10 CLEAN UP

< Athaire Starlight Hotel

UTC+2 0732 AM SAT

Room 700 >

The voice that abruptly froze her every movement was drained of emotions. Ever so slowly, she raised her eyes – and averted them the next second while her cheeks were turning red. He was wearing nothing, but a bathrobe tied around his waist and a towel around his neck. Though that was not to say he was at all unpleasant to look at. She swallowed and formed fists around the blanket on her.

She closed the violin case quickly and put it back to its original place. Aside from a rather old but well-kept violin, there was nothing odd to be found inside. Slowly, she glanced up at him for a second time and said, this time hopefully without blushing, "I do have questions."

With the eyes of a predator, he watched her every move while still drying off his hair that fell loosely onto his forehead and neck. She was sitting on the large bed alone, alert, and almost defensively. But her eyes were wide awake, clear, and open. Still curious. Her blond hair now freely fell like a wild waterfall down her back and side, with some loose strands rebelliously going against the current. Without the glasses, she looked younger, almost girly. Her makeup was gone, but she looked refreshed. It seemed like the sleep had worked wonders for her. For his part, the exhaustion made him drop down onto the couch. This could potentially be a long conversation.

"Shoot."

"My glasses?" She asked, "I can't see well without-"

"In the drawer," he answered with a yawn and pointed to the nightstand to her left. Shame. Maybe he should have told her, they broke somewhere along the way. She opened the drawer and found her glasses, neatly folded sitting atop a paper bag. "In case you wanted to get changed, there are some clothes in the bag, as well. And some hung-over pills."

The disbelief was written on her face clear as daylight. He was surprisingly considerate. She put on her glasses and glanced inside the bag. It looked like a one-size-fits-all dress. Smart choice. She could still smell the alcohol all over her clothes and right now, getting a shower and a change of attire would be heaven.

"Would you mind," she began.

"Go ahead." He said, "The bathroom's all yours. We can still talk after."

"Thank you, err…" she looked at him, obviously searching for the right way to address him.

"Don't worry about it." He replied, knowing that she had expected a different reply.