Room Service

by Haruchy

Summary:

Nicola is tired after a long day of PR Meetings and Interviews and all she wants is a hot shower. Out of nowhere someone knocks at the door. "Room Service!"

Notes:

#ep.1 of ?
#lukola
#friendstolovers
#mildsmut (soon)

 

Hi you all, my name is Chy (sounds like the "chai" in chai tea). I´m from Buenos Aires, Argentina and English is my second language. For any and all mistakes and errors... sorrows, sorrows and prayers... hehe.

As most of you, I´m incredibly in love with Polin but also with Lukola, as Nic and Luke´s own personalities amaze me. I shipped them since I first started watching interviews for Season 2 of Bridgerton.

And this is my first attempt in making a short story. I have the idea but haven´t finished writing it yet... should I give it a try?

Chapter 1: Shower

It was the 125th day of PR Tour and she was exhausted.
She reached her hotel room on floor 14th at exactly 10pm. She calculated almost 16 hours running around doing interviews, photo shootings, make up, hair and costume changes. She hardly had time to rest, and it was noticeable.
She threw her tiny handbag on the bed and dragged her feet to the bathroom. The only thing she had to agree with was how beautiful were the hotel suites the company was renting for her. She hoped Luke's was as astonishing as the one she was in... a few weeks prior, she would have had the time to check and compare them, but these last few days since the airing of the first 4 episodes of season 3 were hectic as hell.
She undressed on top of the little white carpet and entered the shower.
'How fancy ' she thought. She checked all around and found at least 3 differently oriented shower heads and another on the ceiling above her.
She slowly opened the water and waited for her skin to feel the enjoyment of hot water on her tired body.
She closed her eyes and let her mind wonder as she applied body soap... and went back to that thought that kept coming again and again to her mind.

Luke and her became instant friends many, many years ago. They shared daily jokes, pranks, stories, TikTok videos, they talked about everything and of course, they worked together...they had just finish shooting the most challenging scenes together a few months ago.

She couldn´t help herself from blushing, every single time her mind went back to _those_ scenes...
Thoughtlessly her hands started roaming around her shoulders, neck, bosom, mindlessly pinching and releasing, as her thoughts immediately went back to the mirror scenes... her breath started to get suddenly agitated as well as an unexpected heat started to arouse from within herself... she started breathing heavily as one of her hands wondered towards her happy place, between the legs. She was about to reach destination when a loud knocking came from outside.
She opened her eyes realizing all of a sudden where she was, and what she had been about to do. She kept quiet, as if to discourage whoever was on her door and make him/her leave.

She waited in absolute silence a few seconds, the water still running.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

*Blimey!!*

She shut the water supply up and reached for the bathrobe. It was late, she was tired, whoever was on the door was about to feel her wrath...

She slipped her small feet on the hotel slippers and reluctantly approached the door.

"Who is it?" - She wasn´t expecting anyone. She didn´t have meetings or interviews until 9am tomorrow. She could not get around the fact that someone was bothering her at those hours...

"Room service!"- an unfamiliar voice answered from the other side of the door.

*Room service?* She had barely just arrived and didn´t even think of calling for service... all she wanted was a hot shower and bed. Maybe some endless scrolling on her phone too...

"Wrong door!" - Fuming, she was fuming. How on earth such nice Hotel committed this type of mistakes! She didn´t want to become a Karen, but making her leave the shower, all dripping, just to answer a wrong call? ... Next morning she would have a talk with the hotel´s front desk .

"ROOM SERVICE FOR MISS COUGHLAN..."

Confused she tiptoed to try to see if it was maybe a fan that eluded security but when she reached the door´s peephole, she froze...

Was that Luke, standing outside her door with a fake mustache and a dinner cart? What the fuxxing hell was going on?

She slammed the door open not sure if to yell at him, burst into laughter or simply murdering him for making her leave her amazingly cozy shower.

"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND LUKE?!!??"

But as soon as she saw him, she noticed his fake mustache was slowly falling, barely attached to his upper lip, and he was wearing a completely exaggerated pair of eyeglasses, like those own by a grandparent who has obviously lost almost all his eyesight. It reminded her of the starring character of the Disney movie UP.

"Luke, what on earth....?"

But he interrupted her, unable to contain his own laughter... "Room service, Miss Coughlan, may I come in?"

Right then and there, she remembered she was only wearing her bathrobe, nothing else...

She looked down at her own body and then at Luke, who had just noticed her cleavage and all those tiny droplets of water. Unable to speak for seconds that lasted eons, his face went blank, and his eyes appeared to go darker for a few moments, then he snapped out of that state and smiled at her.

"Surprise! Since you almost didn´t eat today, I order something for you....and for me, because I wanted to keep you company and you know I´m always hungry... is it ok if I come in?"

 

**** TO BE CONTINUED***

Chapter 2: What´s on the menu?

Summary:

Things get warmer at Nicola´s room.

Notes:

Thank you for all the kudos!
As you may have read, english is my second language, so again, sorry for any typos or mistakes.
Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Nicola was speechless.

Was Luke being serious?

At those hours?

What if anyone saw them?

 

The thought of that made her go pale.

 

She was used to all the innuendo around them... they DID joke about it, but it was only that... a joke.
Another character they use to play for the fandom...

She grabbed Luke by his silly black tie and squeeze him inside, along with the cart.

 

"Aren't you worried that someone could see us ?"

 

He looked perplexed. He squinted his eyes and waited before answering.

 

"But it's just food Nic! It's not like we are kissing..."
And then he stopped abruptly, as his cheeks reddened.

 

Nicola watched him and suddenly her cheeks copied her co-star's.

 

"Luke, do you realize what time is it? WHAT were you thinking?"

 

He looked at the floor, unable to keep looking at Nicola' s baby blue eyes any longer.

 

" I was hungry, and when I was ordering some food, I remembered you hadn't eaten almost anything all day long, so I order for both of us" he grinned sheepishly making a "TA DA!" gesture with his hands pointing all the food...

 

That sentence alone was enough to make her lower her guard.

He was thinking of her, on her wellbeing.... Also his stomach, but WHEN did Luke not think about food??

He smiled at her, looking handsome with his falling mustache.

 

She reached out and yanked it out of his face.

He tried to grab her arm before she did, but failed horribly and ended up throwing away his Grandpa glasses to the opposite side of the room.

Nicola got scared of the flying glasses, imagining them smacking her on the face, so she twisted to her side and in doing so, she lost her balance and started falling.

Seeing the unfortunate consecutive events occurring all at once and foreseeing the end result being Nicola tripping to the floor, he jumped to the left , grabbed her by the arms and rolled over in order to fall first to the floor while becoming a human cushion to avoid the impact.

 

And that's exactly what happened.

 

A thousand images came at once to her mind, all the movies she watched, all the rom-coms, every scene where the stars of the show had a “falling into each other situation” ending face to face... was this happening? In real life?

 

The impact was indeed prevented by Luke. He remained still on the floor for a few seconds before bursting into laughter shaking poor Nicola laying on top of him. She started laughing too, out of the surprise of the situation, out of the recollection of all her memories, out of how much she enjoyed being with him even if they were ONLY friends.

 

The laughter started to fade away and all that was left were the two of them in silence. Again, and in seconds, Luke turned really serious while keeping his eyes on hers. She moved her arm trying to get some support in order to get up, but then he said:

"no, wait..." and grabbed one of her blonde strands of hair, pushing it behind her ear.

She closed her mouth and blinked.

"Nic I wanted to .... I wanted to ask you something..." and he stopped.

Awkwardly lying on top of each other, the room seemed to get warmer. She moved again trying to stand up and realize that Luke was not quiet because he was thinking on what to say next, waiting for her acknowledgement... he was quiet because Nic´s bathrobe became dangerously open on the front and lots of her skin where now on display...

 

She looked down, looked at him and jumped up at a sonic speed velocity.

 

He stood up also, unable to blink.

 

"Luke, you shouldn’t be here, it´s late, I’m... well, I was in the shower a few minutes ago, we should rest, tomorrow will be another long day and..."

"No, I...., I can´t go now" and then he stopped.
He walked to Nics bed and sat at the foot of it.

 

"Nic...what if.... what if...."

 

"Luke, please, we are tired, your food is getting colder, it´s late..." she walked closer, securing her robes in place. He reached out to her hand.

"But what if...this is not what I wanted on the menu?.... "

 

TO BE CONTINUED****************

Chapter 3: Not what I expected

Summary:

One step forward, two steps back

Nic went silent for a few seconds. Her eyes fixed on Luke's.

 

"Nic...did you hear me?"

 

She blinked.

Twice.

Slowly.

 

"Luke, it's late...just ...just go..."

 

Luke stood up and grabbed both of Nicolas hands. His face looked extremely focused .

 

"Nic, I thought .... I thought we were...we were on the same track. I've been confused since Australia, at first I thought it was just fleeting emotions, provoked by all the time we spent together, but your smile, your eyes... I thought you were felling the same. I..."

 

But Nic let go of his hands.

 

"Luke, I ..."

"Shh don´t say a word, it's ok, it's late, you don't have to answer right now"

"No Luke, I.... Wait, what about Antonia?"

 

"What about her?" Luke suddenly started looking at the floor.

 

Nicola took one step further from him.

 

"Luke, you know what I mean. Anyways..." She cleared her throat "I'm..."

 

Luke took a step forward closing the distance between them, looking straight to her eyes, he grabbed her chin while getting closer. He was inches away from her lips, eyes fixed on them.

 

"Luke, wait.... I'm.... I'm seeing someone."

 

****To be continued****

Notes:

Hi everybody.
Thank you again for all the amazing response.
This chapter is a short one, since yesterday I didn´t post anything, but I promise I´ll post the following part later today, if I’m lucky with inspiration, maybe a two part continuation.
Thank you for reading!!
This is a work in progress, please bear with me.

Chapter 4: Just friends

Summary:

Can they be, just friends?

Luke's heartbeat stopped.
His eyes unfocused.
He was frozen.

"It's something new... I haven't had the time to talk to you...and..." Nicola mumbled in a low voice.

"Wh...Who is him? How long has it been?" Luke said after snapping out of his state.

It wasn't entirely true, what Nicola had said.

She had been texting with someone back and forth, they did have interesting conversation, and he was as handsome as he was a nice person and though they did went on two dates after they met in Brazil last January, it was too soon to even say she was in a relationship.

Luke didn't have to know all the details. She was sure that whichever feelings she had been harvesting for Luke, they had to go.

He was in a relationship with someone and they were working together, it was never going to become something other than friendship, she was almost certain of it.

The silence was abruptly interrupted by the short musical sound of Nicola's ringtone.

They both turned their heads to the bed, were the cellphone was laying. On the screen, the letters showed " 1 new message JAMIE D."

She looked at the phone, then back at Luke and, as she was about to say something, he stated in a serious voice "I better go, it's late".

She immediately thought of stopping him, of telling him the truth, but remember he had a girlfriend and pursuing this road would rapidly become problematic and wrong for both of them.

He took a few steps towards the door, looked at the food cart and as he was reaching the door knob, he turned and said " I ended things with Antonia after NYs premier. I was already very confused and I didn't want to hurt her".

And then he left the room. And she stood there, in the middle of the room, wearing only the hotel's bathrobe, with her feelings rumbling and confused inside her heart.

**** To be continued****

Notes:

So, I came across an interview of two actors (male and female) speaking of their show, and in one part of the interview, the male said that he had met Nicola in Brazil on January, stating that she was lovely O_O
For more clues, he is an Irish actor... :P

Chapter 5: Him

Summary:

The third person

Three steps later Luke was in his room.
He slammed the door and stood there, leaning against it.
What had just happened?

He sort of confessed his feelings for Nic, he had been so sure they were experiencing the same things.
She just stood there...and now his heart felt broken.
He wanted to dig a hole and never appear again. But he was so hungry...the cart had remained in Nic´s room so he considered knocking again, just to get at least his fish and chips serving, but the idea of looking at her eyes again was so embarrassing.
He sank into the bed, grabbed the hotel´s phone and dialed room service.

 

On the opposite side of the hallway, in Nic´s room, she was still baffled by the situation.
She decided to finish her shower, then she applied her skin routine and went back to her bed.
She took her phone and watched the time. It was thirty minutes to midnight.
She opened her messages and watched the newest one. A second message from Jamie "Hi gorgeous, I´ll be up few more hours, I’m studying a new script. Tell me about your day, if you are not tired".

She remembered when she met Jamie a few months ago in Brazil. They were both promoting their current productions and since they were staying at the same place, they came across at the hotel bar one night.
It was funny that being both Irish actors, that they had never met before.
He stood up, watching her approaching and greeted her, formally presenting himself.
"Miss Coughlan, good evening, I’m Jamie Dornan, it´s nice to meet a fellow Irish dweller".
She remembered that she was so astonished by that man´s beauty and his voice, it had been hard for her to engage normal conversation at the beginning, but as soon as minutes passed, they were chatting and laughing as old friends. They exchange numbers that night, as he insisted, she was marveled.

They exchanged some messages at the beginning, then one night while she was in London, he asked if she wanted to have dinner together. How could she say no. She knew that for the past year he had been single, she was single, things with Luke would never progress since he as in a relationship...
Just a dinner, no harm to be done...

But this man was something else. The way he talked, she felt almost home whenever she heard him. And the fact that he looked so serious but was really a funny guy, was surprising. He took her home that night but politely said his goodbyes.
The second time they went out, it was a breakfast, since both schedules could not coincide otherwise.
Again she had a wonderful time and got a glimpse of what this new friendship could turn into, since he had sort of expressed his interest for her and asked her about her relationship with her co-star and if she was seeing someone.
She made clear that she and Luke were just friends, that loved each other dearly, but just that.
Jamie sounded happy of that reply, and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he had a proposal for her next time they meet.

She replied to his text "such a long day .. I’ll text to you tomorrow, if that’s ok"

And seconds later she received the reply "I’ll be staying in the same hotel tomorrow on, do you want to have lunch? do you have time?"

She had promised Luke to have lunch together at the new Patisserie he suggested. What should she do?

 

On the other side of the hallway, Luke was finishing his burger, having already terminated the other 2 dishes he ordered. He was felling kind of sad and was thinking about Nic. She always had a way of making him happy, and laugh, and forget everything else. He blamed himself, thinking that it took him so long to finally understand his feelings, that it was already late.

He took his phone and googled: JAMIE DORNAN.

How could he compete with that. An older guy could make Nic feel more secure. An Irish man... it would beat an English man if he thought of what Nic would like. And the voice he had... Luke´s sounded teenager compared to this man´s voice.

He had no chances against him...

****TO BE CONTINUED***

Notes:

So... I know Jamie Dornan is a beautiful man dedicated to his wife and family. In this alternate reality he has been single for a year. No foul play from any of the characters involved.

Chapter 6: My own private Lord Deblin

Summary:

An unexpected third party joins the story.

Luke fell asleep holding his phone close to his chest. He stayed up until almost 2 am, so he was exhausted the following morning.

He woke up at 7.30, rushed to the shower and went downstairs for breakfast in order to pump up his spirit with some coffee.

He was in such a hurry, that the smile he wore at the first sight of Nicola, suddenly disappeared as he remembered the night before.

She was already having breakfast, a small avocado toast with Chai Latte.

She stopped talking to Margaret, their assistant, as soon as she saw him entering the room.

"Good morning, Luke how was your night?" the assistant said.

Both Nic and him gazed at each other unable to speak a word.

He just nodded and she went back to her toast.

He grabbed a cup of black coffee (unusual for him, since he was used to drinking tea).

"Starting the day strong, I see...." behind him Mr. Dornan approached the table after having completed his Check In.

Nicola choked, and Luke jumped at the sound of the voice.

"Oh, Hi!" Nic stood up, almost throwing away everything, since the tablecloth on her side got tangled with her belt. Margaret, the assistant, was able to prevent the imminent catastrophe thus, saving the day.

He approached the table where they were sitting, shook Luke´s hand, greeted Margaret with a short bow and then kissed Nicola on the cheek. Her face turned red instantly.

Margaret was smiling widely at him, as if he was Santa on Christmas Eve.

"You arrived earlier, isn't it? How was your flight?" Nicola asked, trying to ignore Luke's piercing eyes.

He grabbed another black coffee, two scones and sat up at the same table. Luke was shocked. He sat next to him.
The nerve...

Luke tried to inadvertently glance at Nic watching James. He could not help it, but he was frowning.

Margaret was watching Luke, watching Nic, watching Jamie, watching fondly back at Nic.

She stood up and said "People, sorry to be a pain in the arse, but you have max 10 minutes, and we have to keep going. There´s the interview with the magazine, then the podcast and then the shooting. If everything goes according to our schedule, you´ll be free at 1.30pm, so please Make Haste!"

She grabbed her folder, the walkies, two phones and went to the front of the hotel to meet up with the rest of the crew (hair, make up and wardrobe).

Jamie had already finished, in a blink of an eye, the two scones and his coffee. Nic was still fighting against her toast, leaving crumbs all over her side of the table. Luke was battling the urge to smile and make some joke about it, but he felt the air was still weird around them.

"So, do you reckon we will be able to have lunch then?" Jamie said, reaching for Nic´s hand across the table.

"But the patisserie! " Luke bursted out as a child, without thinking. They had been talking about that new place opening, and that they wanted to try it for lunch today. Yet, it seemed there was a change of plans... apparently. Luke gave Jamie a side eye.

Nic blinked and said "Right…" then looking at Jamie "we wanted to try a new place for lunch today, we had been talking for a few days about it.... maybe you can join us?" after saying the words she stood there, recalculating like a gps.

"Yes, fantastic idea!" he said grinning. He kissed Nic on the cheek again and told her to let him know when they were wrapping up, so they could meet outside the food shop.

Luke grabbed his jacket, run first to help Nic reaching for her chair and offer his arm for support, as he always did.

She looked at him, then at Jamie, twice.

Jamie didn´t seem to care. As he was leaving, he shouted in his perfect Irish accent "take care, see you in a few hours" and entered his lift.

 

"Sorry about that" Nic said moments later in a super low voice, as they were reaching the lobby.
"If it makes you uncomfortable, I can reprogram with him, some other time".

 

"No, it’s ok, don’t worry, I believe Jonathan is in town, I´ll arrange lunch with him, it´s been ages since we last saw each other, please… don´t worry".

 

She tried to object about it, but he shooshed her, wiggling his index finger in a no motion.

The ride to the location was silent.

She didn´t know how on earth she was caught in that situation. Both Jamie and Luke expressing some sort of interest in her…

He didn´t know how on earth he was caught inside "Bridgerton Season 3, The real life" with His Own Private Lord Deblin.

It was just rubbish.

 

*****TO BE CONTINUED*****

Notes:

Hi! Please leave comments and suggestions, I´ll be very happy to read all of you.
Disclaimer: I know Jamie Dornan is married, this is fiction and only for fictional purposes he has entered this story <3

Chapter 7: Cinnamon rolls

Summary:

In desperate need of Cinnamon Rolls and...

For the first time in years, Luke rode in the van with his earplugs on. He faked being sleepy in order to avoid the usual chit-chat.

Margaret shared some looks with Nicola, but decided she was already worried enough to start asking her if she knew what was wrong with Luke that morning.

Nic kept to herself, checking her phone under the disguised vigilant gaze of sleepy Luke.

Since they were Pro´s though, every work related engagement went smoothly as if nothing had ever happened.

At 20 past 1 pm they were getting closer to the hotel. Luke tapped on the shoulder of the assistant and asked if he could leave them a few blocks away from destination, since his commitment with Jonathan Bailey was near. He greeted everyone, thanked them for the hard work and left the van.

Nicola followed him with her eyes.

Jonathan was already sipping his Hibiscus Lemon Iced Tea in the inner garden of the restaurant, when Luke arrived.

"So.... I reckon it didn´t go as planned...." Jonathan said with a warm protective smile. Outside the filming site, he was very funny and vibrant, but he never lost his protective big-bro energy.

Luke sat down with a gloomy face. He ordered a Raspberry Rum Cocktail and one Cinnamon Roll.

"So... by your weapon of choice, I believe it hit hard... cinnamon roll and a cocktail with rum at these hours? Was it that bad?"

Luke spoke barely audibly "She is seeing someone" and then he kind of pouted.

"Oh... never saw THAT coming… maybe I should order one cocktail too" Jonathan said, making a hand gesture to the waiter and then pointing at Luke´s glass.

"Please, start at the beginning" he said later.

Luke then proceeded to tell all the story, from the fake "I ordered for you because you didn’t have lunch today", to the falling to the floor on top of each other debacle, to the "1 new message from Jamie D" knife to the heart...

Jonathan frowned, agreed, shared some surprised looks... when Luke told him about the fake mustache and the grandpa glasses he bursted into laughter imagining the scene, but composed himself at the desolated look on his friends face.

"... and you are most certain that this Jamie D character is Dornan? Jamie from "50 Shades of Grey" Jamie Dornan? From "The Fall"? "

"Yes, he was at the hotel this morning, he even crashed our breakfast!" his outraged face even looked cute at that point.

"And she told you they were in a relationship? are you sure? She´s never told me anything about him, seems strange", Jonathan said while drinking from his cocktail glass.

After they ordered the food, in the meantime, Luke got up and went to the restroom.

Jon pulled out of his jeans his phone and wrote "How is it possible that Lady Whistledown haven’t wrote a word about this new suitor?? ;P " and sent it to Nicola.

She was sitting at the Patisserie with Jamie, eating her favorite type of toast (avocado and cream cheese) with tea and enjoying the company.
Jamie was finishing his Greek salad already looking for something sweet to share with Nicola for dessert.

She read the message and slightly choked. Jamie held her hand asking if everything was ok. Other than her privacy, it seemed that everything was ok.

They talked about work, friends, even family. They laughed. They exchanged some steamy gazes...
He wanted to ask her out that night to dinner but she replied that she wasn’t sure she was free.

They walked back to the hotel together, but since Jamie had previous engagements, he said his goodbyes near the elevator.

He looked around, checking if there were no paparazzi’s near, and after making sure of it, he bent down and kissed Nicola on the cheek, dangerously near to the corner of her mouth. A kiss that lasted few more seconds than normal. He looked straight to her eyes and said "I really do hope we can get together tonight, I’ve been wanting to ask you something" and he warmly smiled at her.

She kept her gaze with those beautiful blue eyes on him and smiled.

"I´ll let you know as soon as I confirm with our assistant..." and she entered the elevator.
She was smiling as the doors closed, she was alone.
Her heart was pounding fast and she was unable to erase that smile from her face. She kept grinning, looking at front, thinking of him, his eyes, his voice and then she remembered a mustache and grandpa glasses and a small "hahaha" exited her lips. She remembered laughing together, rehearsing together, dancing and singing in the trailer together before the shooting... she was remembering...

The door opened, she was still in the lobby (since she had never pressed the button of her room floor). And as it was about to close, a hand stopped it, and Luke (her Luke) entered the lift.

 

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Notes:

Thank you all!
I'm really excited about the progress of this story!
Where will it lead?

Chapter 8: Apple Crumble

Summary:

When you think you know things, but you really know nothing.

His eyes were fixed on her, like trying to absorb as much as possible.

She stammered a shy "Hi Luke" as he was entering the elevator. She immediately directed her gaze to the floor, as if it was the 9th world wonder and she couldn’t get enough of it.

He quickly walked next to her, and stood side by side, watching the door.

"How was your lunch? Did you like the food? Was it comfortable? What did you order? Did he treat you well? Did he pay? Was he funny?" it all came out of his mouth non-stop. At the end, he was almost out of breath...

"...good, yes, yes, avocado toast with cream cheese, yes, yes and.. I guess so?" She replied slowly turning to look at him.

"wait what?..." he got confused by the short answers. Nicola was one of those people that tend to explain everything to the detail, so he was not expecting this type of reply.

"Nic, was he rude to you? Did anything happen? Did he...?" by now Luke´s jealousy had mutated to protective mode and he was worried she didn´t had a good time...or worse...

"What?... no!! Not at all. He is a gentleman, Luke! it´s just..." she wanted to say lots of things. She wanted to tell him that it hadn´t been the same without him, that she did have a good time with Jamie, but she kept on thinking about him all the time.

"It´s just... I have a headache, just that" she lied.

They reached the 14th floor, both got out of the elevator and walked to their rooms.

"I guess I´ll rest for I while, before our dinner photoshoot... see you at 8pm" she said and entered her room.

As if this was life imitating fiction, she dropped onto her bed as her character did in many episodes of the series. She was confused. Jamie was indeed a gentleman, but she felt she wasn´t being honest with herself. How could she start something anew when she was head over hills for someone else?

She picked her phone from her purse and wrote: "can we meet at the bar of the hotel? Let me know what time suits you better. I do have a commitment at 8" And she hit send.

In his room, Luke was on the phone.

" I don´t know man... I mean, she looked like preoccupied. If she had a good time, I could have noticed but she was...I don´t know..."

"Luke, you are exaggerating, just because she went on a date with someone and didn´t want to give you all the details, doesn´t mean there´s something wrong!" Jonathan replied on the other side of the line.

"I´ll better go ask her, maybe she didn´t want to worry me, what if..." Luke started mumbling.

"Luke, don´t!! Please, trust me, if she wants to tell you, she´ll tell you".

They hanged up, but he wasn´t all that convinced.

He sent a message to Nicola, but since he was so tired from not sleeping well the night before, as soon as he closed his eyes, he died.

...

Knocking...

Knocking louder...

He startled, opening his eyes wide...

What time was it??

OMG the photoshoot, how could he have fallen asleep so deeply??

He tumbled on the corridor to the room´s door and opened it waiting for Margaret, the assistant, to come yelling that they were going to be late because of him.

"sorry, sorry, I didn´t know it was this late..." and he watched the time on his wrist.... wait.... it was only 6.45pm... there was plenty of time...

He looked up, and it was her.

His Nicola...

She smiled, a little beautiful smile. And his frown and worries magically disappeared.

"I brought you something" she said, handing him a plastic bag with a logo on it. The logo of the patisserie, the one they had been talking about, the one she had lunch with Jamie.

"ouh... left overs..." his heart sunk.

"No, I went back a few minutes ago, I bought this one for you"

He let her enter the room, she closed the door behind her and took a few steps to the table next to the wall, where he was opening the package.

"You... you remembered" he said, taking it out and revealing an Apple Crumble slice. She remembered...

"Well, I think it won’t be as yummy as mine, but..." she said giggling.

He lowered his head, and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

"Nic, I don´t think I can do this... I mean...If you are in a relationship, I can´t, I just... I´m really confused already..." he said almost as a confession.

She put her hand on top of his, and took it to her heart, looking for his eyes before talking.

"I know, believe me... it´s been so hard for me, all this time. And since the press tour started... it was like being in an alternate reality. One with you, close to me, and the other one when all the lights went out, and I was alone. James appeared in my life when I was not expecting him, and he started to fill those voids...." she said, still holding his hands in one of hers and bringing his chin up with the other one.

"But last night... last night everything that was coming to place started tumbling. I didn´t know about you and Antonia, and I don´t know why you didn´t say something before...". she continued but was interrupted.

"I know, I myself am confused too. At first I thought that everything that I was feeling was normal, since we were friends Nic... but being with you... you make me feel complete. There’s no void to fill when you are around. I realized my relationship with her was a fake, and I understood that I had to stop pretending. You are the one I want Nic. You." and he looked at her baby blue eyes and beamed a beautiful smile.

"I feel the same, that´s why I ended things with James a few hours ago. He kind of saw it coming, I can´t believe what a nice person he is..." she replied, suddenly blinking.

"that means... that means...?" he let go of her hand and gently grabbed her jaw, entwining his fingers in her hair. He slowly started to bend down, to have a real first kiss with her, not an acted one, not one guided by the intimacy coach...

She grinned looking at his eyes and lips alternately. Her heart was pounding fast, she felt as it was about to explode.

They were a few inches away, breathing deeply.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!

They both startled.

"Luke, we are leaving in 10 minutes, the van is at the front access! " Margaret the assistant shouted from the other side of the door.

He bit his lips not to laugh loudly.

"Ok! I´ll be there in a minute!!" he replied.

"Have you seen Nic? She is not answering the door!!" Margaret added.

He opened wide his eyes, and brought his index finger to his mouth signaling Nic to keep quiet.

"I believe she was at the bar early, maybe she is with that dude from today!" he said while making faces at Nic.

"OK, 10 minutes!!" and Margaret left.

He grabbed her hand pulling her closer. He was happy... more than that... he still didn´t believe this was happening...

"Luke, I have to change. I´m sorry, no... I´m not sorry, I´m really happy. Can we wait a few more hours?" she said watching the time and then the door.

He grinned. But it was a sexy grin. He took her hand and kissed its back.

"Just a few more hours...".

She nodded and left the room.

He smiled at the door, then looked at the table and grabbing the Apple Crumble he said... "well, that just makes it you and me" and proceeded to munch it.

 

**** TO BE CONTINUED ****

Notes:

OMG, IT´S HAPPENING
IT´S REALLY HAPPENING!!!

God!!!

As a fangirl myself, and a shipper of Lukola (Nic & Luke´s love story) I find myself squealing sometimes as I write this story.

Well... next one... all I know is that we´ve been waiting for next episode since the beginning of this story.

Wish me luck writing it!

Chapter 9: The moment everything stops

Summary:

Things get steamy in the back seat of a van.

Notes:

We are almost there.
This one is the 9th chapter of 10!!
It´s been amazing to create and share it with you.
Please bare with me, there´s only one chapter left after this one.
Hope you enjoy it!!! :D

The air inside the van was thick and hot. Not because of a real climate issue, but because the waves of heat irradiating from Nic and Luke were tangible.

They sat together, as usual. But they were so close, that there was absolutely no room for Jesus.

She was wearing a beautiful 2 pieces dress, all black, long sleeves , low cut heart-shaped neckline that accentuated her cleavage, long pleated skirt and two amazing diamond earrings balancing from her earlobes. Her hair was side parted and it had that reddish glow on it, that made it shine. Along with her perfect smoky eyes and red lips make up, she was astonishing.

Luke lost his speech for a few seconds, as she entered the van. He casually placed his arm around her, though one could argue that it was just leaning against the backrest, not doing it as a protection or barrier to prevent anything or anyone coming close to her.

He was wearing a brown 3 pieces suit with a forest green necktie and he looked stylish and sophisticated. His short beard added points to the final look.

Together, both of them, looked like they could rule the world. Flawless. Sparkling.

 

At work, there were some issues during the filming of these interviews.... they were told to take a few breaks because the air was intoxicating. Soon, after a few mishaps, it was over and it was time to go back to the hotel.

 

They sat together again in the last row of the van.
In front of them there was an empty row; then in front of that Margaret and the June (the makeup artist), and then the driver and Carl, their security.

Inside was dim lit.

At the front of the vehicle they were discussing the following day's schedule, their flight to Brazil and something about Canada and the coming up teasers for the second part of this season of Bridgerton. They were entertained.

At the back of the van, Luke offered Nicola one of his earplugs and she put it on.

"Lose control" by Teddy Swims started to sound as they shared a hungry look.

Luke couldn't avoid pressing his thumb against his lower lip as he watched his co-star. His eyes fixed on her, as he used to do every time Nic was speaking in some interview or doing something ... But she was just sitting there, just shining.

He placed his hand on her lap, gently nudging at hers. Slowly she moved her hand closer until they were touching. She looked at their hands and then she looked back at him. They entwined their fingers, but Luke's hand was palm down resting on her thigh.

As the song progressed his eyes turned hungrier. His hand started to press as it progressed its way up the leg, slowly turning to the inner part. She let go of his hand and lift hers to his jaw, trailing a path from his chin to his right ear and beyond, reaching his short curls.

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes...this was something him and Colin, his TV persona, shared. She was looking at him closer, face to face, biting her own lower lip.

He looked at her mouth and, as he was smirking, she gasped at the movement of his hand. Thankfully, there was music in the van and the people travelling with them were very busy talking about work.

He grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips and started kissing it. First the back of the hand , and then he turned it and trailed slow and deep kisses on its palm, wrist and every place the fabric of her dress allowed him.

She lifted her other hand, released the other one he was holding, and started feeling his chest, even if it was above all his clothes.

"What if...?" She said in a low voice and grinned.

She then proceeded to unbutton his vest... Loosen his tie and strategically open 3 buttons of his shirt... Her smile turned from expecting and curious, to naughty in a second. Soon she was feeling his chest, remembering every inch as she trailed her fingers. She remembered how she had discovered Luke's nipples were extremely sensitive during their shooting of the season, so.... She raised the stakes and went for it.

His face...

It could have burnt an entire city with the looked he gave her, but he wasn't going to resign, no.

He let one of his hands reach the end of her skirt, slowly pulling it up, while the other went to her beautiful round and full bosom. To complete his "disarm" movement, he leaned to the side, until his head reached her shoulder and then his mouth went for her neck.

She moaned.

Luckily the sound coincided with a loud noise from outside, so no one noticed.

He smirked, going again for her neck. She rapidly became unable to think or move. His hand was moving dangerously closer to her core, but this time it was for real, not as the time they were shooting the series.

He groaned.

Everything was happening so fast. Everything outside their sit seemed inexistent.

In that moment, everything seemed to have stopped.

.

 

"Guys".... Margaret said.

"Guys!!"...

"GUUUUYSSSSSSS" she had to shout, they seemed to be unable to hear her.

Unexpectedly, they opened their eyes and realized they were still in the van and they were not alone.

"Guys, we've reached the hotel, it bye bye time... Go!!"

Blushing fiercely, Luke stepped out of the van, securing his buttons first, adjusting his trousers inadvertently, then he offered his arm for Nic to help her out of the vehicle.

As they were entering the Hotel Lobby, Margaret approached Luke saying "Luke, we have to go over your commitments for tomorrow" and looking at Nic, she cheekily said "it´s ok if I borrow him for a few minutes?".

Nic was as red as a lobster. She moved her head agreeing while moving towards the elevator.

He followed her with his eyes, she blinked and went to the elevator.

They shared one last look... There was no need of words...

 

*** TO BE CONTINUED****

Chapter 10: Room Service / The end of the Tour

Summary:

The night it all changed.

Time didn´t seem to pass.

He was looking at Margaret, looking at her pointing to her notes, watching her talking to someone else in the crew, going over the following day´s schedule, but his mind was elsewhere.

He kept having flashes of Nicola's white skin, her rosy full lips, her aquamarine eyes, his hand on her thigh, his lips on her collarbone.

A little drop of sweat seemed to be dangling from his forehead as his eyes started to get duskier.

"Well, that seems to be all! Thank you Luke, I will be going now..:" and having said that, Margaret left.

He was a wreck. Just thinking about her, about their last minutes together in the van, his heart started to get agitated as his temperature increased.

He stopped for a few seconds near his room´s door, trying to decide what to do, realizing it was better to get a shower first. All the control he appeared to have in regards to other women, seemed inexistent when it came to her. He came to the conclusion that he had been shutting down his own feelings all this time, but now they were free, loose, and it was overwhelming.

His eyes were closed as the cold water rinsed his body. His muscles didn´t seem to mind as his inner heat was enough to keep him warm.

Abruptly, a loud knocking sound came from outside his bathroom.

Was it Margaret again? What did she want that couldn’t wait until the next morning? What if he was breaching his contract while pursuing a relationship with Nic? What if Nic didn´t want him on those terms? What if....?

Another loud banging on his room door.

"Just a second Margaret, I was in the shower for heavens..." and while saying this last word, he peeped through the door. Quite a few inches below Margaret´s normal height, he found a blonde set of hairs, attached to a cheeky beautiful woman. Not Margaret.
This person was weirdly wearing a closed trench coat , big dark sunglasses and.... was it his fake mustache?

"Dear God" he said, mostly to himself, but it came out quite loud.

"Room Service for Mr. Newton!" the bizarre waitress with a fake mustache said.

He opened his door, bursting into laughter at the plain sight of her, and how both ridicule and beautiful she looked.

As she stepped in, she couldn’t avoid to giggle.

"Wait, Ms. Room Service... where is the food?"

She gasped, put on a serious face and slowly lowered her sunglasses as she winked at him.

"Oh sorry Mr. Newton" she replied in her most seductive voice, "Wasn´t these what you´ve ordered?" and she proceeded to untie her trench belt at the slowest pace.

His eyes went as big as they could possibly get as he bit his lower lip. He was afraid he would pass out of the excitement.

She took a step closer, the knot was already untied.

They were still at the door´s little entrance, facing each other. He was only wearing his towel and she smirked noticing.

She took her glasses out, and her coat followed. It revealed a black and red laced baby doll´s negligee with an open at the center, high heels and thigh high black stockings. She was ravishing.

He was speechless. And weirdly salivating....as if she was indeed dinner.

"Sorry, but I will take my order with the mustache on the side"... He finally said, joking.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot!" She replied, laughing. Then she yanked it out and threw it away.

His expression softened. His eyes were glowing in anticipation.

She walked one step closer and held her air. He closed the gap between them and softly brushed his fingers against her cheek.

She blinked, smiling softly.

"Is this what you wanted?" She whispered.

He ducked his head and gently pressed his lips against hers. He had been waiting for this moment for so long that he still could not believe his luck.

She replied that kiss with the same intensity. She knew those lips, but still it was not the same. There were no cameras, no director to shout CUT! it was not a scripted scene.

They were just him and her. Luke & Nicola.

Her heart was beating fast and she could swore that her cheeks were as hot pink as if she were a teen.
This kiss was unhinged, unrestrained, it was all she wanted.

One of his hands went to her waist while the other caressed her jaw, her neck and ended on her nape, pressing her firmly to him.

When they broke away to breathe, her pupils were so dilated that most of her blue eyes looked now as dark as the night.

He put both arms around her in a firm grip and in a twist of ideas he ended lifting her up and pressing her to the wall. There were no words spoken. She wrapped her legs around him, laying on top of his hips.
At the first touch of his arousal against her core, she gasped. She had forgotten he was only wearing a towel, and since the only other fabric between them was the lace of her panties, she could feel him hard.

They were kissing again, this time their tongues involved, pressing against one another. He kissed her lips, her jaw, her neck and collarbones and while doing it he kept pressing and rocking his body against her, feeling the heat that was coming from between her legs. He wanted so badly to be inside of her, that he was afraid he might come soon.

He stopped, looked at her, as if asking a silent question.
Question that she immediately understood and answered with her head, agreeing to what it was about to happen.

He pressed both hands firmly grabbing her buttocks and transported both of them to the bed.

She looked like a Goddess on his bed. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was agitated, smiling at him, rosy cheeks and wide smile.

He stood up and went to the foot of the bed, taking off one of Nic’s shoes at the time, then slowly pulling her stockings.
She was about to take the rest of her almost inexistent clothes out, but he said in a low growl "no, leave them on".

She looked amazed as he crawled at the foot of the bed and placed himself between her legs.
He gently grabbed one of them and started placing deep kisses along her calves, her thighs and when he was right facing her privates he looked one more time at her eyes before acting.
She was biting her lip, breathing heavily, but at the sudden stop of the action she opened her eyes and looked at him.

It was exactly what he wanted. He moved the fabric and while not breaking eye contact he dove into her. His mouth was gently licking her labia, parting her to reach for her sacred button. She was breathing hard, trying to keep her eyes open but the sensations overwhelmed her. He was a dedicated man, taking it slow, well, not slow but at the correct pace. He was exploring her, reacting at every move she made, every moan, her hands suddenly reached his head and her fingers entwined with his curls, dominating them, pressing whenever he was in the right spot. She was getting wet, agitated, flustered, hot.

He moved one of his hands and licked the third and the ring fingers before entering her. She reacted a little more loudly than expected. Her clit was getting so hard that just thinking of it made him get near his own climax. He wanted to wait, he wanted to bring her to her edge, he wanted to please her before becoming one the two of them.
Her grip was becoming tighter, so he released his hostage but kept entering her with his fingers and slowly moved closer to her. He reached her lips, she kissed him, and she kissed him so hard that a grey cloud started to occlude everything else.
He let go, in an incredible display of equilibrium, as he kept entering faster and faster, his other hand dragged the lace that was covering her beautiful breast and set them free. It was time for him for the second plate...and he was ready.

Her breasts were perfection. Beyond beautiful. He sucked and kiss and nip and bite while one of his hands pressed the other peak and whilst he never stopped entering her. He took one more look at her, removed both hands and dove down one last time between her legs. She was juicy, perfect, she was a delight.

He could have spent hours there, but then he listened "Luke, please..." She was out of breath, agitated. "Please, I'm close".

It was his cue.

He moved up the bed, kissed gently Nicola on her lips and pressed his tip against her entrance. She was wet, but still tight, and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.
She looked at him and smiled biting her lower lip. It was so damn sexy that he let go without realizing, entering with his full length in only one thrust. She moaned so loudly that he thought he was about to lose it.

"Sss....sorry, are you ok?"

"Yes" she replied "I was... OMG, you surprised me, Is this ... I mean, it's all in, right?"

He devilishly moved his head side to side.

And grabbed one of her legs while pressing deeper and deeper into her .

When she was about to say something, he stopped "that's all" . She was out of breath, she swallowed hardly and tried to smile, but every part of her body was experiencing a thousand sensations at the same time.

He grabbed her other leg and pulled almost all out. She closed her eyes enjoying this bliss. He thrusted again, and again, and again.... His cheeks were now red, they were both panting, his member reached places no one had ever reached before.

She put her hands on his shoulders and, in a rapid movement, rolled both of them and ended up on top of him.

His sight was mesmerizing. Her eyes, her lips, her breast moving up and down as she was riding him. Strangely enough, those minimum amount of clothes she was wearing made her look even sexier, if it was something possible.

"Nic, slow down, I'm about to ...."

But Nic had her own agenda, being on top of him was both thrilling as she could keep the right pace, but also because she could position herself in a way that her nub pressed against his body the way she liked it.

She took his hands and pressed them against her breasts as she continue her movement going forward and backward, slightly up and down.

"Nic... I'm..."

She took one of his fingers to her mouth and he lost it.

He buckled repeatedly, now with both his hands firmly grabbing her buttocks, bringing her down again and again, shacking against her core again and again... Until his final thrust.

Nic could feel this hot, sticky liquid being poured inside her.

She collapsed on top of him, head on his chest, both sweaty, panting, happy, still connected.

"Nic, I love you. I've loved you for a long time..." Luke said, trying to regain his breath.

She lifted her head , placed the most beautiful kiss on his lips and said "I love you too, Mr. Bridgerton".

 

....

He opened his eyes, all of a sudden, not having realized he had been dreaming.
On his bed, besides him was Antonia, his current girlfriend.
Reality was like an ice bucket on the head. All the warmth he was felling seconds ago, gone.

He checked the time, 2.30am.

He was in his London flat, currently on his few days of holiday.

He sat on the side of the bed with his legs out, and looked for his phone.

He opened his friends Johnny's message and he read "there's still time" and a link.

 

He pressed the link and an article of "The Sunday Times" opened up.

**Irish actress Nicola Coughland engaged. Remembered actor Jamie Dornan to tie the knot with Irish actress Nicola Coughland this following June. They were pleased to inform this newspaper that after a short time since they met, they were ready for commitment as they were meant for each other. The wedding will be celebrated....**

 

Luke put the phone back on his nightstand and went to the bathroom.

He was happy for her. And he (Jamie) was a good fellow.

He was happy.

He should be happy for her... But....

 

**The End***

Notes:

Thank you all for reading.

And thank you for waiting for this final chapter. I was kind of sad after the news that came out the day after the last Premiere.
It took me some time to wrap around the idea on how to end this story, so I hope you like it.

In my heart, #Lukola will exist for ever.