LONDON BOY

5. The Morning After

Listen to this song on repeat to get in this chapter's mood:
CH5: Treacherous (Original Demo Recording) – Taylor Swift

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You wake up to the sound of knocking on the door. Slowly, you open your eyes, immediately remembering exactly where you were. You turn around to check if Tom is awake, but find an empty couch. Did I really just spend the night in the same room as Tom Tyler? Bri and Rose are going to freak out when I tell them.

Knocking again. You hear a clicking sound, and the door flies open. A boy who's face you vaguely remember, storms into the room and starts; "Dude, where did you fly off to last night? And who was that hot girl that's all over Instagram with y..."

He stops when he sees you in Tom's bed. "Oh, hi. This is awkward... I'm guessing you're the mystery girl?" You push yourself to sit up on the bed and nervously pull at Tom's borrowed t-shirt. "Yep, that would be me..." "Right..." He says awkwardly, "Well, I'm Sam – Tom's more handsome brother." He takes a few steps towards you and casually sits down on the edge of the bed. Can't he see that I'm quite exposed under here?

He shows you his phone. You look at the pictures of the night before; some of you kissing Tom in the club, others of you entering the hotel together hand in hand. Your stomach craps with stress, as Sam rambles on, "Twitter is blowing up over your appearance last night. The hashtag #TomsMysteryGirl is a trending topic!"

At that point, Tom steps out of the bathroom, wearing just a towel that is hanging dangerously low on his hips. "Tom, man, I was wondering where you were! Last night, damn, insane. With this girl kissing you out of the blue – and now she's in your bed." He looks at you and then back at Tom, smirks and says, "By the way; good job mate!"

Before Tom can answer, Sam continues, "Have you checked your phone at all? Kayla has been calling me non-stop, because she can't get a hold of you. Apparently, the mystery girl caused some great publicity and she wants to know what the deal is between the two of you, and if you'll keep seeing her."

"Uhm, hello! I'm literally right here." you interrupt him, waving your hand in between their gazes. Tom's eyes shoot right at you. He looks a little as if he'd been busted. Did he expect me to leave while he was in the shower?

"We'll talk about this later Sam." He says, practically pushing his brother out of the door. "Call Kayla! Oh, and I think mum might also want to hear this story", Sam says while Tom closes the door behind him.

Tom shuts the door, takes a deep breath, and turns around. "I am so sorry about Sam." He starts. He grabs a pair of dark blue jeans from his closet and returns to the bathroom.

When he appears again, he's wearing just his jeans and you can't help but stare. Your eyes trace his trained chest and well-defined abs. For some reason, he's more fit than you thought he would be. Why does this surprise me? He is playing a superhero for Christ's sake!  When you look up to his eyes, you are now the one who's feeling busted. He totally saw you checking him out.

He smiles. God that smile... Meg, focus!

"Again, I am so sorry about Sam. That was super awkward, right?" He grabs a white t-shirt, pulls it over his head and walks towards you. You realize again that you're wearing only his t-shirt and pull the duvet up a little higher. While trying to casually fix your hair, you say, "Oh don't worry! I know how annoying siblings can be. You should meet Esra." You stop, realizing full well that he has no interest in hearing about your big sister. But he surprises you, and says, "Maybe one day I will."

A smile appears on your face, "Thanks again for letting me crash here last night. And for sleeping on the couch... and for loaning me your t-shirt... which I should probably give back now... and I should take a shower and get out of here." You realize your mumbling, but can't help yourself.

Tom chuckles and softly says, "It's okay Meg." A playful smile appears on his face when he says, "And if I'm to believe what Sam said about Kayla, you're actually helping me with the press. So, I guess I should actually be thanking you." He shortly touches your hand with his as he says it, sending a spark down your spine. He walks over to the couch, and explains, "Kayla is my publicist. I should probably give her a call."

As soon as Tom turns around to grab his phone, you scan the room for yesterday's dress. You eventually find your dress neatly hanging in the closet. I truly thought I threw that on the ground somewhere. You quickly walk towards the bathroom, pulling Tom's shirt down to cover as much of skin as possible.

The shower starts running and you feel the warm water gliding down over your bare skin. You close your eyes and listen to the sound of the running water. You think about the picture Sam had just shown you. Both smiling and freaking out at the same time, you realize you never texted Rose and Bri that you left the party, or more specifically; that you left with Tom. You have to call them as soon as possible. Then again, it's highly probable they already saw the photos of you and Tom online.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Tom's voice answering a phone call. "Hey Kayla... Yes, I know I am sorry I didn't pick up before..." He laughs, "Believe me Kayla, I know, Sam showed me the pictures not five minutes ago... I know I shouldn't have done it, but I thought you wanted me to be more public. So, here you go..." Sadness fills your heart - Did he just say he regretted taking you inside?

His voice continues, "Yes, I know how to get in touch with her, she's in my shower." Your scrunching brows are replaced by a small smile. "You want us to what?" You hear Tom ask.

Desperate to hear what he's talking about; you turn gaze towards the small opening of the bathroom door. You can see him pacing around the room. "I don't know Kayla; I'll have to talk to her abou..." His voice stops as he sees the contour of your naked body through the fogged glass. He slightly lowers his phone away and swallows.

You swiftly turn your head away and start to panic, hoping that the condensation on the glass is thick enough to not expose you more than you already are.

"Yes s-sorry, I'm still here." You hear Tom say as his footsteps fade away. You turn off the shower and grab a large towel. You try to somehow fix your hair, put on your dress, and apply concealer on you tired-looking eyes.

Stepping out of the bathroom, you're wondering if you should bring up that you saw Tom looking at you just now, but decide against it. "Would you like to stay for breakfast?" Tom asks, "There's something I'd like to discuss with you." You nod.