Page 90 of Spring Break Fling

“Get back at him?” Her voice was dangerously low.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe I could get him to fall for me.”

She tensed and I thought she might slap me.

“But that’s not what happened,” I said quickly. “He did something shitty to me, and he’s messy and complicated, but he’s also kind and funny, and he makes me feel alive in a way I haven’t in years.”

She stared at me and I waited for her to say something.

This is not good.

31

NIKKO

Iwoke up feeling like I’d fallen out of a plane without a parachute. Twice.

My head pounded, my body ached, and my hands stung like I’d tried to punch my way through a brick wall instead of that guy’s stupid face. That fucker had a hard head. Still, all things considered, I had gotten away without getting stabbed or killed. It had felt like a win.

But waking up and seeing the faces of Diego, Jess, and Hannah was about the worst thing that could have happened. At least Hannah had stepped out, leaving me alone with my pain. And Diego.

“Damn, son, you got your ass beat, huh?” Diego’s voice grated on my already fragile nerves. He handed me a glass of water and some painkillers. “Take that.”

I groaned and dragged myself to a sitting position. My head pounded right behind my eyes.

I eyed the pills and water suspiciously. “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”

Diego rolled his eyes. “If I wanted you to suffer, I would just walk out that door and leave you to wallow in your own filth.”

Fair point. I swallowed the pills and downed the water. My throat felt like sandpaper.

“Want to tell me what actually happened last night?” Diego grabbed the empty glass and took it to the kitchen. “Did you meet Mike Tyson? Say something about his lisp?”

“Did you come over to help or to audition for Miami’s worst stand-up comic?”

“Why, you think I should do some open mics?” He handed the glass back, filled now.

I sighed, agitating my split lip. “I think you’re the ugliest nurse I’ve ever had.”

“Should I take you to the hospital where the real nurses are?” he asked, pulling up a chair. “Maybe they’ll have better material.”

“I don’t need a hospital. I need sleep. Why in the hell did you bring them here?”

“They were coming here whether I did or not,” he said. “Hannah came by the shop looking for you.”

“Why?” I asked. “She’s leaving. What the hell does she care?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. She said she’d been calling and texting and you were ignoring her. I called you a few times and Jess did as well. I figured you had gotten wasted and were sleeping it off.”

I groaned. “I didn’t go on a bender. At least not until I got home. But that was for the pain.”

“Drink your water,” he ordered. “You’ve got more alcohol than blood in your system.”

I sipped, then gagged. “You put salt in this?”