C.E.O x C.E.O

Ch. 16 - Morning-After

The next day...

There's a pounding in his head. James' eyes flutter open, vision made blurry and brittle by tears he doesn't remember shedding. He doesn't remember much of anything from last night really. His muscles ache although he lies on a plush surface, if that means anything. But there's a warmth being pressed against him. In a way, it's soothing. His body relaxes.

His vision becomes clearer. And gradually, so does his memories. He remembers it being a long, exhausting day and he lounged at his desk up until he received a phone call. Who called? He tries to recall but to no avail. He does remember then being invited to a club though. And then he drank something. And then he stepped out of the club for air. And... what happened next?

Oh, Dmitri. Dmitri was there.

James' eyes immediately widened. Dmitri was there!

James sits up in the bed he'd apparently been lying in. And his heart skips a beat when he realizes what the warmth pressed against him was.

It's Dmitri, his sleeping face relaxed and breath steady, still wearing the varsity jacket he wore last night.

In an instant, James jumps out of the bed. He stood too quick, the headache spiked, causing his hand to fly up to his temples as he groans.

Dmitri startles awake. And now they are both staring at each other wide-eyed and confused.

"W-where am I?" James quickly says, his voice surprisingly more scratchy than expected. "What are you-? What did we-? What?!"

"Whoa, calm down, pechen'ye," Dmitri's gaze softens. "Ain't it too early to get yer panties in a twist?"

"I would be calm if I knew how the hell I got here!" James throws his hands in the air. "Well? Care to explain?"

"We didn't fuck last night, if that's what yer wonderin'," Dmitri lies back down, only his elbows supporting his upper-half weight to still be somewhat sitting up, then his signature smile stretches across his face. "Ya wouldn't be able to stand up so fast like that if we did."

James rolls his eyes. It may be too early for him to be moody right now, but it's also too early for one of Dmitri's dumb jokes.

But it makes him realize. He passed out last night, didn't he? And Dmitri brought him home? Here he thought he'd just leave him there.

"What time is it?" He then glances around the room for a clock on the wall, but it's empty. Depressingly empty, with only the plain gold wallpaper decorating the walls. "I need to go on a business trip, I can't be late."

"Chill..." Dmitri singsongs, waving at James before checking his wristwatch. "Your train ride is at mid noon right? Then you've got six hours left before departure."

James startles at the newfound information. "That's barely enough time!"

He was about to run off and get to packing before Dmitri grabs his wrist and stops him. James glances back at Dmitri, an irrelevant sense of déjà vu from this very scene lingers at the back of his mind.

"C'mon, you've got plenty of time." He says bluntly, as expected from a dolt like him.

"Easy for you to say," James pulls his wrist away. "I haven't started packing yet, and unlike you, I prefer to be organized."

"And panickin' ain't gonna magically pack those bags," Dmitri sighs and shakes his head playfully, getting up from the bed. He doesn't seem as disgruntled as James is. Is this really not a big deal to him? Your enemy waking up next to you in your very bedroom?