Rodney
The shrill ringing of my phone woke me, and I swam up out of unconsciousness, trying to figure out where I was and what day it was. A dull ache between my temples reminded me it was the morning after I’d been drinking.
When I opened my eyes, my arm was draped over Danielle, who lay pressed tightly against me. Shit. How had this happened?
I reached for my phone on the nightstand, nearly knocking it to the floor before I managed to grab it. My other arm was trapped beneath Danielle’s head, and my body was tangled in the sheets.
I pressed talk before checking the screen for a name. “Yeah?” I asked in a hoarse voice.
“Did I wake you?” Mark asked, and I froze, suddenly very awake. Danielle was naked in my bed, and I was talking to her father.
“Yeah, what time is it?” I asked.
Tommy hadn’t come to wake me, thank god. The room was too bright. It was way past dawn. It was unusual for Tommy not to fetch me, and that made me wonder what he was up to, but I was relieved he hadn’t seen Danielle naked in my bed. With a little luck, he was still sleeping. It was doubtful, but a man in a pickle could do nothing but hope.
“It’s seven,” Mark said. “I’m looking for Danielle.” My stomach turned. “She never came home after babysitting for you last night. Do you know where she is?”
The poor man was in a state because his daughter was missing, and I had her in my bed, naked, her hair splayed over my pillow, the feel of her still on my cock.
Shit, shit, shit.
“Um, yeah,” I said, thinking fast. “My meeting with Lu Chen last night ended late. When I got home, she was already asleep in the spare room, and I didn’t want to wake her.”
Mark exhaled in relief, as if he’d been holding his breath. “She usually lets me know,” he said, but he sounded less panicked than a second ago. “I thought she might have gone to Lisa’s, but I usually get a text from her when that happens.”
I felt guilty as hell. The repercussions of our night together had already started. “I would have let you know if I knew she didn’t message you,” I said.
Danielle stirred in the bed next to me, and I untangled myself from her, sitting up so that she didn’t make a sound close to the phone. The last thing I needed was for her to moan or ask me something so Mark would recognize her over the phone. I didn’t even want to think what would happen if that happened.
“Thank God she’s safe,” Mark said.
“Yeah, Mark, she’s fine,” I said, saying his name out loud in the hopes that Danielle would understand who I was talking to. I glanced at her, but she didn’t seem worried or stressed. She seemed totally at home in my bed.
“Will you ask her to call me when she wakes up?” Mark asked. “I have a bone to pick with her.”
“Of course. It shouldn’t be long, now. I’ll let her know you called the moment she’s up.” Which I didn’t have to do, because she was up now, and she was aware of who I was talking to.
When I ended the call, I turned to Danielle, who blinked up at me with sleepy eyes. God, she was hot in the morning. She looked soft and dreamy, and it made me want to take her again.
But I couldn’t do that. All of this had been a hell of a mistake, and if I started something again, fucking her instead of being responsible about this, I would only make things worse. It was hard to believe, but things could get worse than they already were.
I heard the sounds of a silly cartoon filtering through the wall, which told me Tommy was up and he had taken care of himself. I hoped I didn’t have to do damage control with him, too. There were too many chances for collateral damage in this situation.
“That was a close call,” Danielle said, sitting up. She clutched the covers to her chest, and I was relieved. I didn’t know if I would be able to control myself if I saw her naked now.
“Too close,” I agreed. “I told him I came home late last night and you were already asleep. In the guest bedroom. I didn’t want to wake you and didn’t know you didn’t let him know where you were.”
Danielle nodded. “That’s a good one. Thank you.”
I shook my head. I hated lying to my friend, and this was happening more and more often. I couldn’t keep sneaking around like this behind Mark’s back when I knew that what we were doing would kill him if he found out.
“Well, good morning,” Danielle said, smiling.
I shook my head. No matter how much I wanted to spend the morning together, wallowing in the warmth of what we’d done last night, I couldn’t keep doing this. So, instead of kissing her the way I wanted to, instead of rolling over into the sheets and taking her again, I took a deep breath.
“You have to go,” I said.
Danielle’s face fell. “What? You’re kicking me out?”
“Tommy is already awake. I don’t know how to explain this to him. And your dad is worried about you. That’s on top of everything that we’re already doing wrong.”
Danielle stared at me for a moment before she nodded slowly. “Right,” she said. “That’s how it’s going to be, huh?”
I swallowed. I felt like a dick for running her out of the house after we had sex. I felt like a dick for kicking her out at all when she was such a big part of my life. But we were looking for trouble, and I shouldn’t have done this. I shouldn’t have acted on my feelings for her, just because I’d been drinking.
The thought of the alcohol I’d had brought back my dull headache as if the slight hangover had only receded long enough for me to handle the situation.
Danielle got out of bed and found her clothes strewn across the floor. I pulled on boxers and a T-shirt. Tommy was ten. He was still a kid, but he was at an age where he could start putting two and two together, and I didn’t want him to get to four.
When Danielle was dressed, she checked herself in the mirror. She ran a finger beneath her eyes to fix the makeup that had smudged slightly. When she turned to me, her face was serious. I found my wallet in my pants pocket on the floor and opened it to pay her.
“Don’t,” Danielle said.
“I always pay you.”
She shook her head. “But you don’t always fuck me. We had a great night, only for you to kick me out in the morning? Add in the cash, and the whole thing feels really wrong.”
I understood what she was saying. I hadn’t meant for it come across that way. I put the money back and closed my wallet. Danielle left the room first. I waited a moment before I followed her out. She was with Tommy in the living room, giving him a hug.
“I’ll see you soon, nugget,” she said, ruffling his hair.
“Do you have to go?” Tommy asked.
Danielle glanced at me. She wouldn’t be leaving if I hadn’t kicked her out, but it was how it had to be.
“Unfortunately, I have to,” she said to Tommy. “My dad’s worried about me.”
Tommy hugged her again, and Danielle stood, walking to the door. I opened it for her and walked her out, but things were awkward and strained.
“Well, thanks, I guess,” Danielle said when we stood next to her car. She opened the door and climbed in. She didn’t roll down the window to tell me goodbye one last time. She reversed out of my driveway and drove off without looking back. I stood outside, staring at the road where she’d left before turning around and walking into the house.
“Where did Danielle sleep?” Tommy asked when I walked in. I didn’t know what to say. “She wasn’t on the couch when I came to watch TV this morning.”
Thank God, I thought.
“She stayed in the spare room. Did you check there?”
Tommy shook his head. “We never have anyone sleeping there.”
I nodded. “It was a last-minute thing,” I said.
Tommy was satisfied with the answer. I left him to his cartoons and walked to the kitchen. The box of Fruit Loops was out, and the entire counter was spattered with milk. Looked like Tommy had taken care of himself. It was a relief to know he hadn’t tried to bother me. I couldn’t imagine how scarring it would have been to see Danielle in bed with me.
I scolded myself for being a careless father. I drank too much and ended up doing something I regretted. I was only lucky that it hadn’t turned out worse than it already was.
I started wiping up the milk, putting away the cereal, and putting dirty dishes in the sink from last night. I thought about how I had acted when I had gotten home after my meeting. I’d had too much to drink, and when that happened, I acted foolishly. I did things I shouldn’t, like fuck Danielle. And I said things I shouldn’t.
I froze as last night rushed back to me. I remembered the words I had said to her. I had been too drunk to think about the consequences of my actions, but not too drunk to remember what I had done and what I had said.
I had told her that I cared for her and that I was falling for her. I hadn’t only left it at sex, which was bad enough after we’d agreed we wouldn’t do it again. I had practically told her I was in love with her.
Shit. What was I going to do now? No doubt, Danielle would have been thrilled to hear those words come out of my mouth. She was only twenty-four. What if she had never been loved before by another man? What mess had I gotten myself into?
My headache worsened the more I thought about it. I would have to talk to her about it and tell her it was a mistake. All of it. The sex, the confession, letting her stay over. I was the adult here, and I had to start taking responsibility like one. I couldn’t keep saying I couldn’t do this, and then still end up doing it.
Fuck, I felt like such an idiot. Regret and embarrassment set in. I hated this part of drinking, the part where I knew I had made a complete fool of myself.