Confessions of a Broken Heart

Chapter 5

I had a brief moment of sheer panic when I woke up very hung over and completely naked, in a bed that was not my own, with a strange man's hand resting on my butt.

Holding my breath, I slithered out of bed as carefully as I could so as not to wake him up. Clutching a rumpled sheet to my chest, I looked around the hotel room in shock. As I took in the clothes scattered on the floor and the empty bottle of wine on the little table, the details of last night came back to me in pieces and then in a rush.

Even before Mike, hooking up with handsome strangers was never really my style. And the sleeping naked man sprawled out on the bed in front of me was definitely not my usual type.

But then again...I glanced back at him again, noting his toned chest...and other features. At least I still have good taste when I'm drunk. I smirked, thinking about how proud Andrea would be of me right now.

Realizing simultaneously that if I stood around gawking for much longer he was going to wake up and that I smelled like alcohol and stale sweat, I decided to take a fast shower and then get gone, hopefully without waking him up at all.

As the warm water rushed over my body, the panic over my situation and the throbbing in my head both started to dissipate. My thoughts drifted and, as often happens when I'm in the shower, whatever sense of urgency I'd had earlier was gone.

Maybe drunk me was on to something. Maybe an impulsive one night stand wasn't such a crazy idea. Maybe Andrea was right about me needing a distraction in order to get over Mike for good.

"Uh, hey," a voice said, followed by a hesitant knock on the bathroom door.

I froze, eyes wide in panic for the second time that morning. So much for sneaking out.

"Uh, Michonne?" he called again and I cringed.

"...Yeah?" I reluctantly answered.

He said something but I couldn't make it out over the sound of the water and the bathroom fan.

"What?" I called, poking my head out of the shower curtain, completely mystified as to why he was making this so unbelievably awkward.

He cracked the door open and I could see that he was now wearing boxers but nothing else.

"It's just, I uh, I need to wash up also," he said, only glancing up at me on the last word.

I raised my eyebrows imperiously, "Are you telling me to hurry up or are you asking to join me?"

I caught the hint of a cheeky smile as he kept his head low but raised his eyes to look directly at me.

"...the latter," he answered.

"You are very bold," I informed him, astonished. I could scarcely believe this was happening to me.

"I was just thinking...I know it's technically morning but maybe since we haven't left the room yet then this can still count as last night. Anyway, even if we never see each other again...or, since King County is such a small place, if we see each other and pretend that this never happened...You're so amazing and...And things like this don't happen to me. Like ever. And I all I wanted to say was..."

I've never seen a grown man give such pathetically adorable puppy dog eyes. I caved.

"Hurry up and come here," I said, pulling the curtain back a little bit to make room.

He grinned and my stomach flipped. Before I could change my mind, he closed the door behind him, stripped out of his boxers, and stepped into the shower with me. To his credit, he didn't reach for me right away.

"But in all seriousness...how in the world did I get so much glitter in my hair?" Rick asked.

"It's confetti," I laughed, trying to help him rinse the colorful specks out of his curls, "We all lined up and set off the confetti poppers when Glenn and Maggie ran through, remember? And then your biker buddy popped one in your face."

"Ahh..." he said, "Yeah, it's all coming back to me now."

By the end of his sentence, I could tell that he was remembering certain other events of last night, because I was too. I don't know if I was maybe still a little drunk or if it was the memory of his mouth passionate against mine as he helped me out of my expensive dress or if it was the steamy water pouring over his skin, barely inches from mine, but my heart was racing and I kissed him.

He returned the kiss, pulling me tight against his chest. The feel of his skin against mine was intoxicating and I ran my hands along his arms, his back.

I didn't feel like myself, but in a good way, like I was in a dream. A breathlessly erotic dream.

I don't know how long we were in there but we ultimately decided that the shower was too cramped and slippery. Rick fumbled to turn off the water and followed me back to the bedroom, where I fell back onto the bed, shivering at the cool air against my wet skin. Then he was on top of me, kissing me slowly, weaving his fingers between mine, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

After, I'd barely caught my breath when I realized that it really was morning and late morning at that. I sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, looking around for my clothes.

"Stay, just a little longer..." Rick said sleepily, trailing his hand down my arm.

"I can't. I have things to do today," I told him over my shoulder.

He sighed, "Yeah, me too..." but made no move to get out of bed.

He watched me, half pretending to be asleep, as I got dressed. I used a towel to wring as much water as I could out of my hair then pulled on my hopelessly wrinkled dress. I made a mental note to take it to the dry cleaners.

I stifled a yawn.

"Do you want some coffee? I can order room service," Rick offered, no longer pretending he wasn't watching me.

"No," I said, repeating, "I really have things to do today."

Namely, checking on my son and finally letting the babysitter go home. Expecting to be home very late, but nowhere near this late, I'd arranged for my teenage neighbor to watch Andre and spend the night on the pull-out couch so that she didn't have to wait up for me.

I gathered up my shoes and my clutch, confirming that I did in fact have several missed calls and unopened texts from Enid, and was about to leave when Rick's voice stopped me again.

"Michonne," he said, lying on his side with the tangled sheet barely covering his waist, a twinkle in his blue eyes, "Whoever broke your heart was a damn fool."

I left him with the smallest of smiles, "You have no idea."

........................

TBC!