Download wordart here I awoke to a head that just barely throbbed and a stomach that was begging for food. The sun was no longer shining outside, but someone had turned on the table lamp across the room. Alden was no longer in my room and there was no sign of the breakfast that we had shared earlier. Maybe I had dreamed the whole thing. I considered staying in bed, but decided against it. I thought it might actually be easier for me to face the light of day at night.
I showered and dressed quickly while trying to decide if I should talk to Alden or just check out of the hotel and move on. I was drying my hair when I heard a tap on the open bathroom door. I looked up and saw Alden's reflection in the mirror. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He was smiling that beautiful smile of his.
I turned off the hair dryer and turned to face him before speaking. "I know that I owe you a big thank you for taking care of me, but the details are kind of blurry for me." I looked down at the floor, ashamed to face him.
He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You don't have to thank me. I enjoyed taking care of you. But, I will make a deal with you. If you'll buy me dinner, I'll fill you in on what I can and in return you have to fill me in too."
"What is it that you want me to fill you in on? I was drunk and don't remember much." I looked up to see that he was still smiling that beautiful smile and my heart skipped a beat or two.
"Honey, you were way beyond drunk!" Alden laughed. "I want to know what happened to you that night. I mean, I know that you like your Margaritas but you really went overboard with them for some reason. You've slept so much over the past two days that I was kind of getting scared."
He was worried about me! I love this man!
"I'm sorry," Was all that I could manage to say.
Alden moved closer to me and placed his hands on my arms that were now hanging by my side. "Don't be sorry. I enjoyed playing Prince Charming to your Cinderella."
"Cinderella? I think I remember you calling me that this morning. Why are you calling me Cinderella?"
"Because, my dear, when I came to the bar to bring you home, you were only wearing one shoe. You kept saying that you had scored a 'bulls eye, touchdown, home run, winning game point with the other one'. You didn't want to fill me in on exactly what that had entailed."
I stared at Alden in disbelief. What was he talking about? Had I really been that drunk? What had I done?
Suddenly, my memories of that night flashed through my mind and I almost lost my balance. Alden's hold on my arms tightened to keep me from falling. "Oh my God, Alden, it was just awful!"
I burst into tears and his arms went around me in a comforting hug. "I know that it must have been, but you're fine now. You're safe. It's over and he can't hurt you anymore." Alden whispered into my ear.
I pulled back so that I could see his face and tried to stop crying. "How did you know that I was at that bar? What made you come find me?"
Alden smiled his beautiful smile and kissed me on the forehead. "Well, Cinderella, you called me. Now, let's go downstairs to the restaurant and I'll tell you the rest of what I know over a couple of burgers.
