Just two more steps. Just two more steps. It was all Alice could think of as she helped Henry up the stairs of her building to the second floor, where her apartment was. The building, having only four floors, did not have an elevator, a fact that did not cross her mind when she decided to take a man much taller than she was, and almost twice her weight.
After what seemed an eternity, she and Henry reached the door to Alice's apartment, and while she searched her purse for keys, Henry leaned against the wall.
"Nice apartment you have here." Henry said with half-closed eyes.
Unlocking the door, Alice looked at him confused, "We are still outside," she said opening the door.
"Ah!" Henry said, walking into the apartment with difficulty.
Alice hung her purse and coat on a wall rack in the hall and did the same with Henry's jacket that she helped him out of.
"Mr. Cavill, do you want some coffee? Would you rather go to sleep? What do you want to do?" Alice believed that the option to sleep was the best, but she decided to ask, after all, he was still conscious, wasn't he?
"A coffee seems like a good idea." Henry's eyes were barely open and Alice was watching him wondering what made him drink so much.
Yes, Londoners were drinkers, but Henry seemed to be such a focused person. Was there another reason for drinking?
Already in the kitchen, Alice heard Henry's voice asking "Is it hot here or is it just me?"
As she turned towards him, she saw that the first buttons of the blue shirt he wore were already open, revealing his chest covered in dark and apparently soft hair. Alice swallowed. Why did I have the idea of bringing this man home, God?
Focusing her attention on making coffee, she noticed when Henry approached and leaned back on the counter where her coffee maker was.
"I'm sorry for all this work, Alice. If you give me a charger, I can call Charlie soon, I'll go away and leave you alone." Henry's voice, even if choked by the alcohol, still gave Alice goosebumps and she feared he would notice it.
"No problem, Mr. Cavill." She said, offering him a cup of coffee.
As Alice looked up, she realized that Henry was staring at her. Unable to look away, she felt her breath quicken and instinctively parted her lips. She saw when, slowly, Henry started to lower his head towards hers and in a few seconds ...
"Argh! What the hell?" The guttural cry from Henry's throat brought her back to reality and then she saw that she had spilled the hot coffee on his belly and parts of his right leg.
"Oh my God! My God! Come here" Pulling Henry by the hand, Alice led him to the bathroom, and ordered him to get into the bathtub.
"I don't want to shower. I want it to stop the burning!" Henry seemed to be sober again, but the lack of balance was still present.
"Cold water will help. To stop the burning and drunkness."
Henry frowned and leaned against the wall.
"I'm not even that drunk."
Alice didn't answer, just turned on the shower and a jet of cold water hit Henry in the belly, where most of the hot coffee had spilled.
Facing his protests, Alice turned off the water and heard him say; "Wonderful! And now how am I leaving? Naked?"
Alice couldn't resist and laughed, covering her mouth with her hand afterwards.
"Sorry. But you can ask Charlie to bring you a change of clothes and I can also put your clothes in the dryer until he arrives." She suggested.
Henry seemed to think about what she had said and then nodded in agreement. Without warning, he took off his soaked blue shirt and threw it on Alice's bathroom floor, who was still holding the shower and now glimpsed Henry's naked torso.
That man seemed to have been sculpted by the gods!
"Are you sure you don't mind having a naked man in your house?" Henry asked giving Alice a chance to change her mind. Chance that she didn't take, because, as it has already become clear, she does not have much judgment.
"Mr. Cavill, you are not going to be the first naked man in my house. Besides, I am not going to see anything because I am turning my back right now." Alice, after handing the shower over to Henry, did as agreed and turned on her back. She could hear the sound of Henry's pants being removed and thrown on the floor, and then the sound of his movements removing the last piece of clothing he had on his body. Alice took a deep breath. She officially had Henry Cavill naked in her bathroom.
"Argh!" Henry shouted.
"What's it?" On instinct, Alice almost turned around, but remembered that she still needed to buy a curtain for the bathroom and she didn't need to see one of her bosses naked.
"The water is very cold." She heard him complain, realizing that at least he was able to stand in the tub.
It didn't take long and a noise startled her, causing her to turn towards Henry and find him lying in the bathtub, shower in hand.
"Are you alright?" Alice asked worriedly.
"Yes." Henry replied, getting up. "If the icy bath hadn't cured my drunkenness, the fall did." He said laughing and turning off the water.
Alice remained in front of the bathtub, not knowing where else to look. The sight of Henry's naked body in front of her was, shall we say, exceptional. Alice had her share of boyfriends, but none could be compared to "him". Wow!!
Before Henry caught her watching him, she turned on her back again, took a towel and offered it to him.
"You can use this towel, Mr. Cavill." Her voice was breaking.
"Thank you." Henry took the towel, and wrapped it around his waist.
When he came out of the bathroom, Alice let out all the air she had been holding in her lungs. She couldn't tell Leslie that story or her friend would die of jealousy.
She followed him into the living room, only to find that none of the chargers she had at home fitted for his cell phone and even after a cup of coffee, Henry could barely keep his eyes open.
"Mr. Cavill, why don't you get some sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, we solve these problems with the charger." Alice suggested, still thinking about the vision she had in her bathroom.
"Yeah, I don't think there is any other solution."
Alice then opened the door to her room and Venus, that should have been trapped there, left, going straight to the side of Henry who was sitting on the couch at the time.
"Hello kitty." He stroked the head of Venus.
"Her name is Venus. She seemed to like you." Alice said watching her cat, that normally didn't like anyone but her, sympathize with Henry. "You can have the bed, Mr. Cavill. I sleep on the couch."
Henry looked at her, then at the sofa and raised his left eyebrow.
"No way. I sleep here. I drank so much I won't even feel it."
"I thought you said you hadn't drunk almost anything." Alice countered provocatively.
Henry smiled and then said; "Do you always have such a good memory?"
Alice smiled in response.
"Please stay with the bed. Besides, you only have one towel covering you. I don't want to risk waking up and seeing what I shouldn't." Played Alice sitting on a chair in a corner of the room.
"As if you haven't seen enough." He teased, by getting up and heading towards the bedroom, staggering slightly.
Alice felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Then he realized that she was staring at him in the bathroom! How was she going to go work on Monday? She just hoped he wasn't in the office and that he wouldn't say anything to Charlie about it.
Seeing that Henry was already occupying his bed, Alice went to the bathroom to remove her makeup and brush her teeth. After that, she realized that she forgot to get something to sleep in. Sneaking into her room, she opened one of the drawers in her dresser and took out one of the wide T-shirts she used to sleep in.
Before leaving, she cast a look at the man asleep in her bed. The white towel contrasted with Henry's slightly tanned skin. His damp hair fell in curls over his forehead and Alice had to restrain the urge to remove it with her fingers. Henry's features softened to an extreme when he slept, making him look almost angelic. Alice shook her head and walked away when she realized she was thinking nonsense.
"Come on Venus." The cat refused to answer Alice's call, and remained lying next to Henry's strong chest.
Lucky cat, Alice thought, closing the door behind her.