If Zoya hadn’t been drinking, she might have picked upon Robbie’s tone. Because that was the thing about Robbie, sometimes he had a tone. Never with her, of course! He was always as sweet as candy floss when it came to his bestie, just as much as she was with him, but sometimes The Tone came out when Harry was being a bit of a rogue, or when some guy in a bar sidled up to them and begun flirting with Zoya. It didn’t happen often – the latter thing, obviously, Harry was always a rogue – but she’d picked up on it a few times, here and there. Still, sober or not, she never really knew what The Tone meant, so she supposed it didn’t actually matter if she picked up on it or not!
She let herself be guided through the lobby of their hotel and towards the lifts, nodding happily as he promised her anything she wanted. Being friends with Robbie was so easy, she thought. He was always so nice and made her feel warm inside, his teasing manner always sparking a giggle out of her, her nose almost semi-permanently scrunched when he was by her side. Other girls regularly told her how charming Robbie was, and she did see it! She’d always thought he was so handsome and lovely, ever since they were little. He’d been the cutest boy in the school, and she’d delightedly prattled on to her parents about him from that very day, and she hadn’t stopped since. He was her favourite in the whole world.
As she daydreamed – or night dreamed? What was it called when it was nighttime, but you’re awake? – about the dance party she’d just concocted in her mind, Zoya released a shrill, delighted giggle when she felt the press of Robbie’s hands on her. She was clad in a semi-transparent, cropped halter top that she’d found when out shopping with Rae. She thought the yellows and purples had looked so pretty on her soft brown skin, the colours accenting each other so wonderfully, and she’d paired it with a ruffled mini-skirt in a similar shade of yellow. She thought she looked really cute! And as Robbie’s fingers brushed her exposed skin, she wondered what he thought of her outfit? Perhaps she’d ask him, once her tummy stopped doing strange little flips and her head stopped spinning. Maybe she’d had more to drink than she remembered? That had to be it.
“That’s cheating!” Zoya playfully scolded, snapping free from her reverie as her best friend started rattling a bag of M&M’s in front of her face.
She felt like a naughty kitten being coaxed out from under its owner’s bed, caught burrowing away somewhere it shouldn’t be. Only, unlike a kitten, she knew exactly what game Robbie was playing and she was happily playing right into his hands!
Rolling her eyes fondly, she followed him happily into the lift before pinching her thumb and forefinger around the edge of the bag, snatching it out of his grasp as she immediately tore it open. Triumphant, Zoya slumped against Robbie, her back hitting his chest as she rummaged around inside the back, shovelling candy into her gob and only occasionally offering him the bag as well. By the time they reached their floor, she’d made her way through a quarter of the bag already and could feel her veins buzzing from the sugar rush. Now she was definitely dance party ready.
Stepping out into the hallway, she redirected her gaze to their room door, which was thankfully just a few strides from the lift. Robbie really had nailed all the planning! Eyeing him curiously, Zoya used her free hand to start patting Robbie down in search of their room key. Her hand slid down his chest with no sign of pocket in his shirt, and instead moved to the front of his jeans. Feeling at a loss when the key didn’t make itself known, she wrapped her arms around her best friend’s middle, inadvertently pulling him in for a cuddle as her hand slipped easily into his back pocket.
“I can’t find our key, but I did find your cute bum,” Zoya announced, feeling quite pleased with her findings. It wouldn’t be great if they couldn’t get inside, but she wasn’t about to complain about touching a butt.
Robbie had gotten Zoya into the lift and he thought that was a feat worthy of applause. Not that anyone was looking at them for long enough to clap. The lobby was a strange mix of sleepy businessmen and overexcited Shattered Diamonds fans, yet to come down from their post-concert high as they congregated in little groups to discuss their favourite parts of the show. Robbie caught one last glance at them all before the elevator doors slid shut and left him alone with Zoya. And the insanely helpful M&M’s.
As she leaned back against his chest, he slung his arms across her shoulders so they hung down over her front, tapping a beat against her hips that matched the tinny music playing overhead. Every so often, she’d graciously feed him an M&M, in a pattern that he soon realised went something along the lines of - four for Zoya, one for Robbie, five for Zoya, one for Robbie, so on and so forth.
Eventually, they reached their floor. Stepping out into the hallway, the two of them made their way along to their room, only for Zoya to turn and give Robbie an unexpected pat down.
He jumped in surprise, letting out a startled laugh.
“Fucking hell, who are you supposed to be? TSA?” he asked, arms now held out to the side like he’d failed a check at the airport. He looked down at Zoya who was very intent on her as-of-yet unspoken task, quirking an eyebrow as he wondered what she was doing. Not that he was complaining about a pretty girl’s hands being all over him, but he figured Zoya’s intention differed a little from how this usually went down when Robbie let a woman feel him up.
“Jesus, chick,” he laughed when her hand slid into his back pocket. Was she actually trying to cop a feel? Were M&M’s some sort of secret aphrodisiac he had no clue about?
“Ah,” he smirked when she revealed she was looking for their room key. He reached between them to slide his hand into his front pocket, pulling the piece of plastic out to show her. With his other hand, he reached behind him to take hold of her wrist. Cheekily, he commandeered control of her hand to smack it off his own bum before letting go.
“Don’t need an excuse to grab my arse if you wanted to, Z,” he teased her before leaning over her to swipe the keycard against the fob. The door handle turned green, and let out a small beep before letting them inside.
“C’mon you,” Robbie said, giving Zoya little time to even blink before he was dipping down and throwing her over his shoulder. His voice was cheery as he told her, “There ye go! Perfect access to grab onto my cheeks, ye minx.”
He accented his point by giving her own behind a light tap with his palm, leading them into the room before unceremoniously tipping Zoya onto the bed.
