With a Stranger // Taylor Zakhar Perez

2: Morning Stroll

In the haste of getting towards the door, I lost control of my balance and slipped on the wet floor. The fall created a thud that was embarrassingly conspicuous enough for him to hear.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He sounded so worried after hearing the unexpected stupid commotion I've caused.

"Y-yes! I am." I slowly revived myself up from the surface and hid behind the door as I twisted the knob to open. My sheepish smile was trying its best to persuade him that my pitiful situation is extremely just fine. I snatched the towel from his hand and slammed the door. 

Abruptly wiping off the traces of water in my skin, I made sure that this time, I wouldn't mess things up. I am not that kind of person. It just happened that this place is trying my patience and has put me into a curse. 

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw him walking on the living room with only his underwear. 

Now how are you gonna walk towards that eternally distant bedroom without getting his attention?

Being a master of this craft, I tiptoed my way to the bed silently as possible. I crouched down to get some good clothes to wear, just to look decent and normal. Most of the dresses were in the shade of pink, and that just ruined my mood. I am not the kind of girl who just buys everything that is colored in pink. 

But I have no choice though. I need to pick the garment with the slightest touch of this overly girly shade and stood up to put on my panties. A white denim short caught my taste and was approved to be paired up with a cream-pink, ruffle slip short sleeves. My legs swiftly welcomed the shorts.

Being already in the mood, I became confidently comfortable to take off the towel and put on my beige strapless, lace up bra. 

The water droplets from the tips of my hair bugged my inner peace, so I picked the towel back up to dry them temporarily. Thinking of nothing, I transferred my gaze to my phone, hoping somebody would ring it up and tell me I am dreaming.

"You have an undeniably alluring body that has caught me flabbergasted at hand. T'was quite a show."

Sweet mercy.

I immediately grabbed the top on the bed and wore it in a split second, before giving out my mortified 'thank you'. Geez. What on earth was I even thinking? How did I forget that he was in this place? 

Oh. My. God.

"H-how long have you been sitting there?" 

"Not long enough. But I was able to witness the duration of you getting dressed." Where's the gentleman that you were before I showered, huh?

That statement was enough for me to hastily finish my ritual. I combed my damp hair and applied some moisturizer on my face. I need to get this done regardless of his burning gaze directly pinned on me. His elbow served as his pillow, while the half of his body laid on the bed.

The lipstick ended the preparation and now I'm ready to face the world.

"Umm, are you just gonna expose that body of yours outside?" I pointed out the obvious fact he presented on the bed. The smile was too irresistible that it felt like I was on cloud 9 when he left to pick up a plain white shirt to match his brown shorts.

I put on my white shoes that unexpectedly matched his. Instead of pointing it out, I chose to pick my phone up and move to his direction.

"Let's go?" To cover up for the awkward behavior I have been displaying, I made the first move. He stood up from being seated on the couch and offered the way to me. Such a gentleman.