An insistent ray of sunlight poked me in the eye. I muttered and rolled over, burying my face in the satiny softness of the pillow. Automatically, I inhaled deeply, pulling the soothing scent of lavender deep into my lungs. The pounding in my head eased a bit and slowly thoughts filtered their way into my slushy brain.
First of all, I had no satin sheets. Secondly, they didn't smell of lavender. And, last but certainly not least, where exactly were my clothes?
I pushed myself up on my forearms and looked blearily around. I turned my head to the right and caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror that wasn't mine. My long hair was mussed, my eyes still looked sleepy, but overall I looked content and pleased. It was the expression I always had after a particularly good night of romping in the sheets.
I flipped on my back and stretched luxuriously, enjoying the exotic feel of the satin against my bare body. I could have purred, I was so satisfied. It took me a bit to realize I could hear the sounds of a shower and I sat up, dragging the sheets to my breasts. I heard the water stop and I re-arranged the sheets to show off a bit of leg for my host. Whoever that may be, I thought, suddenly realizing I had no idea at whose place I was.
The door to the bathroom opened and out stepped a vision. Long, reddish hair, soft blue eyes and killer body. She was beautiful.
SHE??
I gave out a yelp and pulled my leg back under the sheets. My mouth dropped open when I realized where I was. I had apparently gone home with Ariana, one of the newer girls in our group of friends.
We had been out celebrating Allen's divorce from that harpy of a wife of his. The drinks and laughter had flowed unabated and memories of the previous night came in flashes to me, like scenes from a movie. I remembered dancing with Allen (who I had had a serious crush on when we were kids, but now we were all in our early 40s and he didn't look anywhere near as cute), and doing shots with Arianna. I remember we all started dancing together at one point after all the liquor kicked in, but I didn't remember leaving with her.
"Morning, sleepy-head!" my hostess called out to me, obviously not suffering the same after-effects I was.
"Ummm...hey," I said, unsure of what else to say.
"Great night, huh?" she said teasingly, as she slipped on a t-shirt and shorts. She approached the bed, her hair still damp from the shower. She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged at the sheet that was currently covering me. "Why so shy all of a sudden?"
"Woah, hang on! Don't do that!" panic was evident in my voice as I clutched the sheets closer. What the heck had I done? Could I really have possibly slept with another woman? And one I barely knew, to top it all off.
"Why not? Not like I didn't see everything last night," she said, moving closer.
"Okay, now you're freaking me out. Just what exactly happened last night? And where are my clothes?" I said, scooting away from her.
She gave me a sly grin and started to crawl over the sheets toward me. She reached out a manicured fingernail to stroke my cheek and I became paralyzed. She burst out laughing at my expression.
"Oh, this is hysterical! Relax, Kayla, nothing happened! You were too drunk to drive home, so I brought you here. You took off your own clothes and passed out. You couldn't have done anything if you tried," she laughed, rocking back on her heels. "Your clothes are drying. I put them in the washer this morning. Oh, and I called Jamie to come get you; it's almost one o'clock. I need to be at work in two hours or else I'd give you a ride home myself".
I stared at her for a minute, open-mouthed. And then, of course, I started turning all shades of crimson. I stammered out an apology and she giggled at me, never taking her eyes from me. She leaned over, kissed my cheek and whispered, "You know, just because nothing happened last night doesn't mean something can't happen now. I've always thought you were irresistible."
"I'm flattered," I stuttered out, "but I think I'll pass. Especially since I have no idea what I would be doing."
"I'd love to teach you," she murmured, rubbing her cheek against mine.
"Okay, time for me to go!" I said, hopping off the bed and dragging the sheets with me. Arianna gave another giggle and bounded off the bed.
"Fine, since you shot me down, I'll go see if your clothes are ready. Ha! At least you'll have to do the walk of shame from here," she said, laughing on her way to the laundry room.
When she got back with my clothes, I had barricaded myself in the bathroom. I heard her laughing some more (she was having a great old time at my expense) and she told me to go ahead and shower, that my clothes were outside the bathroom door.
I had to admit that shower felt wonderful and I freely used her body wash and shampoo, they smelled so heavenly. When I was done, I opened the door a crack and yanked my clothes into the bathroom. I slathered on some body lotion and quickly dressed, my hair still damp and falling in waves around my face.
When I came out and went into the living room, I was relieved to see Jamie was already there, sitting on the couch. She was wearing her yoga pants, a halter top and a ticked-off expression on her face. Her chestnut colored hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her chocolate brown eyes looked at me, unable to hide her annoyance. I knew she prized her early morning yoga sessions, so having to come pick up her hung-over best friend was a major inconvenience. I knew I would get chewed out the entire way home.
Arianna followed Jamie and I to the front door and I thanked her for putting up with me the previous night. She gave me a sexy little smile and trailed a finger down my arm. "Anytime, Kayla. I mean it." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jamie's eyes widen. Great, I thought. More explaining to do on the way home.
We got into Jamie's car and we weren't half-way down the block when she piped up.
