INTROSPECTIVE

Chapter 12

He woke up with a start,head pounding madly,threatening to break off into a run.With great effort,he tried to open his eyes.It was long since he had such a terrible hangover.His semi-open eyes adjusted to the light,he was met with the sight of pink walls.He really didn't remember repainting his room and in pink!He slowly adjusted himself in a sitting position,he really needed something for his head.As he let his eyes rummage the room,he realised that this was most definitely not his room.Floral curtains,fluffy duvet,pink bedsheets.Female,definitely female.Wait female!He cursed.He couldn't have,could he?Besides he still had his clothes on.Yes,nothing happened.Nothing at all,he convinced himself.But that didn't ease his mind enough.There was still the question of where exactly he was.Stumbling from the bed,he half walked half dragged himself out of the room.

The toilet wasn't hard to find.As he was relieving himself,he squinted in concentration,trying to recall what happened the previous night.He came up with nothing.Argh.

The next room he found was the kitchen.Still, no sign of anyone.He caught a glimpse of purple through the kitchen window.The night's events came rushing back to him all at once.Dance with me Eva.

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Eva basked in the warmth of the mid-morning sun.A perfect morning,she thought as she wiggled her toes playfully in the lush grass beneath her feet.A gentle breeze passed through making the branches of the avocado tree in the compound sway.Eva admired the vines of the bougainvillea that formed an evergreen natural fence around compound.The bracts of the bougainvillea were beautiful in the morning sunshine in lovely colours of pink,lavender and red-orange.

She lay down in the grass and stretched her lithe body.She hummed in contenment before settling down to relax.She closed her eyes and waited for nature to breathe into her calm and serenity.

But the lush grass irritated her bare skin and the gentle breeze caused goosebumps to sprout all over her arms and legs.She shivered uncomfortably.Maybe the bougainvillea would be her saving grace.She opened her eyes to feast on their beauty.The bracts were so beautiful,weren't they?But all she saw this time were the sharp points of the thorns within the vines.The sun caused her discomfort all of a sudden and the parts of her skin exposed to it began to feel itchy.The shade of the avocado tree wasn't enough.She tried to glance up and probably admire the cloudless sky but the sun was too bright.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply.But the calming effect didn't come.Why was nature not granting her the serenity and peace she sought?She growled in frustration and clutched the grass tightly,uprooting bits of it.Did last night mess her up this much?

A shadow was cast over her.

"What did that poor grass ever do to you?"

Despite herself,she found herself smiling before replying to the familiar voice.

"And Sleeping Beauty is finally awake,"she teased.

"Too bad I wasn't woken up with a kiss."

There was an awkward silence between them.Eva turned to face Louis.He wasn't looking at her,he was facing the other side.When he raised his face towards her,he had a strange look on his face and Eva knew what was coming.She had really hoped that he would be too drunk to remember.

"You don't have to say anything,"she said right when he opened his mouth to speak.

He swallowed his words.

"Blame it on the alcohol and let's leave it at that."

For a minute,his eyes searched her face.Eva didn't know what he was looking for but the whole thing was unnerving.

Eva inwardly sighed in relief when he settled down next to her on the grass.

She sniffed the air around him then grimaced.