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I chew on my bottom lip, mulling over her words. The brain fog is only getting worse. Minny reaches behind me, grabs my drink from earlier, and hands it to me.
“Liquid courage.” She smiles.
I draw the glass to my lips before a large hand snatches it from me.
“What the hell?” I hiss, peering up at the large man in front of me.
His long, blond hair is pulled tightly against the crown of his head in a bun. His piercing green eyes bore into me. “You should watch your fucking drink,” he growls before dumping the contents on the floor next to me. The contents splash on my heels.
“Hey, asshole. You’re going to pay for that,” Minny protests.
“Your drinks are dosed,” he growls out again.
“Listen, asshole. If you think this is your in to talk to us, you have another thing coming. You can take your white-knight shit and shove it up your ass.”
“One of his buddies dosed your drinks while he distracted you.” He draws up the glass, and a white substance rings the inside of it. He extends it out to show Minny before handing it to the bartender. “You’re lucky I noticed before she drank it. If that makes me an asshole for ruining your night, I think I’ll live.”
She dumps her drink on the floor next to us and inspects her glass. A similar white ring is on hers too. “Fuck,” Minny swears.
“I think what you meant to say is thank you.”
He tried to drug us? I’m frozen in shock, and he notices.
“You feeling okay, sweetheart? How much has she had to drink?”
“A couple of cocktails,” Minny answers. Her hand falls to her stomach. “I’m not feeling so well myself.”
“Shit,” he swears. “You got a hotel room?”
The room spins more and more. The music’s pounding beat matches the pounding in my head. My vision blurs the club lights into a mess of different hues. My heart hammers inside my chest as I feel my body start to go limp.
“Fuck!” Man Bun growls before my body slumps against his as black inks into my vision. His strong arms encompass my waist as the world blinks into total darkness.
CHAPTER 5
CHARLOTTE
Morning comes too early. Between the drumline in my head throbbing with the remnants of the cocktails from last night and the sun peeking down on me through the curtains, it wakes me up. My body feels heavy and sluggish. I shift onto my side, trying to relieve the pressure in my belly. A soft snore comes from behind me. Minny could always sleep through the worst of her hangovers. It’s like her superpower.
The last time I felt like this was after a college pub crawl with Minny in her junior year. I’d barely survived it at twenty-one. I have no idea how I will survive it now that I’m in my early thirties.
My stomach lurches. The ungodly mixture of cocktails and whatever we ate rises to the surface at once. I stumble from the bed, barely making it to the toilet before I erupt. I heave and heave, feeling the ache down to my toes. After a few minutes, the nausea subsides, and I’m left feeling weak and drained. I lean against the cool porcelain, my eyes closed, and take a deep breath before forcing myself from the floor and step over to the vanity.
The sound of running water fills the room as I wash my face and brush my teeth, trying to rid myself of the taste of last night’s indulgence. I peer up in the mirror. Dark circles ring my eyes as if I didn’t sleep a wink. The dress I’d worn last night has been replaced by one of my long, sleep T-shirts. The faded emblem of a band is barely visible on the front of it.
What happened last night?
My mind is still cloudy, and I can’t piece together anything from the night before. The only thing I remember is the taste of gin and the feeling of Minny’s arm around my waist as we walked through the casino.
As I stumble back into the bedroom, I stop when my gaze hits the bed. Where Minny should be, the silhouette of a shirtless man lays in her place.
I gasp when the realization hits. There’s a man in my bed. I search the room for Minny, soon finding her on the couch, still wearing her dress from last night.
“Minny?” I whisper. She snores back. Shit. Shit. Shit. What do I do? One-night stands were never my thing. Terrance has been the only man I’d ever been with. How much did I drink last night to come home with someone? Why didn’t Minny stop me? Oh God. Was she here the entire time?
My heart is beating so loud I can actually hear it. My mind races, trying to figure out who he is and how he got here. I try to recall whether Minny had mentioned anything about bringing someone back home with us, but the fog in my brain makes it almost impossible to recollect anything. I carefully approach the bed, praying he’s still asleep and hasn’t noticed me yet.
When I get closer, I see his broad shoulders and muscular arms with Norse tattoos are on full display, and I can feel my cheeks turn pink. My eyes widen as I take in the stranger’s chiseled abs and broad shoulders, the white sheets barely covering his sinewy muscles. His face is hidden in the pillow, and his messy, long, blond hair falls over his face and pillow. I can’t help but notice how his chiseled jawline tantalizingly meets his neck.
