Chapter 23

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Rose

MY EYELIDS WERE WEIGHED down with anchors, my mouth was stuffed with cotton balls, and my head had a freight train passing through it—at least that’s what it all felt like to me, as I lay on my back, wondering when another truck would pass by and run me over once again to put me out of my misery. I turned on my side and my insides throbbed. My bladder was in a fight with the rest of my body to work together and find the strength to make it to the bathroom. My eyes peeled open to the bright sunlight shining in the window, and I immediately closed them once again.

Come on, you have to do this. Just make it to the bathroom, then you can come back to bed and die a slow, painful death. As I willed myself to open my eyes once again, the blur of the room came into focus when my pupils finally adjusted to the light. This isn’t my bedroom at my aunt’s place. Where the hell am I? Was I drugged? Have I been kidnapped? Are my kidnappers arranging for my ransom as I lie here unable to move? When I rolled over I found it to be something much worse than my overactive imagination—Alex passed out next to me.

“Oh my God!” I gasped, shooting up in bed, ignoring the extreme pain I had just caused my aching body.

His eyes peeled open, taking a moment to adjust. I was pretty certain he thought he was still sleeping and having a nightmare due to his delayed reaction of waking up next to me. “What the fuck?” he finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, and his eyes glassed over as he sat up and raked his hand through his somewhat messy hair.

I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. I will never drink again. I will never drink again. The only saving grace in this whole situation was we were both fully clothed right down to our shoes, so it was highly doubtful that anything happened. My stomach churned and the familiar after effects of a hard night of drinking began to rise to my throat.

“Where’s the bathroom?” I shouted.

“First door on the right,” he mumbled.

I darted from the bed and headed into the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been sitting on the floor worshiping the porcelain god when Alex appeared in the doorway. I stared up at him, wondering how exactly we had gotten into this current situation we were in. I dropped my head to the bowl and went in for round two.

“How did I guess that would’ve been your reaction to waking up next to me?” Alex joked.

I closed my eyes and threw my head back against the bathroom wall. “We didn’t…did we?” I asked, praying he’d put my mind at ease with his answer.

“I highly doubt it.”

“You highly doubt it, as in…you’re not one hundred percent sure?”

“Unless we both got undressed and fully dressed again…then no.”

I started to counter his thought and he stopped me.

“And believe me, I don’t think either one of us was coherent enough to even take off a shoe, let alone do all that. So, to answer your question, yes, I’m one hundred percent sure nothing at all happened.”

“Oh, thank God,” I whispered.

“You’re not kidding,” he muttered as he walked out of the bathroom.

Really? He should consider himself honored to have had sex with me. I relaxed on the cool ceramic tile floor for a little while longer before finally hoisting myself up to the toilet bowl and putting my bladder out of its misery. After finding the courage to look in the mirror, I wished I hadn’t—death would best sum up my reflection. The mascara that once extended my lashes had now settled in dark blotches under my eyes, my skin was dull and flat, and my lips pale and dry. I was thankful for the elastic band wrapped around my wrist, allowing me to throw my knotted hair into a ponytail. I splashed some cool water onto my face and placed a dab of toothpaste on my finger in a poor attempt at brushing my teeth.

Taking a deep breath, I prepped myself to come out of hiding and face reality. That reality hit me in the face—literally—when I stepped out of the bathroom and right into Alex’s broad bare chest as he lowered his T-shirt over his head. How was it possible I never noticed that godlike, statuesque body of his or those muscular arms? I swallowed hard and stared up at him, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. What the hell? I was not having butterflies in my stomach over Alex Andrews! It just wasn’t possible. It was more than likely the remnants of the alcohol still lingering in my system, disagreeing with me.

“Excuse me!” I snapped, trying to conceal I was just thoroughly checking him out.

“Do you want some coffee?” he asked.

I nodded and even that was an effort.

I followed him into the kitchen and got a good look at this place. Surprisingly, it was really nice and rather upscale for a person who couldn’t pick out a suit to save his life. It was neat as a pin for a bachelor pad, but that didn’t surprise me just knowing how meticulous he was with everything at work.

“I feel like I want to curl up and die right now.” My body ached from head to toe.

“Suck it up. If you can’t do the time…don’t do the crime,” he said, handing me a cup of coffee.

“There’s no crime in drinking.” I took my first sip, hoping it would lessen the misery I was in.

“Umm…when you drink as much as you did last night it’s pretty close to being criminal.”

“Well, it’s not like you remember much either.”

“Yeah, but you don’t hear me bitching about it, do you?”

“I’m sure your ass will be back in bed the minute I’m out the door.”

“Nope. Can’t. I have to get William settled in today.”

“Oh shit! What time?”

He glanced at the clock and shrugged. “I know…as soon as I get to the hospital.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you at his place in a few hours?”

“That’s really not necessary. Go home and sleep off your hangover.”

“No, no…I said I’d help, and I’m sticking to my word. You’ll see, I’m not the wimp you think I am.”

“Whatever.” He shook his head, casting doubt upon me, which only made me more determined to make sure I showed.

“Thanks for the coffee.” I chugged down the rest and placed the empty cup in the sink. “Now I must be going. See you in a few hours.”

“Whatever you say,” he muttered as he walked me to the door just as an older couple and their poodle exited the apartment next to his.

I sensed the woman checking me out as I did the walk of shame, AKA: leaving a guy’s place after a one-night hookup that resulted from drinking way too much. I was familiar with the drill, and with the college boys I’d normally practice this ritual with, leaving their dorms or their cheap apartments they shared with seven other guys, it wasn’t a big deal. But as this woman and her husband, who appeared to be very well off, looked me over, it mattered. Maybe it was a sign I was maturing or maybe it was because I didn’t want anyone thinking I’d ever sleep with a man who treated me like an idiot—hot or not, I’d never be that desperate.

“Good morning.” I smiled at the couple as their little yippy dog snarled and showed its teeth at me, causing me to back up into Alex when the little rat on the leash lunged at me.

“Sasha, it’s okay, pretty girl.” The man gently tugged on her leash.

The woman walked past me and turned up her nose with no apology for her dog’s ill manners and no acknowledgement of my good morning greeting.

“I guess with a nasty dog like that, I wouldn’t be having a good morning either,” I shouted.

“Rose,” Alex interrupted, trying to stop me from my rant.

“What?” I turned around to face him. “I said good morning. Their ugly dog almost takes my head off, and they have the nerve to look at me like it’s my fault.”

“Excuse me?” the woman snapped.

Alex sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Mrs. Whitman, she didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, I did! There’s no need to be rude, just because you think I’m leaving here after a night of wild sex with him, which by the way, you are so wrong in that assumption. We don’t even like one another…at all. I mean, I know that doesn’t matter if all we were doing was having sex, which we did not...” I was rambling big-time as the woman and her husband stood by the elevator door dumbfounded while I continued with my rant. “The fact of the matter is…nothing happened between the two of us last night except maybe having a little too much to drink. So much that he probably wouldn’t have even been able to get it up.”

“Oh my God!” The woman covered her mouth and gasped.

Her husband placed his hand on her arm, ushering her into the elevator, and they were whisked away.

I shrugged my shoulders at Alex. “Guess I’ll never be able to face them again.”

He bit back a smile before we both exploded with laughter.

“No loss. They look like two sticks in the mud anyway.” I shrugged. “See ya later.”

He flashed me that genuine smile he so often displayed to others but rarely to me. It was one of pure amusement, and I couldn’t help but smile in return before walking away.

“Hey, Rose!” he shouted just as I was about to step on the elevator.

“Yeah?” I turned around to face him.

“Just so you know, I could have gotten it up if I wanted to.”

“Guess we’ll just have to leave that one up for debate.”