Escapism (CL 16)

3. The Morning After

Laura had scurried through the streets, barefoot and carrying her heels, in what she realised was a very obvious walk of shame. It only added to her embarrassment about the whole thing. The way he'd looked at her when he'd seen the picture on her Lock Screen made her want to curl up into a ball and cry.

Why had she not just explained? She wasn't sure why the idea of telling someone, even a complete stranger, that Mike had cheated on her and then left her like that was quite so hard. She'd struggled to get the words out to even tell Anna, and she was her best friend.

She should've just told him, he was a complete stranger and at the end of the day it didn't really matter. If she'd just told him, maybe she'd still be there in that luxuriously soft bed, having what was arguably the best sex of her life.

Instead, she was creeping back into Anna's apartment, praying that her friend was already asleep so she didn't have to face all of the questions that she was inevitably going to ask. If she managed to avoid Anna until the morning at least she'd have until then to come up with some kind of story to tell her, one that wasn't quite as embarrassing as the truth.

She was beyond relieved to find the apartment was in total darkness when she finally stepped inside, meaning she was safe from Anna for now. Either that or she hadn't actually made it back from the club yet, she supposed. She didn't know a huge amount about Anna's life in Monaco, but if that night had been anything to by she went out a lot.

Laura headed quietly for the guest bedroom that she was staying in, heading straight for the bathroom to take a shower. Something about the whole evening had left her feeling dirty, like she'd somehow betrayed her relationship with Mike by jumping straight into bed with a stranger. It was ridiculous that she was even thinking it, given how many times he'd gone home with another woman and they'd actually still been together, but the thought was still there.

So she stripped out of dress, trying not to let her eyes focus on the marks that had been left on her skin from the way his teeth had grazed her skin earlier. Just looking at them sent a shiver down her spine. She had to admit the sex had been good, and she would've been more than willing to stay for round two like he'd suggested if things hadn't taken the turn they did.

She got in the shower, turning it up until it was scalding hot and the bathroom filled with steam. She scrubbed at her skin as though she could somehow remove all trace of him ever having touched her in the first place. But every time her hand slid over her own skin, it brought back another memory of the way he'd touched her.

It was quite possibly going to be burned into her memory forever.

She eventually climbed out of the shower, pulling on her pyjamas and climbing into bed in the hope of getting some sleep. But the second she closed her eyes, all she could think of was the way his hands felt on her body.

She was left wishing she'd never let Anna convince her that what she needed was a distraction. Now she needed a distraction from her distraction.

******

Laura had eventually fallen asleep, after a lot of tossing and turning. When she woke her head was pounding, last nights hangover well and truly hitting her, as did the shame of what had happened the night before.

She groaned, burying her head in the pillows and pulled the duvet further up over her head. She was already contemplating how long she could hide in there before Anna would eventually come looking for her.

About five minutes later the door to the bedroom swung open, the smell of coffee filling the room and the bed dipped as Anna climbed into bed beside her.