AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER FOUR
IVY
––––––––
My head pounded likean out-of-tune marching band was practicing inside of it. I sat back in my chair at the airport gate and pressed my fingers to my temples. Flashes of last night kept invading my mind over and over again.
Finding out Jimmy was married. Iris on the phone. The shots. The bartender. The hot guy, Evan, I’d met. It was all in splotchy pieces, like dozens of one-second clips of a three-hour movie. I couldn’t even remember how I’d started talking to Evan, but I had a brief memory clip of being on his couch telling him to have sex with me.
Do me.
Remembering those words coming out of my mouth almost made me heave right there at the airport. I palmed my face as I cringed at the memory of my lewd and unnatural proposition. Me?Ihad said those things? My stomach roiled with the thought I’d been so out of character, and I’d slept with a stranger ... a stranger I couldn’t even remember sleeping with.
Oh, God. What have I done?
When I’d woken up in my bra and underwear on a couch, Alec had been standing over me with a big glass of water and a couple ibuprofen. It had taken me a minute to figure out where I was and what had happened, but it had all started coming back quickly. As the foggy memories had started filling my mind, shame over my behavior had filled up every other nook and cranny of my being. Luckily, Evan had already been gone already, so I hadn’t had to face him and confront the man I’d treated like a walking, talking sex toy. And at the same time, as much as I’d felt relief I hadn’t had to face him, it had made me feel even cheaper that he hadn’t even stuck around in the morning after our little rendezvous.
After leaving Evan’s place, Alec had checked my room to make sure Jimmy had left, then I’d hurried in and grabbed my belongings. After we’d hightailed it out of there, I’d bid him goodbye and thanked him profusely for all his help, then grabbed an Uber to the airport. During the ride to the airport, I’d talked to Iris and filled her and my driver, unfortunately, in on the horrifying night I’d had. She’d, of course, been elated I’d taken her advice and had a vacation fling, but then I told her I didn’t even remember doing the deed. The last thing I remembered was saying the horrifying words, “Do me.”
Do me.
Jesus. Who the hell was I? Pervy McPerverson?
I pressed my head back against the seat and tried to erase the embarrassing memories from my mind, but they refused to vacate. Why couldn’t I have just blacked out the entire night and not just the sex I didn’t remember having? Things would be much better if I could just press rewind and stop the night at the part where I was sitting alone at the bar, drowning my sorrows in margaritas.
The only plus side of the situation was that having a one-night stand on vacation was the best place to practice because at least I’dneverhave to see him again. Iris was right about that. He left a note for me that I’d found this morning with his phone number asking me to call, but I’d quickly crumpled it up and tossed it out. I had no desire to ever,eversee him again and relive the most embarrassing moments of my life.
“Ivy?” a deep, vaguely familiar voice said from behind me.
I turned around in my chair and almost fell out of it when I saw the unmistakably handsome face of my one-night stand staring back at me ... the same one I never wanted to see again.
“Evan? What the hell? What are you doing here?”
He burst into a deep belly laugh. “Ethan.For the six hundredth time, my name is Ethan.”
Oh, God. I slept with a man, and I didn’t even know his name. Someone kill me now.
I slunk down in my chair. “Uh, Ethan. Sorry. That’s what I meant.”
His lips twitched and angled up into a cocky half-smile. “No. You meant Evan because that’s what you called me all night, no matter how many times I corrected you.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to skirt around the extra embarrassment I now felt having called him the wrong name.
“I’m flying to my brother’s wedding in Wisconsin.”
He started moving toward the open chair beside me, but I quickly tossed my purse on it to stop him.
He arched an eyebrow. “Saving this for someone? Please tell me you didn’t take that guy back.”
“Uh, no. It’s just ... I, uh, I didn’t think I was going to see you again, and I’m completely mortified.” His impressive visage disappeared when I covered my face with my hands. “Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but if you don’t mind, I’d like us to just pretend like we don’t know each other. We never met. Last night never happened. We are strangers. Okay?”
Warm heat flushed my cheeks as I peeked at him from between my fingers.
He stared back at me, a crooked smirk lifting his lips. “Really? You’re gonna pretend like we didn’t meet last night and—”
“Stop!” I lifted my hand and waved it at him. “Please, for the love of God, don’t say another word about last night. I can’t even believe I did what I did. My behavior was mortifying, and I’m sososorry that I dragged you into my insanity. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so embarrassed if my life, and I really just want to pretend like this never happened. I’m sorry. I really don’t mean to come off like such a bitch, but this is beyond embarrassing for me.”
“Seriously? We can’t even talk about—”
