After the Rain- Josh Kiszka

Chapter 3- Picking Up the Pieces

I remember waking up that next morning to a pounding headache, and with the sense of dehydration that I experienced, you would think I had just trekked through a desert. My eyes were slow to open, and as my vision came into focus I surveyed my surroundings, realizing that I was not in my own bed. I turned over in an attempt to gather my bearings and to put the missing pieces of last night together. As I rolled over, I was met with a peacefully sleeping human with the most perfect curly mop of hair laying by my side. Ohhhhh right. The realization set in as a flash of last night's events flew through my mind. Josh. 

He looked almost angelic in his slumber, with the morning light illuminating his face as it peeked through the slightly opened blinds. I swiped my phone off of the side table and snapped a quick picture. I know it may seem slightly invasive, but I wanted to remember this moment, even if I didn't ever see Josh again. It was then when the hangxiety started to set in. I saw multiple messages from Teagan, inquiring about my whereabouts, and it hit me that I didn't even really know where I was. What was I doing? I never went home with people, especially someone that I had just met. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it just wasn't characteristic of me. I hadn't even wanted to go out last night and now here I was. The spontaneity of last night overwhelmed me and I felt a panic attack brewing. I needed to get out of there as soon as I could, and without waking Josh because I knew I wouldn't be able to face him.

I peeled back the covers ever so carefully and slid out of the bed. I tiptoed over to the chair which sat across from the bed and retrieved my dress from last night and put it back on. I snagged my heels that were scattered on the floor, but waited to put them back on to avoid waking Josh with the noise. I picked up the shirt that Josh had lent me and folded it, placing it on the dresser before creeping over to the door and slipping out of the suite without making a peep. 

I made my way to the lobby and the hotel and called an Uber in the process. As I was about to confirm my ride, I bumped into someone, almost sending me to the floor. Thankfully, the person that I had collided with had impressive reflexes, and caught me before it was too late. My phone, however, did not meet the same fate as it went skittering across the tile floor.

"I am so incredibly sorry." I apologized, regaining my balance and steadying myself in the stranger's grasp.

"No apologies necessary, I should have been watching where I was going." The man replied as he released me from his arms. 

I looked up at him and was met with an oddly familiar face that I couldn't quite place. I was sure that I hadn't met him before, yet it felt as though we had been acquainted. He reached down and picked up my phone and surveyed it before returning it to me. I glanced at it quickly and caught sight of a fresh crack spidering across the screen. 'Great, just what I needed' I thought to myself.

"Sorry about your phone." He said flashing an embarrassed smile. That smile. It was so similar to the one I had seen from Josh at Flex last night, and yet this man wasn't Josh. Weird.

"It's okay, thanks for catching me." I replied, flustered, with a nervous laugh. I shook off the odd encounter and made my way out of the hotel where I stood on the curb waiting for my Uber to arrive.

When I got back to my apartment, I texted Teagan to come by so she could divulge the details of her night with Chris, and she arrived shortly after. From her dramatic retelling, I gathered that it was probably the best night of her life, aside from when she met me, of course. She thought that what happened between her and Chris went really well, and I had been almost certain that may continue until at least graduation if everything went according to Teagan's plan. She then pressed me for the whole story about Josh and my night with him. I gave her all of the details of the night, prior to my Irish goodbye in the morning. I decided to omit the last bit because I knew she would be disappointed that I didn't even have his number or even a remote chance of seeing him again. But I didn't mind, I was content with the fact that it was a true one night stand.