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HAYLEY: YESTERDAY
(The Night of the Party)
San Francisco, California
––––––––
“DON’T SIT UP YET,”A deep male voice was behind me. “Just wait until you’re one hundred percent done, Hayley.”
I opened my eyes and tried to make sense of what was happening. A cool cloth was dabbing my mouth every few seconds, and I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with the door wide open. My hands were on my stomach, and someone was holding my hair behind my head.
I looked down at the black asphalt ahead and coughed.
Is that vomit?
I slowly lifted my head, and the stranger behind me let my hair go. He stepped out of the car and popped the trunk, stepping in front of me with a cleaning kit. He bent between my legs and wiped the floor, keeping his eyes on mine the whole time.
Corey?
“Is this a dream?” I asked. "Or is this really happening?"
“It looks like it's really happening, unfortunately.”
“Since when do you live in Seattle?”
“Come again?”
“When did you move to Seattle?” I asked. “And why am I in your car?”
“Jesus...” He muttered under his breath. Then he stood up and pressed his hand against my forehead. “Do you have any idea how much you drank tonight?”
“I don't remember drinking anything. I was drinking?”
He sighed and gently moved my legs into the car. He returned to the driver’s seat and cranked the engine, pulling off onto what looked like a San Francisco highway.
He turned off on the first exit ramp and pulled into a gas station. “Wait here.”
I watched him walk inside. Then I picked my purse up from the floor. I fumbled for my phone, but the battery was dead.
Okay. Think, Hayley. Think.
My mind was blank. I couldn’t remember anything, about tonight, the past few hours. But I did remember a few things about this week.
You called Jonathan and ask him to bring you to San Francisco. You chicken.
I sighed and leaned against the door, looking at Corey as he stood at the counter. I knew I had to be having a dream because this version of Corey was sexy as hell, and far from the chubby boy I once knew, the one who thought ripped jeans and T-shirts was couture.
“Here.” He returned to the car and handed me a paper bag and a cup of coffee.
Inside the bag were bottles of water, a bag of chips, Skittles, and a chocolate bar.
“You need to eat something so the alcohol can start wearing off,” he said, uncapping a bottle of water for me before returning to the road.
I obliged and started with the Skittles. I stared at his side profile, still wondering how I’d ended up in his car. Then the images started flashing before my eyes: Vodka and cranberry juice. Corey in a suit on the roof. Him looking me up and down from afar as his lips parted.
When the hell did he get so sexy?
I started to blurt my thought aloud as I admired his chiseled jawline, but I felt my stomach churning. “Oh, God..."
