Best Thing In Town

It was sometime early in the morning when Mike woke up. Nothing had caused him to stir awake. Not an alarm or any sort of noise. Not even sunlight coming through the window. Mostly because, if he looked at the bedside clock, he'd see that it was 5:17 in the morning and sunrise hadn't occurred yet. His blue eyes simply fluttered to life and a smile crept onto his face when he felt that familiar weight in his arm. He turned his head to his left and found a tousled head of light brown hair snuggled on his shoulder, one bare arm wrapped around his equally bare chest, and a bare leg entwined with his own under the haphazardly placed bed sheet that was close to slipping off the bed entirely.

Tilting his head down, Mike pressed his lips again the top of Audrey's head as gently as he could. Unfortunately, even that subtle gesture was able to wake her up. She turned her head up, stretched and then opened those hazel eyes that Mike had found so endearing. She blinked a few times, before everything came to her. Her mouth dropped open and her face fell, to which Mike frowned.

"Oh my God," Audrey muttered. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"We slept together."

"Well, yeah. It's not like we were piss ass drunk. We were pretty sober."

Audrey grimaced and sat up clinging to the bed sheet for dear life. "I know," she spoke, placing her hand to her forehead. "I just...I can't believe I acted so...so foolishly."

Mike moved, pulling himself up in a sitting position as he stared at her. "Sleeping with me was foolish?"

"Well, yeah. I barely know you. I met you, what...not even 24 hours ago? Wouldn't you call that foolish? Wait, no. Don't answer that," she insisted. "Your line of work...it's probably familiar territory." She made a gesture with her hand as if to say 'Don't move' as she gathered the bedsheet and wrapped it around her body without giving Mike a single glimpse, but leaving him stark naked on the bed. She stood up and crouched down on the floor, picking up her scattered pieces of clothing as Mike, with no couth whatsoever, stood up and placed his hands on his very bare hips.

"That's unfair. Just because of what I do for a living doesn't mean I go jumping into bed with the first woman I see."

Audrey continued to avoid any eye contact as she searched for her bra. "And how am I supposed to know? I'm only up with the cliche. You're a rockstar, I'm...a civilian."

"Exactly. You don't know, so you shouldn't be making judgments about how I conduct myself," Mike bit back. "I don't fuck just anyone, okay? If I...if I feel something for them, and not just lust...then I wanna be with them. And last night I felt something for you. Hell, I felt something for you when I met you on the plane."

Audrey snapped up and turned to look at Mike in the eye. She tilted her head to the side and studied his expression. She wasn't unsure how to respond to his comment. "You felt something? Like, your dick rising in your pants?" He was about to answer when she continued. "Okay, then. I'm glad I wasn't just some random piece of ass. That makes me feel a whole hell of a lot better. That's...that's just peachy. But right now, I have to go. I have a child who's going to be up in a few hours and I still haven't gotten any milk from the store. My car is downtown so I still have to call a cab to get to that." She gave him an exasperated smile and shook her head. "I've got responsibilities to take care of. I can't get mixed up with someone I'm never going to see again."

Mike furrowed his brow, reached out his arm and touched her on the shoulder as she began to turn away. Lifting her eyes to his face, she sighed and pressed her lips firmly together.

"Audrey..." he began. He was feeling a little hurt. He really did like her, and he thought that she did too. Or at least could. Leaning forward, he kissed her lips, wrapping his arms around her blanketed body. He felt her hesitance slip away as she brought her arms up to rest on his, hungrily giving into his kiss, but she broke it quite suddenly.

"No," she muttered. She placed a hand on his chest and stepped back. She crouched down real quick and picked up her last article of clothing and walked backward toward the bathroom as she shook her head. "I can't do this."

Mike stood there, crestfallen, watching as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Sinking down onto the bed, he bent forward and picked up his boxers, sliding them on and then leaning forward to rest his face in his hands as he hear the sink water running. Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, he sat up straight and looked over his shoulder as the bathroom door clicked open and Audrey stepped out, dressed in her outfit from the night before. She ran a hand through her tousled hair and caught his gaze.

"You leaving now?" he asked.

She nodded, replying in just above a whisper. "I have to."

"No, you don't," he insisted. "You can stay here a little bit longer."

"Mike, if I stay..." Audrey trailed off, looking down at her feet.

"If you stay what?" Mike got up and turned to her.

She wouldn't answer at first; she simply brushed some hair behind her ears. "I won't wanna leave." Looking back up at him, and feeling her chest get heavy.

"How's that a bad thing?"

They simply stared at each other. "I let my professional life interfere with my personal one. I was hired to get an interview with your band, see the concert, then report on it. Not...not go out for drinks and sleep with the bassist."

"Well, sometimes those things happen."

"No...I mean, yeah, they do. But they can't for me. I just...I can't do that." Audrey noticed her purse and moved toward it where it sat on the floor by the doorway into the sitting room. Mike just stood there and watched her. He couldn't think of anything to say to get her to stay. She picked up her purse and set it on her shoulder as she looked back at him. "Um...bye, then..."

Mike was really fighting with himself to figure out what he could possibly say or do. "I..." He dropped his chin to his chest when he came to terms that no matter what he said or did, she most likely wouldn't change her mind. "Can I walk you to the elevator at least?"

"In your boxers?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yes."

She looked him in the eye, then nodded. "Okay." She turned and began to walk toward the hotel room door, with Mike following quietly behind her. He got the door and opened it, letting her out first, then leaving the door remain open as they padded out into the hallway. He crossed his arms across his chest, watching the way her hips swayed with each step she took as his mind was racked with jumbled thoughts. He didn't even notice they were at the elevator until he just about ran into her when she stopped walking. Snapping his head up, he swallowed back a lump in his throat and met her gaze.

"Are you sure..." he began, hopelessly.

"I'm sure," she answered, already knowing what he was going to ask. She pressed the down button and took a deep breath as she reached out her hand to place on his arm. She leaned in and better judgment be damned, for at least this moment, she kissed him.

Mike dropped his arms from their folded position, and touched her elbows with his hands as he returned the kiss. The elevator bell dinged and the doors slid open just as Audrey parted. Stepping away from him and into the elevator, she gave a small wave and smile. He waved back as the doors slid shut, cutting off his last view of her.

"Sonofabitch," he muttered. A scowl taking up residence on his face, Mike stalked off toward his hotel room and slammed the door shut. Glancing at the lamp closest to him, he picked it up and flung it across the room, sending it smashing into a framed picture on the wall. Both crashed to the floor, glass shattering. He overturned a chair and kicked the wall before retreating to his bedroom and slamming that door shut as well.