1| Good Morning (Emma)

Outside was so dark that I couldn’t tell if it was morning or night anymore. Why do interviews always have to be so early in the morning? If the sun isn’t up, I shouldn’t be, simple as that.

My alarm went off and I groaned as I looked at the clock to see it’s 5:30 AM, the bed this morning seems to be exceptionally warm for some reason. It’s probably because I have to get up and my bed is begging me to stay, or maybe it has something to do with that large figure lying beside me.

Did I bring him home last night? I pulled the covers up and noticed that I’m still entirely naked. Christ, what happened last night? I never bring guys home! I closed my eyes tight and hoped the next time I open them I will wake differently. No luck.

I remember that I was feeling anxious for my interview and my friend and roommate Kay took me out for some drinks to clear my head, other than that, my memory of the night is foggy.

The alarm sounded again and the creature next to me stirred in his sleep and began to wake up slowly. I froze where I was.

He threw a hand out and it hit the end table near the bed. He has such muscles that it rattled the table and made me jump in place and grip onto the sheets more.

His hand still stretched out, he lifted his head to look where it was, probably wondering why there wasn’t a clock where he slammed his fist. I didn’t even need to see his face to know that he was wondering where he was. Oh no, I don’t remember his face! I’m an awful person!

He turned his head towards me, and I was right, a look of confusion plastered there. He looked at me like he was still half asleep or he thought he was hallucinating. He was gorgeous, really, probably the most attractive man I’ve ever been with.

He had shaggy brunette hair that was entirely disheveled from the night before, a strong chin and tight jawline, a straight bridge nose, and his eyelashes were longer than mine and it made me feel envious of him.

He blinked and his vision seemed to clear up before he mumbled, “Get out,” to me.

“It’s my apartment,” I pointed out to the rude creature.

His eyebrows drew together and the confusion was back. He only stared at me, making me slightly uncomfortable, so I turned on the end table lamp to illuminate the room for him to see.

He closed his eyes at the sudden brightness but adjusted quickly, still looking at me. I saw that his eyes were an emerald-green and almost hypnotizing. There was a look in his eye that I hadn’t seen before, almost looked like adoration to me, but my thoughts were quickly shot down.

“I never let you whores sleep over,” he grumbled

“Whoa! What?!” I exclaimed with my jaw dropped. What the hell did he just call me?

He shushed me to be quiet, he obviously has an intense hangover. I scoffed at the pathetic creature and got out of bed, wrapping myself with the duvet, leaving him only covered by the flat sheet, only to discover that it was not entirely flat. Men in the morning. Disgusting.

I put the thought of him aside and went to the bathroom to begin getting ready for my interview. My hair is all ratty from last night, I remember curling it before going out and Kay encouraging me to use hairspray because my hair never holds curls right.

Touching my hair, I found that it was crunchy and gross, this definitely required a shower. I sighed and dropped the duvet around me and stepped forward to turn on the water and let it warm up.

I took a step back as I waited for the water to warm up and looked at my naked figure in the mirror and was slightly horrified at what I saw - bruises. Hickeys, to be more accurate, I was covered in love bites from that creature stirring in my bed.

How the hell am I supposed to cover this up?! I don’t have a turtleneck sweater to cover it, and I don’t like wearing makeup so I don’t have any concealer to use. I’m going to have to use my hair and instead of putting it in a bun, I have to leave it down. Maybe do a low ponytail? That way it’s still professional and I can sweep it onto one shoulder to cover my neck.

The shower was warmed up and I jumped right in, letting the hot water calm my tense muscles. The only thing that didn’t seem to be tense on my body was my legs. I noticed that they kept shaking, trembling, almost, as I stood there and washed my hair. Wow, this guy really did a number on me if my legs were still weak.

I smirked at it and then groaned at my realization, I can’t wear heels with my legs in this condition! I’d look like Bambi! On ice! Oh no, this isn’t good, what else can I do? Other than heels, I don’t have any professional options for shoes. I have tennis shoes and casual flats, the flats would have to do. Luckily, I am naturally tall, so it won’t be too big of a deal.

Finishing up combing out the bird's nest that was recently in my hair, I decided to check if the guy from last night was still here. I peeked through the door and saw him still lying there, unmoving. I really hope he wakes up before I have to leave. Checking the clock, it’s almost 6 AM now. I only have roughly half an hour to get this guy out.

I decided to head to the kitchen to grab him a glass of ice water. The water will help sober him up a little and the ice will shock his body awake. Hopefully.

I still had only the towel wrapped around me and my hair was still dripping wet from the shower, but I had to hurry if I was going to be on time.

He didn’t hear me when I entered the room, so I slammed the cup on the end table harshly, but not too hard to break the glass, and he jerked awake from the sudden noise.

“Drink this,” I said as I set the water down.

He looked at me confused again, “No,” he said, his voice groggy.

“You’re hungover and I can’t be late.”

“What kind of work does a whore like you have to get going to so early?” He grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

“First of all,” I knelt down and got to his level beside the bed, gripping onto the towel around me so that it wouldn’t fall down, “I am not a whore, and second, this is my apartment you are in, so drink the damn water and leave,” I glared at him and he narrowed his eyes at me.

I stood up and he looked around, hesitating for a moment before he spoke, “Oh, shit,” he looked up at me then, “What time is it?”

“Almost 6.”

“Fuck,” he shot up from the bed, still naked, looking around for his clothes like a maniac in all his glory right there in front of me. I tried to look away but for some reason, my eyes didn’t want to.

I felt my face blush and decided to take a sip of the ice water to help me cool down, also to take my attention off of him, I had a feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate my staring.

He successfully gathered all his clothes and held them in front of him, I was still averting my gaze and sipping on the water when I saw in the corner of my eye him smirking at me.

“Like what you see?” His smile was off to one side of his face and he had this proud look in his eye. The man is gorgeous, and obviously, he is aware of the fact.

My jaw dropped slightly at his question and I looked over at him, “For your information, I was not looking.” I emphasized each word clearly.

He used his thumb to motion to a mirror, “I saw you,” he whispered and then winked at me with a mischievous smile.

‘Oh goodie, a charmer,’ I thought to myself sarcastically.

“Well, do you?” I asked back and he looked at me in question so I continued, “Like what you see?” I let my weight shift to one foot and let my hip drop, along with a slight head tilt.

He looked me up and down with the same smirk and bit his lip, he was still standing there naked with his clothes in front of his waist to cover his member.

I asked myself how exactly I wanted him to answer this question; no matter what his answer was, I’m still going to think he’s a pig, so why the hell did I ask it in the first place?

“Yes,” he answered with a twitch of one eyebrow.

Good answer, I thought, so I held my head up and walked back to the bathroom, holding onto the towel for dear life and shutting the door closed behind me.

I only have half an hour left, I need to hurry.