Finding N

Finding N (Intro/ 1st Chapter)

INTRODUCTION

The sun is shining bright on my face.  I blink and squint my eyes to focus.  I go to stretch, and my hand runs into a warm body.  I am now instantly awake.  I look over but can't see the face because of all of the hair blocking it.  I shoot up a prayer and move some of the long brown hair out of the way.  I let out a relieved breath.  She is average looking.  Nothing spectacular, but at least she isn't ugly.
Damn, I don't remember a thing! Who is this girl?
​I peek under the covers and realize that I am indeed stark naked. Shit! I look around the bed and floor and do not see any protection. Shit again! I let out a huff.  I'll go and take a piss first, and then I'll get her out of here.  I spot my boxers on the floor across the room.  I retrieve them and shuffle to the bathroom.  I glance at myself in the mirror.  Damn.  My hair is sticking on end.  I flush the toilet and take a deep breath before I open the door.  Opening it, I peek out first, then make my way back to the bed.  It's empty!  My eyes widen and I call out, "hello!"  No answer.  I call out again.  Still no answer.  "What the hell?" I whisper.
I walk out of the room and to the banister that overlooks the living room and try again.  "Hello!"
Nothing. 
I run my hand through my hair.  Making my way down the stairs, I notice something on the table by the front door.  I make my way over and see that it is a piece of paper.  I pick it up and it reads, SORRY.
Confused, I turn the paper over looking for more clues, but there is nothing.  It was signed only with the letter "N."  Really?  I got stiffed? I laugh loudly.  This is crazy! I think I'm in love . . . Too bad I don't know who she is!

CHAPTER 1
"Dude!  I swear, I woke up and she was gone!"  Jacob was telling his friend Joey, while sitting at the bar.  "I mean, I didn't even get a good look at her face." 
Joey shakes his head.  "So, you don't remember anything about last night?" 
Jacob takes a drink and looks over at his friend.  "Nothing.  I was so wasted.  I don't even know how we got back to my house!  Bro, I am completely confused."
Joey chuckles and claps Jacob on his shoulder, "That's fucked up man. So . . . Do you want to find her?  Maybe it's a good thing that she disappeared.  She could be a nut job." 
Jacob laughs.  "Yeah, that's true.  But I think I need to, you know?  I have never been stiffed before, and this feeling is foreign!" 
Joey barks a laugh.  "I think you're just pissed that she left your ass!" 
"Could be, but I think I need to know."  Jacob shrugs.
Joey looks confused. "What do you think that you need to know dude?"
Jacob looks into his drink and shrugs again.
"I don't know.  Maybe why she left.  How she got home?  What her name is!"  he says, chuckling. 
"I feel for you dude.  Try to remember something." 
Jacob nods.  "Yeah."
                                            ❖ 
Natalie was late for work again!  "Fuck!!"  she whispers, trying to sneak in behind her manager Harry. 
"Late again, I see."  Harry sneers over his shoulder. 
Natalie stops and straightened her stance.  "Look, I missed the bus today and I—"
"Save it Natalie.  I can't keep covering for you.  You're fired."
Her eyes widened, "Wait, wait, wait . . . Harry please!  I need this job!"
He turns and looks at her, "I know that these people want a server that will show up for work! You obviously aren't that person.  Please clean out your locker and leave." 
Natalie starts to tremble.  She needed this job!  All of her bills are behind, and her rent is due next week.  She starts to cry.  Loudly. 
Harry looks shocked and turns to her and says through gritted teeth, "Oh no you don't! You will not cry to get your way. Leave!" 
"But . . ." she starts.
"LEAVE!"  He raises his voice.  Noticing that all of the patrons are now looking at the confrontation, she turns and runs out of the door.  Getting outside, she leans her backside against the side of the building and puts her head back. 
"FUUUUUUUCCKKK!"  She screams. 
People walking by were startled.  She gave the ones who have stopped the evil eye, and they walked away briskly.
"What the fuck am I going to do?" she asks herself out loud. 
She pushes off the wall and makes her way to the bus stop.  Luckily, the bus didn't take too long to get there.  After making it home, she calls her friend Lulu. 
"Hey girl,"  Lulu answers. 
"I lost my job,"  Natalie says softly. 
"Oh no!  Were you late again?"  Lulu asks. 
"Yeah.  Fuck my life, Lulu!" 
"Girl, you know that I will help you any way that I can."
"Yeah, but I will not be taking your money, Lu."
"Whatever Chica!"  Lulu says playfully.  "Hey!  Are you ever going to find that dude that you snuck out on?"
Natalie groans.  "There is a reason that you sneak away from someone, Lu, and that's to disappear! Why would I look for him?" she asks, annoyed. 
"Because . . . He was a hottie!"  Lulu says quickly. 
"Lulu, your priorities are so messed up!  I have no job, and barely a place to stay, so why would I want to go on a date?"
Lulu was quiet for a second or two. 
"Maybe so he could rock your world again!"  she says, making grunting noises. 
Natalie laughs. "I don't know why I call you sometimes."
Lulu laughs back and responds, "Because you love me." 
"Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Look, I'll call you later.  I've got to find a job before next week." Natalie groans. 
"Okay honeybun,"  Lulu sing-songs.
They disconnect the call, and Natalie falls back on the bed and growls out loud.  "Dammit Lulu," she whispers with her arm over her face.  She had her thinking about last night and how she crept out of that house!  She didn't think that she could ever move that fast.  Partying with Lulu was always a bad idea!  Natalie hadn't had sex in so long that after a couple of drinks, everyone was looking good.  It just so happened that she linked up with the hunk.  He was there with two other guys, and they were downing drinks left and right.  Lulu caught me staring and told me to go and talk to him.  With the liquid courage I'd imbibed, I marched right over there and tapped him on the shoulder. 
"Hi . . . I'm Natalie." 
He turned to look at her and smiled.  "Na-ta-lie." He sang.  That earned a huge smile from her.  "You're cute."  He slurred. 
"Um, thanks. What's your name?" 
He looked confused for a minute and then said, "Jake." 
"You sure?"  She laughed.
"Pretty sure," he said back.  "You here by yourself?" he said over the music. 
"No, with my friend."  She pointed over to Lulu who waved. 
He lifted his hand in a wave back to her.  "You wanna go somewhere with me?"  he asked. 
Natalie looked surprised.  "That's not creepy at all,"  she said.
He threw his head back and laughed hard. 
"You're funny, too.  I mean, go somewhere quieter." 
She looked over at her friend who was giving her two thumbs up. 
She shrugged and said, "Why not?" 
He smiled a brilliant smile and ran his hand through his blond hair.  One of his friends said that he was calling a rideshare for everyone else and that he would drive Jake's car home since Jake was obviously unfit to drive.  Jake put his arm around her shoulders, and they both stumbled—him more than her—to the door. 
They pulled up to a beautiful home.  It looked like a house that would be in a movie.  The front was all glass. There were large curtains that were swooped to where you could just make out a couch and table in a living room of some sort to the right.  The other side of the glass house was dark and the curtains completely drawn.  We stepped out of the backseat of the rideshare, and I stood there in awe of the house.  Headlights pulling in behind us drew my attention.  Jake's friend pulled up and parked the car in front of the house.
"You gonna be alright, Jacob?"  his friend asked.
Jake nodded and took the keys from his friend.  Jake grabbed Natalie's hand and pulled her forward to the front door.  She turned around and saw his friends get into the rideshare that they had just vacated and pull off.    She swallowed and sobered up just a little.  Following him into the house, he took her up the stairs to a massive bedroom.  The bed took up most of the room.  She noticed a bathroom and excused herself and went in.  She looked at her reflection in the mirror and straightened her clothes and hair.  Shrugging, she exited and saw him sitting on the side of the bed.  He patted the bed, and she walked over and sat next to him.  He placed a hand in her hair and leaned in to kiss her.  Kissing this man was heaven to Natalie. 
I don't think that I've ever been kissed like that before, she remembered thinking.
She remembers stroking him to fullness and him whispering, "Is this what you want?" 
She had never said yes so many times in one breath.
Her clothes came off so quickly after that, that there was no time to think about anything else.  She remembers his tongue in her mouth and hands all over her body one minute, then him inside her the next.  They made love all over that large room. 
She still has a rug burn on her knee.  Absently she starts to rub her knee.  Her mind immediately goes back to that bedroom.  He had her standing up against the wall, on the floor, on top of the dresser, and of course, where they ended up—in the bed. 
The man was insatiable. Her body was becoming hot just thinking about him.  She rolled over on her side and shook off her daydream. 
"I've got too much shit to do to think about him," she whispers to herself.  Pushing herself up to a seated position, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"Fuck my life," she whispers.