THE DRY CLEANER'S MESS

CHAPTER 17

Even before she opened her eyes, she knew that morning was different from other mornings. The warmth emanating from the being she had her head on, the slight thud of the heart ringing in her left ear, the heavy arm resting on her back- they were all evidences of the divergence of that morning. Her heart sank at the reality. She had slept with Luke.

Before she could start to panic, she heard the rumble in his chest as he spoke.

"Now we've established that you're awake, good morning."

She winced as she raised herself at the elbows. "Good morning, Luke."

The mischievous smile he gave her had her mind reeling. Why was he looking at her that way? Did she snore all through the night? Her eyes widened instinctively. Did she? No man had ever complained that she snored but then she'd never slept with a man through the night. Her mother used to sleep with her in her room before she remarried and moved out. She narrowed her eyes, did Maman ever say she snored? Her rumination was interrupted by Luke's quiet chuckle.

"What is going through your mind? You look like there's a civil war going on in there." She rolled her eyes at his joke and he whooped in victory. "And she's back."

"Huh?"

"The old, snarky Arielle. She's back. You rolled your eyes."

She fought the smile that tried to form but failed miserably. "You're so annoying."

He shrugged and got out of the bed. She averted her gaze, it was too early to drool. He pointed to the bathroom. "You should go and take a shower."

She eyed him dubiously. "Why?"

"I want us to eat in the dining room. I have to be sure you eat from now on."

Her lips formed a slight frown. "So you're babysitting me now?"

He shrugged and walked out of the door. "I'll be back in 30 minutes, Chouchou."

When the door clicked shut, she let out a loud yawn and stretched her body before sloughing to the bathroom in slow steps. As she bathed, she reflected on what had transpired the previous day. After wetting his shirt with her tears for what felt a century, she was burnt-out with only enough strength to crawl into the cozy bed. She was aware of the moment the bed deepened and she felt a comfortable warmth, but she was too exhausted to bother.

She quickly finished in the bathroom and wore a simple gown. Luke had brought in boxes of clothes for her the previous week, more clothes than she'd ever owned her whole life. Of course as the annoying person he was, he put in a couple blazers and dress pants but they were very few, so she didn't stress about them.

As she was running a comb through her hair, Luke threw the door open after a sharp rap of his knuckles on it.

"Everybody knows it's your house, you don't need to unhinge the door to reaffirm your ownership."

He just laughed at her jab and sat on the edge of her bed. "Good to have you back." She scowled and watched him shake in more laughter.

She stopped paying attention to him and kept running the comb through her hair that had gotten so thick, it was starting to make grooming a little difficult. A few grunts escaped her lips as she struggled with the mane on her head. Luke's gentle touch on her shoulder stopped her.

"Let me help you with that." Without waiting for her permission, he took the comb from her hand and started running it through her hair. She sat rigidly in the sofa while he worked because she knew if she let down her guard even a little bit, she'd sink into that whirlpool of euphoria.