6. A Morning Confusion

She woke up with not only a headache, but also a stomach ache. All her muscles were sore.

"Again… I won’t drink anymore…" She thought.

Judging by the sunlight falling into the room, it was not early. She was in a king sized bed adorned with white sheets. Everything around her was white or light grey which gave a sterile feeling but she liked it. She got up very slowly trying not to move her head too much. When she made it to the bed, she was surprised to see a large framed photo hung on the wall above the bed with a magnificent view of the sunset. She took it when their crazy team was together, the same evening she took a photo of Matt training with the wooden sword on the beach…

She opened all the blinds and the windows, and felt a pleasant breeze. There was a faint scent of linden, rose and lavender outside. After a few deep breaths, she felt better. The familiar rumble of her stomach demanding food roused her from her lethargy. She left the bedroom in a hurry. On the way to the kitchen, she could inhale the lovely smell of pancakes. She also heard a well-known Archive’s track playing in the background.

"You're killing me again; Am I still in your head?; You used to light me up; Now you You’re shut me down…" Matthew sang. With his timbre and voice scale, he could easily be a successful singer too.

"Good morning, Handsome!" She greeted as she entered the kitchen.

Matthew stood by the sink and was washing some dishes in a tight white t-shirt and khaki shorts. Looking at his perfectly sculpted body, she felt a sudden pain in her heart. He not only had a beautiful body but also he was a good man. What a loss! She thought. He could make some women happy but…

“Did you take advantage of me last night?" She asked him with a big smile.

“I wanted to…” He laughed mockingly. “I admit, but I don't fuck puking dead corpses! I am not a damn necrophile!" He confessed.

Jo had so many questions upon looking at his face expression and dark circles under his eyes. Did he sleep at all? What happened last night?

“Babe, you are not allowed to eat macarons in my house! Remember!” Saying that, his eyes darkened as his mood sullened. “You are not allowed to drink that much! I know you only do that when you are with close friends and feel safe, but you scared me last night!"

When she heard that, she was surprised and it compelled her more to wonder about what exactly had happened the previous night. Lost in her thoughts, she kicked a chair by accident and felt a sudden pain in her foot. When she bent down to massage her sore leg, she was shocked. 

‘What happened to her beautiful, long legs?’ She had so many bruises and that's why she was in so much pain. Besides that, she was wearing his grey t-shirt. They were almost the same height so the t-shirt barely covered her underwear. 

Damn!!! It wasn't her underwear too. She had on his briefs, which were so baggy that she felt as if they would drop down any moment. She also noticed some bruises on her hands.

“In short..." Seeing her confusion, Matthew decided to fill her in on the previous night’s events. “We drank. You found a box of macarons in my kitchen and ate them all. Not a surprise that you didn't feel well after that and went to the bathroom. There you fell down, puked all over yourself and the toilet, fell down again, puked all over again and messed up my bathroom. I even had to shower you..."

She indeed drank too much the previous night. She felt horrible and didn't know what to say. He had seen her body many times, so it wasn't a problem but it looked like Matthew was concerned about her wellbeing.

“Sit down! I will look for arnica cream. Try to eat! I made crêpe Suzette for you.” Matthew saw an inexplicable gleam flickering across her eyes; this was exactly what he expected. “I also have homemade orange marmalade and blackcurrant jam if you don't want to eat it the French way."

“Wow! Sounds great!" She almost screamed in joy.

Jo loved the crêpe Suzette, especially the story behind it. She couldn't remember when someone had whipped them up especially for her, her favourite breakfast or any food. 

Whenever she was with her family, she made others happy by cooking their favorite delicacies. Yes, her cooking was great. She knew it perfectly well. Instead of eating something not very appetizing, she preferred to prepare meals for everyone herself. The situation was similar when she was with her friends. Therefore, she was even more touched at this moment.

“Have a cup of black coffee! You don't really look well today, to put it mildly…" He said setting the cup on the table. Unexpectedly, he kissed her forehead.

She didn't know what that was about. Why? She probably looked very bad. She was confused again. However, the next moment, she was pleasantly surprised when a plate with a big stack of pancakes appeared before her eyes.

Jo didn't feel like she was full and still felt emptiness in her stomach. It was a strange sensation, some kind of pain and discomfort at the same time. She hoped that it was just an excess of alcohol that she hadn't drunk for a long time, not a recurring problem with stomach ulcers. She didn't even want to think about a restrictive diet. She had been so busy for months now that she couldn't imagine spending long hours preparing meals. For the moment, Jo was so happy to see her favourite delicacy. Even though she wasn't feeling well, she couldn't say ‘no’ to another pancake.

After a while, Matthew also sat down next to her with a cup of coffee and his own plate, but he didn't eat. He was staring at her and his lips stretched into a subtle smile. 

‘Who could eat when they were having a hangover? Only her.’ He thought.

“Do you remember Henri Charpentier's story?" He asked and without waiting for an answer, he continued. "While preparing a meal for the Prince, the then-kitchen assistant, Henri Charpentier, prepared a sauce that included Grand Manier. The sauce caught fire unexpectedly. A saddened Henri didn't know what to do until he tasted the sauce. The words written in his biography show how delighted he was with the taste. He said the sauce was the most delicious ‘melody’ he had ever tasted.”

“Yes. Charming and true. The best pancakes in the world are made with butter and oranges." She agreed, finishing a third one.

He was amused at how she was able to burn all those calories. She was slender like she hadn’t aged over the years and the time was very gracious to her. She looked the same as she did years ago. Only her hairstyle was changing...

Matthew left the kitchen and came back after a moment with arnica cream in his hand. He kneeled down next to her and started to apply it on her bruises. She didn't protest so he continued to delicately rub it. Out of the blue, he brushed her hair back and started to rub her neck gently.

Damn! She was confused, wondering where else she had bruises. She could swear that this guy was really taking advantage of her… 

At the end he kissed her forehead again. Did he change his orientation? Should she drag him to the bedroom? She felt so strange… 

She got up and ran to the toilet. She closed the door in a hurry and leaned against the wall. ‘What the…!’ She couldn't think clearly.