A few of the lamps were still on, glowing through the small apartment as I reached up toward one of the last pint glasses that was from my alma mater, red and gold letters faded from going through the dishwasher so many times. I watched the water run from the sink faucet before I dipped the glass underneath, letting it fill until the very top.
Leaning over the sink, I ducked my head under the faucet in a very unladylike fashion that was only more hilarious, considering I hadn’t put on any pants before I slid out of bed. Hydration was paramount when it was clear that I could be dying from lack of water, and I might’ve still be a little drunk.
I slurped a sip just as I heard the door shut behind me. I chuckled, water dripping down my chin as I turned around to see a similarly disheveled Gina likely walking to stick her head under the faucet with me.
Only it wasn’t Gina.
I gasped, stepping back to run into the sink.
Josh stood in front of me. His hand extended, as if he would attempt to catch me before I made an even bigger fool of myself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just getting in.”
“It’s, um …” I cleared my throat.
Wiping my damp mouth off with the back of my hand, I set my glass down on the counter. Or at least, I attempted to.
There were a lot of dirty glasses in the way, sounding like a small catastrophe of noise.
I cringed.
Yep. My head was going to hurt in the morning, wasn’t it?
Note to self: never let Gina play bartender ever again.
I focused back on Josh, who was watching my clumsiness.
“It’s fine. I was just getting water. Your sister made some kind of espresso–pumpkin vodka combination that might have scarred me for life.”
He cleared his throat, but didn’t take his eyes off me. He didn’t move at all. “That sounds like her. Water is probably the best choice.”
“I, um, thought so too.”
Turning around, I turned the tap back on and waited a moment for the water to cool. Once it did, I refilled the glass and turned back to Josh. He was still standing there, though he’d moved to take off his coat.
It was only then that I realized I still wasn’t wearing pants and Josh was getting a whole lot of light-blue cotton panty action right now.
I blushed, trying to cover it with a long sip of water, which felt like heaven. I struggled not to inhale the entire glass, almost gasping by the time I came back up. “Mmm, yum.”
“You should probably refill again before you head to bed. Gina never hesitates to give anyone a hangover.”
I filled the glass back up. “I should be good now.”
“Sounds like you had a good night.”
“We did. I hope you did too.” I waved a hand at him in his jeans and pressed shirt.
Somehow, since the last time I had seen Josh, he’d gotten a new style, as well as a personality transplant, different from the guy I remembered who was constantly in his frat-boy business-casual tops.
“Wherever you were tonight. In the big city. Living it up and enjoying yourself—” I cut myself off like I should’ve cut myself off the pumpkin salted-caramel mess long before I did. “Sorry. I’m going to bed.”
He gave a small, tight nod.
“Night,” I said before quickly retreating toward my room.
After a second, as I started to shut the door, I heard him whisper. “Night, Bri.”
three
I guess trustingmy friends with my love life was how I had gotten to this point, sitting at a table and checking my watch again to make sure I had the time right.
