way to sneak away to brush her teeth and get dressed.

Dave's smile faded. "Sorry, I know it's early."

Liz's eyes darted to the windows, noting that it was just getting light outside. She shook her head and took another sip. "It's fine!" she lied, "How... did you know I was here though?"

Dave hesitated for a moment, before answering, "Paul."

Liz immediately decided to scold instead of kiss the old Beatle. She smiled and nodded. "Persistent old crank," she laughed.

Dave's smile returned a little and he wandered over to the tall windows near the fireplace. "Are you busy today?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Liz shook her head. "Only a dinner meeting at seven," she replied, trying to visualize her phone's calendar.

"I thought we could go for a ride," Dave said quickly, "if you're up for it."

Liz hesitated for a moment. Travis was missing, she didn't have any other plans and the weather was holding, despite it being February. "I'd love that," she replied. "Let me just get dressed. I don't normally answer doors in my underwear."

Dave chuckled a little, "Then I'm glad to be in the minority," he said quietly.

Liz returned to the bedroom and quietly shut the door behind her. She walked into the room and leaned against the bed, trying to steady her heartbeat. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and cringed when it read 6:27 am. Jesus, did he even sleep last night? she thought and headed into the bathroom.

*

A few minutes later she returned to the sitting room where Dave was intently watching something outside her window, giving Liz a moment to look him over. He was wearing high top Vans, dark jeans and a black wool pea coat with the collar up. He had set his aviators on his head, pulling his hair back a bit. So he might not have slept, but he definitely changed, she thought.

Dave caught her move out of the corner of his eye and looked up to where Liz was standing in the doorway watching him. She had thrown on skinny jeans and a grey vintage brewery shirt topped with a red and blue flannel but was still barefoot. She smiled at him and moved to the white overstuffed couch near the fireplace.

"How was the rest of the party?" she asked, folding her legs underneath her and reaching for her coffee.

"Decidedly less fun," Dave said. His mind involuntarily provided a slide show of him and Taylor doing tequila shots, a herd of strippers arriving and his abrupt departure when one of them jammed her hands down the front of his pants. He shook his head and focused back on Liz.

"Sit," she ordered. "You're making me nervous."

He dropped to the couch opposite hers and took a long drink of his coffee.

"Did you get any sleep?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

He remembered lying in bed for an hour, staring at the ceiling, before calling Paul. "A little," he lied.

Liz nodded, seeing right through him.

"Hungry?" he asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

"I'm always hungry," she laughed a little and unfolded her legs.

Dave jumped up from the couch. "I know a great place."