Stealing the Groom

Ten

Ten - The Fitting

I WOKE to the uncomfortable feeling of arms and legs tangled around my body. Blinking away the haziness of a deep slumber, I let out a groan as the events of last night flooded my mind.

Sitting up as best as I could, I began to unravel myself from Simone's limbs. Unsurprisingly, she didn't stir when I climbed out of the large bed, instead she rolled over to take the spot I had vacated. 

Walking into the bathroom, I stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down my body. I could practically feel the stress of the night before wash off me and swirl down the drain. 

After properly washing, my hands cut off the flow of water. By the time I resurfaced from within the tub, every surface of the room was coated in droplets of water condensing from the hot steam. 

Once I had towel dried my hair and wrapped a cotton robe around myself, I swung the bathroom door open. There, sitting on the bed clutching her head, was Simone.

“Hello,” I said nonchalantly and walked forward into the room to where I’d left my suitcases on the chaise lounge. 

“Shh, not so loudly,” Simone groaned. I unzipped the first suitcase and began rummaging through it to find something suitable to wear. 

I rolled my eyes at her but didn’t respond. After a few seconds, I heard Simone groan again. Dropping the silk top I was holding back into the suitcase, I turned to watch her stumble out of the bed and into the bathroom.

When she finished emptying her stomach once more, she lethargically dragged herself back into the room and sat down on the chaise lounge beside my suitcases. 

“How do you feel?” I said as I unzipped the second suitcase and looked there. I could have sworn I packed a pair of black sweatpants. I didn’t have anything planned and I really just wanted to stay in. But in order to do that I needed comfortable clothing, hence me vetoing the silk top from earlier.

“How do you think?” she responded in a very non-Simone irritated way that made me chuckle.  

“Like you’ve been knocked out by a crowbar?” Simone winced and then nodded. 

“Yes, I feel very much like that. Do you perhaps have any painkillers?” I shook my head but pointed at the telephone. 

“No, but I’m sure the concierge would be happy to find you some.” While she went to call the front desk, I gave up on finding the sweatpants and instead slipped into a pair of straight-leg jeans. 

Leaving my robe on since I was too lazy to put on a shirt much less a bra, I wondered into the lounge room. I was at first going to walk into the kitchen to make both Simone and I a cup of coffee, but the ringing of a phone caught my attention. 

Picking up Simone’s clutch purse, I opened it to reveal her glowing cell phone. The caller ID read Maxton Hastings.

A mischievous smile formed on my lips as I slid the screen unlocked and deepened my voice as best as I could. “Yeah?” I answered in my fake manly voice and nearly dropped the phone when I heard a sudden shuffle through the speaker.

“Who is this?” the deep voice said angrily. Simone swept the phone away from me then and pressed it to her ear, flashing me a glare when I erupted into a fit of giggles on the couch. 

Simone rolled her eyes at me and hurried away from me to lock herself in the bedroom, all the while trying to explain that I was his sister, and no, I’m not a man.

With a shrug of my shoulders and an amused smile on my lips, I reached for the remote and snuggled back into the couch before turning the television on. Deciding on a movie to fit this time of the year, I watched as Will Ferrell pranced around New York in his elf clothes.