Love and Ambition

10 - The Morning After

The sun shines through the curtains; its red color tinting the room.

Last night was fun, I thought. My eyes concentrate on the ceiling, blinking profoundly from the soreness. The room swirls from my light head; heart pounding at the thought of a person; my lips curled to a small smile of satisfaction. It's the familiar beginning of blooming infatuation.

I take notice of the arm around my waist; my bare back touching someone else's skin. I look at the wall right in front of me and its yellow paint screams: this is not your room!

I turn around to be face-to-face with Jason. Strands of his chocolate brown hair covering his face. My whole body freezes as his eyes flutter open. 

"Hey..." He musters his best smile, stretching out his arms and then pulling me close to his chest.

Glimpses of last night's rendezvous dance in my mind. The moments leading up to us in bed. Together. Naked.

Bare. Fucking. Naked. 

The door creaks open and I immediately take the covers above my head. I make the assumption that his roommate—who I've come to know as Peter—has come back into the room for something. His footsteps stop in the middle of the room and I can feel that he's looking at our clothes scattered on the floor.

My cheeks burn and I hope to God he doesn't notice my form under the sheets.

"I see you had fun last night," I hear him pick up the trash can and then a silence. "No protection?" He snickers.

Jason groans, turning around to him. "Shut up," he throws something at Peter who laughs. He rummages around the room before leaving. Jason leaves my side and raises up from the bed. I breathe out, pulling the covers down and watch him walk across the room and to the door, locking it.

He turns around and smirks at me. "You weren't so shy last night, why are you now?"

I click my tongue at him and roll my eyes. I stand up from the bed and look for my clothes on the floor, picking them up and putting them on as I go. 

"Are you free today?" Jason asks, putting his clothes on. 

"Yeah, why?" I sit beside him.

"Wanna hang out?"

* * *

As we enter the local coffee shop, the smell of coffee beans hang in the air. I take a deep breath, letting the aroma send me to a little haze. 

"Go find us a seat, I'll order," he places a hand on the small of my back. "What's your poison?"

"Vanilla latte. Single," I smile at him as he walks to the barista. I look around the cafe, empty seats scattered around. I'm surprised that it's not busy, seeing as it's breakfast time on a Sunday. 

A booth by the window catches my eye and I walk straight towards it. Sitting down, I look outside the window; watching how slow the small town moves. 

When I was in the city, I'd watch outside the window and see a crowd of people walking with a purpose—as if running from point A to point B. Here, it's as if they were hit by a day dream and just walking for the sake of walking. No rush or reason to where they're going.

A life in slo-mo.

I pick up my phone to text Jenn:

Sorry I left last night. Hope you're okay x

The door to the cafe opens. As I lift my head up to look, my heart beats out of its cage. That's the last face I wanted to see.

"Hey," Sean greets me, breathless. "I've been looking all over town for you," he welcomes himself to the free space across from me, taking my hand into his.

I pull away. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Just listen," he leans in, his eyes staring into mine. "I want you back, Brooke. I miss you like hell," he bounces his leg, making the table shake. "I've tried moving on. It's impossible when I'm not with the person I want to be with.

"You're in my dreams like you're still my girlfriend. Let's give us a chance. What do you say, huh?"

This made me smile. As Sean sees it, his face brightens as a growing satisfaction pulls on his lips.

But it all crashes down when I say, "like fuck I will."