That One Night Stand

Chapter.5

Alicia’s hands shook feebly as she tried to fix her uniform in the hotel locker room. It had been three days. Three long and extremely painful days since it felt her world had fallen apart. Three days later, she learned that Peter and Camila, her two most beloved, had betrayed her. They will probably be on their honeymoon at some beach resort. While she was left with nothing but to swallow in pain.

“You look terrible, Alicia,” Maria, another housekeeper, said as she adjusted her own uniform. “Maybe you should go home. I can take your shift tonight.”

Alicia shook her head. It was worse. Being at home only refreshed the pain. Work was safer. At least she wouldn't have much time to brood over the pain. She needed the distraction.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. She obviously lied.

Maria looked at her with worry. “Alicia, you know you don't have to….”

“I said I’m fine,” Alicia snapped, surprising even herself. She quickly softened. “I’m sorry. I just… I need to work.”

Maria nodded gently. “Okay. But if you need me, I’m here, okay?”

Alicia forced a smile as she nodded and muttered, “thanks. She grabbed her cart, and started her shift. The Grandview Hotel was full that night. It meant a lot of work to keep her distracted enough. She got to the fifteenth floor and moved through the rooms like a robot. Strip the bed, change the sheets, check the bathrooms and see if there were any issues that needed to be resolved. She loves her job and had always done it effortlessly.

But her mind betrayed her.

“I can’t wait to marry you, Alicia. You’ll be the most beautiful bride.”

She scrubbed the bathtub harder.

“I’m so excited to be your maid of honor!”

The toilet got the same harsh treatment. Just like every other room she had cleaned.

At her break, instead of the cafeteria, she went to the hotel bar.

“What can I get you?” the young bartender asked kindly.

“I don’t know. I don’t really drink,” she admitted.

“Rough day?”

“Rough life,” she replied instead. After hesitating for a while, “Just give me something that helps me forget please.” She requested instead and took her seat on one of the chairs in front of the bar.

He made her a sweet, fruity drink. And after taking the first cup, she requested for another. By the third cup, the knot in her chest began to loosen. By the fourth, she felt loose. Like the world revolved around her and she was free.

“Maybe you should slow down,” the bartender warned when she asked for more.

“Maybe I should have done a lot of things differently,” she slurred. “Maybe if I was more watchful, I should have seen my fiancé cheating with my best friend.”

The bartender looked sorry instantly. “I’m sorry. That must really be awful.”

Alicia gave a broken laugh. “They probably laughed at me. I'm sure they called me stupid Alicia. But again, will they be wrong?”

“You’re not stupid,” he said firmly. “They’re the ones who should be ashamed.”

But his kindness only broke her. She buried her face in her hands.

“I need to get back to work,” she mumbled, trying to stand.

“Your drinks are on the house,” he said gently. “Call someone to pick you up, maybe?”

She shook her head. “I have rooms left to attend to.” She said, appreciating him again and staggering out of the bar.

The elevator ride to the twenty-seventh floor looked blurry. But then she has just three rooms left to attend to. She decided to push through, regardless of how clumsy she felt.

Finally, she reached the presidential suite. She knocked. And when she got no answer, she stepped inside. She was too clumsy to be patient.

The room was dark, quiet, and very perfect. The massive bed called to her. And for a minute, she thought it was the perfect place to be. Her clumsy mind could barely think and so there was no resistance. She kicked off her shoes and lay down. The bed was soft and it didn't take long before she fell asleep.

She was so drunk that she didn’t hear the faint groan beside her. Too drunk to notice the man lying beside her, fighting off the last of a drug that had kept him paralyzed.

Jackson’s mind was still very foggy and his body still weak. He tried to open his eyes as his mind fought to remember something. Only fragments could be gathered. There was a meeting, and whiskey… then nothing. He could barely move, but when he turned his head, he saw her. A girl with dark hair spread over the pillow was asleep beside him. Her breathing was soft and calm.

His thoughts were too blurred to question it. Her presence felt strangely comforting. When her hand brushed his chest as she shifted in sleep, his muddled mind clung to that touch. He moved his hand to touch hers in his chest, caressing it slowly as he looked at her.

Alicia woke up slowly as she felt his touch, and found him watching her. She should have been afraid, but the alcohol dulled everything. His desperate, broken gaze mirrored her own pain. Instead, in her drunk state, she pulled closer to him, her chest brushing his as she locked gaze with him.

“Kiss me!” She whispered against his lips, her fingers brushing his lips. Immediately, his hesitation broke as his lips grabbed hers in a passionate kiss. He pulled her closer to himself and crossed over her as his hands went to her core, drawing moans from her as they kissed.

In that moment, these two strangers,more like two lost individuals, reached out for each other with a desperate hunger. What followed was definitely far from love. It spurned from need. The need to forget. The need to feel. The need to not be alone. And when it was over, they lay tangled in silence, catching their breaths, until sleep claimed them again.

Hours later, dawn crept into the suite. Alicia was still asleep on Jackson’s chest when the sound of a keycard cut through.

“Room service. Final check,” came a sharp voice.

That was Mrs. Patterson, the strict head of housekeeping. Her heels clicked against the marble as she stormed in.

“Alicia Wyanha! Your cart is still outside, and you’ve been missing for hours—”

She stopped dead at the bedroom door, her eyes almost popping out of her eyes at the sight before her.

“ALICIA WYANHA!” she shrieked.

Alicia’s eyes flew open as she jerked up. Seeing the shocking eyes of her superior, she looked around in horror. She was in a strange bed. And worse of all, she was naked. With a man beside her!

“Oh God,” she whispered, clutching the sheet to her chest in horror at the thought of what might have occurred. “What did I do?”