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She freezes and nods as she turns her face away from me. My heart fucking drops when a tear runs down her cheek, and I instantly regret my words.
She sniffs, and my heart shatters. “Fuck, Cupcake. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, not at all.”
“No,” she says, rising to her knees. “I’m sorry, Ares. I just… I thought… I’m sorry. I-I… I need to go.”
I grab her waist and pull her back to me, my arms wrapping around her as I cup the back of her head and push her face into my neck. “You’re not going anywhere, Cupcake. Not tonight. It’s okay, Rave. We’ve all had our messy drunken nights, and this is no different. I’m sorry.”
“Not as much as I am,” she whispers. “I should’ve known better. Of course you’d never want me. You’ll never want anyone but Hannah.”
I hug her tightly, my heart breaking. Fuck. Tonight has been one big mess. I have no idea what’s gotten into her, and though I shouldn’t be, I’m relieved it’s me she was with tonight. Had it been any other man, what would have happened?
“Come on, Cupcake. Let’s go to sleep, okay?”
I keep her in my arms and move us over so I’m lying flat on the sofa with her nestled against me. “Just sleep, Rave. We’ll forget this happened tomorrow, okay? I suspect you’ve drunk so much you won’t be able to remember, anyway. Let’s just go to bed, huh?”
She nods and settles against me, but even though I’ve got her so close, I feel like I’m losing her. I had no choice but to say what I did, yet I regret my words immensely. I hope tonight doesn’t change anything between us, but deep down, I know it will.
ChapterNine
Raven
* * *
“Raven?”
I frown at the sound of Grandma Anne’s voice behind me and snuggle a bit closer, not wanting to wake up.
“Ares?”
My muddled mind slowly starts to clear, and I freeze when I realize that I’ve got a strong arm wrapped around me. Fragments of last night flash through my mind, and my stomach drops. Oh no.
I twist in Ares’s embrace, waking him up, and he blinks slowly, his eyes finding mine as he smiles lazily. “Morning, drunkard,” he says.
The smile melts off his face as he looks past me, and I let my eyes fall closed in shame. “Grandma,” he says, his voice tinged with horror. His grip on me loosens. “What are you doing here?”
Ares sits up and pulls me up with him, keeping his arm wrapped around me. I raise my face hesitantly, well aware of what this looks like. My dress is on the floor, and Ares is in nothing but his gray sweatpants, while I’m wearing his t-shirt.
Grandma Anne’s expression is unreadable. “Big night?” she asks, and I nod.
“Sierra and I, um… we drank way too much, and Ares ended up having to take care of us.”
I can’t face him, not after what I did last night. The way I harassed him last night was not okay. I have no doubt he’ll be furious, and I’ve probably done irreparable damage to our friendship, and what for?
“Where is Sierra?”
Ares clears his throat. Does he realize he still has his arm wrapped around me? “In my bed. Best to let her sleep a bit longer. She was really quite drunk.”
Grandma nods. “How about you two get some more rest too? You look… disheveled. I will have some breakfast sent over for the three of you later. You can just warm it up once Sierra wakes up.”
Ares and I are tense as Grandma Anne walks away, a sweet smile on her face. “I should go too,” I say the moment the door closes behind her. I rise to my feet nervously and grab my clothes off the floor, embarrassment flooding me.
“Hold on,” Ares says, and I turn around to face him, my heart hammering in my chest. “Come here, Raven,” he orders, and I walk back toward him hesitantly, pausing in front of him, his legs on either side of me. He leans back and spreads his arms across the back of the sofa, his eyes on me. I haven’t seen him this way in years, with his torso bare and his abs and chest on display. Does he realize what kind of image he’s painting?
“How do you feel, Rave? I’ve never seen you as drunk as you were last night. Can you even remember half the shit you did?”
I let my eyes fall closed and nod. “Ares,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry. Nothing I can say will make up for how I treated you last night. I’m so ashamed of my actions, and I can’t even imagine how angry you must be. I’m so sorry, truly. I don’t know what I was thinking. I never should’ve… I can’t believe…”
He grabs my hand and pulls me closer. “Not so confident today, are you? Last night you were all too happy to sit in my lap and demand to wear my t-shirt, getting naked in the process.”
