Where Will I Be When I Wake up Next to a Stranger
I Can't Remember
In downtown Chicago, it was just breaking noon when a Ms. Wiley stirred in this unfamiliar bed she was in. It took her a moment to register that the smell of the pillow was not her own. Her eyes slowly opened as she took a good look at the man lying next to her. Her first reaction was panic, but it quickly melted by the small smile on his face. He was dreaming of something good. She took a look at her surroundings and tried to remember the night before. But, she came up blank.
The man’s arm tightened around her waist as she just noticed she was as naked as a new born. Her first thought was to try and sneak away, unseen by him and hopefully anyone else that may be in the apartment. Maybe he wouldn’t remember either and think anything he DID remember was a dream. But then again, that would be unlike herself, and most of all, rude. She sighed as she tried to think of a good way to go about this. Get dressed first? Go downstairs and make coffee? No, no. That’d be too weird she thought to herself as she tried to find the perfect outcome for this. But what’s a perfect outcome for waking up next to a stranger?
Katherine finally decided she would at least get dressed before he woke up too. She quietly removed his arm from around her waist as he groaned and stuffed his face into his pillow. She quietly put on her bra, and found her panties and pants on the other side of the bed. She was slipping them on when she heard a small giggle from behind her. She turned slowly to look into Pete’s doe eyes and to see a grin on his face.
“Good morning to you too.” He smirked as Katherine continued getting dressed.
“Mm, Katherine.” He seemed to remember as Katherine’s face got hot from embarrassment. She couldn’t even remember the man’s name.
“Pete.” He said as he kept his smile. He didn’t seem fazed one bit that she didn’t remember his name.
“I’m sorry.” She finally spoke as she put on her jacket.
“It’s quite alright.” He said as he wrapped a blanket around his waist and got up.
Katherine seemed to forget he was a stranger as she just stared. His laughing gained her attention again and she began to search for her purse.
“Your purse is downstairs, but, I’d really like it if you stayed for coffee Katherine.” He said, nearly whispering as all she could do was nod.
As soon as he pulled on a pair of boxers, without her looking, he headed down stairs to the kitchen as she followed closely behind. He put on a pot of coffee as she grabbed her bag and took a seat at a small table by the window. She looked at her phone and had 8 missed calls that lead to 8 voicemails, and 5 text messages. She sighed to herself and rubbed her temple as she noticed most of them were from Brian. She called her voicemail and listened as Brian started out sweetly saying he was worried about her, then getting angry towards the last messages. She sighed again as the text messages were the same. Some texts were from Jonathon that made her laugh at least a little bit.
“I know fersure u got sum action last night. Call me when u get home pumpkin ;P” Was what it read.
“What are you smiling at?” Pete had to ask as he got out two coffee mugs.
“My friend, Jonathon. He sometimes knows me better than I do.” She smiled as she put her phone back in her purse.
“Oh really?” He asked as the coffee was done brewing, and he poured them both a cup.
“Yeah, really.” She played along as she got up to fix her coffee.
“Sugar fiend I see.” He said as Katherine put at least 5 spoons of sugar.
“It helps.” Was all she said behind her cup as she took a sip and returned to her seat.
“So, tell me about yourself.” Katherine smiled as he leaned over an island that was in the middle of the room.
“Well my full name is Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the III. I’m 23 born on June 5th, 1979. Born and raised here. I play bass and write lyrics in a band called Fall Out Boy. I’m usually single. And I have this really odd obsession with Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.” He explained as Katherine listened intently.
“And what about you?” He asked as she swallowed the coffee that was in her mouth.
“My full name is Katherine Leigh Wiley. I’m 21, born on May 24th, 1981. Born in California and raised here in Chicago. I work at Visions Night Club as a bartender. I’m currently not single and I have a three year old daughter named Amity. And I have an odd obsession with dancing.” She told him as he nodded.
“Do you live with your boyfriend, or what?” He questioned.
“No, we’ve only been dating for a couple of months. I’d never want to move with him anyways.” She responded quietly as Pete asked why.
“I’d rather not talk about this...” Katherine trailed off as Pete left it at that.
“I live with my dad. My mom died when I was 6, so my dad is overprotective of me ever really living on my own. Which, I don’t really mind to be honest.” Katherine continued to talk about herself.
“My parents are partially paying for this apartment till I can get off my feet.” Pete laughed as Katherine giggled.
There was a quiet moment when Katherine and Pete just looked at each other. But that moment was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister played loudly as she tried to stifle her nervous giggle and answered it.
“Hello? I’m at a friend’s house right now. I’m allowed to have friends Brian. I’ll call you when I get home. BYE.” She stressed as she hung up on him freaking out on her.
“Well uh, I better go.” Katherine tried to find a way to go about this.
“Thanks so much for the coffee, and a place to stay for the night. I’m sure I’ll talk to you soon enough. Goodbye Peter.” Katherine smiled politely as she stuck her hand out awkwardly.
He smiled and shook her hand. He held her hand for a couple moments longer than a normal handshake as he seemed to get lost in her eyes. She swallowed imaginary saliva and pulled her hand away lightly.
“Bye.” He said as she made her way to the elevator leading all the way back down the 11 floors she went up last night.
---
As she walked through the front door, running a hand through her hair Amity bounced up to her.
“Mommy!” She nearly yelled at the top of her lungs as she danced around Katherine.
“Hi baby.” Katherine smiled as she picked up her only daughter.
“Where were you mommy?” She asked quietly as she messed with her mother’s hair.
“I was at a friend’s house. Mommy was a little loud last night so she didn’t wanna come home till she became quiet.” Katherine tried to explain how drunk she was without really, explaining much.
“Oh.” Is all little Amity could say as her mother sat her on the counter.
Her phone started ringing again as she sighed and answered it, and heard Jonathon’s loud voice on the other end.
“You got REALLY fucked up last night by the way.” Jonathon said as Katherine could HEAR his smile.
“Yeah, thanks for helping getting me drunk.” She said, just as her father turned the corner and greeted her with one of those parenting looks.
“My bad, but you know you wanted to anyways. Plus, you got a good fuck out of it, so you should be thanking me.” He played along on the other line as Katherine had to laugh.
“It would have been good if I can remember it. But I can barely remember shit, so don’t hassle me you ass.” She laughed as she tried to be quiet so her daughter didn’t pick up any ‘naughty’ words from her.
“WELL, I’ll get you drunk next time, but drunk enough so you can remember.” He chuckled on the other end as she just sighed.
“Don’t you ever supply me booze again, or I’ll kill you. I have to go and take care of my daughter so goodbye Jonathon. I’ll see you tonight.” She ended the call without waiting for his goodbye.
“Drunk huh?” Her father said as Amity was watching a movie in the living room.
“Yes dad, drunk. I’m 21 if you don’t remember, so it’s legal now.” Katherine sassed back.
“I know that but not all 21 year olds have a 3 year old daughter waiting at home for them.” He spoke quietly as Katherine swallowed a lump in her throat.
“It was just this one time. Don’t act like I do it every fucking night. I’m not that kind of person, nor would I ever be that kind of mother. I’m not going to end up like mom so stop worrying so much.” Katherine ended the conversation as she headed to her room and closed the door behind her.
She didn’t need to be reminded of her mother’s alcoholic ways, or the fact that she was pregnant at 18. Who would? It wasn’t like she was gonna end up like her mother, or end up pregnant yet again. Didn’t her father know she was on the pill? Plus, she hardly ever got drunk unless it was for party purposes where her father knew ahead of time that she was going to end up totally wasted. He never acted this way, but then again she never spent the night at a stranger’s house without telling her dad beforehand. But did she have to tell him every little thing about her life? No. Everyone has their secrets…
The man’s arm tightened around her waist as she just noticed she was as naked as a new born. Her first thought was to try and sneak away, unseen by him and hopefully anyone else that may be in the apartment. Maybe he wouldn’t remember either and think anything he DID remember was a dream. But then again, that would be unlike herself, and most of all, rude. She sighed as she tried to think of a good way to go about this. Get dressed first? Go downstairs and make coffee? No, no. That’d be too weird she thought to herself as she tried to find the perfect outcome for this. But what’s a perfect outcome for waking up next to a stranger?
Katherine finally decided she would at least get dressed before he woke up too. She quietly removed his arm from around her waist as he groaned and stuffed his face into his pillow. She quietly put on her bra, and found her panties and pants on the other side of the bed. She was slipping them on when she heard a small giggle from behind her. She turned slowly to look into Pete’s doe eyes and to see a grin on his face.
“Good morning to you too.” He smirked as Katherine continued getting dressed.
“Mm, Katherine.” He seemed to remember as Katherine’s face got hot from embarrassment. She couldn’t even remember the man’s name.
“Pete.” He said as he kept his smile. He didn’t seem fazed one bit that she didn’t remember his name.
“I’m sorry.” She finally spoke as she put on her jacket.
“It’s quite alright.” He said as he wrapped a blanket around his waist and got up.
Katherine seemed to forget he was a stranger as she just stared. His laughing gained her attention again and she began to search for her purse.
“Your purse is downstairs, but, I’d really like it if you stayed for coffee Katherine.” He said, nearly whispering as all she could do was nod.
As soon as he pulled on a pair of boxers, without her looking, he headed down stairs to the kitchen as she followed closely behind. He put on a pot of coffee as she grabbed her bag and took a seat at a small table by the window. She looked at her phone and had 8 missed calls that lead to 8 voicemails, and 5 text messages. She sighed to herself and rubbed her temple as she noticed most of them were from Brian. She called her voicemail and listened as Brian started out sweetly saying he was worried about her, then getting angry towards the last messages. She sighed again as the text messages were the same. Some texts were from Jonathon that made her laugh at least a little bit.
“I know fersure u got sum action last night. Call me when u get home pumpkin ;P” Was what it read.
“What are you smiling at?” Pete had to ask as he got out two coffee mugs.
“My friend, Jonathon. He sometimes knows me better than I do.” She smiled as she put her phone back in her purse.
“Oh really?” He asked as the coffee was done brewing, and he poured them both a cup.
“Yeah, really.” She played along as she got up to fix her coffee.
“Sugar fiend I see.” He said as Katherine put at least 5 spoons of sugar.
“It helps.” Was all she said behind her cup as she took a sip and returned to her seat.
“So, tell me about yourself.” Katherine smiled as he leaned over an island that was in the middle of the room.
“Well my full name is Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the III. I’m 23 born on June 5th, 1979. Born and raised here. I play bass and write lyrics in a band called Fall Out Boy. I’m usually single. And I have this really odd obsession with Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.” He explained as Katherine listened intently.
“And what about you?” He asked as she swallowed the coffee that was in her mouth.
“My full name is Katherine Leigh Wiley. I’m 21, born on May 24th, 1981. Born in California and raised here in Chicago. I work at Visions Night Club as a bartender. I’m currently not single and I have a three year old daughter named Amity. And I have an odd obsession with dancing.” She told him as he nodded.
“Do you live with your boyfriend, or what?” He questioned.
“No, we’ve only been dating for a couple of months. I’d never want to move with him anyways.” She responded quietly as Pete asked why.
“I’d rather not talk about this...” Katherine trailed off as Pete left it at that.
“I live with my dad. My mom died when I was 6, so my dad is overprotective of me ever really living on my own. Which, I don’t really mind to be honest.” Katherine continued to talk about herself.
“My parents are partially paying for this apartment till I can get off my feet.” Pete laughed as Katherine giggled.
There was a quiet moment when Katherine and Pete just looked at each other. But that moment was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister played loudly as she tried to stifle her nervous giggle and answered it.
“Hello? I’m at a friend’s house right now. I’m allowed to have friends Brian. I’ll call you when I get home. BYE.” She stressed as she hung up on him freaking out on her.
“Well uh, I better go.” Katherine tried to find a way to go about this.
“Thanks so much for the coffee, and a place to stay for the night. I’m sure I’ll talk to you soon enough. Goodbye Peter.” Katherine smiled politely as she stuck her hand out awkwardly.
He smiled and shook her hand. He held her hand for a couple moments longer than a normal handshake as he seemed to get lost in her eyes. She swallowed imaginary saliva and pulled her hand away lightly.
“Bye.” He said as she made her way to the elevator leading all the way back down the 11 floors she went up last night.
---
As she walked through the front door, running a hand through her hair Amity bounced up to her.
“Mommy!” She nearly yelled at the top of her lungs as she danced around Katherine.
“Hi baby.” Katherine smiled as she picked up her only daughter.
“Where were you mommy?” She asked quietly as she messed with her mother’s hair.
“I was at a friend’s house. Mommy was a little loud last night so she didn’t wanna come home till she became quiet.” Katherine tried to explain how drunk she was without really, explaining much.
“Oh.” Is all little Amity could say as her mother sat her on the counter.
Her phone started ringing again as she sighed and answered it, and heard Jonathon’s loud voice on the other end.
“You got REALLY fucked up last night by the way.” Jonathon said as Katherine could HEAR his smile.
“Yeah, thanks for helping getting me drunk.” She said, just as her father turned the corner and greeted her with one of those parenting looks.
“My bad, but you know you wanted to anyways. Plus, you got a good fuck out of it, so you should be thanking me.” He played along on the other line as Katherine had to laugh.
“It would have been good if I can remember it. But I can barely remember shit, so don’t hassle me you ass.” She laughed as she tried to be quiet so her daughter didn’t pick up any ‘naughty’ words from her.
“WELL, I’ll get you drunk next time, but drunk enough so you can remember.” He chuckled on the other end as she just sighed.
“Don’t you ever supply me booze again, or I’ll kill you. I have to go and take care of my daughter so goodbye Jonathon. I’ll see you tonight.” She ended the call without waiting for his goodbye.
“Drunk huh?” Her father said as Amity was watching a movie in the living room.
“Yes dad, drunk. I’m 21 if you don’t remember, so it’s legal now.” Katherine sassed back.
“I know that but not all 21 year olds have a 3 year old daughter waiting at home for them.” He spoke quietly as Katherine swallowed a lump in her throat.
“It was just this one time. Don’t act like I do it every fucking night. I’m not that kind of person, nor would I ever be that kind of mother. I’m not going to end up like mom so stop worrying so much.” Katherine ended the conversation as she headed to her room and closed the door behind her.
She didn’t need to be reminded of her mother’s alcoholic ways, or the fact that she was pregnant at 18. Who would? It wasn’t like she was gonna end up like her mother, or end up pregnant yet again. Didn’t her father know she was on the pill? Plus, she hardly ever got drunk unless it was for party purposes where her father knew ahead of time that she was going to end up totally wasted. He never acted this way, but then again she never spent the night at a stranger’s house without telling her dad beforehand. But did she have to tell him every little thing about her life? No. Everyone has their secrets…
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Hm. I don't know if I like this chapter. Oh well.