Bubble Wrap

chapter four

SUNLIGHT BLEEDS ONTO my skin through the window above the bed, waking me up. My eyes slowly open to the brightness, blinking until they adjust as I smooth my fingertips over the soft cotton sheets. A quiet moan falling from my lips as I bury my face, hugging the pillow tighter to my chest as the night before replays in my head.

Over and over and over again.

The way his callused hands felt on my bare skin. The feeling of his lips on the hollow of my neck and my chest and my stomach. He marked each inch of my skin—claiming it. He took over every thought until I was putty in his hands and my stomach turns as I sit up on my forearms, turning my head to take in Luke's sleeping body next to me. Just as bare as mine.

My stomach knots tightly as I sit up carefully, pulling the comforter tighter to my chest as I take in what I've done. I slept with the one person I never thought I would ever sleep with, and as I look around the room, I realize I work in thirty minutes and still have no way to get into my apartment. Worst of all, I'm naked and in bed with Luke. And the last thing I want is to be here when he gets up.

I have no idea what I'm going to say to him.

All I can think about is bubble wrap and his lips.

Searching the floor, I crawl towards the end of the bed and grab my underwear off the floor. I'm careful not to make the bed squeak as I step into it, pulling it on before slowly creeping into the living room in search of my clothes. A creak in the hall catches my attention as I step towards Luke's door, leaning on my toes to peak into the now lit hall and a sigh of relief falls from my lips at the sight of Maggie's dark curls as she stops outside my door.

I track my steps around Luke's living room, spotting his shirt on the armchair where it had gotten tossed in the middle of tearing each other's clothes off. I quickly pull it on, grabbing my coat, bag and heels from the chair before unlocking the door and stepping outside. Maggie turns at the sound of the apartment door opening and her eyes widen.

The shocked look falls from her face as her lips turn up into a wicked smile.

"Don't say a word, Maggie," I say and cross the hall, holding my hand out for my keys. Maggie gestures to her lips, zipping them shut as she drops my keys into the palm of my hand.

I pick out my apartment key and slide it into the deadbolt, pushing the door open as I yank the key from the lock. I make a beeline for my bedroom, dropping my keys onto the kitchen counter as Maggie shuts the door behind us. My thoughts run wild as I move towards my bedroom, trying to shake the sticky feeling on my skin as I head for my closet.

"That's a nice shirt you have there." Maggie teases as she stops in the doorway of my room, leaning into the frame with her arms crossed.

"I'm not having this conversation," I say as I step into my closet, pulling Luke's shirt off and dropping it to the floor as I pull a clean bra and underwear on.

"And what conversation would that be?" Maggie asks with a smile as I step out of my closet, pulling a white long sleeve turtleneck that's soft against my ivory skin on. She lifts her eyebrow as I step into a pair of plaid dress pants, tucking the hem of my shirt into them before doing them up.

"Maggie," I warn.

"What?" she asks, stepping back into the small hall outside my bedroom as I head for the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing," she says and her lips curl up as I give her an evil glare, brushing my teeth before rinsing my mouth. "Oh, come on," she says, stepping into the bathroom when I start playing with my hair. "Give me your brush and an elastic."

I meet her gaze in the mirror, titling my head to the side before digging through my vanity drawer for my brush and elastic. She takes them from me and leans on her toes as she pulls the brush through my mess of curls, smoothing it down before tying it off in a neat ponytail. When I turn to her, she pulls some pieces down to frame my face before smiling.

"There," she says. "You can barely tell you got up to something last night."

"Maggie, seriously!" I pout and brush past her to go in my room, putting a pair of gold hoops in before grabbing a pair of heel socks. "Nothing happened, I swear," I lie and stop in front of her. "We need to go. We're already late."

"Okay, okay," she says, holding her hands up in surrender as she follows me to the door. She waits until I have my coat on, and keys and bag in hand before opening the door and stepping into the hall. The fear of seeing Luke and having to face what we did the night before creeps up, but the further we get away from the apartment, the easier it is to swallow.

Until eventually I can't run from it.

Not that I thought I ever could. Not with Maggie as my best friend. She wasn't going to stop until I filled her in on every little detail of last night.

"Okay, spill," Maggie says once we're settled on the subway, turning in her seat until her knee presses into my thigh. "What happened last night?"

"You mean, after I unfortunately forgot my keys at your place?" I ask.

"Yeah, skip ahead to the part where you ended up in your neighbor's apartment." She grins brightly, grabbing at my hands. "Specifically, the part where you ended up in his shirt."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't," she says. "You love me."

"Yeah, yeah," I say and wave her off, smiling to myself.

"Okay, now tell me! What happened?"

I shake my head. "You're insatiable."

"Of course." She laughs.

I think of the best way to tell her everything that happened, and feel myself clamming up as I pick at the felt fabric of my jacket. The thought of Luke flooding my thoughts again.

And then, without meaning to, it all pours out of me. The arguing, Charlie, the teasing, and eventually, the sex. My stomach turning at the excitement of sex with someone else, chased by the dread that it was with Luke.

"I cannot believe you," Maggie whispers. "My baby, Emery, having a one-night stand? This is so unlike you."

"I know." I swallow. "It's insane."

"Not insane," she argues, shaking her head. "Em, no offense, but you probably needed it more than you thought you did. And Luke is hot, which is a total bonus."

"Stop," I say, hiding my face in my hands. "Luke is... Luke."

"Yes, a very hot male," she says with a grin. "Was it good?"

The hitch in my breath is all she needs to know my answer. "Maggie, what am I going to do?" I ask and sink on the bench. "I'm going to have to move."

"Don't be so dramatic." She laughs. "It's good that you were with someone else. You needed to know that there are better picks out there than Charlie White."

"Trust me, I know." I sigh and tuck a stray piece of hair back, running my fingers over the gold hoop hanging from my ear. "Mags, he made me want to relax," I say. "And I have this rushing feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"And by bad you mean that you're afraid you're going to do it again?"

"No," I argue. "Absolutely not."

Maggie gives me a knowing look. "It's not a bad idea to have a little fun, Em."

"Maybe not, but it is with Luke," I say. "Things just... they got out of hand and he was there, and he was a distraction. That's it. It's never going to happen again, and I'm just, it'll take a little time, but things will be fine."

She hums as the conductor calls out the next stop and we both get up, moving towards the doors. And the unconvinced look on Maggie's face as we step onto the subway platform leaves me wondering if it's there for a reason. Luke was an accident, and the fear that he might be more sinks to the pit of my stomach.