Perfect

HARRY
I wake up with my face buried into her hair. And because I have morning wood, I press myself into Natalie’s back and try to wake her and place tiny kisses on her bare shoulders. I can’t remember anything that happened the previous night which is strange but not unusual—I’ve woken up blank before, with no memory whatsoever of what went on. At least I’m in my room and she’s with me. I’ve woken up in far stranger places with far stranger women. You don’t even want to know.
Natalie groans a little when I press harder into her and I rub my hand over her bare thighs. But she’s still sleeping and that makes me smile. Just the fact that she didn’t sleep with her husband, and chose instead to spend the night here means she actually made an effort. And I’m not about to let her down.
My erection seems to agree. “Babe,” I say, whispering in her ear. “Wake up.”
She turns to me, still sleepy, and cuddles me so I cuddle back.
The smell of her hair, it’s intoxicating as I kiss her forehead.
“What happened last night?” I ask. “How come you’re sleeping here?”
“Don’t remember…” she mumbles in a sleepy voice and almost squeezes me so I squeeze back.
“Me neither,” I say.
“I’m hungry, Alex.”
For a minute, I think maybe my ears heard it wrong. Maybe she said something else, something besides the name of a guy who was harassing this incredibly sweet girl the other day in the hotel hallway.
“Nat…it’s me…Harry.”
Suddenly, she looks up.
I break away from her and take a look at her face. The room is dark, but not dark enough to hide her features now. I don’t see Natalie. I see someone, a random naked girl and I can’t remember where I’ve seen her.
The first thought that comes to my mind—Harry you piece of shit, you slept with some strange woman and brought her to your room you idiot! And then, while she stares blankly at me, I realize that she’s probably going through the same motions. I recall that she’s not a stranger at all, that she’s the same sweet girl I was thinking about earlier from the hallway incident! Is she really into one night stands? She didn’t look the type, but what the fuck do I know? Sometimes, people surprise you.
But when she starts screaming and grabs a sheet to cover her, almost leaps off the bed and continues to scream, that’s when I realize something is seriously wrong. I try to recall her name but I can’t remember it. “Hey,” I say. “Calm down.”
But she’s still freaking out and when she turns around I realize that I’m completely naked, morning wood and all, and I grab a pillow to cover myself too, something I’ve never done before but I can tell she’s having trouble with where she’s woken up. And then, I remember her name. “Jamie. Calm down, okay?”
“Get out!” she screams, still trying not to look at me.
“Get out?” I say. “This is my room!”
“No, it’s not!” she screams again. “This is my room! Alex and I have been staying here! What’re you doing in my bed?”
For a second, I think maybe she’s right. Maybe I was drunk and out of it so I might have crashed in her room. “Jamie,” I gesture to the armchair. “Look around. All of this is my stuff. This isn’t your room.”
She’s shaking and crying uncontrollably and when she takes a look around, it’s obvious she realizes she’s the intruder, not me. “How did I get here?” she sobs. “I don’t understand, how did I get here!”
“I’m wondering the same thing, Jamie.”
“No no no no no this isn’t happening! This isn’t happening!” she screams, grabbing her clothes from the floor and putting them on. I realize maybe I should do the same, it would be less embarrassing. So I grab my jeans and slide it on and throw on a button-down shirt. I have hardly buttoned up when she totally breaks out crying one more time and I can’t help but go towards her to try to calm her down but I’m not even sure if I should be touching her. “I’m sorry about this,” I say. “Look, just go back to your boyfriend. Forget this ever hap—”
She seems to have been struck by lightning. “Alex,” she says, and drops on the bed.
“Yes I know,” I say. “I know you’re with Alex…”
“I think he drugged me.”
Suddenly, the events of last night start unraveling inside my head and it’s as though my memory was just waiting to hear those very words. “Uh,” I say. “Someone drugged you too?”
She glances up with her tear-stained eyes. “What do you mean, you too?”
“Some guy,” I say. “I’m not sure what happened but someone put roofies in my drink when I wasn’t looking. And then I was with Natalie…” I also remembered that strange male figure in the room, but I don’t tell her that.
“What do I do now?” she says. “What the fuck do I do?”
“You can’t go back,” I say, only because now I’m genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. “Who knows what he wanted you to do.”
“But how did I get here?”
“Maybe you wanted to get away from him?” I say. “You knew my room number. You could have come to me for help and…”
“And we did it,” she closes her eyes.
“Maybe nothing happened,” I lie, even though I remember things happening.
“No…I remember…stuff…you know?”
“Yeah, me too.”
“God, I’m so sorry!”
“Why’re you apologizing? It wasn’t your fault.”
“Oh God,” she says and starts to cry.
This time I sit right next to her and put an arm around her. She doesn’t protest but she keeps on crying. “Jamie,” I say. “This is really not that big of a deal. You need to stop crying.”
“You don’t understand!” she snaps and breaks away from my touch, stands right in front of me. “I know this is just a one-night stand for you! I know! Easy to forget but you don’t understand…I’m…fuck…Harry…” she seems like she’s about to say something but she doesn’t say it. Instead, she says something politically correct. “Nothing. It’s just…I don’t do one-night stands. So all this, is a bit of a shock.”
“I get it,” I say. “I’m shocked too. I thought I was with Natalie. I was so happy.”
“Natalie? Is that your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that just makes me feel worse!”
“Jamie,” I say, trying to calm her down again and go towards her. “Look, it’s just a one-night stand. Okay? We can forget about it, pretend it never happened. No one has to know! I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
She nods. “Okay,” she says. “Okay, you’re right. This is nothing to freak out over.” She bends to grab her purse from the floor and looks ready to leave. “I should probably go back to my room.”
“What?” I say. “You’re going to go back to that jerk? Why? So he can drug you and take advantage of you again?”
“So what am I supposed to do?” she says. “I live in Springvale! Until I make some arrangements for the flight and leave…I’m stuck here. And I’m sort of low on cash.”
“Okay that,” I say, grabbing my wallet. “I can actually help you with. How much do you need?”
“I’m not going to take your money, Harry. Not like this.”
“Consider it a loan,” I say. “You can return it to me when you’re back in Springvale.”
She looks like she’s weighing her options. “Thanks.”
“Jamie,” I say. “It’s no bother. Really. And just stay here until I get you another room, okay?”
“You don’t have to do that,” she says. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Please, Jamie. Let me help you. It’s the least I can do.”
I can’t possibly leave her helpless to go fend for herself; not after everything that’s happened. I need to make sure that asshole doesn’t touch her again. In some way, I feel I might be responsible for this, and I know that’s absurd because someone tried to drug me too, but I can’t help it. I also need to find out what the hell is going on. I know it can’t be something she did, but maybe we pissed someone off. I can believe that about myself because I’m an asshole, but I can’t think of a reason anyone would have a grudge with her. But it can’t be a coincidence. Whatever it is, I can’t figure it out and I know Jamie’s not going to be a big help, but I know someone who might be able to help.
I look for my phone, find it on the nightstand and dial Liam’s number.

Notes