I looked up when the door to the bedroom opened. Klara stepped out, fully dressed, with her purse in hand, and her hair was looking a little wet.
“So, you finally decided to join me, huh?”
Immediately, she frowned. I wondered if she knew, but every time she did that, her lower lip looked like it was sticking out in a pout, making me think she was cute again.
“I used your shower,” she muttered. “It took a few minutes. Sorry I didn’t ask first.”
I waved the apology away. “No need to say sorry for that. Say sorry for making me wait until the food went cold.”
Last night, while she took my bed, I slept on the couch. It was damn uncomfortable, and I woke up early with a crick in my neck. I felt like I didn’t get enough sleep, actually, but it was better than bothering her.
Still, I had to wonder when I started turning into a saint.
The tray had been set on the coffee table, and I lifted the covers off the dishes. I’d ordered all the stuff that was good for hangovers. Some eggs, toast, sliced bananas and honey to go on the toast. Then apple juice and water. There were coffee and bacon, too, but those were both for me. I’d wanted to wait for her to come out before I ate, but it had been nearly half an hour since I had the food brought up. Even covered, of course, it would go a little cold.
“Would you like me to call down and ask them to take this back to warm up?” I offered. “It shouldn’t take that long.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said quickly, walking over to sit next to me.
I wanted to laugh, she was staring at the food like she was starving, but I had a feeling she’d only get annoyed with me if I did.
“If I’d gotten a better suite, we’d have a proper table to sit at to eat, but you’ll just have to hold it in your lap.”
She threw me a strange look. “What do you mean, a better suite? I bet this one already costs twice more than mine. It’s five whole floors higher, too.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So you do have a room in the hotel?”
Her head bobbed, even as she leaned forward and picked up a plate, then piled it with food. I had to lean forward and smack her hand when she went to touch the bacon. She threw me a nasty look, but she ignored it.
“I would have gotten you a better breakfast, but I had to keep in mind your hangover. If you irritate your stomach right now, you’ll regret it later.”
She grumbled underneath her breath but got everything else on her plate.
“And, yeah, I do have a room in this hotel. Did you think I just wandered inside to the club?”
I shrugged. “A lot of people do, the club isn’t exclusive to the hotel, or anything. I only ended up there last night because the guys I was with didn’t feel like calling it a night yet. So, we all ended up there.”
Come to think of it; I hadn't checked in with them or gotten a call from my brother since I left last night. I grabbed something and sat back to eat, watching her eat out the corner of my eye. She must have been hungry because she was scarfing down everything. I wanted to tell her to slow down before she choked herself, but before I could, she started coughing. With a sigh, I poured her some apple juice and held the glass out to her. She didn’t even look at me when she took it and drank it all down.
“So,” I said once she calmed down. “What’s a girl like you doing in Vegas, on her own?”
Her eyebrows shot up as she turned to me. “I wondered about it last night, too, but what do you mean by a girl like me?”
I shrugged. “Someone young who didn’t seem all that used to being drunk, or in a club.”
Though really, I didn’t want to tell her that she looked like the innocent, nice girl type that wouldn’t be into that sort of thing, to begin with. I’d run into quite a few, and they were the type I didn’t get along with, but considering where I found her, I could have read it wrong.
“I’m not young,” she protested. “I’m twenty-one.”
“And I’m three years older.”
“That’s barely a generation gap,” she muttered, turning back to her food. “And anyway, why don’t you go first? I’m already in your room with you, why do I have to tell you anything about me?”
I chewed thoughtfully on a piece of bacon as I stared at the side of her face for a second, before turning away. Usually, I wouldn’t just open up to someone I didn’t know, but after last night, I couldn’t say I was acting like my usual self at all.
“I came here for my brother. He’s having his bachelor party and invited all his friends. He and my dad thought it would be good for me to join in.”
She frowned. “But you were alone last night. Or did I take the attention away from your party? I’m sorry…”
I shook my head. “There’s no need to be sorry; I wanted to leave. We… see, my dad has this business, and my brother is a part of it. Has been since way back in high school, actually, but I never wanted what they did, and in the middle of his bachelor party, while he and his friends were on their way to being hammered, he was telling me it was time for me to be a part of the family business.”
Who the hell would do something like that? I was the only one not drunk since they’d left me to be the designated driver, but since we were in the hotel, I thought I’d get to drink, too. He just had to go and ruin my mood.”
“I felt it was the last time to enjoy myself,” Klara told him.
I looked up, brought out of my annoyance toward my brother. I blinked at her, and it took a few minutes for me to realize she was answering my earlier question.
“Oh.”
Wait… I frowned as her words properly registered in my mind. Did she say ‘last time?’
I was curious what she meant by that, and I would have asked, but the expression on her face stopped me. Even just looking at the side of her face, I knew she wasn’t thinking of anything particularly happy. Is she leaving the country or something? That couldn’t be it, though…but what big thing could happen that made her think it would be the last time she had to enjoy herself? My brother and his friends joked about nearly the same thing yesterday, but it was just that, a joke.
Klara didn’t look like she was joking, and that look on her face made something in my chest go tight, almost suffocating.
“Hey, do you want to do something crazy?” I asked.
She glanced at me, eyebrows arched, but the other look had disappeared.
“Sure,” she said.
I opened my mouth, but didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “Wow, I didn’t think you’d agree that quickly.”
She shrugged. “I have nothing better to do, and if you’d like to entertain me, I won't complain. What was it you wanted to do?”
“Let’s go see the Grand Canyon,” I suggested.
She looked like she was going to agree when she paused and pursed her lips. The excitement I didn’t even realize was starting to grow in my chest disappeared. I knew it. There was no way she’d go off with some strange guy. Sane people didn’t do that in the world we currently lived in.
“I would love to,” she said, surprising me yet again. “But I need to go soon. I’ve got no money, I’ll need to see if I can get something from my bank account, and I need to be out of my suite in…” she hesitated, then pulled out her phone to check the time. “In the next couple hours, though probably sooner than that…”
Then, she went on eating, like she saw nothing strange about the situation at all.
I watched her for a while, having forgotten to eat myself, but she was finishing up on her honeyed toast. She brushed off the crumbs onto the plate, then poured herself some water.
“So,” I started slowly, once she was finished. “If I took care of your room issue, you could stay longer?”
She frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“Let’s say I want to see the Grand Canyon. What room?”
She was still frowning, but she gave me her room number. Again, I had to sigh at this girl. Naïve, too innocent, or just too trusting? I had no idea which she was, but I didn’t find her calculating, either.
I set my plate on the table then got up. The hotel phone was on the desk a couple of feet away, and I made the call to reception. It was easy enough to extend her stay for a few days and have the tab charged to my room. The hotel was discreet, so I wasn’t asked any unnecessary questions. In less than five minutes, I turned back to Klara.
“It’s done,” I said with a grin. “You’ve got no excuse now, right?”
She stared at me for a moment, then huffed a laugh.
“Yeah. No excuses. But can I at least go to my room to get changed, first?”
He let me go change, but he made me wait for him to finish his breakfast, then as I dumped the plates outside the room for room service, then he followed me back to my room. It was a smaller suite, but it at least had two rooms and a bathroom, and I had him wait in the front room as I changed. I didn’t have time to wash my underwear, so I just folded it and put it far away in my suitcase. I’d have to remember it later. Then, we headed out. “How are we getting there?” I asked. “Do you have a car?” I’d wasted money to get a flight, thinking I’d have to make my way back by bus, since I didn’t think the cash I had would be enough for much, and in the end didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped, anyway. It was just about everything I’d been saving up since I got my first job when I was sixteen, but until I finished high school, I used up more than I saved, so while it wasn’t little, it wasn’t a lot, either. When I realized there was not much point in continuing to save it, since I h
Klara was trembling. I’d only kissed her, and I thought she would shake apart in my arms.Damn.What happened to all those innocent intentions I had earlier? I was starting to wonder if I’d had any from the moment she fell into me at the club. Sure, I didn’t try coming onto her before, but that would’ve been in poor taste.She was, however, a beautiful woman that I was spending the day with, and it was obvious the attraction wasn’t just on my part.The first time, she didn’t seem to have any reaction, but that could have been because she was nervous for her first time on a helicopter. Every time after that, though, she’d kept blushing and fidgeting. More than once, I’d caught her staring at me when she thought I wasn’t looking.Honestly, I wasn’t going to try anything. It wasn’t the reason I asked her to go out with me to the Grand Canyon. I did want to see it, and it meant time away from my brother, which was a good thing. But seeing her sweet reactions, I couldn’t help touching her
Lucky for me, the drive was a long one because I could barely feel my legs. We rearranged ourselves after some time, though I somehow ended up sitting in Jake’s lap. He’d explained the instruction given to the driver, but I didn’t much care for the sights.Damn.By the time we made it to the hotel, my body was still singing. My thighs and hips ached, too, and I had to hold onto Jake as he got out of the car and led the way inside. It was all I could do not to walk funny because people would surely notice.Then, the other problem came.Crap.We hadn't used protection, and Jake came inside me, and I could feel it trickle down as I walked. This part of sex, was the part I didn’t like. It could be so messy when you weren’t prepared, and right then, I could only feel disgusted. Jake saw my tight expression. We were in the elevator already, and we were alone, so I was leaning against him and he had his arms tight around me.“Is there anything wrong?” he asked, frowning. “I didn’t hurt you
Something warm was pressed to my chest, and my arm was feeling numb. Those were the thoughts in my mind as I slowly woke up. I remembered yesterday, and when I opened my eyes, Klara’s face was a few centimeters from now. She was still asleep, and I drowsily stared at her for a long moment.Pretty.I pulled my arm from around her to tuck a few stray strands of her hair away from her face so I could stare at her properly.Unfortunately, I couldn’t just keep laying there, because I really needed to go to the bathroom. Klara was laying on my bicep, which was why my arm felt so numb. It was a bit of work, getting her off my arm without waking her, but I managed it and slid off the bed, rubbing my arm with a wince. It was pretty rare that I slept with the women I had sex with, and I wasn’t one for cuddling, either. Still, when I saw her frown and squirm until she was mostly lying in the place I’d just left, clutching the pillow to her face and curling up under the cover, I was tempted to ge
I was slow to wake up. I felt so warm and comfortable that I didn’t want to move. Even when my mind became conscious, I only sighed and hugged tightly at the soft thing in my arms. Then, I remembered last night and frowned.My eyes blinked open, to be met with the hotel’s pristine white pillow. Only, when I moved, there was a suspicious stain on it. I pulled back and rubbed at my chin, sighing when I realized I’d drooled.Well, that is embarrassing.“Jake?” I called out.I realized I couldn’t see him, and rolled around, but he wasn’t behind me on the bed.Could he be in the shower?I listened but couldn’t hear him there. So he was probably in the other room.With another sigh, I slipped out of bed. I was a little disappointed not to wake up with him beside him, but by the light coming into the room, it was likely no longer early in the morning. I headed for the bathroom, unconscious of my naked body. I felt an ache in my hips and between my thighs. When I looked down, I could see some
Though I’d thought of taking a bus ride home, in the end, I decided it was impossible. It would be a long trip, and while I wouldn’t mind the scenic route, I was now impatient to go back. I wanted to see my parents, have a good talk, a good cry, and go to sleep.Lucky for me, I had enough funds to purchase an airline ticket, and more money to pay back. I didn’t like taking loans. I didn’t have a formal job, though I did do some small stuff online that got me pocket money each month so I’d bother my parents less, I was hopeless with loans.I’d have to bother Mom and Dad to pay it back for me, I thought sadly.I wanted to try at least and sleep through the flight, but my emotions weren’t quite stable. I was excited, nervous, anxious, with apprehension growing in the background. I would have to face everything I’d been running from, after all. It wouldn’t be easy, and I did miss my family and friends.Did I make a mistake?I didn’t know how much time I had left. Maybe, instead of wasting
Two Years Later...A knock on the door sounded, and I looked up from the documents on top of my desk to the office door.“Come in,” I called.Mrs. Cove, a woman in her mid-forties with her brunette hair pulled back in a severe bun and dressed in a skirt suit, walked in. She was currently acting as my secretary at the company.“Sir, your meeting with the department heads is in half an hour. Should I go and make preparations now?”“What room are we meeting in?”“The third conference room on this floor, sir.”I nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mrs. Cove. And yes, please start the preparations, I’ll be done before the meeting.”“Of course, sir,” she said.With a short, bowing nod, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. I frowned down at the documents in front of me, wondering if I could finish this before the meeting, or if I could postpone it until afterward.I glanced at my phone beside my computer keyboard and picked it up. I unlocked the screen and paused for a second, b
“All right, that’s it for today. Don’t forget your assignments, and I’ll see you all in our next class.”After his closing statement, the lecturer picked up his stuff and left the room. Right on his heels were student leaving the lecture room, going from silent to noisy in seconds. I didn’t get up, waiting for the crush of people to leave so I could follow after. As the room slowly emptied, I stretched my arms out and allowed myself to relax.How the hell did I ever put up with this? I grumbled to myself.I didn’t miss school. In a lot of ways, college was worse than high school. The classes were less, and I got plenty of free time every day, but I also had assignments and stuff to study that filled up that free time, and the lectures were incredibly long. I just sat through a more than two-hour-long lecture, and my ass had fallen asleep, my hand was cramping from all the notes I’d written, and I still had one more class for the day.Can't I just skip? I whimpered to myself, but I kne