"Hello, Miss. Can you please let me enter? This is my house," he skeptically indicated. Noelle was still astonished. She stared at the foot of the bed, hearing the man's voice outside of the door.
Did she give up her one-and-only virginity to a stranger?
Noelle bit her fingertips. Blake knocked at the door, startling Noelle. What will she do?
Meanwhile, Blake pursed his lips, putting down the breakfast tray at the drawer by the door frame. He retrieved the keys hidden inside a picture and inserted it to unlock the door. When it did so, Noelle jumped up from the floor, headed straight to the bed, and retrieved the pillows.
Blake informed, "I'm opening the door."
Noelle's hair was similar to a bird's nest. It's tangled up the ends, and her mouth smelled of alcohol, too. She must have threw a fit last night before coming inside a man's room and have a one-night stand with him. This is not good. Her mother needed her, and she needed money.
All she does is to be carefree.
When Blake swung the door, Noelle got astonished by the handsome, bare face of a man. Noelle was holding the pillows like a ninja fighter, but she suddenly got embarrassed. Staring at the charming figure of Blake, Noelle swallowed hard. Still, she didn't let her guard down.
"What happened last night should be kept out from the public," Noelle uttered.
Blake, who saw how messy his room was, inhaled a large amount of air. It will take a long time before he finally cleaned it up. Organizing the drawers were the hardest. He literally let an aggressive animal to enter his den. Blake came inside, unbothered by Noelle's words.
Instead, he got confused. Blake said, "Last night?"
Noelle stayed determined to cuss out. But she had to secure an answer. What happened can make her pregnant, and she doesn't have any clue how to surpass that. Noelle still had a mother to take care of, and a child was such an impossible burden to solve.
"Yeah, last night, we…" Noelle pointed at the bed, and let go of the pillows. She even made insignificant gestures, which made Blake stifle a chuckle. Noelle's ears became hot. How can he find it funny for a woman to lose her virginity to a stranger? Is he an asshole?
"We… we did that, right?" Noelle horribly asked.
Blake stuffed in his hands inside his pockets, and scrutinized the mess around. Noelle's hands were still raised, making gestures, but it was undecipherable, even to her. Blake stood at a fair distance, intimidating Noelle unconsciously. She's wearing the clothes Blake wore her in.
She must be concluding from that without knowing the details.
Blake smiled a little, but for Noelle, it's malicious. She instantly covered her breast with her arms. It made Blake laugh a little. He raised his eyebrows, asking, "What do you think? Did we…"
He copied the gesture Noelle made earlier, and she gasped, humiliated.
"… do that?" Blake finished. He liked to poke around Noelle's funny and naïve antics. She's the type of woman who doesn't know how to party, or to fling with someone else. Noelle must be a woman of dignity, who only liked to go out if it's her closest friends involved. At these types of scenarios, Noelle found it hard to escape.
She got quiet. Blake took a step forward, sending Noelle to walk backward. Domineering and like a predator caging a prey, Noelle didn't know how to fade out of the scene. She reached the dead-end, stood there with her back plastered on the wall, and Blake's face a few meters away.
He raised his hand, put it on the side of her face, and gawked at Noelle.
Blake smiled a little, querying, "Do you think we did that?"
He's utterly honest. Noelle only met him now, but she witnessed how dominant he was. She focused on his eyes, and only his eyes. His jaw was clenched, and Noelle thought it was freaking hot.
Noelle swallowed, admitting, "Yeah, we did."
Blake's face contorted with puzzlement. He was bewildered of Noelle's uncertainty. What she thinks now is different from what she wanted to say. Like the impression Noelle had last night, Blake can read her face well.
Noelle's eyes brimmed anxiety. At that moment, Blake had to stop goofing around. He removed his hand from her face, turned to the pillows, and arranged them accordingly. Blake finally disclosed, "Nothing happened to us last night. So, don't think worse of me."
Noelle didn't have anything against the man, but if he were to declare the truth, he should have done so earlier. She breathed a sigh of relief, but still divulged to her blurry memories. Noelle was clueless on how she came here—inside a handsome man's room with nothing but her cell phone and purse.
"If you want to confirm, you can check it in the bathroom," Blake added, turning to her.
Noelle bit her bottom lip, and shook her head, disgusted about what he said. Blake nodded, picked up the mess one-by-one, and Noelle watched as he organized his things. She felt bad for accusing him. She should head straight to the question she wanted to ask.
She was about to open her mouth when Blake initiated, "You were drunk last night. I am at the convenience store, and you were drinking only one bottle, but looked like you gulped down a case of beer. You're too wasted to even know that I was the one who caught you before you fall to the ground."
He put the last papers at the pile, focusing on her again, and Noelle got mortified.
Out of all the people, why should he be the one, an attractive man, who caught him?
"If it weren't for me, you'd gain a fracture in your head, and you will not know about it."
Her cheeks have gone red. She must be that ugly, unpleasant, and horrible woman he had ever met. Noelle shouldn't have gone to a convenience store to drink. Blake didn't say anything further and went out of the bedroom, retrieving the breakfast tray he prepared an hour ago.
"You should eat first before going home," Blake stated.
Noelle glanced at the tray, and sighed. He was too kind-hearted. What if she's a serial killer acting as a good-hearted woman who pretended not to mingle along with people? Noelle pursed her lips, and stared at Blake. They didn't even know each other's name.
"You could eat here. Deliver the tray to the living room after you finish," Blake indicated.
…
She had never been that full all her life. Noelle must be too crammed up with her part-time jobs that she forgot to eat. She massaged her abdomen, and checked the whole room. The fate must have brought her feet here, to a man's room, with no dark intentions but to sleep only a night.
Noelle gritted her teeth, and touched the walls, saying, "It's going to be the last time you're going to see me."
She clicked her tongue, thinking about the mess she made after she got drunk.
Noelle pursed her lips. She slide out of her chair and delivered the tray to the kitchen. When she reached the sink, she put down her plate, and listened to the conversation the man has on the phone.
"Yeah, I know that we needed a replacement." Blake turned to Noelle's back, staring at her.
She gripped the counter of the sink, and bowed, looking at the floors, but Blake stopped him after hanging up the call. Noelle halted in her tracks as he exhaled, uttering, "You should replace your clothes and prepare to go home. I'll be dropping you by."
Noelle didn't look at him and just nodded. Blake muttered, "Your clothes are already at the top drawer."
…
At exactly 10 o'clock in the morning, Noelle rode the car. She insisted to be on the back seat, but the man was persistent to have her on the shotgun. Noelle doesn't have a choice. She's a disturbance, and not even a mere impact to the man's life.
Noelle doesn't want to ask his name, too. It felt inconvenient to ask.
As he drove along the highway, Blake glimpse at her at any second. Noelle can sense it, but chose to ignore it. She didn't say a thank you, or even a token of gratitude to portray her good will. What she's absorbed now is her work.
Her manager will burst out once she came in late. Noelle chose to text her, even though she's left on read. She sighed, staying silent for the rest of the ride. When Blake drove at the convenience store, from where she has gone wasted, Noelle wanted the ground to suck her up.
They're here already. Noelle should bid her farewell.
Blake announced, "We're here."
Noelle's house was a few miles away from the store, but she had to crash to man's bedroom to sleep the entire night. This was the most embarrassing moment of her life and it will not be forgotten. Noelle summed up all the courage she had before speaking, "I wanted to thank you, for not letting me go wasted until the sun rises."
Blake smiled a little, and bowed, like a gentleman.
"I was the only one present. My conscience will bug me if I don't do that."
Noelle beamed, and clasped the door's handle. She was about to climb down when… she turned again, and asked, "What's your name? I think I should treat you to dinner as my thank you."
Blake creased his forehead. He turned to the front road, and told, "Blake. Blake Villano."
"Alright. The dinner should be at this convenience store, too. It's nice to meet you, Blake."
She was about to climb down when Blake stopped her, asking, "What's your name?"
Noelle showed her teeth, mumbling, "Noelle. Noelle Iris."
Blake nodded, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Noelle."
At that second, she decided to head down. Securing the door locked, she stepped aside, and gave a palm up. Blake started to drive off as Noelle watched him go.