Talon
I awoke with the sunrise the next day. Charlotte snored softly beside me in bed. She didn’t usually snore, but at some point in the night, she’d moved into an awkward position. I didn’t have the heart to move her, just in case I woke her up. I knew the moment she did, her hangover would come crashing down on her like the hammer of Thor.
I felt fine. Once Charlotte started pounding shots, I slowed way the hell down on my drinking. I had no problem with her letting loose and having a good time. I just wanted to make sure I was sober enough to take care of her and keep her safe. Also, she was guaranteed to feel like shit this morning, so I wanted to be able to ease her through the worst of her hangover.
I slid quietly out of bed and stared down at her. Her face was so peaceful as she slept. So beautiful. I loved this girl so fucking much I couldn’t stand it sometimes. I hoped she knew that. I did my best to show her and tell her how much I cared about her. Every day, I tried to do at least one thing that would make her smile.
Today, I was going to cure her hangover.
I put a glass of water and some Advil on the nightstand next to her. Then, I slipped out to the grocery store to grab some stuff for breakfast. With finals and everything, we hadn’t had a lot of time for shopping. Our refrigerator was down to just condiments and that one ancient Tupperware container that had been in there forever. I had no idea what was in it, and I was too afraid to open it and find out.
I walked through the aisles of the grocery store, mostly empty this early on a Thursday morning. I thought back to some of my worst mornings after a night of binge drinking. Charlotte had never been much of a drinker, but I’d had more than my fair share of barely-remembered nights. After getting blitzed out of my mind, breakfast was always the thing that brought me back to life and made me feel human again.
I grabbed the essentials, eggs, bacon, and pancake mix. Cooking had never been my strong suit. I could throw together simple stuff like this, but I wasn’t going to be making pancake batter from scratch. I needed a little help from Aunt Jemima.
I paid for everything and climbed back into my SUV. The clock on the dashboard said eight-thirty. I wondered if it was early enough to catch Bob and Gloria. Only one way to find out. I pulled up their number and called.
Bob answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Bob. Have you and Gloria had breakfast yet?”
“Talon,” he said, his voice a lot friendlier this morning. “No, we haven’t.”
“Awesome,” I said. “In that case, I’d like to invite you and Gloria over to our apartment for a homemade breakfast.”
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Bob said. “Who’s cooking the breakfast?”
“Um, I am,” I said tentatively.
Bob breathed a sigh of relief. When he spoke, it sounded like he was trying to keep his voice down so that Gloria couldn’t hear him. “Good. Between you and me, Charlotte can’t make eggs to save her life. They’re always all brown and rubbery.”
I laughed. Bob was finally opening up to me, which I liked. Underneath that hard exterior was a fun sense of humor and a soft heart. I was starting to think Bob and I could be friends.
“Don’t tell her I said that,” Bob growled.
“I wouldn’t think of it,” I said. “You two come on over whenever. Oh, and just a heads up. Charlotte is a little hungover. So try not to be too hard on her.”
“Got it,” Bob said. “See you soon.”
We hung up, and I went back to the apartment. Charlotte was still asleep. I hated to wake her, but I hoped seeing her parents and having breakfast would make it easier. I placed my hand gently on her arm, applying the slightest amount of pressure.
I’d learned this trick waking up my younger brothers for school. My parents used to yell and shake us to get us out of bed. It always scared the ever-loving shit out of me and made me think I was going to have a heart attack at seven years old.
Charlotte inhaled deeply, and I knew she was awake. Her eyes fluttered open, giving me a flash of their beautiful, brown depths, and then she slammed them shut again, groaning and putting a hand to her forehead.
“How are you feeling?” I asked softly.
She groaned again. “What’s worse than dog shit?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
I grinned. “That bad, huh?”
She nodded and froze. The movement obviously making her head pound worse. “Talon, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“For ruining this body,” she said. “It’s done. It’s dead. It’s all used up. I need you to get me a new one.”
I chuckled softly. “But I like this one. And I don’t even know where I’d find a body nearly this perfect. Instead, how about some water and some Advil?”
She opened her eyes a crack, and I gestured at the nightstand. With great effort, she pulled herself up to a sitting position, grabbed the water, and chugged the pills down. She sighed contentedly.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said. “Now if only you had some breakfast. I’m starving.”
I smiled at her. “Funny you should mention that.” A knock sounded at the front door. “I’m making breakfast for you and your parents. That’s them now.”
“What?” she asked, sounding more awake. “My parents?”
I hurried to the front door and let Bob and Gloria in. They’d been here before, so I didn’t have to give them the grand tour.
“Charlotte’s slowly joining the land of the living,” I said. “She’ll be out in a second. Please, make yourselves at home. I’m gonna start breakfast.”
I hustled into the kitchen, which in this apartment was mostly just an extension of the dining room and living room. Gloria started a pot of coffee, and Bob took a seat at the table. I got the bacon going and mixed up the pancake batter.
Charlotte lurched out of the bedroom. She’d thrown on some pink pajamas and washed last night’s makeup off her face. Her hair was a tangled bird’s nest, and she had dark bags under her eyes. Oddly enough, even hungover and struggling, I still found her beautiful.
She sat at the table, and Gloria handed her a cup of coffee. Charlotte took it gratefully. By the time breakfast was ready, she looked more alert.
I served everyone eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Bob took a bite of his eggs, nodded, and shot me a grin. It was the nicest compliment anyone had ever given my cooking.
As we all ate, we started talking about what we were doing for Christmas Day.
Charlotte spoke up, her voice still a little rough. “On Christmas morning, I figure you guys should come over here. We can exchange gifts, and then start cooking.”
“That sounds lovely,” Gloria said.
She started talking about what they should cook and what they needed to buy. As they did that, I felt a nervous feeling in my stomach. I was looking forward to Christmas with the Jordans. It sounded wonderful to me, like a warm, loving Christmas I’d never really had. But I couldn’t fight the anxiety writhing in my guts.
Christmas was four days away, which wasn’t long, but to me, it felt like an eternity. This stupid secret of mine had been nothing but trouble since the beginning. Instead of being relaxed and happy during this holiday, I was wound up and tense. And even worse, Charlotte was having all kinds of doubts about me and about our relationship.
The urge to come clean right now was intense, but all of this drama would have been for nothing if I gave up now. This would be for the best. I just knew it. I just wish I knew my behavior wouldn’t tear us apart first.
We spent a few more hours with Bob and Gloria, but finally, they decided to leave and let Charlotte get some rest to recover. We said our goodbyes, and they left.
“Thanks for breakfast, Talon,” Charlotte said.
“Any time.”
“I think I’m just going to lie down, okay?”
I nodded. “Get some rest.”
She disappeared into the bedroom, and I sighed. Even as she was thanking me, I saw the look of doubt and distrust in her eyes. I felt like an idiot for keeping this from her. I just wanted to make it all right.
I followed her into the bedroom. She was already lying down. I slid into bed beside her and pulled her into my arms, spooning with her. Charlotte tensed up, and I worried that she would kick me out of bed.
Instead, she melted into me, and my cock stirred to life, aching for her.