Numero cuatro, amigos! There's one more left in this, THEN WE'RE HAVING A CHRISTMAS PARTY. Thank you so much for all of your terrific reviews, they make me so happy :)
Strangers
The next morning, she woke to a pounding headache. She rolled over in her bed and sighed, rubbing the makeup out of her eyes with her fingers.
"Oh my God." She groaned, stretching out across the bed and raising her head at the emptiness surrounding her. "Hotel. You're in a hotel, Megan. He isn't here." She inhaled against the pillow and instantly was painfully aware that the sheets were free of Dov's scent. Every morning, when he'd go to work, she'd wake up and he'd kiss her on the cheek and be gone. At first, it was really hard not having him there next to her. Then, she figured out that she could just roll over to his side of the bed and close her eyes, and pretend. Pretend that even if it was only for a few extra minutes, she wasn't alone.
These sheets disgusted her. She hated them. They weren't warm and homey like the ones on her bed, on their bed. These ones reeked of white linen fabric softener, it only added to the headache. 'Note to self: next time you stay at a hotel, bring your own sheets.' She sighed before dragging herself to the bathroom and washing off the black mascara staining her cheeks. She took down her hair and smiled sadly at herself as her dark curls fell perfectly around her shoulders.
"Why can't you look like this everyday?" She asked her long locks. Her eyes were puffy and red from sobbing all night, and she was still in her work dress. It was fitted around her legs, and she was surprised that she'd managed to get any sleep at all in a skin tight pencil dress. She turned on the TV and found a suitable music channel, grinning as one of her all time favourite songs came on. She walked back to the bed and picked up the phone, asking the front desk to send up some Advil. At the price she paid for this room, she could ask them to bring her a horse and they'd have to listen.
A few minutes later, she'd forgotten about the concierge desk sending someone up. She fell back into bed and was only then reminded that she was still in work attire. She reached up her back and dragged the zipper down the bottom of its track. She walked around and began checking cupboards, drawers, and the bathroom to see if there was anything in the way of essential oils.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Shit!" She hit her head on the bathroom counter in surprise. Rubbing the sore spot, she got back to her feet and walked to the door, just opening it enough to recognize a semi-familiar face. "Josh, right?" He smiled widely.
"See, I may look like a four year old but at least I'm not a forgettable four year old." He leaned against the door frame and she smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Do you have my Advil?" She laughed, reaching around to her back and trying to zip up her dress, with no success.
"Yes, ma'am." He raised his right hand and shook the bottle a bit, before holding it out to her. "Anything else I can get for you?" She bit her lip for a minute, before nodding briskly and walking back into the room. She'd made it all the way to the mini bar before her hand snapped back up to her dress and she tugged furiously at the zipper, trying to cover her bare back. "Megan?" She raised her head. "I checked the name on the room, sorry." Josh smiled sheepishly. "Relax. I've seen way worse than an unzipped dress." He said with sincerity and surprisingly, maturity.
"Sorry." She straightened her back and rubbed her eyes, before leaning down to the mini bar and grabbing the key. She locked it, and carried it back over to Josh. "Take this. Don't give it back to me." She nodded briskly, folding his fingers over the key.
"Okay. And, I'm not hitting on you, I swear. But, do you wanna go get a coffee later?" He tilted his head a little, and the cocky, arrogant guy who was good looking and knew it vanished. He kind of looked like a puppy.
"I have a boyfriend." She said, a small smile on her face.
"And I have a girlfriend." He raised an eyebrow.
"And she's okay with you hanging out with random girls?" Megan leaned against the opposite side of the door frame, crossing her arms.
"Look, I'm about the most metro sexual guy you will ever meet. And I know an upset woman in need of a friend when I see one." He mirrored her actions, crossing his arms.
"I have friends. And a boyfriend." She insisted.
"I'm sure you do. Are you in? I can come by at like four. Just coffee." He straightened up as his cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket.
"Well, see," Megan sighed, "I can't really leave. I live in Toronto, and everyone thinks that I'm…"
"Somewhere else?" He smiled again. "You'd be surprised at how many people come here just looking for a break, or some time to think. I'm practically a therapist by now." He laughed.
"Okay." Megan smiled. "Josh?" He looked up at her. "Thanks." She whispered, before turning back into her room and closing the door behind her. She slid out of her dress and smiled as she heard Josh chuckle from behind the door and then walk away. She opened the windows – she was high enough up that no one could see in – and fell onto the bed, almost completely free of clothing.
She had a day and a half more to hide her head in the sand and think. Contemplate. Decided which path to take. She was afraid, really. There wasn't really a possible outcome where she'd win on both sides. Keep her love, lose her career. Keep her career, lose her Dov. The one man on earth that she couldn't stand to wake up without. She didn't even know why this was such a hard decision. The choice seemed obvious, but something just kept holding her back.
"Bed." She crawled underneath the blankets and set her alarm for three thirty, before popping two Advil and burying her face in the pillows, letting sleep calm her nerves.
She slept for what felt like minutes. When her alarm buzzed and shocked her awake, she groaned and silenced it with a quick smack of her hand. "Be quiet." She told it, rolling over and falling asleep again.
About twenty five minutes later, Josh walked down the hall to her room, two coffees in hand. He knocked, and began to laugh when he heard her whisper "Fuck!" from the other side of the door.
"Did you sleep in?" He asked from the hallway.
"Maybe!" She called back. "Hold on!" Megan scrambled about the room, trying to find something to wear. She slid on a shirt and some shorts, before grabbing the bath robe on the back of the door and tying it tightly around her waist. "Hi." She smiled, out of breath as she opened the door.
"Yeah, you slept in." Josh smiled, raising an eyebrow at her messy hair.
"Don't judge me, I needed the sleep." She groaned lightly, stepping back so he could enter. "You look a lot different out of uniform."
"Really?" He turned, and then looked down at his own clothes. A grey T-shirt and jeans, the usual. She smiled meekly.
"Yeah. And you'd think I'd be used to it, my boyfriends a cop, but nope. The uniform changes everything." He laughed at her, and stepped forward.
"Here." He handed her a coffee. "Two sugars, one milk." He raised an eyebrow. "You looked like a two sugar kind of girl to me."
"You're dead on, kiddo." She took a sip and collapsed into one of the large armchairs in the small sitting area at the corner of the room.
"I'm 25!" He laughed, sitting across from her.
"You're 25?" She asked incredulously.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" He asked.
"Because you look nineteen." She answered simply, lifting her legs over the arm of the chair and slouching against the other.
"Well how old are you? Because you're the size of a sixteen year old." He countered.
"23." She answered quietly.
"Hah! Yeah, I win this one, kiddo." He smiled. "So. What's eating you, munchkin?"
"Oh you're funny." She glared at him. "This is kind of weird." She smiled awkwardly. "I didn't even open up to Dov until like last week. I'm serious."
"Well, I'm a stranger. It's easier to talk to a stranger, cause you probably won't see me ever again." He shrugged his shoulders. "Think about it. It makes sense."
"I guess…" She hesitated.
"Okay, relax. Do you want me to talk first? I have problems too, you know." He looked at her, eyebrow raised.
"Okay." She smiled meekly, and whispered.
"Alright. Okay. Problems." He pursed his lips, trying to think of something. "Oh, I got one. That girlfriend I told you about? I'm ninety percent sure that she's cheating on me. That's why I started with you in the first place. Well, that and you're," he gestured at her body, "gorgeous."
"Oh nice. I'm a way of getting back at your unfaithful girlfriend." She laughed; not letting it hurt her feelings.
"No! No. Truth is I don't know what I'm doing. Don't know why I did it. Let's just blame it on me being a man." He chuckled.
"Yeah, a man child." She scoffed jokingly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Hey you! Watch yourself." He laughed. "I am a man, and my girlfriend is cheating on me. I need to get out of this job. I have my Master of Arts; I wanted to be a fingerprint analyst. But no. I carry luggage for a living." He sighed. "See?" He pointed at himself. "Troubled soul." She burst out laughing.
"Oh poor baby." She laughed.
"You know what? Yeah. Poor baby. Poor Josh. That's what up." He laughed, running his hands over his short hair.
"The whole reason I'm here is cause of work. I got an offer to move to Europe and work with top fashion industry personalities. I've worked so hard for it, but it just had to come now. I don't want to leave my boyfriend, I can't." She finally admitted.
"Could he go with you?" Josh mused.
"I could never ask him to do that. We've been through so much already, but the fact is, we've been together for a little over a month. It's nothing. I don't think you're supposed to love someone after a month, but that's how it is. He has a life here; he loves his job and his friends so much." She rubbed her eyes, exhausted.
"I get it. I know what you mean." Josh nodded, understanding perfectly.
"Is there any way that you could put the job on hold? Maybe go to Europe later on in your career?" He leaned back in his chair, relaxing a bit more.
"I don't know. Oh my God, I don't know what to do." She whimpered under her breath. "I just don't have any idea."
"Look. It's been a month. That really isn't a long time. Your career is going to be there for a long time, I mean, they want you to go overseas with them, your position is obviously permanent. But what if you two start fighting? Or, you just decide to call things off? Then you're left with nothing. No boyfriend, no job." Josh said sombrely. "I'm not trying to talk you out of this relationship, but the fact is, the odds are generally slated against the couple in this kind of situation."
"I don't know what to do." She let her head flop back on the chair. "I actually hate the smell of these sheets. Because they don't smell like Dov. I can't, sleep without him or think without him or live without him. But this job… It's an amazing opportunity, it's once in a life time. It just, this doesn't happen to just anyone. It's a life changing opportunity. I'd get amazing pay, vacation, health, dental, everything. It's a dream come true. It's all I've ever wanted." She closed her eyes tightly, and sighed.
"It sounds to me like you've already made your choice." Josh said quietly. "I know nothing I say is really going to change anything for you, but the way you talk about that job and the way you talk about your boyfriend, it's pretty obvious to me at least, that you know what is going to be best for you." Megan raised her head to look at him.
"Why can't life just be easy? This isn't fair." She whispered.
"I think you'll make the right choice." Josh nodded, checking his cell. "One second, I wanna call Amy." He shifted a little and dialled his girlfriend, but just sighed and shook his head when it went straight to voicemail. "Can I use you to make her jealous?" He asked Megan quietly.
"Make it good." She laughed, finishing off her coffee as he began leaving a message.
"Hey, babe, it's me. Sorry, I thought I'd be home earlier but, something held me up." He pointed a glance at Megan, who played her part beautifully.
"Josh baby, come back to bed." She mewed. She looked up to see him mouthing Nice!. She stifled a laugh while he continued the call.
"Not sure when I'll be home, but I'll make it up to you okay?" He chuckled.
"Josh! Don't keep me waiting, baby." She called, a bit louder this time.
"Babe, I gotta go. Call you later." He snapped his phone shut. "You are good."
"My Mom always said I should have been an actress." She said simply, picking at her nail with a small smile playing across her lips.
"Yeah, well it'll be interesting to hear what she has to say." He stopped short when his phone began to ring. "Damn, you are really good." He laughed.
"Baby, you have no idea." She laughed. "Just call me in if you need it."
"You're a lifesaver." He flipped open his phone and answered breathlessly. "Hello?" He cleared his throat. "Amy? Oh hey. What's up?" He turned up the speaker so Megan could here.
"What's up? Are you kidding me?" His girlfriend screamed through the phone. "Where are you? Josh, where are you?" She was absolutely seething.
"At work." He answered simply. "Where are you?" This time, his voice took on an accusatory tone.
"I – I'm out with the girls." She answered abruptly.
"Oh yeah? See, Amy, one reason I really love these iPhone 4Gs with the face time thing, is that I can always find out when you're lying. What are you really doing?" He smiled into the phone, and Megan choked back her laughter.
"I'm with a friend, okay, that's it." Amy suddenly reigned in her emotions.
"Oh, look! A face time invite. Click!" Josh activated the feature and smiled at his girlfriend when she reluctantly accepted. Megan took the hint and jumped out of her chair.
She had done this before. She was excellent at staging things, and tricking people. She really was a deceiver, a fantastic liar. 'Except,' she grimaced, 'when it comes to Dov.' She shook of her yearning and grabbed a bra out of her bag, draping it on the chair directly across from Josh. She stripped off the bathrobe and tossed it on the ground, along with her dress from work. She dimmed the lights in the room and tousled her hair, before sliding off her shirt and lying chest down on the bed, sheets covering from her waist down, exposing her bare back.
"So, Ames. Show me your friend." Josh challenged, a wicked smile on his face as his eyes travelled down the length of Megan's back for extra flare. Amy sighed and scowled, before turning the phone to show Josh a large man sitting in the chair opposite her.
"This is Riley, Josh. We work together." She said briskly.
"Oh, so it's normal for coworkers to hang out in their bedrooms, in little to no clothing?" He raised an eyebrow, before setting his sights on the man. "So, Riley. You hittin' my girl?" It was at this point that Amy lost it.
"You know what Josh? Yeah. We're having sex. I am having an affair, okay? I want to break up with you! I'm finished! We aren't working, I need more." She seethed, not an ounce of empathy in her voice. Megan's heart strings twanged as she listened to her harsh words, but all was mended when she heard Josh's reply.
"Eh, it's okay." He chuckled.
"It's okay? What?" She shrieked. "I'm all you have, and you know it!"
"Oh, honey. That's where you're wrong." He chuckled, before lifting his gaze to Megan, who had perfected her act. "Hey Megan?" He asked her, turning the phone so Amy could see the beautiful woman wrapped in the sheets on the bed.
"Mmm yeah baby?" Megan purred, sitting up and holding the sheet loosely over her breasts.
"Say hi to my ex girlfriend." He smiled.
"Will you come back to bed if I do? Baby I want you." She mewed. Josh, who was slowly buying into her act, shook himself out of his daze and answered her.
"You know I will." He said smoothly.
"Hey ex girlfriend." She smiled and waved, dropping the sheet a little lower. "Come on, now. I said it, now get over here Josh. Or I won't do that thing you like." She leaned forward and began to crawl towards him. He turned the phone back around to see his girlfriends' wide eyes and jaw touching the floor.
"Amy, I gotta go. You can pick up your stuff tomorrow, assuming I ever get out of here." He grinned wolfishly, before ending the call. "Good lord, you are talented."
"Pass me my bathrobe please." Megan sat back and pulled the sheets up over her completely. Josh did as he was told. "Now turn around." He did. Megan tied up the robe and began to put her hair up again.
"That was amazing." He laughed. "Can I turn around now?"
"Yeah." She laughed. "What can I say. If you've got an audience, give them a show." Her heart sank back to the previous day with Dov at the coffee shop. She felt so good, knowing that those other girls all had eyes for him, but he was hers and she was his. And that was it.
"You, are a brilliant human being." He chuckled. Megan shrugged and yawned, smiling demurely. "A tired human being. I should get going."
"If you must." She laughed. "Thanks for this, Josh. You may look like you're four, but you really did help me out tonight."
"Don't worry about it. That was definitely the best possible way to break up with someone. That will go down in history." He laughed. "Have a good night, Megan. I hope everything works out for you." Her eyes followed him out of the room.
Sighing, she stood up and walked out onto the balcony, letting the icy winds caress her body and hair. Leaning out over the railing, she inhaled the smell of winter, before looking up to the sky. Her tired eyes searched, but couldn't find her favourite constellation. This, effectively, solidified her confidence in the choice she'd made.
Slowly, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and texted Dov.
New Message
To: Dov Epstein
Hey, babe. Sorry I couldn't call you today, my damn meeting went on
forever. I'm gonna try to get some sleep now, but I'll see you around noon
tomorrow, okay? Love you.
Next, she dialled her boss' number.
"Lisa?" She asked when the woman picked up.
"Megan, honey, have you decided?" Lisa asked, her voice hopeful.
"Yeah." Megan nodded. "I have." She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, just praying that the step she was about to take was the right one.