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“It’s not from a can,” Katie added proudly when she set a second bowl of soup on my end table.
I sat up and dragged both hands down my face. Once she left the room and shut my door, I decided to force another helping of food down and scrolled on my phone for any evidence of what happened last night. It was actually a good sign that my inbox was empty, and there were no photos or Instagram posts. It allowed me to assume that nothing had happened and that I had nothing to fix or deal with tonight.
A shower was the last piece of the recovery puzzle. I scrubbed at my neck to make sure there were no more marks and did some manscaping so I felt a little more put together. I leaned my forehead against the wet tile and let the warm water run down my back. Already, I felt one hundred times better.
I ran my fingers through my hair so it wouldn’t dry flat and slipped on some gray sweatpants. My body felt like it was running a temperature, which was my cue to guzzle as much water as possible.
Too hot to put a shirt on, I wandered into the living room and was surprised to see everyone but Bryson and Connor in front of the TV. I made a beeline for the fridge and cracked open my first bottle of water.
“He lives,” Jared announced from the couch.
Katie and Maci averted their attention over to me and grinned. Each of them held a glass of wine in their hands, which made me notice that Jared was holding a beer. I peered over at the time on the stove and saw it was already almost six.
“Connor went on a beer run with Kennedy,” Jared said.
“We’re heading out around seven-thirty to a club,” Katie added and sat up in her seat. “Will you be joining us?”
“Yes, I’ll be joining you,” I replied in a snarky tone, and Katie shot me a playful smirk. I returned the gesture and reached for more ibuprofen.
“How are you feeling?” Maci rose from the couch and came into the kitchen for a refill.
I guzzled the rest of my water and reached into the fridge for another one. “I’ve been worse,” I admitted.
Nothing would beat the spring vacation trip Bryson and I went on last year. I woke up in some broad’s apartment next to two girls, and neither one of them lived there. I spent all day battling a hangover in our condo and didn’t feel normal again until the following morning.
No sooner than I tossed my third water bottle in the trash, Connor and Bryson returned with two bottles of Jack, two cases of Bud Light, and three bottles of Moscato. My stomach churned at the sight of the brown liquor, but Bryson’s smirk made it clear that I wasn’t getting off easy tonight.
The girls quickly took over the main bathroom off the kitchen. All of the plugs were in use, and the counter was littered with a bunch of girly shit I didn’t know the names of. Music took over the sound system, and pretty soon pregaming was in full swing. I managed to chug another three bottles of water before Jared shoved a beer in my face.
“Power hour.” Jared smiled and tossed me a can.
I cracked it open and joined Connor and Bryson in the living room. We were all seated around the coffee table, where Jared was ready for us to take turns playing Ride the Bus.
Fits of laughter exploded from the bathroom every now and then where Maci and Katie spent the last hour getting ready. Around seven-fifteen, the group started to get antsy about leaving, so much so that Bryson and Connor ran across the parking lot to ensure the other group was ready to go.
“Come on, ladies!” Jared shouted. He poured four shots of Jack and scooted them to the edge of the counter. “What the hell is taking them so long?”
“It’s girl shit, man.” I shrugged and looked back to the bathroom.
Jared wandered over to the closed door and tapped it with his knuckles.
“We’re coming!” Maci yelled from inside the bathroom, and Jared jumped away from the door.
A few moments later, Katie stepped into the hallway. She wore tight black pants, a bright red long-sleeve top that showed her stomach, and black high-heeled boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and she had put stuff on her eyes to make them darker. She also wore red lipstick.
Connor would either lose his fucking mind or tell her to get back into their bedroom to change.
“Damn, girl”—Jared gestured his hand toward her outfit and grinned—”you clean up nice!”
Katie smiled and patted his shoulder. “Thanks, Jared.”
In the few days of us being here, Jared had grown on Katie. Once she got it through her head that he wasn’t actually hitting on her when he spoke to her, she liked having him around.
“Maci’s almost ready,” Katie said to her phone screen. “When did they go across the street? I can get an Uber here in like ten minutes.”
“They should be back soon,” I said, handing Katie her shot. A look of pure disgust washed over her face, and I laughed.
Then, her expression immediately shifted, and she smiled over my shoulder. “Yes! Definitely the mauve lipstick. Red would’ve been too much.”
