+TYPED OUT-

+DAY 3-

Kenneth opened his eyes first. The man thought about how he should leave when he suddenly remembered it was his suite.

He closed his eyes and relaxed. The man profited from the warmth of her hug on his chest for the moment. The feeling was priceless. Monday was the one who had to deal with the one-shot departing bonanza.

Kenneth didn't regret a single moment of their night together.

Nothing that happened was a coincidence from day one. Their booths were at the back of the fair to force visitors to navigate through the whole fair to meet their favorite author finally. The best sellers were in the same perimeter. Fiction authors had non-Fiction authors sitting across from them.

Kenneth saw Monday permanently joined someone when she attended his talks. It was Ben who reeled her in Kenneths' direction and not some cosmic force that wished for them to meet. From then on, Kenneth took things into his hands. He provoked their interactions.

As for the hotel, almost every guest slept there. That ploy was the BookInc committee's to get people to connect. And boy did he and Monday follow the recommendation.

Sex with Monday was fun. The Scorpio would have wished to explore more, but the woman was a little reluctant to let him discover more of her. Nevertheless, the sex was good. It had been a while. The man felt distressed and reinvigorated.

A few minutes later, Mondays' eyes sprung open in horror as the images slapped themselves on her face like a wake-up call. She shot up and immediately turned to check Kenneth slept. She got out of the bed and hurried to pick up her underwear.

A light sleeper, Kenneth opened his eyes and shut them when the woman turned to check on him again.

The man opened one eye and watched Monday slip on her dress. Kenneth closed it when she spun around like a hawk.

Panic.

What had she done?

Monday didn't know how to leave. At the same time, Kenneth, the man who didn't care. She assumed he would prefer a silent departure, so she left. It wasn't like their night together was supposed to have another chapter. One night stand or one-shot what Monday retained was one and its translation as a non-recurring event.

Kenneth sat up as soon as the door clicked shut. Monday didn't even leave a note. The man was unable to tell whether he was disappointed or not. It was true he didn't wish for something messy, but Monday wasn't a stranger he snatched at a nightclub. She could have at least deposited a kiss on his forehead or somethingㅡanything.

The incident didn't throw shade on his mood. He felt as though he could sing, and he did, under his shower. Kenneth replayed all the motions and the last sentence she whispered in his ear when she came.

"I still don't like you."

On Mondays' lips, the sentence was probably the hottest the man ever heard.

Monday just wanted to be buried under a rock on the sixth floor. Why did she feel played?

She was the only one to blame. Monday had promised herself not to sleep with a man unless they had bonded before through things other than sex.

It was even the main reason why she stopped using Tinder.

"Your body is your temple," her aunt Bisi would say.

After three months on the app, Monday's temple was a squat. Though she advocated against slut-shaming the woman found herself auto critiquing her behavior. Again she was the only one to blame, five guys in three months, all that to find an ideal guy. 

When she did the maths, she had a higher probability of catching an STD than meeting Mr.Right. Mondays' brief subscription to the app made her feel like Georgina Campbells' character Amy, in the fourth episode of Season four in Black Mirror. There was this particular scene in the Hang the DJ episode where her partners came into her bedroom and left in next day in fast-forward motion while she stood immobile and exhausted by the various one-night encounters.

And there she was at the Fourth Knight Hotel, having sex with someone like Kenneth, who honestly didn't care.

"Men don't like easy women," that sentence was signed by Mrs. Layeni, aka her mother. Seeming easy was probably how and why Kenneth approached her. 

The woman felt a fool and just wanted the day to end. This time Monday was the late one coming into her booth at noon.

"Monday, are you okay?" Ben asked, seeing her with her don't-look-at-me outfit, hair tied up, and neutral glossed lips. All was not lost; the man thought when he noticed Monday did do a little makeup. Despite her inner turmoil, the woman knew she had to represent for the visitors' sake.

Monday took a seat only to see her book slammed on the table in front of her.

"Hi."

This voice, the woman cringed within. Monday looked up; Kenneth stood all smiles.

"Hi."

A visitor occupied Ben, but Tim stood close. Kenneth doubted Monday would appreciate it if he brought up any questions about the evening. Thus, he came to get a signed copy for Morgens' wife.

"What are you playing at, Kenneth?"

"It's for a friend. I need a signed copy."

The man tried to capture the woman's stare. Kenneth needed to see her face, and she made sure not to meet his gaze. Was she embarrassed?

Monday didn't know what to think.

Did the man come to make sure there were no bitter feelings?

"Who should I dedicate it to?"

"Lisbeth."

Or did he come to make her understand he had someone else?

Perhaps it was this Lisbeth.

"Thank you."

"Kenneth, it's time."

Monday noted Meredith was never far. She followed the man like a hound. Even Ben cut her some slack.

"Just a sec, Meredith."

The woman crossed her arms, and Kenneth returned his focus on Monday.

"Eh, how are you?"

"I'm good," Monday replied, lifting her gaze briefly and lowering it just as quick.

"Iㅡ."

"Kenneth."

No, it was neither the time nor the place to speak to her.

"I'll talk to you later," Kenneth hurried off, and Monday sighed. She couldn't even slump down on her seat as the visitors walked up for a dedication. The woman hung a plastic smile a began to meet and greet. They had nothing to do with the noise in her head. She had to give them a warm welcome.

"Meredith."

"Yes, Kenneth."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me the way you did back there."

"Pardon."

"Even my parents wouldn't dare interrupt me like that. Please refrain from doing so from on," Kenneth said. The man recognized Meredith as an essential piece of his daily schedule, but for the first time since he employed her, Kenneth wished to have time to do as he pleased.

The paradox was total; the woman stood dumbfounded on the spot as the man went to sit behind a table for a podcast.