Chapter Sixty Three
I wake up with a pounding headache, sore throat and birds nest hair. I look down at my pajamas and have no idea how or when I got into them. Thank god I have Lori to take care of me. “I’m never drinking again,” I mumble to myself before reaching for the delicious looking glass of water on my bedside table. Too lazy to even sit up, I grab it with one hand and carefully bring it down to my mouth. I tip the glass up just as a memory of last night flashes through my mind like lightning. I’m lying on the bed and Mason is on top of me. I feel how hard he is and lift my hips up to meet him, desperately craving more contact. Did we…
“Shit!” I shout as I get covered in water. I sit up too fast and curse again when the room starts to spin. I close my eyes and consider crawling back under my covers for the rest of the day but now I’m wet as well as thirsty. And more importantly, I need to ask Lori what happened last night. I mentally curse myself for getting so drunk. I slowly stand up, feeling like an old lady, and steady myself before heading to the kitchen.
I jump when I see Buzz sitting at the kitchen table. “What are you doing here?” I quickly cross my arms across my chest.
He laughs. “Good morning to you too. You’re almost as welcoming as Lori.”
“Where is she?”
“Getting dressed,” he answers with a smirk. “Even though I told her there was really no need.” I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. “I didn’t realize we were having a wet T-shirt competition,” he says. “Mason is going to be so bummed that he missed out.”
I take a long drink, my cheeks heating at the mention of his name. “I spilled my glass of water.”
“Oh yes, you conveniently spilled it all over your pajama top when you knew I was alone in the kitchen.”
“I didn’t know you were here. I still don’t know why you’re here.”
He laughs. “Look, Sophia, maybe in a different lifetime you and I would be together and have beautiful babies but I kind of have a thing for your best friend and my best friend kind of has a thing for you. So maybe you could back off a little, yeah?”
“Shut up, Buzz.” I try to act normal but my heart is going crazy at his comment.
“Did Mason go home last night?” I ask casually, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.
He smirks. “I don’t know, you tell me.”
“Tell you what?” Lori asks as she walks into the kitchen and pulls me into a hug. “Good morning,” she says for Buzz to hear before whispering, “Don’t worry, Mason went home. Everything is fine. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Well isn’t this a delight for my eyes,” Buzz says.
“Pervert,” Lori replies. “We’re going for lunch, do you want to come with us? Buzz is paying, aren’t you?”
“Apparently so.”
“Lunch? What time is it?” I ask.
“Almost twelve thirty.”
I didn’t realize I slept for so long. “Thanks but no thanks. I need to get a shower. My hair smells like vodka…and puke. Wait, did I throw up?”
Buzz laughs. “You don’t remember?”
“No but that would explain why my throat is burning.”
“Do you want to tell her or should I?” he asks Lori.
She shrugs. “You puked. It’s not a big deal. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.”
“You puked on Mason,” Buzz says.
My eyes widen. “What?”
“Only on his shoes,” Lori adds. “It’s fine. He wiped it off.”
“Oh my god! I’m mortified.” I sit down and rest my head on the table. “Please don’t let me drink ever again.”
“Nah, I like drunk Sophia,” Buzz says. “I think Mason does too.”
“Why does it sound like I was the only drunk one?”
“Probably because you kept drinking my cocktails as well as your own. Mason tried to cut you off but you wouldn’t listen to him. Do you want me to bring some greasy food back with me? It should help with the hangover.”
I groan. “Yes, please.”
“Okay. Well I’ll see you in an hour or two. Call me if you need anything. Your cell is in your purse, next to the coffee machine.”
I wave at her without bothering to lift my head off of the table. Buzz laughs. “Enjoy your hangover.”
My wave is quickly replaced by my middle finger.
I wake up to the sound of Justin Bieber serenading me in Spanish. I have no idea where I am or what day it is. It takes me a good few seconds to realize that I must have fallen back to sleep at the kitchen table and that the music is coming from my cell. I stand up and walk over to the coffee machine. I pull my cell out of my purse and feel like I’m going to throw up again when I see Mason’s name flashing across the screen. “Hello?” I answer, trying to sound as normal and awake as possible.
“Hey, party animal. How's your head?"
I groan. "It feels like an elephant is standing on it."
He laughs. "I'm not surprised. Have you taken anything for it?"
“No. I think we ran out of Tylenol.”
“Do you want me to bring some over?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll get some later.”
“I hope you don’t mind me calling you. I was waiting to make sure I didn’t wake you up but then Buzz mentioned that he saw you.”
“I don’t mind."
“He also mentioned something about a wet T-shirt competition.”
“Just ignore him.”
“Yeah, I usually do.” He laughs. “It’s not as easy in the week though, what with us working together.”
“He told me about last night. Do I owe you a new pair of shoes?”
“No, of course you don’t.”
"I'm sorry. I’m so embarrassed."
"Don't be. I had a great night. You were just having fun. You were very…complimentary.”
“Oh god. In what way?”
He chuckles. “You may have called me perfect a couple of times.” Why, Sophia? Why? “You even said that I was beautiful and wanted to thank my mom on Twitter.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not, I swear.”
“You didn’t tell me her username, did you?”
He laughs. “No, she doesn’t have one.”
“Thank god for that. I better check that I didn’t post anything stupid to anybody else.”
“I think you were probably too drunk to use your phone.”
I groan. “I never usually drink that much.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“Honestly. I hardly ever drink. I just got carried away for some reason.” Probably because I’ve been so tightly wound these past couple of weeks and needed to let off some steam.
“You’re allowed to have fun, Sophia.”
The way he says my name brings back another memory. “How many times did I tell you that I was horny last night?”
He laughs. “Only once.”
“I’m sorry if I was too…forthcoming. Things got a little heated before you left, unless I dreamt it all.”
“Are you saying that you dream about me, Sophia?”
Yes. “If you weren’t actually on top of me last night then yes, I dream about you.”
“Luckily, that wasn’t a dream.” There’s a long pause and I’m sure I can feel the sexual tension through the phone line. Why do I have to be so attracted to him? “But I can pretend it was, if you’d prefer?” he asks softly. “I can try and forget that it happened.”
Another pause before I reply honestly. Selfishly. “No.”
I swear that I hear a sigh of relief. “Would it be weird if I told you that I missed you already?”
My stomach flips. “Probably.”
“Well it doesn’t matter anyway because I don’t miss you. Not even one percent. It was such an inconvenience having to carry you to your bed last night. I hope I don’t have to do it again anytime soon. I also hope that I don’t have to lie on top of you ever again.”
I laugh. “I hope you don’t either.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
If only that was the truth then all of this would be so much easier.
I hear Lori cursing as she locks the front door behind her. “What’s happened?” I ask when she sits down and places the burger and some Tylenol in front of me. “Thanks. I’m starving.” I start to unwrap it straight away. “You even got me some Tylenol. You’re the best.”
“I didn’t get the Tylenol. It was in the mail box.”
Mason. I smile.
She groans as she looks at her cell. "I can’t decide if I want to strangle him or rip his clothes off."
"Who?" I ask.
"Who do you think? Only one person can make my blood boil like this." I laugh. "Don't laugh. Look at what he's done now." She holds her phone up to show me his Facebook profile. I shake my head, not having a clue what I'm supposed to be looking at. “He’s just updated his relationship status," she says through gritted teeth.
Buzz Miller is in a relationship with Lori Campbell.
I take a bite of the burger. "I didn’t know his last name was Miller.”
“Oh, that’s the thing you decide to pick up on?”
I laugh. “You know what he’s like. He’s probably just doing it to push your buttons.”
“We’ve been out for lunch one time and he’s already made us Facebook official.”
“Well did anything happen last night? I was shocked to see him here earlier.”
“We talked a lot and cuddled. That’s it.”
“Aww, you cuddled?”
“Yes.” She sighs. “I’m a complete masochist. I’m supposed to stop seeing him in a few weeks.”
I don’t tell her how guilty that makes me feel. “How do you feel about that?”
“Not good. But let’s face it, he was never going to be a long-term option anyway, not that I want anything serious right now.”
“His Facebook status says otherwise.”
She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, enough about me. If I’ve got any extra grey hairs today, it’s because of you, not Buzz.”
“I’m sorry. Did I do anything stupid?”
“What, like telling Mason that you don’t want to trap him?”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Nooooo!”
“Exactly.”
“What…why…”
“You were talking about how much you like each other. No, wait, let me get this right…you don’t just like him, you like him like him.” I groan. “And then you said it was wrong and when he questioned you, you got pissy and told him that you didn’t want to trap him. He didn’t seem weird about it. He must have just thought you were talking crap because you were drunk.”
“It’s way too risky drinking around him.” She nods in agreement. “Oh well, it could have been worse. At least nothing bad happened.”
“It didn’t while I was with you but you were alone in your bedroom at one point. He seemed like he was in a very good mood when he left.”
“No, nothing happened in my room.” Even though I wanted it to.
“You sure?”
“Yes. I was drunk but not that drunk. I would have remembered.”
She laughs. “It was nice to see you having fun. You two are a good match.”
“Lor,” I warn.
“What?” she asks, innocently.
“You know what. Nothing’s changed.”
“Okay, okay, you keep telling yourself that. So what’s the plan?”
I take the last bite of my burger, already feeling a lot more human. “The plan is to forget all about boys and have a pajama day.” She claps and takes off her jacket while humming to Hot In Herre. I laugh. “Now that I remember.”