Only One Night

Chapter Four

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, my head was throbbing. I gazed around for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and remember how I got here. The memories came flooding back. I spent the night in this car, with Ceci.

I was shocked when I realized the situation. My mouth opened as I looked around. My bra and panties were on the dashboard. I was only clothed from my waist down.

My hands covered my mouth like I was about to stifle a scream.

“What have I done???,” I whispered, my voice trembling like a scared child.

I scrambled to grab my belongings and hastily put on my clothes, trying not to wake Ceci up. The memories of the previous night seemed hazy, but the shame and regret were crystal clear. I opened the door slightly and tiptoed out.

Crossing over to the other side, I walked to the nearest bus stop.

My mind was filled with mixed emotions. Unsure of what to do, I took a bus to Alexa's house.

I arrived about 25 minutes later and knocked on her door.

“I'm coming”, I heard Alexa's voice faintly.

She opened the door and I took my walk of shame and slumped onto her couch.

“What's wrong Sandy?” she asked, looking concerned.

“I messed up badly Alexa,” I said, my voice shaking.

Alexa pulled close to me, her hands over my shoulders, “Talk to me, what happened? Did Ceci do anything to hurt you?”

“Naa, he didn't. I think I was too drunk last night and might've…”

“You slept with him???” Alexa asked, her voice rising in surprise, cutting me off mid-sentence.

I stood up from the couch and went over to the kitchen counter, poured myself a glass of water and emptied it in one long gulp.

“No, not him, some other guy he introduced me to”.

Alexa's face lit up instantly, jumped up from the couch over to where I was, grabbed my hands and pulled me back to the couch “Oh my gosh, who's he?”, she shrieked with delight.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn't help but laugh at the outburst of her joy, “Okay, okay, I'll let you know everything, but you have to calm down first.”

“You wouldn't leave out even the tiniest detail?” Alexa asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.

I shook my head, “No, I won't.”

I took a deep breath, reliving the memory, “His name's Ceci, probably one of Chris's friends. He offered to drop me at home.

“I'm loving where this is heading”, Alexa leaned in, her voice sparkling with excitement.

I blushed, feeling a flutter in my chest.

“On the drive home, we made a quick stop at a diner, he got food for the both of us, we ate and just randomly talked about things, it was like we'd known each other before now”.

“The chemistry was undeniable, I'm sure”, Alexa beamed at me.

“I actually enjoyed his company, I can't deny it” I continued, “and things escalated quickly from there and let's just say we ended up getting intimate.”

“Shut up,” Alexa gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “That's amazing, Sandy! I'm so happy for you.”

As I looked at Alexa's excited face, a feeling of guilt and regret ran through me.

“I don't know, I feel really bad, I wish it hadn't happened.” my voice was laced with doubt. “I barely know him, and it all happened too fast”

Alexa's face of excitement immediately changed to a look of concern, and she held my hands, “You don't have to be too hard on yourself. You made a choice, and it's okay to make mistakes, everyone does.”

I tried cheering up, but it wasn't working, “that's not all. I left before he woke up,” still feeling uncertain, “I wasn't thinking straight when I did that.”

Alexa gave me a warm gentle hug, “You were just scared, Sandy, don't let this get the best of you, we'll get through it together”. “Did you all exchange numbers?” She added.

“No, and I'm glad we didn't. I'm going to live like it never happened.” I said.

Alexa nodded in affirmation, “I think that's a good idea. Now let's prepare for classes. We were tardy twice last week, and you're already in Chef Tom's bad book.”

We got up and went inside to get ready for the day's class. I took a long refreshing shower and dressed up in Alexa's extra pair of uniforms. We grabbed our bags and headed to the bus stop.

Getting to the academy, we were 5 minutes late. We sneaked in quickly and went to our various stations before our instructor walked in. But Chef Tom is very observant, and he walked in a few seconds after us and immediately started taking attendance.

We exchanged a nervous glance, knowing we barely escaped getting into trouble.

Whew, that was close.

During class, my mind drifted a lot, the memories flooding my head and diverting my concentration. I didn't realize I was over-frying my salmon till the smell of burnt fish filled the air. I quickly turned off the cooker and looked up to see Chef Tom heading my way.

“I’m in so much trouble,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“What’s going on here, Miss Andrews?”, Chef asked in a firm voice.

My face was flushed with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, Chef, I got distracted.”

“You've been performing poorly for a while now. I'm afraid if you keep up with this, you'll be forced to transfer to another academy.” He said, looking at me sternly.

“It won't repeat itself Chef”, I said, trying to stay calm.

“See that it won't,” Chef said, still looking sternly.

I nodded, feeling a sense of determination wash over me. I was going to put the past behind me and focus on my passion for cooking. No more distractions or regrets. It was time to move on.