I laid there starring at the bare back of the man beside me and started silently cursing myself.
"What the heck is wrong with me?!" I whispered.
I put my hand over my face in frustration and looked at the man between my fingers, unable to help admiring the smooth way his back slopped. I don't know why but I slowly started to reach foreword, just wanting to brush my fingers against his tanned back. But before I could touch him, he grunted, stretched, then rolled over on his other side facing me. I felt a blush creepy up my neck and into my face.
"Look who came back to her senses" Sedrick smiled "at least I HOPE you are." He chuckled and stood up and proceeded to put on his shirt that was lying on the floor.
I laid there dumbfounded, opening and closing my mouth like a fish, trying to figure out what to say.
"I... we... us...?" I stammered.
Sedrick just rolled his eyes and handed me a cup of what looked like water.
"Drink." He ordered, all humor gone from his face.
I did as he said, too mortified to say otherwise.
He spun a chair around sitting on it with his legs on either side of the back of the chair.
"So. Care to tell me what the hell is wrong with you?" Sedrick said almost angrily.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about." I said nervously.
He groaned and rubbed his face before turning his blue eyes on me. I avoided his gaze by looking around the room we were in. It looked nothing like any place I'd seen before, or any common hotel room. There were several bookshelves stacked full to the brim, a dresser, and two doors.
"About thirty minutes after I'd dropped you off," Sedrick began, and my gaze was drawn back to his "I looked over and realized you'd left your phone on the passenger seat. So, I turned around and drove back to where I had let you out."
Was that a trick of the light, or was that a hint of a smirk?
"I wasn't sure which restaurant you had gone into, but," He smirked at me "I could hear your drunken singing from outside the pub."
I scratched the back of my head looking away from his unwavering gaze. Even though he seemed amused, something about that smile seemed off. He moved his gaze off me and looked at his hands.
"I went inside, and you were drunk off your ass. In only an hour, which I might add is impressive. But anyway. You were dancing around and singing and drinking and making a complete fool of yourself."
I could feel my cheeks burning red as Sedrick continued his story.
"When you spotted me you yelled my name, hugged my chest," he lifted his eyes slightly to look at me "and proceeded to kiss me."
He looked back at his hands, smiling almost reminiscently. I blushed more refusing to look at his face.
"I fended you off pretty easily, but you were becoming a danger to yourself. Your friend was no where to be found, you couldn't think straight, and" he gripped the back of the chair causing his knuckles to go white "and men were starting to flock to you, trying to do things to you."
Why does he seem so angry..?
"L-look." I started to say "I appreciate you protecting me, but I can handle mys-"
"Goddamn it Hazel!" He screamed, standing abruptly from the chair and pushing it over.
"You don't get it! They were going to take advantage of you! Do with you what they wanted, then kill you and dispose of your body like it was nothing." He began shaking slightly.
I sat there, terrified of this stranger in front of me. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sat beside me on the bed.
"I decided I had to get you somewhere safe. When we arrived I brought you up here to put you in bed, but you kept trying to take off my clothes and get me into bed with you."
That explains his shirt being off.
"When you finally stopped trying to strip me, you still wouldn't let me leave. You told me you felt safer with me here. I sat right where I am now and you curled up to me like you'd know me for years" he smiled a little "and fell asleep in moments."
Sedrick looked over at me, eyes more welcoming and warm then they had been earlier.
"I'm glad you're safe, Dumbo." He said.
The next moment I felt his hand resting gently on my face, brushing his thumb over my cheek like a feather. He looked at me with eyes that looked so vulnerable and lost, and I looked back. The moment should have been weird, a still strange man caressing my cheek? But it wasn't. It felt right.
I sat there, unsure what to think.
So, he took it upon himself to bring me here and watch over me? Wait..
"Where exactly is 'here'?" I asked.
In an instant his eyes went from warm to blank and empty as he dropped his hand and stood back up.
"This, is my home. It's about a 45 minute drive from the pub you were in" He said, uncaringly. "You may stay until you are no longer intoxicated."
And without another word, he walked out the door shutting it behind him.
