The Date Planner

1.15. Woke Up

When I say, woke up? It was kind of in a distraught and oh-my-God-where-am-I state.

I had no recollection of how I got in the strange bedroom but before I could think anymore, Clinton entered the room. Thick-clad in... casuals?

And man, did he look even more sexier in those.

"Oh, you're awake. Well, good morning", he leans forward to kiss my forehead, lingering the kiss a second longer before drawing back and beaming at me.

A little thrown off by everything, I try to speak something but just end up opening and closing my mouth several times.

Clinton on the other hand, the true gentleman he is, goes ahead and draws me some water from the night stand beside me.

He watches me with amusement sparkling in his eyes as I drink it up.

Finally setting it down, I try to gather my thoughts before speaking up.

"We did not-", I start.

"No", he says even before I finish.

I look at him in question.

"Believe me, if we would've then I would've remembered everything", he takes my hand before pressing a gentle kiss on it.

I look at him curiously now.

"Is this what Clinton Valsera's girlfriend means to be?", I ask him c*****g my head to the side.

"This", he emphasizes on the word by cupping hand in his and squeezing it before, "and alot more", he winks at that.

I can't help the blush and smile that graces my lips.

"flatterer", I roll my eyes playfully.

He chuckles at it before pulling me up with him.

"Come on, go freshen up. There's something waiting for you in the dining room, made by yours truly", he bows at the end, indicating to himself, smugly.

And I waste no time in rushing towards the washroom.

***

I clean up immediately and head out of the room only to enter the big expanse of the place we were living in.

My eyes try to take in the huge place as I think out loud.

"What place is this?", I wonder out in amazement.

"It's my place. Yup, welcome to my humble abode", Clinton speaks while munching on his pancakes.

He's leaning against the counter of his kitchen with two plates of pancakes in front him.

"Well, that's weird because I don't remember coming here last night", I frown as I approach him.

"Yeah, you slept in the car while we were on our way back from the beach. I thought better to bring you here than rummage through your bag and find your keys", he shrugs, nonchalantly.

"Really?", I look at him sceptically.

He nods, chewing on his pancakes.

I narrow my eyes at him mockingly only to take a bite into those pancakes and moan from the delicious taste.

"Okay, that's it. This is pure t*****e now", he wipes his mouth with his table cloth and throws it at the table.

Bracing his hands on the counter he leans forward towards me, only to look deep into my eyes and I stop mid bite to stare at him, having had no clue what's this about now.

"We haven't even gotten to the best part of the hunger in our bodies and you're already moaning, come on, babe", he sighs, being suggestive as always.

My heart skips a beat at the word 'babe' but anyhow I don't let it show on my face.

Instead, I give him a wicked smile and take another bite of my pancakes, moaning at the taste even more louder than before.

"Oh now you're in deep trouble, missy", he shakes his head before grabbing out for me.

I shriek instantly and back off.

But he's fast on his feet as he easily catches me before I can make a run for it and pulls me to him.

My breath catches in its throat and I latch my hands on his shoulders to keep my clumsy limbs on falling over him, holding in my laugh.

He's smiling at me with that look in his eyes that makes the blood in my cheeks rushing.

Tingles rise up my sides and I hold in the delicious shiver that my body so wants to let out.

"Who changed my clothes last night?", I ask, quietly indicating to his oversized shirt that I slept in.

"I did but I swear I didn't see anything", he raises his hands in the air and I can't help the laugh bursting out of me.

"Good", I nod at him still laughing.

I'm so lost in my laughter, I don't notice the intense look in his eyes.

And suddenly his hands shoot forward, only to grab my chin and pull me in for a kiss.

It catches me off guard but I catch on fast enough to him, smiling into it as he kisses me gently and yet so passionately, flaring the tingles all over my body.

And just like that the half my morning goes by.

***

Sometime after our very peaceful morning, a frantic call from Liza has us tumbling back into the reality. She scolds me for my very impulsive and stupid act of phone-throwing in the ocean.

But the part that has me panicking is that last night Jason decided to show up at my apartment. Considering he basically lives there, he had the keys to my apartment and went into a frenzy when I didn't show up all night and the cherry on the top was my phone going straight to voicemail.

After that he called Liza and they ended up spending the night at my apartment in worry while I was sleeping peacefully at Clinton's humble abode.

Despite it being a Sunday, I'm still on a roll. Clinton is the least bit happy and complains all the way over to my apartment about regretting to have given his number to Liza to which all I can do is roll my eyes playfully at him.

As soon as we reach my apartment, I invite him over to spend the evening with me until I handle everything on my part.

I'm a mess by the time I reach my door to find it open with Liza inside it.

She grabs for me instantly and drags me into my room closing it behind her.

"What going on?", I ask her.

"Go and freshen up fast. Jason's just gone for some coffee down the street after a lot of persuasion. Clean up, it'll give you time enough to gather your thoughts. You better have a great story after what you pulled last night. I'll ward him off until then", she tells me strictly before leaving me to myself.

That's enough of a warning to make me go haywire and I rush into my bathroom to shower up.

***

After having freshened up and changed into some normal clothes, I finally make my way to my living room.

Jason's sitting on the couch with his coffee in between his hands as he stares at my coffee table hard, lost somewhere else.

Liza whose standing in the corner with her coffee, catches my eye the minute I enter the room, her eyes full of worry.

I gulp down the tension in my throat and push back my damp hair from the shower, taking a deep breath to face Jason.

He looks like he hasn't slept all night. Hair's disarray, clothes a dishelved, dark circles more evidently visible underneath his eyes.

"Jason?", I call out, softly.

The moment he hears my voice, he stands up and rushes over to engulf me in his arms.

As soon as he hugs me, a heavy breath fills my lungs. It's like it's stuck in my throat making everything heavier as I feel the tension in his body and the it's relaxation at my contact. He squeezes me so tightly yet so gently, the feel of it leaves me breathless instantly.

Unfortunately this doesn't help the guilt that's forming in my stomach.

I'm dating his number one rival for f**k's sake.

I look at Liza over his shoulder who gives me a look that says 'you made this mess, now fix it'. Unfortunately there's nothing that could make this situation any better.

"I'll leave you guys to yourself for a while. I need to get going anyway", Liza announces.

Jason doesn't leave me though so I awkwardly wave her a goodbye while silently mouthing her 'don't leave me, please'.

She leaves nevertheless giving me that look again.

After she's gone, Jason withdraws to kiss my forehead gently and warmth instantly fills me up as I try not to look in his eyes.

"I was so worried last night", he places his chin over my head and sways us slowly from side to side while hugging me.

"Yeah?", I whisper out.

"Yeah", I hear the wobble in his voice and the slight squeeze of his fingers as my heart becomes even more heavier.

"Where were you last night?", he pulls back to look into my eyes.

The moment our eyes meet, I end up doubling up in guilt as I see redness around his eyes and the tears he's holding back.

"I was with Eleanor", I whisper out and the tears in my eyes spill out.

"Hey", he shushes me as his own spill out.

"I'm so sorry"

He shushes me again, wiping off my tears and drawing me into his chest again.

I sob into him so hard, I think it shakes him too.

He rubs my back soothingly to calm me down and I just want to curl into him and his scent forever.

I hold onto him tighter as I try to calm myself down and deliver the last of my lies heartless-ly to his face.

"We were having a girls night out. And I lost my phone somewhere around that. I was so out of it but I didn't mean to worry anyone. I'm really really sorry", a sob anyhow escapes my lips and I squeeze him to me.

"Hey, it's okay. All that matters is that you're safe and you're here", he draws back only to cup my face and squesh the blotchiness of it, looking intensely into my eyes.

After a second or two I nod emotionlessly and ignore the ache in my chest.

"How about some brunch now? You must be hungry", he says before heading towards my kitchen.

I don't have the heart to tell him I'm full. So, I go along with it and try not to feel bad enough than I already do.