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He smirks back at me. “I’d ask if you’re going to be okay, but I already know you will be.”
“Aw, that was pretty sweet, Nick.”
He scrunches up his face. “Shh. You’ll ruin my rep.” He grins at me. “Now, come on, let’s head back downstairs and try to have some fun. Deal?”
I bump his waiting fist. “Deal.”
Aaron
I wake up queasy with a pounding headache. A far too frequent occurrence these days. Alcohol takes the edge off and makes me feel less shitty. Until the next morning, when the shittiness returns stronger than ever.
I sit up and sift through what happened last night. I have never drunk enough to black out, but my memory is hazy.
I was joking around with the guys when I saw Rae talking with Jesse. It doesn’t matter how good he’s been to me or that he has a girlfriend, I rage with jealousy seeing them together. So, I walked up.
First groan of the morning. I said something about our sex life.
I pull the curtains open. Second groan of the morning.
Rae and I talked, made things okay. We danced. And then…
Fuck. And the third groan of the morning.
It’s not that I didn’t mean what I said to Rae. I did. With everything in me, I meant it. She’s my home. She always will be. No one makes me feel safer than she does. No one makes me feel loved like her. I’m not even sure if it was wrong to say it, but it was wrong to say it like that. It was wrong to say it in the middle of a crowded room when we’re broken up and dancing to her favorite song.
Fourth groan.
When she walked away, my heart sank a little more. Then I hit the shots. Three down and I was down for the count, too. I remember Joel and Miles laying me down on the couch in the basement. I woke up around one but didn’t puke. Staggered home and passed out.
I missed spending time with my best friends. I missed the present exchange. I feel like trash.Awesome. Fifth groan of the morning.
I blow out a breath and grab some clothes. At least now I know what I need to do this morning. Shower. Sop up the remnants of alcohol in my stomach. Give Rae her present and talk to her.
I rap my knuckles against Rae’s window, and it quickly slides open.
“I was wondering when you’d show up,” she says.
I get through the window and shove it closed behind me. Then I stare at her. She wasexpectingme? I start to get mad, but then she spins around and faces me, and I take in her tight leggings and loose sweater that hangs off one shoulder and exposes a good amount of cleavage.
No,I reprimand myself, then refocus on the frustration I was feeling. I know I wasn’t at my best last night, but she shouldn’t be expecting me to apologize, either.
As if reading my mind, her eyes go wide, and her body softens. She steps to me and puts one warm hand on my arm. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she says, voice low and tender. “I just meant that usually if something isoffbetween us, you try to fix it.” Emotion threads her voice as she continues. “It’s something I admire about you.”
My whole body relaxes. Then I do the dumb thing. I pull her into my arms and then dip my head down and brush my lips over hers. At first, she stiffens, and I brace myself to get slapped, but then she melts into it. Her tongue playfully teases mine before pulling away.
She blinks her eyes closed and shakes her head. “That’s so easy to lean into.”
“Sorry,” I mumble.
Her eyes flash open. “Don’t be.” She nods toward the bed. “Come on, let’s talk. Thatiswhy you’re here, isn’t it?” she asks playfully.
I nod and drop onto the edge of the bed. God, how many times have I sat here? In moments of friendship and playfulness, moments of love, moments of support, moments of heartbreak; sometimes it feels like everything happened in this room. I glance at her as she sits down near me and tucks her feet under her. “That, and we didn’t get to exchange presents.”
She looks down. “No. We didn’t.”
“I’m sorry about last night.”
“Stop apologizing. Please.”
