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I squint at my nightstand, a note along with a bottle of water and two white pills sit waiting for me.Valentine to the rescue, once again.I smile despite how disgusting I feel and reach for the pills. Popping them in my mouth, I wash them down with a hearty swig of water before picking up the note.
You snore like a chainsaw when you’re drunk. Take the aspirin, then have a shower. I’m in the living room depleting your coffee stores and obliterating your high scores.
-Val
Just knowing he’s here makes me feel a little bit better. His presence has always had that effect on me. I fold the note in half then slip it into the top draw of my nightstand. I’ll put it with the others later.
I take a deep, fortifying breath, then force my ass out of my bed. I stagger to my little bathroom, and groan again when I catch sight of myself in the mirror. I’m a straight up trainwreck.
Val is the only person on earth who gets to see me like this. Not even my sisters have seen me at my worst. Val promised me a long time ago he’d always have my back, and to this day, he’s never let me down.
I flip on the shower, then strip off what’s left of the clothes I was wearing last night. I feel so gross, but the second I’m under the hot spray, I begin to feel a little more human. For a long while I just stand there with my eyes closed and face tipped up into the downpour from the rainfall showerhead.
Eventually, I reach for my face wash and scrub yesterday’s makeup from my skin then go about my usual morning routine. Fifteen minutes later I’m fresh as a daisy and strolling out to join Val on the couch.
His head turns my way when I step out from the corridor, a smile playing at his mouth. “Morning. Coffee’s on the counter. How you feelin’?”
“Grateful,” I tell him, backtracking to the kitchen. He must have made it while I was in the shower because it’s steaming hot and in my favorite mug. I wrap my hands around it then bring it to my lips to blow on before taking a sip. “Mmm, so good,” I murmur.
I shuffle over to the couch and curl up in the corner, tucking my feet under my butt. My eyes flutter closed, and I sigh happily as I inhale the lifegiving aroma wafting from the mug cradled between my palms.
“Should I give you two a moment alone?” Val asks.
My eyes pop open, a glare at the ready, but the grin on his handsome face wipes it away before I can unleash it. I roll them instead. Which isn’t smart, as the movement causes a spike of pain to ricochet through my head, making me grimace.
Val leans over, placing a hand on my arm. “You okay? The aspirin not working?”
“Not yet. If the caffeine doesn’t make it kick in, I’ll take some Tylenol.”
He nods, then sits back, turning his attention back to the TV and the controller in his hands.
“How long have you been up?” I ask.
“I don’t know, an hour, maybe. Went in to check on you, and you were still out cold, so I had a shower and helped myself to your fridge. Speaking of, you hungry?”
“That would be a negative. I reckon I’d throw up anything I ate right now.”
He eyes me for a moment, then says, “All right. Let me know when you change your mind. Maybe dry toast or something.”
Val is unbearably gorgeousandimpossibly sweet; he’s a double threat. It astounds me he’s single. Not that I mind; I’m actually pretty damn thankful for it. It means I get him all to myself. His girlfriends never like me, and that usually ends up causing issues for both his relationship and our friendship.
Thoughts of his last girlfriend Maggie and the ultimatum she gave him creep into my brain, and I just know I’m pulling a sour-ass face right now. I didn’t like her from the beginning, but to be fair, I rarely like the women he dates.
But this one—she was something else. Right from the get-go, she made it very clear she didn’t care for our friendship.
They’d been dating for seven hellish months when she pulled theit’s her or mecard. I wanted to rip out her unflattering hair extensions and kick her insecure ass. I mean, who even does that? Children, that’s who.
“You okay? You’re awfully tense over there,” Val says, side-eyeing me.
I give him a stiff nod. “I’m fine. My head’s just sore.”
Which isn’t technically a lie. Thinking about that chick makes me stabby at the best of times, let alone when I’m fighting a hangover.
“Time for some Tylenol.” Then he’s tossing the controller aside and marching to the kitchen, where he raids my medicine box.
Forcing thoughts of Maggie and her manipulative ways out of my head, I wriggle deeper into the couch cushions. Val returns a minute later with two pills and a fresh glass of water. I refuse the drink in favor or knocking them back with my coffee. We fall into a comfortable silence as he goes back to playing The Legend of Zelda and I sip on the remainder of my coffee.
* * *
