C3 Beating a hasty retreat

“Ethan, we're here." She said.

"Huh? Where's here?" Ethan asked, forcing his eyes open to stare hazily at Madison’s blurred features. It felt as though the weight of the whole world was resting on them.

They were in front of a brightly lit and impressive-looking house with well manicured lawns. Ethan slowly unbundled himself from the car and with an unsteady gait, followed Madison into the house, his head pounding furiously every inch of the way. She supported his weight and led him carefully into the house, otherwise, he would have fallen flat on his face.

"Do you live alone? This is very wrong. I should have just called a cab and gone straight home." He said as soon as he entered the house, plopping himself onto the first sofa that he saw and wishing that his head would stop pounding so furiously. It was very comfortable and Ethan was sure that he could close his eyes and go to sleep forever on it.

Madison raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at his question. "What is wrong about it? We're both adults. Don't worry though, I'm not about to jump you in your drunken state. I might jump you if you weren't drunk though." She finished and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You do not understand," Ethan mumbled, not in the mood for any banter, and then he promptly fell asleep.

Madison smiled at him and wondered if she should wake him up to go to the bedroom and get more comfortable. She decided against it though. He looked very comfortable where he was, so she would just leave him there. Besides, she was not sure that she could struggle with dragging a drunk and sleepy 6'3 guy around the house.

The man was just as handsome as she had thought, even seeing as he was sleeping with his mouth wide open. She really liked him and saw him around regularly, but he never seemed to notice her, which was quite crazy considering that she was one of the most sought after, not to mention richest young women around here. His place of work was close to hers, and she saw him often at a restaurant that was close to their offices. From the way he had responded to her this evening when she had walked up to him, she was certain that he did not know of her existence. It was such a shame.

"That is about to change though," she thought to herself as she stared down at his sleeping form. He was so handsome, and she would soon make him hers. No man could resist her, after all.

***

Ethan came awake slowly, opening his eyes and then closing them against the bright sunlight that shone on his face and hurt his eyes. He lay still and looked up at the ceiling above him. It was an unfamiliar one and as he processed this, the events of the previous night came flooding back to him. What exactly had he done? He had followed a stranger, called Madison, or something like that to her house. As he thought about this, he sat up with the slowness of an old man whose back had carried his weight and the weight of his problems over decades. He wasn't feeling as bad as he deserved after all that he had drunk, and he supposed that he should be grateful for that fact. Shaking his head a little, he looked around the room in which he was sitting. It was a spacious and tastefully decorated room if you liked bright pink. Almost everything in it, including the curtains, rug, furniture, and even the television and stereo sets were pink…and expensive-looking. As he was still looking around, the lady from the previous night, Madison, came over from what he assumed was the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee.

"Hey. You're awake. Morning." She sang, all sunshine and cheer.

"Morning," Ethan replied and gratefully took the mug that she proffered. Even the mug was pink. "Listen, I'm very grateful to you for bringing me over to your house last night, especially with the state that I was in. I'm so sorry for how the night went. I was battling some issues and I guess I got carried away." He did not add that he always got carried away every February 23rd for the past two years and drank until he got so drunk that someone could have carried him away and dumped him in a furnace without him knowing anything about it.

"It's okay," Madison said with understanding and pity in her eyes. That pitiful look was exactly what he couldn't stand at all. It was the look that many people had given him after the accident. It was a look that said, 'Poor, poor Ethan whose fiancée had died so horribly in that awful motor accident just two weeks to their wedding.' Ethan hated that look with passion. What did she think? That he was an alcoholic who did not know how to control his drinking? He got up abruptly, thanked her again, and then left despite her protests and suggestions that he should at least have something to eat before leaving.