The Morning After
I wake up and roll over to see Paige fast asleep next to me. Still in her dress, she’s curled up next to me, bare feet with red nail polish on her toes. She’s so hung over I’d be surprised if she gets up before noon.
I place my feet on the floor, letting the sheets puddle at me feet. My clock reads eleven something and I decide on a shower before doing anything. I smell like the party last night and that’s not a good thing. I head off to the bathroom, grabbing a clean towel and showering off.
After about ten minutes I get out and wrap the towel around my waist and open the door to the bathroom so I can see her sleeping in the mirror. I have to admit, she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Funny that I cannot seem to remember ever seeing her before that night we spent together.
Her body shifts on the mattress and I pretend not to have been looking at her as I spit the remaining toothpaste from my mouth into the sink. I look up to see her disoriented body anxiously searching for where she is. Her head hits her hands and I almost feel bad for her.
“Morning sunshine,” I call out.
She looks up from her hands and gasps in horror, “I went home with you?”
I stifle the urge to tell her she’s lucky to have her ass in my bed, “No, you magically were transported here while you were sleeping.”
She looks at me with a look normally reserved for guys you wake up with and wonder if they were virgins the night before, “I didn’t… I mean we didn’t in the middle of the night did we?” she asks, motioning with her finger in that disgusted motion.
“You’re still wearing clothes Paige. I didn’t undress you and then get you dressed again.”
Paige looks down at her clothes and back up at me, “Then why am I here?”
“You were drunk. Would you have preferred I left you at the club?”
She shakes her head and then grabs it, “Yeah, I’m starting to feel the hangover now.”
I fill a glass of water from the tap in the sink and give it to her with some Advil, “Here take this.”
She hesitantly takes them from my palm, “Thank you.”
“It could have been worse, that girl you hate offered to take you home.”
She grabs my arm forcefully, holding on to it as she downs the pills, “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Paige carefully stands up and tries not to shake. I hold on to her for a minute until she steadies herself. She lets go of me and waits a moment, “I think I can do this on my own.”
I keep my hand on her for good measure and point to the bathroom, “You can figure it out. Clean towels are in the closet.”
She nods and watches where I move as she slips past me into the bathroom. This is going to be even better than I thought. I head downstairs and whistle as I pull things out of the fridge. My cooking skills may be pitiful but my momma did teach me one important thing, how to make eggs.
I chop some peppers and throw them into the pan with some cheese. My ears pick up the “sound of feet padding down the stairs and a surprisingly shy blonde appears from around the corner, “I’m just going to get going. Thanks for the bed.”
“Wait, stay for breakfast.”
Paige tries to smile, “No, I’m good.”
I put the plate under her nose, “Come on, try a bite.”
She puts her hands out cautiously and takes the plate, “Why are you doing this?”
“I make breakfast all the time. I occasionally even eat.”
Paige sets the plate down and folds her arms over her chest, “I know you don’t like me. I know you hate Scott and I know you hate the magazine. So, the question becomes, why are you being so nice to me?”
“Can’t you just think it’s because I’m a nice person?”
She licks her lips, “I know you’re not a nice person. Remember, I’ve followed you for quite some time. Inquiring minds need to know.”
“Maybe I’ve become fond of you.”
“Maybe it’s because you want to sleep with me.”
I hand her some silverware, “It turns out you were right, I can have any woman I want.”
“So then why am I here?” she asks, sticking her fork into the eggs like she’s imagining doing to my chest.
“Because you are a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.”
She pushes the plate back at me, “Thanks, but I’m going. I have a whole story to write about a fallen pop star’s seduction of women and yet can’t bed them.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks and I begin to feel like no bet is worth sucking up and kissing her ass, “Well then, I guess I’ll just see you on the street with the other blood suckers.”
“I guess you will.”
I watch as her ass moves just right in that dress. Then again, she’s still with Scott. Talk about perfect. That means that if I do get her, it’s better than ever. I really could get to both of them through her. Maybe putting up with her bullshit for a good lay was in my grasp and get back at UCS for every celebrity ever trashed by Paige Jenkins will get revenge. I just have to get some face time in.
________________________________________________________________________
I remove my high heels and carefully slip the key into the lock, turning it very carefully to avoid any noise. My arm pushes the door open and I grab my heels with the other as I sneak in. Suddenly the light overhead goes on and Reid stands before me, “Where were you?”
“You’re home!” I exclaim, inwardly cursing myself for not checking my personal planner for the date today.
“Brooke said you didn’t call so I stayed up all night to make sure you were alright. You are supposed to call if you do not come home young lady.”
“Thank you daddy,” I respond dryly, leaning over and hugging him, “I’m glad you’re back. Going through an emotional crisis without your best friend is not cool.”
“Brooke filled me in, I’m sorry about Scott.”
I shrug, “What are you going to do?”
He hands me my coffee, “You are going to have to deal with the reality sooner or later.”
“It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. I’m used to it.”
“Thank you House.”
“You’re welcome,” I respond.
“So,” he asks, taking my lifeline from my hands as I whimper, “Tell me where you were last night. After all, you are going to be taking my bed over and I think I have a right to know where you are when you’re not in it.”
I reach for the cup he’s holding above my head, “I need my coffee.”
“And I’ll give it to you as soon as you tell me where you were that you couldn’t call.”
“I was at work. Remember that thing I do that I now refer to as hell?”
Reid snorts and takes a long sip of my coffee, “The longer you lie the more I drink. Spill or you can kiss your morning pick me up goodbye.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I wouldn’t?” he asks, taking another sip.
I wait and try to contain myself but I see my sanity slipping away, “Fine! Just stop drinking my coffee.” I cry out as I reach out for my coffee, grabbing it and holding it as thought I was getting my very energy from its existence, “How much did Brooke tell you?”
“Everything. Scott slept with Trish so you slept with the boy wonder and bam, here you are.”
“Okay,” I say, regaining control of my sanity and taking a whiff, “I spent the night passed out in wonder boy’s bed.”
I watch as concern comes over his features, “How did that happen?”
“It’s a long story that would require graphs and charts so to simplify everything for you, Trish and I ended up getting the same assignment and so I drank away my feelings so he took me home with him.”
“Drunk sex. Nothing says trashy, free, romance novel with a can of soup like drunk sex.”
“No sex, just a hangover.”
Reid points to the bagels on the counter, “He hates you. He should, you wrote half those scathing articles about him. So why in the world would he go out of his way to care for the one person he wished would drop off the face of the earth?”
“Because he hates Scott more. And he figures if he can get to me he can get to him.”
“I would just be suspicious that’s all.”
I lean back against the counter, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll never have to be personally involved with him again.”
“Maybe, but you’ll still have to see him again. It’s your job remember?”
“I can handle my job. Without me, he wouldn’t be half of what he is.”
Reid laughs, “I don’t think he’ll see it quite that way.”
I tale my last sip of my coffee, placing the empty cup in the sink, “Who cares what he thinks? So, how was your mini vacation in California?”
“Therapeutic. It was nice to get away from here for a while.”
Italics comes running and starts head butting my face until I rub his chin, washing the mug with the other hand, “What, being an advertisement guy isn’t as fulfilling as it’s supposed to be?”
“Oh yeah, it’s my dream job Paige.”
I giggle and put the cup away, “I’m going to go put on some regular clothes.”
“You do that. Brooke’s still sleeping.”
“And you’re surprised? You’ve only been gone a week and you forgot that your roommate likes to sleep in till noon?”
“I forgot,” he clarifies in his most robust voice that follows me to the extra room I’m staying in, “how much shit doesn’t get done around here when I’m gone.”
I go into my suitcase, pulling out a pair of jeans and a sweater, “Part of that is my fault, I moved all my crap in.”
“Duh. I assume that’s why the feline is here.”
I stick my head out the door as I tug my jeans on over my hips, “For no reason are you to yell at him.”
The phone starts to ring and I pull the sweater over my head, “I’ll get it!”
“Hello?”
“Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get a hold of you?”
I grab a pillow and go into Brooke’s room and hit her over the head. She turn over onto her back and groans, “What the hell?”
I hold the phone out in front of her, “Get caller ID please.”
“Tell that asshole off Paige and dump him,” she says, putting her head underneath the pillow I threw at her.
I plop down next to her, “What is it Scott?”
“When are we going to talk?”
“I don’t want to talk to you. In fact, I would like you to burn in hell.”
“Paige, come on. You want this thing to work out or what?”
“I don’t care whether things work out or not.”
“But you do care about your job, which is why we are not broken up.”
I don’t say anything and Brooke squints up at me, “So, when are we going to talk Paige?”
My fingers go through my hair and Brooke starts to move her arms wildly, “Don’t do it!”
“Meet me tomorrow at the press conference for Jive records.”
“Done. See you then Paige.”
“Bye.”
Brooke purses her lips for a minute before hitting me with the pillow, “Ow!” I whine, rubbing my head.
“You. Are. An. Idiot.”
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