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“Brody, is that you?” she mumbled, her eyes still closed.
“Yeah, still me, Quinn. Go to sleep, darlin’; you’ll feel better in the morning.” I felt awful I’d given her beer and now she was drunk. To top it off, I’d totally lied to her. She was going to feel like shit in the morning.
As I went to stand up, she wrapped her hands around the front of my shirt and pulled me toward her. “Quinn, what are you—” I began, but was interrupted as she crashed her lips against mine, winding her arms around my neck and pulling me closer toward her. For a few seconds I kissed her back, unable to stop myself. She tasted like chocolate and beer. As her tongue snaked into my mouth she moaned, and I came crashing back to reality. She was drunk and had no clue what she was doing. I was taking advantage. Pulling out of her hold, I stepped away from the bed.
“You stopped? Don’t you want to kiss me?” Covering her with the comforter I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Quinn, you have no idea how much I want to kiss you. But you’re drunk.”
“So, you want to kiss me when I’m not drunk?” Her voice was sleepy, and she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
“Yes, baby,” I whispered in her ear before brushing my lips across her cheek.
“Best birthday ever,” she mumbled.
“It’s your birthday? Quinn?” I prompted when she didn’t answer. Her soft snores filled the room, and I smiled. So, it was her birthday. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t mentioned it. I guess with losing her mom she didn’t want to celebrate, but now that I knew, I was going to make sure tomorrow was special. We were all the family she had now, and she couldn’t miss celebrating her birthday.
Quinn
Waking up the next morning, I groaned. My head pounded, and my mouth felt like I’d swallowed a handful of sawdust. Why did I feel so shitty? Was I coming down with something? I hoped not. I didn’t want to put off starting work any longer. Rolling over, I saw a bottle of water and a packet of Tylenol on the nightstand. Frowning, I tried to remember if I’d put those there before going to sleep. I didn’t remember getting water from the kitchen. In fact, I didn’t even recall coming to bed. The last thing I remembered was watching a movie with Brody in the den.
Suddenly I remembered all the beer I’d drank. Sitting up too quickly, I groaned again as my head spun. “Urgh, I shouldn’t have moved that fast,” I muttered. My stomach rolled, and I swung my legs over the side of the bed, rushing into the bathroom. Dropping to the floor in front of the toilet, I threw up, hugging the seat. When I’d finally stopped retching I sat back, leaning against the bathtub. “I’m never drinking again,” I moaned.
I had no idea what had possessed me to say yes to one beer when Brody had offered, let alone four. The truth was I’d never had one before. I’d never had anything alcoholic. From the first sip, I knew I didn’t like the taste, yet I still took another three bottles from him. I was definitely paying for that stupid choice now.
Climbing back into bed, I grabbed the Tylenol and popped two into my mouth, washing them down with a mouthful of water. Lying down, I tried to remember if I had said anything stupid to Brody last night. As parts of the night started to come back, I sat up, my eyes wide with horror. “No, no, no, no, no,” I chanted as visions of me kissing Brody filled my head. I rolled over and buried my head into my pillow. How was I ever going to look him in the eye again? I’d never done anything like that before; then again, I’d never been drunk before.
“Quinn. Are you awake?” Brody’s voice echoed through the door. Groaning into the pillow, I wished I could hide in bed all day. I had to face him at some point though, may as well get it over with.
“Yes. Come in,” I shouted, dragging my hung-over body to the edge of the bed. My eyes were glued to my hands that were fidgeting in my lap as I heard the door open and Brody walk in.
“Hey. How are you feeling? Did you see the Tylenol I left for you?” he asked from the doorway.
“I did.” I kept my eyes focused on my hands. “Brody, I’m so sorry about last night—”
“Don’t apologize, Quinn,” he said, interrupting me. “It’s fine.”
“I can’t believe I kissed you. Listen, I’ve never done anything like that before.” I hadn’t yet found the courage to lift my eyes from my hands and I knew my face was flushed.
“Alcohol makes you do stupid things, don’t worry about it.” Although he was trying to reassure me, I groaned inwardly. So, he thought me kissing him was a stupid thing to do. My heart dropped, and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
“I’m never drinking again,” I muttered, shaking my head.
“That’s a shame. I liked drunk Quinn.” I lifted my head sharply, surprised by his comment. That’s when I saw him standing there in his sleep shorts, his chest bare. I wished now I’d looked up sooner, so I would have had longer to stare at him. God, he was gorgeous. His toned chest was tanned, with just a smattering of dark hair below his belly button that disappeared under the waistband of his shorts. As my eyes tracked over his abs and up past his chest, I was met with his smiling face and messy dark hair that he hadn’t yet styled. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything so perfect.
“Okay, so I know I’m a day late but…” With a flurry, he moved his arm out from behind his back and produced a blueberry muffin with a single candle sticking out of it. “Happy birthday, Quinn.”
My eyes went wide with surprise. “How did you...” I trailed off.
“I would say you told me, but it was more of a comment you made before passing out last night,” he said chuckling.
“What do you mean?”
“You said, ‘best birthday ever.’”
“Oh God, it actually gets worse.” I dropped my head in my hands. “What else did I say? On second thought, don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know.” He laughed and came to sit next to me on the bed.
“Let’s just say, you were quite complimentary!” I looked at him in horror, only imagining what I might have said to him. He burst out laughing and I glared at him.
