19370214 08:58:39

19370214 08:58:39

QH-N-5448

Her first priority was to do something about the taste of stale whisky and cigarettes in her mouth, so she opened the mirrored panel above the sink in search of a toothbrush and some toothpaste. The bottom shelf had a safety razor and an actual mug with a brush protruding from within it, as well as the typical headache ailments such as Alka Seltzer, aspirin, and milk of magnesia. A selection of small glass cylinders with golden liquid were at the top, which she assumed to be cologne and made a plan to try to isolate the one he was wearing last night at some point so that she could pour it into the toilet. On a middle shelf was a green flathead toothbrush and a mostly full tube of Pepsodent, and Helen Allegra wasted no time in smearing a line of the white goop onto the brush head and plunging it into her mouth. She scrubbed vigorously against the teeth within each half of her mouth for a full minute at a time, generating enough foam for it to dribble out of her mouth and leak into the sink as she cleansed herself. She forcefully spit the foamy residue from her mouth and then turned the faucet on to pour some water into her hand. The cold water was cupped into her palm, and she took some handfuls into her mouth to rinse it out. Helen smacked her lips after the procedure, felt that she still tasted something lingering in her mouth, and repeated the entire process again. During this second series of teeth brushing, she took the time to look around the room to see what kind of state it was in. The faucet head had some dried white spots on it and a small ring of rust around the base. There were no stray pieces of tissue to be found on the ground. She interpreted the presence of the safety razor within the cabinet as an additional sign that he took some kind of pride in his grooming, as opposed to using an electric razor and being lazy about it, but he didn't have the mindset of someone who uses a straight razor, so he was not quite impeccable in that regard. At this point, she heard sheets being moved on the bed in the room behind her and some footsteps on the ground soon after that - he had woken up. Helen maintained her stance and waited for him to approach from behind. The man slowly walked into the room and came up to reach his arms around her, and pressed his body against hers with a weak hug.
"Mmm, goo'mornin gorgeous."
Helen sighed and bent forward to spit her mouthful of toothpaste before responding. She closed her eyes for a prolonged blink and focused on putting a smile on her face before speaking. The easiest way she knew to make the illusion is to have the smile.
"Good morning to you, honey. Sorry to use your toothbrush, but I just needed to refresh myself. I hope you don't mind. I can buy you a new one later today."
"Oh, um, yeah, I mean, I was lookin to get a new one anyway so don't worry about it. I can take care of it. Honestly I'm a bit surprised to see you using it to begin with." It was only at this point that he realized that she was using his toothbrush, and that Helen turned to face him.
"Well, considering all else that we did last night, it doesn't seem terribly strange to me."
"Ha ha, yeah, that was a real blast, hee hee hee!" His laughter had a higher tone than his voice, and as he said this much and laughed, his lips curled back to form a toothy grin. Helen felt a bit irked by this kind of reaction from him, but quickly pushed it out of her mind, and used this chance to respond in order to push her next goal onto him.
"Yes, that was some fun, wasn't it? I was going to ask you..." Helen paused briefly here, but not for dramatic effect - she forgot the man's name at this precise moment. She blinked and pressed on. "Darling - I'm happy to have met you, and I think we can have that kind of fun again. I told you that I'm in a bit of a tight spot at the moment, so... I know this is very sudden to ask, but I was hoping if I could possibly stay here a few nights?"
His face suddenly froze. Helen turned her head slightly to the side and gave a gentle wink and a smile, while she gently caressed two of her fingers along the side of his face.
"Please? I promise I'll make it worth your while."
"Um, uh, uh, well. Well? Uh, I sorta guess you could, really. Hah, I didn't think that you'd ask that of me. I suppose you could. But, it is rather sudden for you to ask such-"
"Shh." Helen playfully pressed her index finger on his lips. "It's nothing serious. I just need your help for a bit. OK?"
"... OK. Sure."
"Good." Helen leaned her body in to kiss him on the cheek, then walked past him back to the bedroom. He remained standing in the bathroom and stared at her as she dressed.