Aviva was more than a little concerned of what might have taken place last night without her recollection; her mind jumping back to what had happened on the ride to the reception. Had she behaved in the same reckless way last night, throwing caution to the wind at the touch of his hands running over her bod? Pushing the image from her mind, she cautiously ran her hands down her body, relief flooding her as she felt a roomy garment covering her body. Well at least it was supposed to be covering her, but at this moment it was bunched around her waist in a twisted tangle. At the sound of the door opening Aviva spun around, again moving too quickly as the pounding in her head reached record proportions leaving her gasping, prone on the bed.
“I took the chance of bringing you up some food, just in case you might finally be awake.”
Squinting, she took in the sight of Jason standing by the bed wearing jeans, a t-shirt and holding a tray, a tray containing food and coffee by the smells coming from it. The mere thought of food let alone the smell turned her stomach.
“Get that stuff out of here before I puke. Oh my God, I think I’m going to die!”
Ignoring her melodramatic comment, he walked to the side of the bed and placed the tray on a table. Straightening from his task he looked over at Aviva who was attempting to pull herself into a sitting position. Meeting his eyes she was surprised to see a startled look register across his face before it was quickly masked.
“Why did you look at me like that?”
“No reason, no reason at all, are you hungry?”
“No I’m really not hungry, thank you so much, as I already explained, I don’t want anything to eat, that stuff is making my stomach roll, please take it away.
“I also brought you our hang-over cure, Steve and I perfected it in our misspent youth. Here, drink this.”
Aviva eyed the concoction he held out to her suspiciously, it looked disgusting and smelled worse, sort of a brown-black mixture of blobby slime. “What’s in it?”
“Best you don’t know, just drink it quickly. Trust me, that banging in your head will disappear as though by magic. There’s only one stipulation, you have to drink it down in one go, no stopping.”
At her nod Jason extended the glass of brown-black slime, although still suspicious, she was willing to try the disgusting looking stuff if it meant relief for her poor head and the glass wasn’t that big, she could do this. Taking the glass with unsteady hands, she held her breath and swallowed taking two huge gulps.
It happened almost immediately, her stomach rolled, the drink was about to make a reappearance. Banging head or no banging head she had to move and she had to move now, squeaking, “Bathroom?” Leaping from the bed she followed Jason’s pointing finger, only just making it to the toilet before the contents of her stomach was expelled. Aviva was finally left gasping for breath as the last of the alcohol left her body. Jason was right, she was already feeling better apart from the disgusting taste in her mouth, and her belly was a little sore as its contents had been expelled so rapidly.
Spying a new toothbrush which he must have laid out for her, Aviva made her way to the sink to wash her face and brush her teeth. Looking into the mirror she let out a blood curdling scream, turned and slammed the bathroom door before rushing back to the mirror. Unable to believe the sight she presented. Aviva closed her eyes in the hope that when she reopened them the horror looking back at her would have miraculously disappeared.
Gripped by a morbid fascination, Aviva lifted her head and stared at her reflection again. Her hairspray had turned her hair into the worst case of bedhead she had ever seen, in fact it was so stiff it looked like a one sided matted frizz helmet. Her makeup was still on and was smudged all over her face which included panda eyes, and lipstick that looked as though it had been applied by a three year old playing with her mother’s cosmetics. She looked like a melted clown whose face paint was a horror of distortion, and to top it all off, she had pillow creases embedded in her skin. No wonder Jason had looked at her as though he were witnessing a frightening apparition, bloody hell she had scared herself.
After brushing her teeth and washing her face Aviva decided she had only one way of dealing with her hair, filling the basin with water, she stuck her head in it. Wrapping her hair in a towel, she cracked open the bathroom door and peeped out coming face to face with Jason lounging on the bed laughing at her. Rolling her eyes and sucking her teeth Aviva flounced her way into the room.
“You could have told me I looked like a freak.”
“Not on your life, sometimes you need to find things out for yourself. Come and get back into bed and have some coffee it will make you feel better, well maybe not about the hair and face…” Jason came to an abrupt halt as Aviva reached the bed, grabbed a pillow and whacked him across the head.
“Hey, what was that for?”
“That was for allowing me to go to bed without removing my makeup and this one is for laughing at me” Aviva said, whacking him a second time. Sitting down on the bed she crossed her legs and pouted.
“Come on Angel, you have to admit you looked pretty terrible.”
Refusing to answer, Aviva threw daggers at his grinning face. He was enjoying himself way too much as far as she was concerned, but the devil was right, she had looked awful. “Okay, you’re right; I kinda scared myself there for a minute.”
Cutting her eyes at him again for good measure, she accepted the offered coffee only just managing to say thank you as she was still pouting; much to Jason’s continued amusement. “That’s right buster, you keep laughing it up.” At his smirk and no longer able to hold back her amusement at the situation, Aviva laughed. Looking over at the bedside clock Aviva saw that it was already afternoon and tried to remember just how much she had had to drink last night.
“What happened last night, the last thing I really remember was doing the electric slide and then it’s a complete blank?”
“Well, you already know you had too much to drink, and you passed out just after that ridiculous line dance.”
“Oh no, please tell me I didn’t fall over drunk!”
“Come on Angel, I would never let you fall. Don’t worry, you left with your dignity intact. I brought you home and as I didn’t know which room you were staying in, I put you to bed here.”
“Did you take my clothes off?” Jason raised an eyebrow as if to say what do you think. Aviva knew it was a stupid question as soon as she asked it. “Well did you at least avert your eyes while doing it?”
“Avert my eyes…” Looking at her as though she had lost her mind, he answered with a deadpan face. “Yes ma’am, I most certainly did avert my eyes.”
“You are such a liar, Jason King.”
“But the question is did my answer make you feel better?
“No, it did not.”
“Funny, that’s what I thought you’d say.” Jason said with a snort.
Swinging his long legs off the bed Jason rose to his full height and stretched. “I got Mrs Drake to bring your things; your suitcases are over there.” Aviva followed the direction of his pointing finger noticing her suitcases and toilette bag for the first time. “Get up when you’re ready and you should really try to eat something. Don’t worry it’s just toast, fruit juice and water. You need to start rehydrating your body. I have to go and take care of some business so I’ll see you later.” Dropping a swift kiss to her forehead Jason left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aviva thought how well Jason was looking after her as she reached for the toast he had left on the tray. Taking a bite, she was startled by the sudden opening of the bedroom door to admit, what appeared to be a very angry Hope.
“What are you doing, sleeping with a man you just met yesterday, making a damn fool out of yourself?” Not waiting for a response, Hope continued her tirade. “Poor Carlos, you really need to give him a call before you sink any lower in his estimation.”
“For your information, I didn’t have sex with Jason. As for Carlos, he knows he and I are j
ust friends, nothing more.”
“You still need to call him; he was devastated when you left with Jason.”
“Devastated my ass, girl please, that man has women falling all over him, he always has and probably always will. Anyway I was so wasted I didn’t know if I was coming or going.” Turning to look at Hope, Aviva closed her eyes in remembrance of her horrendous appearance when she awoke. “Hope, I gotta tell you I would rather have woken up anywhere but here this morning.”
“Why, what happened?”
Aviva described the state of her face to Hope before she had washed it. Unwrapping the towel she had used to hide her bedhead, Aviva showed Hope a part of what she had been confronted with, even more distressing what Jason had been confronted with. The sounds of Hope’s laughter filled the room, her fists thumping the bed, overcome with hilarity at the situation Aviva had found herself in. To Aviva’s way of thinking Hope seemed a little too pleased with her humiliation and tutted, making Hope laugh even more.
Wiping away her tears of laughter, Hope sniggered at Aviva. “Well it serves you right for being such a lush; you know you can’t hold your drink.”
“You’re supposed to be my friend, where’s the sympathy for my humiliation?”
“Sorry, not handing any out today. So Jason didn’t get some…”
“I already told you what happened, why are you still talking about it?”
“No reason, now get your drunken behind out of that bed and do something about that mess on top of your head, because you sure as hell are not coming to my wedding looking like that!”
For the first time Aviva took a good look at Hope and noticed that something was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but she saw a look in her eyes, a look she couldn’t quite decipher. Aviva thought it resembled detachment.
“Is everything alright with you, Hope?”
“Of course, just last minute jitters is all.”
“Although I don’t have first-hand knowledge, I'm told all prospective brides have last minute jitters. You’re still sure this is what you want to do, right?” Hope wouldn’t meet her eyes and that fact worried her. Aviva had expected to be slapped down at her last question, or at the very least to be told, yet again, how wonderful Steve was, but it didn't come.
“Hope…”
“I’m fine, now get the hell out of that bed and sort yourself out, because sister-friend from where I’m standing, it’s gonna take a while.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Washed and dressed Aviva left Jason’s suite and stood outside the door in an attempt to get her bearings. One end of the long hallway contained a window and the other a door. Walking towards the window Aviva peered out at a view of the garden and what appeared to be a guest house and, in the distance, what looked like a man made pond. Having had no opportunity to explore her surroundings she was keen to see more of the property. Never having stayed in such an extravagant home she was again amazed that Steve lived in such grand surroundings. Hope had mentioned that he and his partner were doing very well but this house would have surpassed her expectations if she had had any. Turning around Aviva made her way to the opposite end of the hallway, opened the door to another walkway which eventually led to the stairs. Her stomach had settled down and Aviva realized that she needed real food. Deciding to go to the kitchen to see what she could muster up she spotted Hope and Steve.
“Well good afternoon miss sleepy-head, how are you feeling?”
“Much better thank you. I had my first and last dose of yours and Jason’s hang-over cure and all is now right with the world. At least it will be once I get some food in me.”
“Yeah it kind of hits you like that, after a while you feel an overwhelming need for food. Have some fruit first, it seems to help. Pineapple seems to work best.”
“Thanks, I’ll see if the Drakes have any going.”
“Good, well I’m glad you feel better, because I don’t ever want to witness that thing you did with your eyes ever again. Last night was enough.”
“What thing?”
“Well…your eyes crossed first and then they kinda rolled around for a while and then your head sort of flopped to one side and your eyes crossed again. It gave me the chills.” At his shudder Aviva slapped him on the arm and rolled her eyes, knowing she did no such thing. What he described was ridiculous and she didn’t believe him for one moment.
“I told you not to do that, it freaks me out.”
“Shut up Stephen, before I sic Hope on you.”
Hope who had been standing quietly shaking her head at their foolishness started towards the stairs. “Leave me out of it, sorry sister-friend you’re on your own. You’re the drunkard around here, so you can deal with the fallout on you own.”
“Thanks sister-friend, I got your back too. Where are you two off to?”
“I have to run out for an hour or two and Hope said she was going to relax by the pool for a while.”
“Well have fun, now I really need to go get some food. See you both later.”
Aviva left them as she descended the stairs making her way to the kitchen in the hope of persuading Mrs Drake to feed her. Mrs Drake was pleased to oblige and prepared her a wonderful meal of pineapple followed by fluffy scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and English muffins which she washed down with freshly brewed coffee.
After her meal, Aviva spent some time speaking with the Drakes’, making discoveries. They originally worked in the hospitality industry having been the owners of an inn. Mr Drake had been the manager and Mrs Drake the chef. They had many successful years running it together, but had sold the inn and the land it sat on to Jason and Steve, agreeing that after a period of time traveling they would return and work for them. Aviva enjoyed hearing about all the places they had visited on their travels, and Mrs Drake chatted up a storm about the recipes she had acquired from their many ports of call. As she listened to the story, she couldn’t help but feel Mrs Drake was leaving out large chunks of what had really taken place. Not wanting to pry, she refrained from questioning her in greater detail. She could only surmise that the offer Jason and Steve had made them far outweighed the benefits of running one’s own establishment.
At the beginning of their conversation Hope popped her head around the kitchen door to inquire whether Aviva would be joining her at the pool. Aviva declined, genuinely enjoying spending time with Mrs Drake and she had many more questions she wanted to ask about her travels and the countries she had visited.
~~~~~~~~~~
Throwing down his pen Jason cocked his head to the side and listening to the quietness of the house. Deciding to continue with his paperwork, he again became quickly absorbed in the documents set out before him. So lost was he in the mountain of paper, he didn’t hear the door open as someone entered his office. It was the sound of his name being called impatiently that caused him to realize he was no longer alone. Looking up he saw Hope standing in front of his desk.
“Hope…what are you doing in here?”
“We need to talk Jason.”
“We do?” Jason genuinely had no idea why Hope would need to speak with him.
“Yes we do. In fact this conversation is long overdue.”
Baffled by her cryptic comment, he was at a loss as to what Hope had on her mind. Rather than attempt to figure out what the subject of the ‘talk’ could be about, he decided to hear her out.
“Take a seat” Jason offered, indicating one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“I’d prefer if we sat on the couch, if you don’t mind.”
Okay, he thought, a feeling of unease washing over him; already sure he was not going to like what she had to say. Not wanting to be impolite and prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt, he rose from behind his desk and followed Hope, who had already taken a seat on the couch in front of the large patio doors Jason had opened to allow a cooling breeze to pass through the room while he worked.
Taking a seat beside Hope, he inquired as to Aviva's whereabouts. A f
lash of what he thought to be impatience passed so quickly across Hope’s face, he was unsure he had gauged the expression correctly.
“Aviva is in the kitchen speaking with the help. It seems to me she spends more time than she should in there. Heaven knows what she could be speaking to them about or what they could have in common.” Hope was a first class snob, but the really funny part was, she had no idea, or didn't care about this particular shortcoming. Apart from a shake of his head, Jason gave no other reaction.
“I see, and where’s Steve?” This time Hope’s stare lingered long enough for Jason to catch her look of annoyance.
“He had to run out to the store, something or other about forgetting to pick something up. Now that you know where everyone is, maybe we can get on to the reason I came to see you.”
“Sure.” Amused at her surliness, Jason relaxed back into the couch waiting for her to say her piece.
“As you know I’m getting married in a few hours and I think it’s time you and I settled this thing between us.”
“What thing between us, Hope?” Jason asked raising a curious eyebrow.
“Don’t do this now Jason, not now, not when Steve and I are getting married in a few hours.”
“Hope, get to the point of this ‘talk’, because as sure as I’m sitting here listening to you, you're making no sense.”
“You don’t have to pretend Jason; it’s just the two of us in here and if this is going to happen, it needs to happen now.”
“What needs to ‘happen’, Hope?” Jason asked, the hairs at the back of his neck rising; a sinking feeling lodging in his gut.
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