Moving hastily, she dragged the shirt to the side of the bed, retrieved her strapless bra, found her handbag, shuffled out of sight into the bathroom, and slowly closed the door with an extended foot. So carefully so as not to let it click before standing up and appraising herself in the illuminated mirror.
“Oh, my god.”
She gawped in horror at the state she was in. The she-monster before her. Bedhead that only rolling around like a drunken hoe could have achieved, as a sweated-off, kissed-to-nonexistent makeup smear dirtied her complexion.
Ling’s makeup was smudged all over her face. Eyeliner created panda eyes, and her lipstick was completely gone from what she assumed was hours of kissing like they were at a pie-eating contest. Her body was rosy and had definite red marks that looked like they might develop further into bruising. Telltale placement implied those were grip marks from where he had either suspended her or lifted and pushed her against solid surfaces. Held her in place. And love bites in weird places that she had no memory of him inflicting.
He had been a little rough because she had been a little rough, too. She could admit that. Staring at the shameless, despicable slut staring back at her with sickening disgust and pointing at herself in the mirror. Thoroughly ashamed.
She had no idea how far her room was and hoped it was at least on this floor so she could dash for it. She couldn’t deny she looked exactly like a woman who had found herself in some strange guy’s bed and lost her underwear in the process.
She didn’t need shoes. The shirt was long enough to reach her knees, and she could ignore startled early morning passerbys in the lobby. She just couldn’t face him.
Staring long and hard at herself after trying to smooth her locks again, her face now clean. She self calmed. Took a few breaths to give herself the courage to abandon him and make a run for it.
With one more blow out to empty her lungs and renew them with fresh vigor, she opened the door more enthusiastically than before. Deciding to abandon her panties and dress and leave. She walked smack bang into a naked torso, half draped in a bed sheet, and banged her nose on his left peck with the awkward collision that gave her a full face of hot, sexy, smelling aftershave.
“OUCH”
They both recoiled in shocked unison, and Ling’s eyes widened in horror at coming face-to-face with him.
Tall, tanned, very muscular in all the right ways, and looking like some underwear model for a Calvin Klein ad with a white sheet covering his modesty. He was half asleep, looked as groggy as she felt, and blinked at her before running his hand through his hair and slouching with a groan. An instant frown on his normally blank face.
“It wasn’t a dream.” He muttered as though life had just become meaningless, and Ling impulsively shoved him in the abdomen in outrage at such a scathing remark.
“You could sound a little less devastated at finding me in your bathroom, you jerk.” His tone riled her. The wound to her ego was that he should sound like that, even if she just spent the last seven minutes trying to get out of there for the same reason. She could feel regret. He wasn’t allowed to.
That wounded her pride and made her want to knee him in the balls. Staring at him in unveiled rage, her sense of shame and running was replaced with hostile anger.
“Why are you so loud?….. What the fuck did we do last night?” he nudged past her, rubbing his face with one hand, and staggered to the cabinet beside the mirror to rake for aspirin among his toiletries. Ling watched him in utter open mouth disbelief and wondered if he maybe didn’t recall everything she did. Perhaps he woke up, assuming they had just passed out in his room.
She could be a little delusional for her own sanity and pray he was that stupid.
“How do I remember exactly what you look like naked then, and why are you wearing my shirt?” Tian leaned forward and rested his forehead on the mirror, exhaling loudly and feeling like hell. He had the worst hangover he had ever encountered, and upon waking up, the first smell that brought a memory back was her perfume all over him and the bed. That would permeate his senses all day, and he groaned in regret.
He, too, was having flashbacks of everything he and that woman got up to last night, and he felt like he was in some daymare. He had never been a guy who lost time no matter how drunk he was, and he knew he would be tortured all day as last night came back in tiny snippets to ruin his week.
She leaned out of the bathroom and spotted her black lace thong lying on the bed, now it was missing all covers and almost melted into her toes with the unparalleled embarrassment of seeing them.
The last item of clothing on her that made it to the bed, and he had taken them off with his teeth.
He wanted to be as far away from her as possible to get his head straight and get that goddamn invasive smell off his skin. He had no idea what she bought, but her perfume seemed wrapped around him like a cloying fog, making him nauseous.
She glared at him, slapped the insensitive jerk’s hand away, and straightened herself out of the tumble he made her do. Glaring at him up and down as her hostility levels rose.
“Bye then.” Tian shut the door in her face without hesitation, and Ling drew in angry air through her teeth and raised two clawing hands in a choking motion at the wooden surface.
She picked up everything that was hers in a snappy manner of rage. Stashed all her discarded items into her dress, rolled them up into an easy carry bundle, and then stopped at the wardrobe door as she passed. Catching herself in the wardrobe mirror, assessing her appearance up and down, she dropped her things, opened the door, and looked through his clothing to find something less ‘walk of shame’ obvious.
She wondered if this was today’s outfit for the conference and smirked, yanking the hanger out. It was hers now.
It wouldn’t exactly be her best look, but it beat the wrinkled, slightly torn, and lipstick-smeared white number she had on that reeked of his aftershave and own unique smell.
She quickly switched shirts and tied the belt around her waist in a knot, as it was far too big for her slender waist. She pulled at it and tugged until it looked more like a shirt dress and slid on her shoes from the floor. A quick finger comb to her hair, and she was more presentable and less ‘running from a one-night stand.’ She retrieved her underwear and slid them on quickly.
It could pass as high street fashion, especially with her heels.
Ling regathered her belongings, pulled them all in against her chest, and lifted her chin, banishing all memories from this room to die in a bottomless pit of lava. She would maim him if he ever brought this up again.
Strutting to the door, she paused by the bathroom and leaned in to listen. Annoyed by his mere presence and still raging that he acted that way.
The sound of water spraying at speed and the heavier drops and drips of someone standing under it increased her hostility.