I woke up to banging on the door.
Maybe they'll just go away?
My head was pounding. I had a very rough night.
At least it was over now.
A few rays of light poked through the blinds.
I could tell it was slightly earlier than I usually get up.
Reaching over to the night stand, I checked the time on my phone.
5:32 AM
And 26 missed calls from Ms. Rouge.
Oh shit.
I jumped out of bed, removed my clothes, and went to answer the door.
Wait.
I almost forgot.
I inserted the plug I was supposed to be wearing and opened the door.
"I'm so sorry," I said. "I was asleep and didn't hear the phone."
In the hallway stood Ms. Rouge.
Today she wore a red blouse that pushed up her breasts, a pair of tight black jeans, and sandals, looking radiant as ever in the low light of the early morning.
I studied her, searching for even a hint of how she felt.
Her face betrayed nothing.
Neither happiness, nor sadness, nor even disappointment.
She was as in control of her own emotions as mine.
"Don't look at me. Face forward."
I stared at the neighbor's door while Ms. Rouge inspected my body.
I'd been a very naughty girl.
But just how bad -- Ms. Rouge was still determining.
I'd... taken a few liberties with the rules. A few shortcuts here or there.
Ms. Rouged expected me to be completely hairless below the eyebrows, whether I was with her or not. The first part, I'd followed until now.
As for the second part, I meant to comply.
I really meant to.
But work had been so busy this week. I couldn't bear to do anything, apart from ordering way too much take out and passing out in front of Netflix with the help of some melatonin tablets and a glass of wine, or two.
By 4PM on Friday, I'd recruited a few friends.
And by 5:30, we'd hit the West Village bars, hard.
All night we stuffed ourselves with appetizers and overpriced drinks, in several different restaurants. Our adventures had been meticulously cataloged in an intricate web of Venmo transactions -- until only Jessica and I remained.
She had just enough weed to get us both high.
Which made us realize how hungry we were.
And we found ourselves devouring Halal at the only place open at 3AM.
So drunk, tired, stoned, and full, I stumbled through the hallway of my building.
Only to be back in the exact same place a few hours later.
Now my indiscretions were on display, for Ms. Rouge, as well as anyone sober enough to be awake at this hour on a Saturday morning.
"Stay," she said, as she squeezed by me and flipped on the lights.