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Puke target?
Oh no. Oh no no no nonooooo.
The memory was suddenly, painfully clear.
Rainer.
“I’m sorrrrrrry,” she whined, feeling more wretched than ever before.
Rainer’s face appeared above her. He looked — somehow — even better than he had last night. The golden light of the morning giving his hard face a softness that she’d never seen before.
“Forget it,” he said. “We all make mistakes.”
“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. Wait, why are you here?”
“Brought you home.”
Slowly, memories swam up from last night’s funk. She vaguely remembered Rainer scooping her up and carrying her. Vaguely remembered how strong he’d felt beneath her. Vaguely remembered the whole world spinning like she was on a merry-go-round.
“But why? I puked on you.”
“Well, something gave me the indication that you might have been a little bit drunk.”
“A little bit?”
“Yeah. Just a touch. Couldn’t have you getting yourself into trouble.”
“I’m sure I woulda been safe, I j—”
“Pudding, there’s no way on Earth that you would have been safe. You couldn’t walk. You could barely talk. Yet, somehow, you managed to share your address with me. Anyone coulda taken advantage of you. I had to make sure that didn’t happen.”
She blinked again, and saw that Rainer was topless. Dumbstruck at the sight of his heavily-inked, thickly-muscled body, she stared at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.
“You okay?”
“Buh buh buh…” she repeated, words suddenly impossible to form. “Brilliant,” she eventually managed.
“You want breakfast?”
This was crazy. Rainer Ortiz, a guy who she’d been totally terrified of, was sitting on her bed, checking that she was alright, offering to make her breakfast.
“You’re not wearing any clothes.”
Why why why did you say that, Esme?
“I am.” He got up, showing her his pants. “Tee ain’t gonna make it, though. A little too much… fun-juice on it.”
Esme felt like she was going to die from embarrassment. She grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her face, before yelling into it at the top of her lungs.
“No need to be ashamed,” Rainer said. “It’s not the first time I’ve been covered in vomit and beer. Won’t be the last, I’m sure.”
“I’m cringing so hard it feels like I’m gonna swallow myself up.”
Rainer chuckled. It was the first time she’d ever heard him laugh, and it was surprisingly pleasant to hear. Made him sound almost human.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Esme felt a sudden, growing wave of anxiety in her gut. Maybe it was just the hangover, but she couldn’t handle this. She felt so dumb, so ashamed of herself. The thought that sensible, serious Rainer was here, judging her, made her feel even worse.
