The Fox, Red

069 - A Chance and a Tease

I have been trained to be up at a certain time. Sleeping in is a foreign concept. My body just refuses to stay still and sometimes it drives me nuts. I roll over to check the alarm clock on the nightstand. Sure enough, it's just after 6 am. I roll in the other direction to find that my company is missing. I wonder where she wandered off to.

Everything going on around me seems to come into sense. I think I know where she went. I can hear water running in the bathroom. A morning shower would probably be the best thing for her. She was in a rough spot last night. She may be feeling OK though. I can hear her humming as I get closer to the bathroom door. If she's OK then I won't bother her. I lay back down on the bed grabbing my casual clothes for today. My suit is still hung up and encased in a black bag to keep it clean. I keep looking at it knowing that if anything were to happen to that thing, it would be my head on the block. I don't know how much she paid for that. I don't want to know how much she paid for that.

The water shuts off but the humming still continues. I can hear a few footsteps as she moves around. The door unlocks as she opens it. Her face is buried in a towel as she takes a few steps out. Her eyes catch mine as I lay on the bed. "Did I wake you?" I shake my head, "No, I get up around this time."

"Oh good."

She went back to being unbothered. If it wasn't obvious when she walked out. She just had a towel wrapped around her. I laid back down on the bed taking a deep breath and looking up at the ceiling before I heard her call for me again. "Hey Red! Bam!" She flipped open her towel at me to show me her short shorts and tube top. "Gotcha!"

She darted back into the bathroom laughing. I take another deep breath as I try to calm my now-racing heart. I wasn't expecting that and she got me. I hope it was the reaction she wanted because that was unexpected. "I take it you're feeling better this morning?"

"I didn't feel bad last night. Liquor just makes me sleepy no matter how much I have."

She comes back out with her clothes from yesterday in her grasp. "Plus, I know you can't drink so it was fun to rub that in your face." I just nod with an "uh huh". She's toying with me. I don't know why. Maybe it's because of the private session we had or that she knows Madam Odette so well. No matter what it is, she's a lot more confident than she was when she showed up at my door last night, stuttering and sheepish.

As she sat down I noticed that there was an extra wrapper on the desk, crumpled up and set aside. She must have found her dinner and now turned to breakfast. I must have also been tired if I slept through her opening it and eating it. "Well Red, You have a full day of traveling ahead of you. I shouldn't keep you for too long. Thanks for entertaining me and being such a gentleman. Lady Odette is right about you."

Excuse me? What does she mean by that and where did that come from? I raise an eyebrow, "Explain?" She moved around in her chair to face me, "Well, I let Madam Odette know that you were admitted but told her to act surprised when you go back to tell her. She told me that I should go tell you and congratulate you in a very broad sense of the word."

"And how did that go?"

She rubbed her neck as she broke eye contact. Ah, not going to answer. I imagine that she is stuck between a rock and a hard place now. She came here with a mission and didn't complete it. Even so, she still stuck around. Maybe I can use this to get back at her. "OK, no need to push it. I get it. I get it." I brush it off as I relax on the bed once more. She's still flustered. It's kind of cute. I'm going to push it.

"So!" I bark loudly to get her attention. "Your plan of using liquid courage didn't work." I can see the blood rush to her face. She's been busted and her plan exposed even though it wasn't that hard to figure out. "It's easier if you come clean."