Tonya Muir - Exposure Season 1

I was so shit-faced.

She was climbing up my body, her hands on my shoulders, her legs around my waist, her mouth everywhere. Damn. I thought she just got laid last weekend. She acted like I was the last drink of water in the middle of the desert.

The way her tongue was probing in my mouth she wasn’t going to share any of it with me.

I tried to cool things down a couple notches. I remember exchanging slow kisses, pulling away when she tried to deepen them. My fingers found the buttons on her blouse and I tried to undo them slowly.

She was having none of that.

I yelped when she leaned forward and bit my top button off.

God, I thought she was going to take a hunk of my flesh with it, her expression was so intense.

When she spit it across the room, I got the hint. I stumbled across the room to the bed – you should try walking gracefully when you have a hundred pound hellcat in your arms – and we collapsed on the bed together.

I remember ripping the clothes off her body while she destroyed my shirt. First the silk one in the library, which she never did pay me for, and now this one. I might be safer going topless around her.

Yeah right.

She calmed down a bit once we got naked.

I just wish I knew what happened after that.

* * *

Finally, I know I have to face the inevitable. I hear the knock on the door and Harper answer it to allow room service to bring in breakfast. I take the opportunity to put on a robe and wrap my hair in a towel.

Maybe breakfast will help. We can sit down and discuss this like two rational adults.

Once the waiter is gone, I exit the bathroom. Harper gives me a smile as she adjusts the table. "I wasn’t sure what you wanted, but I guessed you’re a fresh fruit and bagel for breakfast type."

"I am. Thanks."

She smiles as she holds a chair for me. I glance sideways at her. She’s being far too kind. As I take my seat, she moves to the chair across from me and pours coffee for herself, then she hands me a cup of tea.

"Earl Gray, right?"

"Right."

She leans back and drapes her napkin in her lap. "I, however, am a ham and eggs type." She uncovers her plate and looks at the meal with an appreciative nod. "Looks good."

"Uh-huh," I offer as I sip my tea.

We sit in an awkward silence. Well, actually, I sit in an awkward silence. Harper is eating breakfast.

"Kels, what’s wrong?" She finally responds to my staring at her.

"What’s wrong? You have to ask?"

She looks up from her breakfast as she cuts through the ham. "Yeah, I have to ask. I mean, is it really that bad?" She takes a bite as she waits for my answer.

"Harper, we got drunk and we came back here and we… we…"

"Made love."

"Ah, is that what you call it?"

"Well, isn’t that what we did?"

"Do you know where the buttons are to your shirt?"

She chuckles. "No."

"Then it wasn’t making love, Harper. It was sex." I lean back in my chair and set my tea cup down. I hate how composed she looks. How it seems like none of this matters to her. I want her to feel as badly as I do. "You know sex. You’ve had lots of it."

Puzzled blue eyes meet mine. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Harper, the first time I laid eyes on you, you were practically fucking a woman on the seat of your motorcycle."

She laughs a little as she nods. "And you should have seen the look on your face. It was priceless."

"I’m so glad you’re amused. I mean, it was such an accomplishment for you, such a quality moment in your life. And let’s not forget about Sparky."

"Her name was Victoria." She sets the knife down forcefully, her breakfast forgotten for the moment.

"And did you see her more than once?"

"No."

"Do you ever see anyone more than once?"

"Occasionally I might find someone I see two or three times."

"So basically you notch your bed post and move on."

"Christ, Kels, what do you want? A run down of my sexual past?" she growls as she wipes her mouth with her napkin. "Sorry, I don’t keep track. I have healthy sex life and I enjoy it. Unlike some people."

"Is that a dig?"

"No, that’s a fact. You’re so fucking uptight, you squeak when you walk."

"Oh, that’s rich coming from someone who will sleep with anything that’s willing."

"Willing is the key word, Kels. And you were more than goddamn willing last night!" she says as she gets to her feet and begins collecting her clothes.

"That was last night. So now you can go home and add another notch."

"You’re not worth one. On my bedpost or anywhere else."

She starts dressing quickly, slipping on her jeans and T-shirt followed by her shoes. She collects everything else and starts to wrap them in her shirt. As she does, she pauses, reconsidering, then tosses me the shirt.

"That’s the second shirt you’ve totaled. Keep it as a souvenir of the one time in your frigid, uptight life when maybe, just maybe, you were willing to let go and enjoy yourself."

"You are the most arrogant person I have ever met!" I’m on my feet now throwing the shirt to the floor. "The world does not revolve around Harper Kingsley."

She moves to the door and turns as she lays her hand on the knob. "Oh, I know it doesn’t revolve around me. But at least I know how to get out into it and enjoy it a little. I don’t hide in hotel rooms waiting to be with someone who sneaks into town twice a year to give me a quick fuck and leave."

She pauses at the door and stares at me for a long moment. Her mouth starts to move, but nothing comes out. Finally, she clears her throat and says, "Get packed. We have a plane to catch."

She leaves without another word.

I sit on the bed retrieving the shirt from the floor and bring it to my face. That scent. God, tell me I didn’t destroy a friendship over something that might not have even happened.

* * *

My heart is pounding when I step out into the hallway. Where did this morning go wrong? I woke up happy and naked with a beautiful woman in my arms. Now I’m standing in the fucking hallway slinking away like I did something wrong.

I don’t even know for sure that we did anything. I bring my hands up to my nose and sniff tentatively.

Damn. Eggs and ham. Somehow, I doubt if that’s Kels’ scent.

Okay, what are the facts?

Fact one, I woke up naked in bed with Kelsey.

Fact two, she acts like we had hot monkey sex.

Fact three, I’m standing out in the hallway after a fight I don’t even understand how it started.

Great. I nail her. And I don’t even remember it. Even if I did carve fucking notches in my bedpost I wouldn’t be able to count this one.

I don’t even know if I would want to now.

Good-bye, Kels. It was fun while it lasted.

<fade out>

Scene from Next Week’s Must Read TV:

I take my tea and the card and cross over to her office. I enter as the messenger leaves. Tossing the card down in front of her on her desk, I take a sip of my tea as she reads it.

"Aww, now isn’t that sweet?" she sneers as she shoves it to the corner of her desk.

"Cut the fucking crap. Don’t play around here, Harper."

"What? I’m sitting here minding my own damn business in my own damned office. You’re the one who blew in here with the attitude."

"You sent the roses."

"Yeah, right. Hate to disappoint you, Kels, but if I was going blow that kinda money on a woman, it wouldn’t be you on the receiving end."

Gail places my tea in front of me and hands me the remote to my TV’s. "I saw you on the news last night with Erik. You two looked great! Your dress was magnificent. I bet you made it on one of the best dressed lists."

I smile as I think of the awards ceremony. Erik was all decked out in his Armani tuxedo and I wore a long, tight, forest green gown by Vera Wang. It was the type of dress that made me grateful for my constant workouts and dieting. With Erik’s height, broad shoulders and good looks and my all-American girl persona, we managed to capture a lot of attention last night. It was a great night for my best friend. "We had a really good time."

"I know that the Popular Picks Awards aren’t considered the biggest thing in the world, but I think it’s really cool that Erik won for Best New Actor."

I fight down my irritation at Gail. Nothing like a backhanded compliment to start off the day. "Hey, one step at a time," I say, forcing a breezy tone into my voice. "He’s very proud of that award. It’s a popular poll of the people who see his work. He’s walking on clouds today."

"I’ll bet he is. Did you go to any cool parties after?"

"Yeah, we hit two or three."

"Oh, I’ll bet you were rubbing all kinds of elbows last night."

"We ran into a few familiar faces. It was also a good opportunity for Erik to make some important contacts. The guy who runs Camelot Pictures simply fell in love with him." Quite literally, I think. It was kinda fun watching them both check each other out, without seeming to.

I smile when I consider that.

"Any chance he’ll be by today?" Gail asks, trying to not sound too hopeful. All the women here are in love with him.

"Actually, yes. He’s coming by to take me to lunch. So you can drool over him for a few minutes when he gets here." And slip him your phone number again, bitch. Did you really think he wouldn’t tell me?