The sound of crashing waves pulled Autumn to consciousness. A gentle breeze kissed her bare skin as she tried to open her eyes and was immediately blinded by the sun. The pounding in her head felt like she had a spike in her brain and her heartbeat was the anvil. Moaning in agony, she rolled onto her back, vowing she would never drink again.

She’d been hungover before, but this was the mother of all hangovers. Her head had never hurt this bad, her body had never been this sore. Wait a minute… Autumn brought her hand up to her chest and ran it down her body. She was completely naked. Holy shit, she had no idea where she was.

Squinting against the blinding rays, she lifted her head and tried to focus her eyes. The villa. Oh, thank God. She was in her bedroom at the villa. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Autumn flopped back down and tried to remember what the hell happened last night, but it was as if a veil had descended over her memory. The last thing she recalled was leaving Ambrosia with Balen right after propositioning him for sex. The rest was all a blur.

But that was okay, right? One and Done. That was the plan and she’d executed it. Autumn raised one hand and used the other to give herself a high-five, wincing at the loud clap and then let both limbs drop back to the bed.

Yay me! she congratulated herself, but the victory to reclaim her womanhood was bitter-sweet. Without the memories, she didn’t feel any different than she did yesterday. Well, that wasn’t exactly true, because right now she felt like she’d been run over by a bus. Maybe when the pounding inside her head subsided, the events of the night before would come back to her. For now, she needed a shower, some ibuprofen, and water—not necessarily in that order.

The room spun as she crawled to the edge of the bed. Before she could toss her legs over the side, Autumn spotted a glass of water and three Advil sitting on the nightstand with a note beside them. She swallowed down the pills with the water, and then picked up the note.

Autumn,

Had a great time last night. Thought you might need these when you woke up.

Balen

As she made her way into the bathroom, or stumbled was probably a more accurate description, she wondered if she might still be a little drunk. Her head was spinning. Bracing her hand against the wall, she took a deep breath, swallowing back a wave of nausea.

She made a potty stop on the way to the shower and her eyes caught on something shiny reflecting in the trash can. Squinting against the throbbing pain inside her head, she leaned a little closer to see what it was, but her balance wasn’t top notch and she almost fell off the toilet. She recognized that gold foil wrapper in the waste basket. Well, if she’d had any doubt, there was her proof. She could finally put a big fat X on Summer’s Day One page. But truth be told, she regretted the need to get wasted in order to do it, and she regretted the hangover she was suffering as a result.

Oh, well. No sense dwelling on things she couldn’t change. One and Done, and now it was time to look ahead. There was no going back. No do-overs. She’d reclaimed that part of herself and Alex had no hold on her anymore. It was worth a killer hangover to finally be free of that bastard. She was going to shower, drink a shit-ton of water, and let the sun bake this headache away.

Autumn couldn’t remember what Summer had planned for her today, or if she would be up for it, but first things first. As she headed across the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and gasped. Holy hell, she looked like Medusa on crack. Her fiery hair was sticking up all over, and her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles beneath them. Oh, bonus…she had hickies all over her body to prove just how down and dirty her amnesic night must have gotten. There was a mark on the inside of her neck, one on her boob, and one on the inside of her thigh. Guess how many of them her bikini was going to cover? Yep, not a one. She was going to look like the slut of the beach. Just wonderful.

At least she could be grateful Balen wasn’t still here. Thank God for small favors, though he didn’t exactly strike her as the kind of guy who would want to stick around for the awkward morning after routine.

No, thankfully her walk of shame would be a solo run. It was nice of him to leave her with a parting gift though. The water and ibuprofen had been a nice touch. Now that it was over, she felt like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And once she shook her headache, she knew she’d feel even better.

The shower helped her feel a little more human, but unfortunately, it did nothing to fix her amnesia. Maybe it was for the best, she decided, while combing through her tangled mess of hair and piling it on top of her head in a messy bun. This way there was no chance of an emotional attachment. The last thing she wanted was to get the feels for the guy when there was no chance of it going anywhere.

After slathering on sunscreen, she got into her bikini then grabbed her beach towel and a complimentary bottle of water from the fridge. She slipped on her gaudy white sunglasses she’d bought on a dare and now secretly loved. On her way out the door, she spotted her BF Guide Book on the table. Opening it to Day One, she grabbed a pen and put a big fat check-mark beneath Get Laid. Deciding to take it with her so she could re-read through Summer’s itinerary for the week, she tucked the book under her arm and then paused to send her friend a quick text before heading to the beach.

One and Done! ;)

* * *

Stretched out on her beach towel, listening to the sound of the waves, Autumn was drifting somewhere in that state between awake and asleep when a large cloud rolled in, casting a shadow over her. The heat disappeared and the breeze sent a chill, causing goosebumps to erupt over her flesh. Her sensitive nipples puckered in protest, and that wasn’t the only part of her body feeling the after-effects of her hot, one-night stand. She was pretty sure she had whisker burn on the inside of her thighs.

Seconds passed by, and when the sun didn’t reappear, Autumn cracked open an eye to check out the size of the cloud. Oh, it was huge all right. Only it wasn’t a cloud. Her stomach dropped at the same time her heart surged into her throat. What in the hell is he doing here?

“I see you survived your hangover.”

Balen stood over her with a surfboard in his hand, dripping sea water onto her towel. He wore nothing but a pair of low-riding board shorts that showcased the muscular V at his hips and instinctively drew her gaze lower.

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she forced her eyes back up. His moppy hair curled at the ends now that it was wet, adding a boyish charm to his already devastating good looks. He tossed his head to get the hair out of his eyes and sent a spray of water all over her.

“Hey,” she complained, wiping her hand over her stomach.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, propping his surfboard in the sand and dropping down beside her.

She could tell by the way he said it that he wasn’t sorry, and she didn’t recall inviting him to join her either. This was not One and Done. Her date was not supposed to be here. Even as hot as he was, the guy needed to leave. She just wasn’t sure how she was going to get that message across without sounding like a total bitch.

“What are you doing?” She didn’t even try to disguise the displeasure in her voice. Maybe he’d take the hint and go.

“Surfing. The waves are fantastic this morning.”

Was he deliberately being obtuse? She couldn’t tell. Autumn glanced over at him sprawled out in the sand beside her. His impressive arms were raised, hands propped beneath his head, eyes closed as he tipped his face to the sun like some sort of Greek god. A flush of need ignited low in her stomach, and she promptly shut that business down. Turning her head away, she closed her eyes to block out the image of him.

Oh, this is not good. Not good at all.

“There’s a great surfboard kiosk down the beach if you’re interested,” he continued to talk, completely unaware of her internal panic attack.

Where was the awkward morning-after silence? Apparently, she was the only one feeling it.

“You should check it out.”

“I don’t surf.”

She could hear him shifting beside her and sensed his movement. Autumn opened her eyes to find him turned on his side and facing her, his head propped in his hand, elbow buried in the sand. “Have you ever tried it?”

“Nope,” she responded, hoping he’d get tired of her cold shoulder and move on. No such luck.

“What’s this?”

Before Autumn could stop him, Balen lifted her BF Guide Book from her towel, swiping the back of his hand over the cover to clear off the sand he’d accidentally knocked all over it. “Cute picture. This you? I can tell by the hair,” he said, answering his own question.

“Can I have my book back, please?” She sighed in frustration as she sat up and held out her hand.

Balen ignored Autumn’s impatient reach and studied the cover a moment longer before opening the book. Mortification slammed into her as the easy smile on his too-handsome face disappeared as he read the first page. Oh, shit. When Balen’s expression shuttered from surprised to unreadable, Autumn’s heart started pounding so hard her hands began shaking. There was no trying to deny it. It was obvious what last night was, and if he still had any doubt, the Get Laid with the fat check-mark oughta clear things up pretty fast.

“What is this?” His tone was as flat as his expression.

And now she wasn’t only feeling embarrassed, she felt bad, because it never dawned on her before that moment that she might have hurt his feelings. “It’s nothing,” she told him, reaching for the book and pulling it out of his hands. “It’s just something my friend made for our vacation.”

Autumn wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but it wasn’t the words that came out of his mouth.

“Well, you’re going to have to erase that big check-mark.”

“Excuse me?”

“Right here.” He took the book back, flipped open the cover, and pointed his finger at her shame. “Where it says, ‘Get Laid’. You’re going to have to erase that, cuz we didn’t have sex.”

“What?” Autumn’s voice hit an octave she was pretty sure only sea life could hear. “We didn’t have sex?” Because she had a foil wrapper in the trash can that told her a different story. She wished to God she could remember what had happened.

“No. We didn’t. You passed out.”

If Autumn thought her humiliation couldn’t get any worse, she was wrong. So very wrong.

“This might surprise you, but I actually prefer my bed partners to be conscious.”

Autumn’s cheeks were on fire and the arrogant, amused smirk on Balen’s face confirmed he was taking great pleasure in her embarrassment. “Don’t get me wrong. We fooled around—a lot—and it was hot.”

“But there’s a condom wrapper in my bathroom trash can.” She was wracking her brain, trying to remember what happened. It couldn’t be possible. After all this, she still wasn’t free of Alex.

“Yeah, things got hot and heavy on the beach, and we came back here and messed around a bit. I went into the living room to get the condom you had in your purse. I opened the package, slipped it on, and by the time I got back to your room, you were passed out. I tossed the wrapper in your bathroom trash.”

Oh God, take me now, she silently prayed, burying her face in her hands. She wasn’t sure she could stand another second of this humiliation. Her first attempt at sex in two years was a total fail.

“Hey, if your little check-mark means that much to you, I can fuck you right now.”

“Please, stop talking to me.”

He chuckled at her muffled request. “Oh, come on, Autumn. I’m just giving you shit. Don’t be embarrassed. It wasn’t that bad. Actually, it was really hot. You’ve got a talented mouth—”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

She snatched her book back. Holding it to her chest, she scrambled to her feet, accidentally kicking sand all over Balen. He bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing, but she didn’t think it was funny. Not one little bit. Now he was just being mean, and crude, and she was not going to consider that, just possibly, he was giving her a taste of her own medicine, because how was what she did to him any better than him mocking her now?

He knew she’d used him. The evidence was right here, and he was a guy. Of course he wasn’t going to cry about it—not like she was about to.

Thank God she was wearing sunglasses so he couldn’t see the tears flooding her eyes. Before they began running down her cheeks, Autumn raced back to her villa.