JUST ONE NIGHT

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were racing in all directions, colliding in a blur. The low light in the room danced aga

orching across my flesh as he guided me to the bed. My legs felt like jello beneath me, my steps fal

t have to

y hear it over the dense haze of

all into the kiss, hoping it would quell the mounting disquiet inside me.

was not ready. I wasn't sure if I wanted it, but my mouth couldn't form the words. The

red, but my voice was drowned o

ike a lullaby meant to put a child to sleep. But it didn't put me at

exposed and vulnerable. I wanted to stop him, say something, and push him away, but my body wou

what you

ed within my head, bu

ed up, impossible to separate from the

ond. My stomach churned-not from the wine, but from the rising sense of dread that gnawed at my insides. Nonetheless, I remained st

ping this? I wanted

't you

, his hands solid and dominating, and the last scrap of my consciousness murmured a warning. But I dis

ver mine, moving in a cadence th

d 'stop', but my body betrayed me. My limbs felt like l

ck me like ice water, harsh and cutting. I'd pictured this moment with someone I loved

y were everywhere, overwhelming me, and all I

was ended, he laid next me, drawing me close as if we had just shared something intimate and beautiful. But I

ad whirling, and all I could feel wa

. My thoughts floated in and out of terrible dreams, tro

utting through the curtains like razors, eac

ony crept in-a harsh and terrible hangover. My eyes

as still.

ly clearing as I studied

a profound ache in my bones that reminded me of everything I had lost the ni

There is no ind

of Jackson, or wha

door, half expecting him to be there. But it was empty. On

d pallid and unkempt, my eyes red

ttention fell on the bed-the sheet

. My breath caught. The blood of my lost virginity t

not how things were supposed to be. Not like this. Not with someone

rembling hands, trying to focus and ignore the pressure in my ches

ather two pieces. A

for a large sum, more than I could have expected. My

nk I was a

que and letter away, my visio

mething priceless, something I had clung to for so long, and now... it

I opened it, a woman was there, her grin too b

ghtmare. "The checkout time is in an hour. The cleaner will b

t she see what happened? But I only nodde

nd. I stood there for a time, staring at nothing, my thoughts colliding like a whirlwind within my mind. The

ther myself. But the weight of what had

ning to breathe. My imagination repeated last night's events in fragments: the p

allow this

ined linens, and the check and note that I hadn't even bothered to re

kept racing through my mind: a que

have