One Night Stand Chaper 2
She couldn't figure out what it all meant to her. Why should she be so effected by his opinion on her marriage? It shouldn't mean anything and yet here she is, wallowing in self-pity as she sips her red wine, curled up on the sofa in her hotel room.
She had slept with Pierce exactly two days ago and her mind hadn't let the subject go since. Work had been miserable. She could only hope she had put on the buddy-buddy act well enough to keep the rest of the cast and production team oblivious to their little rendezvous. Thankfully, any scenes involving the star-crossed lovers Donna and Sam had been held off for later and she'd only had to deal with him in an ensemble setting.
But work wasn't really the issue here. Meryl could handle some tension on the job, she'd done it before, and she was confident enough that it would work out fine in the end.....for the movie that is. The real problem was her nagging guilt ridden mind. The real problem was that he had said that night meant something to him. The real problem was that she missed him. She missed the easy friendship they had shared before it had all gone to shit. And that, in itself, was another problem.
Meryl was one of those people that always see the best in someone else. And now, even after all those hurtful things were said, she was smiling at some not-so-distant memory of the two of them laughing together.
She blamed him of course. If he hadn't followed her into her room then none of this would have transpired. In fact, if it weren't for the awkwardness between them now and the shattered remnants of hotel room decor on the floor the following morning, she wouldn't even have known it had happened.
Meryl sighed. She set her glass on the coffee table in front of her and picked up the novel she'd been reading. Opening it to the creased corner page, she began to read, but none of the words were registering. She tried again, re-reading the same paragraph.
Why couldn't she just remember something??? There, she had thought it. She wanted to remember just a glimpse of that night. She thought that if she did, then maybe she could make sense of the turn of events. Maybe she could find a way to justify her horrifying actions with herself so she could sleep tonight. Maybe.
Suddenly, there's a rap on the door. She groans at the interruption and flops the book on the table on her way to investigate. Before she invites any further disturbance to her night off she peers through the peep-hole and her stomach drops. It's him.
Meryl turns from the door quickly, as if he'd seen her, and presses herself against the cool wall next to it, staying silent. She does not want to see him. No way. But it's not going to be that easy.
"Meryl, I know you're in there. Please, I need to talk to you. We can't just ignore this", he pleads through the door.
Before she can even formulate a strategy her big mouth shoots off. "Yes we can", she says.
She risks another look at him and sees him on the other side, slightly morphed by the glass, running a hand through his hair as he looks to the ground for advice.
"You know that isn't possible", there is a pause before he speaks again. "Are we going to have this talk through the door so anyone can hear or are you going to let me in?"
"We aren't going to have this talk at all. Now......go away", she orders.
"I'm not leaving until we come to some conclusion about what happened and how we're going to continue working together with all this tension in the air!", his muffled voice comes from the hall. UGH!
MEN. Why couldn't he just leave her the hell alone? What more could a married guy, a HAPPILY married guy for that matter, want besides sex? Nooooooo. He has to draw this out so it's sure to get someone hurt in the process. Meryl looked down at her clothes, adjusting her sweater a bit and then ran her fingers through her hair in that habit she has. The lock clicked out of place and she swung the door open just wide enough to be able to squeeze a body through and tried to set him straight. "There is nothing to discuss. I will NOT invite you into this room. We WILL act like nothing happened and when this movie is finished, you will leave me alone."
Pierce couldn't help himself, he had been checking her out as she had berated him and her cute over-sized sweater and jeans had made him grin. And she had seen. She let out a disbelieving gasp at the audacity of him and tried to close the door on him, but his hand shot out and stopped it. "What are you doing?!", she asked.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to smile, I swear it. It's just that...."
"Just what?", she heard herself asking.
"It's just that you look so cute", he smiled, playing up the boyish charm and meaning it genuinely.
But she had taken it the wrong way. "Pierce, why don't you fuck off?" She tried to close the door in his face a second time and again he stopped it, wedging his foot in between the door and the frame. "Wait, wait, wait. Not so fast". He took advantage of her moment of surprise to slip into the room and let the door close behind him. She, of course, had backed up.
"Who do you think you are?! Get out!!", she yelled at him.
"Now, Meryl, wait", he began, trying to calm her and realizing what a bad start he had made. He took a few steps in her direction subconsciously and she backed away again. "I just wanted to talk with you, I'm sorry"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're sorry?", she mocked him.
"Yes. I"M SORRY. Look, I never meant for any of this to happen, but it did happen and I have a right to want to talk about it. Something happened to me that night too, you aren't the only one. I don't know why you think it's your call whether or not we discuss this", he stepped up to the fridge and pulled out the bottle of wine she'd been drinking from.
"Because it is!", she shouted, her eyes following his movements with curiosity and confusion.
Pierce was filling a glass with the red liquid and then took a sip. "Oh? Just exactly why is that?", he challenged.
Meryl stood her ground. "Because I don't remember anything, that's why! YOU had a rational mind that night and still you let us fall into bed together. And since I have no memory of the whole thing, I don't really see how you expect me to talk about it with you in the first place"
"Well....", he took another sip and moved to the living space, sitting on the couch and glancing at her novel as if they were having a casual conversation. "How about what you think about it?"
"What I think about it??", she questioned. "I don't think anything! I think I've made that perfectly clear!" His whole demure attitude right now was pissing her off more by the second.
"Well I have some thoughts", he stated.
"I don't care. And I don't want to hear them", she rounded the sofa and stood on the other side of the room, just so she could watch his facial expressions. She couldn't see with the back of his head to her a moment ago.
"I liked it", he blurted out.
"Damn you, Pierce! Just please leave it alone", she pleaded. Maybe if he saw how truly bothered she was by the whole talk of it then he'd let up.
"Do you forgive me for what I said?", he asked, setting his glass down beside hers and moving to her in the space. "I was an ass. I wasn't thinking. You know I didn't mean any of it, right?", he pulled her arms out of their crossed position across her chest and held her hands in his.
But she pulled away, again. "I don't know, you sounded pretty convincing", she sarcastically snipped.
He let out an frustrated sigh. Here goes his male pride, straight down his throat. "Meryl, I only said those things because you were killing my ego, okay?"
"How was I killing your ego? Because I didn't wake up and tell you how great you were?", she sauced. "I mean, I don't understand what you want from me. My forgiveness? Fine, I forgive you. There", she took a moment to collect herself. "Now you can go....please"
"I don't want it if you don't mean it"
Time to play it up then, she thought. She took a moment then turned to him, acting mode on full blast. "Listen, I'm willing to forget what was said if you are. I forgive you, Pierce. It was just a moment of insanity for both of us",she said. "Okay?", she peered into his eyes.
"Bullshit", he called.
"What?", she asked, thrown off.
"You don't mean that for a minute. I know exactly when you're putting on an act, Meryl. That shit won't fly with me. I want to know if you'll really forgive me?", he pushed.
"NO! I don't! You really hurt me and I don't forgive you for that!", she yelled out, giving up her charade and finally speaking her mind.
"I told you why I said what I said! I didn't mean it! I only said it because you hurt me first!", he yelled back.
"What do you mean 'I hurt you first'? I didn't do anything to you but demand to know why you were in my bed!"
"I loved it, OKAY!?!", he yelled, louder than he had been all night. "I loved it and you were mortified. That doesn't tend to make someone feel very good about themselves."
Meryl's face dropped. She hadn't thought of it that way. Pierce was still, waiting for her next move. He had just laid it all out on the table and now his fate, once again, depended on her. Why he let her so close to his heart in the first place, he'll never know. In fact, he's pretty sure he never let her, she just wiggled her way in, the way she does with almost everyone. With that radiant smile, and exuberance about life and dirty sense of humor and incredibly attractive talent and warm blue-green eyes and the way she smells so good and when she moves and......oh god. Better stop while I'm behind, he thought, waaaayyy behind.
"I'm sorry, Pierce. I really am", she said, really meaning it. "But it was just sex. And I just can't let that interfere in my life", Meryl paused and watched his expression being controlled back to indifference.
She walked over to him and laid a hand on his forearm. "Pierce, I've never been in a situation like this before. I never in my life thought I could.....", she didn't want the thought to even cross her mind, mainly because the guilt sprang up each and every time it did, but she needed to get this out, "....thought I would.....cheat on Don" Gulp. "And I didn't mean to give you the idea that I was open for a fling or....relationship......or..", she took a minute to collect her thoughts. "I just want to forget about this. I want to pretend it never happened because it was never SUPPOSED to happen"
It was too much to hope for, he guessed. He had slept with the woman of his dreams and now she wanted to move on and cast him off. And, if he was honest with himself, she had every right to do so. They were both married. They both had children. She was way out of his league to begin with, but he had still had the chance of getting to know her a little and becoming friends with her for however brief a period. And of course, making love to her. He would always remember that. But now he had to let her return to her life and leave it alone. He wasn't going to let her see his disappointment though, not after opening up like he had. Now he had to protect himself from looking like the fool who fell.
"I understand. I wasn't looking for any of those things", he lied. "I just needed to know you could forgive me for being so rude to you", Pierce stood from the couch and made his way to the door. "I still hope we can be friends"
Meryl followed, a look of almost pity for Pierce on her face. And regret. And guilt. And something else he couldn't quite place. She let a small smile appear as he opened the door to leave, waiting for a reply. "Yeah, we can still be friends", she said.
Pierce almost cringed at the platonic undertones in her voice. But he forced a returning smile and walked out.
How ironic that this was happening to him. Women were supposed to be the ones that got all attached and clingy and read all these meanings into it and here he was, crushed, and for a reason he wasn't exactly sure why.
Meryl had only had a moment to replay their conversation when her blackberry buzzed on the marble counter top. She picked it up and pulled a face at the caller, scared to answer but having no real excuse not to. "Hey honey", she softly called into the phone.
"Hi. You sound nice and relaxed. How's you're day off going?", he asked.
"Good. It's going good. I've just uh....", she was blanking out due to her nerves. And she sounded relaxed?? What? "...reading my book! I was reading before you called"
Shit. Shit. Shit. She sounded so pathetic. Any idiot could tell she was trying to cover for something. And her husband was no idiot.
"What's wrong?", he asked in a no-room-for-nonsense tone.
He was expecting an answer and he knew her better than anyone, but she couldn't tell him the truth. "Nothing, I just miss you is all" She hoped that steering the conversation towards their relationship might distract him. They hadn't been as close lately and Meryl had this feeling that it might have had to do with her recent popularity since Devil Wears Prada. She'd been busier and he'd had deadlines and now she was halfway across the world and they hadn't had sex in almost a month.
"I miss you too, baby. Maybe we could video chat tomorrow night? After you're done with the shoot? I would tonight, but I've got Louisa's art show to go to you know."
Meryl light up at the mention of one of their children. "Yeah, of course. I'm so glad you'll be there to support her. I just wish I didn't have to be so far away, I'm missing everything"
Don was quick to stop her worries. "No, no. Don't start worrying about the kids. Lou is fine with it, she knows you have to be there."
"Yeah, but if I had only--"
"Stop, honey", he cut her off. "Quit berating yourself. She's fine. We're all fine. Let's talk about something else", he suggested.
Meryl took up her previous spot on the couch and remembered her wine, taking a hearty swig. "Like what?"
"Like.....what color panties are you wearing?", that playful tone was there.
Meryl threw her head back and let out a laugh. "That's for tomorrow night, remember?", she played back.
"You tease", Don's voice joked over the line. "Are you sure you're alright?", he suddenly turned serious again.
Sigh. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. If I can't worry about you then you aren't allowed to worry about me", she countered.
Now he was laughing. "Okay, okay. Listen, babe, I gotta go, got work to get finished still. It never ends"
She emptied her glass and pouted, getting up to refill it. "I know. Alright, honey I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you"
"I love you too", he said in that gentle voice.
"Oh, Don?", she caught his attention before they had hung up.
"Yeah?"
"They're red", she answered in her most sultry voice before ending the call, a huge smile on her face for the first time in two days.
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Okay, it is now 6:47am and I just finished writing this because I had some fresh inspiration from a new reader. This is a continuance of One Night Stand, although I might change the title since I'm expanding it into a longer story. I don't know yet. For now it'll stay the same. Let me know what you think please! I love comments :)
Meg <3