“Now I don’t know if you’re throwing the game or if you actually suck.”
“Hey!”
We share a laugh and for the next hour we drink (I long forgot about switching to non-alcoholic drinks) and eat and play darts. We even sing along to the old-fashioned jukebox in the corner of the bar and dance around each other, using beer bottles as microphones.
By the time the bartender calls for last call, my stomach hurts from laughter, I’m blissfully trashed, my belly is full of greasy bar food, and this crappy day somehow turned into one of the best days of my life.
We fall out the front door, holding each other up and still laughing as the taxi that the bartender called for us waits along the side of the road with its flashers on.
Harry opens the door for me and I climb in, sliding across the seat and he follows.
“Hey, Roy.”
“Nik.”
“His name’s Harry.”
Roy does a double take when he looks back at the two of us. “Tie one on tonight?”
Harry-Nik lifts his fingers, separating them only a smidge. “Little bit.”
“Looks like a fun time.”
He shifts into drive and takes off. “Where am I taking you?”
“Home,” Harry-Nik mumbles, laying his head back against the seat.
“You got it,” he says, looking at us through the rearview mirror.
Harry-Nik settles us comfortably together, his arm thrown over the back and around my shoulders, tucking me in close. I know I need to tell Roy my address but instead, I curl up in the crook of his shoulder and wrap an arm around his waist.
Next thing I know, I’m being lifted out of a car and carried somewhere in strong arms. It’s cozy and comforting and maybe it’s my level of intoxication, but I’ve never felt more relaxed in my life.
Until the next morning.
Chapter Three
Nikolas
I wakeup feeling like complete shit. My head hurts like I’ve actually been hit by a truck, there’s no way I won’t have the beer shits today, and there’s gotta be cement blocks on my feet weighing me down. It was all fun and games last night — literally — but this morning, I’m having regrets.
But not about the girl.
That was fun.
Spending the evening with her, forgetting and laughing and drinking and eating. Drinking a little more. The darts and singing and dancing. Drinking.
I groan.
Too.
Much.
Drinking.
Then a groan that matches mine but is far more feminine sounds next to me and I… oh, shit.
I’m naked.