And then I threw up.
I’m a fucking idiot.
Arden kneels back in front of me. She offers a weak smile as she places a cold cloth on my head. I shut my eyes, sucking in adeep, weighted breath. Fuck, that’s good. That feels so fucking good.
Nurse Red, to the rescue.
“I hate to sound like a broken record,” she says quietly, forcing my eyes open. She shakes the pills in her hand, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “But…open up.”
I smile the best I can, and like a dutiful little dog, I open my mouth. She puts the pills in my mouth and then hands me the bottle of water. I gulp down as much as I can and let out a big, long breath.
“You finished?”
“I think so,” I mumble. I meet her eyes. “I ruined the night, didn’t I?”
She clicks her tongue. “No, you might have just won the night, because there is no way I’m letting you sleep alone when you might puke in your sleep.”
“Hm?”
“You have a cuddle buddy tonight, boyfriend,” she clarifies, and my eyes snap open to look at her. My chest fills with a boyish hope. Sleeping next to her feels like a huge fucking win. She holds out her hand, but studies my face, all concerned. “Come on. Let’s get you tucked in.”
With great effort, she hoists me to my feet and helps me all the way to my room. I can walk fine, but she keeps a steadying hand on my back, and I like it when she touches me, so I let her.
We reach my bedroom and she doesn’t bother looking around at the room she has never stepped foot in. She just rips the covers back on the bed before I can flop down onto them. When I crawl under the blankets, she pulls them over me, studying my face like she would a sick patient.
Satisfied that I’m not about to spontaneously combust, she moves to go to her side of the bed, but I can’t help it. All I keepthinking about is how we kissed and it felt real this time, and then I ruined it all three seconds later.
I reach out, taking her hand.
She stops short, glancing over her shoulder to look at me.
“Can we forget about this in the morning?”
She flinches, and I’m too drunk to realize how she might have taken that. I’m too drunk to see the hurt I just caused in those brown eyes. I’m too drunk and too stupid to notice that I just set fire to every ounce of progress I have made with her.
Arden just nods, dropping my hand, and I’m fast asleep before she’s sliding into the bed next to me.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
carter
“Jesus,”Boss snaps, dropping down into his stall in the locker room. He glares up at me, those green eyes piercing and full of judgment. “What the fuck is wrong with you tonight?”
I ignore him. Roll my eyes instead. Everything is wrong with me tonight. This whole day has been wrong. It’s technically not one of my days, but Arden is still here, in the stands with Penny. That is typically gasoline to my fire, but everything was justwrongtoday.
It started yesterday, the moment I opened my eyes. Arden was gone with the wind. I knew she slept in my bed, I could smell the spice of her perfume on my sheets and my pillows. I remember her putting me to bed like a child. I remember her wiping my forehead with a cold cloth.
She was there when I went to bed. She chose to leave before I woke up.
The thought that I have put her off me forever is a dangerous strike to my sanity. It’s heightening my temper tonight. Boston should shut up about it though, because we’re creaming the other team as a result of that anger. It doesn’tmatter that I keep getting hauled off to the box. We’re up by three.
My rage is fuel for this team.
“Yeah, are you good?” Lowesy asks, side-eying me.
“Fine,” I growl, parking my ass in my stall. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my thighs just in time for Coach to walk in and interrupt our conversation. It takes all of three seconds before he points to me and winks, telling me to keep doing what I’m doing. It takes everythingin me not to shoot both of these bastards a ‘told you so,’ look, like a child.
Because Red probably thinks I’m a fucking toddler now, anyway.
