Page 43 of Along Came Summer

“I can’t,” I shake my head while I frantically search for a bra in the drawer at the bottom of my double-sided wardrobe. “Our customers—”

Nessa walks over to me, takes hold of my shoulders and pulls me upright; her gaze holds mine steadily, “—will still be there tomorrow. Just sit for a minute and take a breath before you pass out on me.” I go to protest, but she fixes me with a glare, “Ah, ah, don’t even think about arguing with me, missy.”

My mouth is bone dry, and my throat aches, the taste of regret and dread coating my tongue. I swallow against the aridity of my throat as Nessa leads me over to the bed and sits me down at the end of it.

“You need to get back into bed,” she says firmly. “I'll get you some painkillers and dry toast to help absorb some of the alcohol you drank last night. And then, sis, you're going to tell me what happened because the scene I walked into in that bakery this morning was a whirlwind of chaos.”

I would… if I could remember. Last night is one big blur in my mind with only a few clear pieces. I remember Levi. I remember us baking and dancing and… laughing. We laugheda lot.

And then… we didstuff. But I can't for the life of me recall how I ended up back at my apartment, naked. As I sit with my head in my hands, trying to piece together any memories from the night before, Nessa returns with painkillers and toast in hand.

“Here, eat the toast first,” she instructs, holding out a plate with a single piece of dry bread. My stomach churns at the thought of eating anything, but I force it down and take the pills in hopes of relieving the pounding in my head.

“Ugh remind me to never drink gin again,” I grumble crawling back onto the bed and curl into a ball. Nessa watches me, not hiding the amused expression on her face.

“Duly noted,” she chirps and sits cross-legged on my bed while she waits for me to make some sort of explanation. “Now, if you could be so kind as to explain what the hell happened last night becauseyouwould never in a million years leave the bakery in a state like that, so what gives, Lovey?” Chewing gingerly on my lip, I do my best to avoid meeting her gaze, but it seems she picks up on my hangdog expression anyway. “Summer…” she chaunts, her brown eyes narrowing in scrutiny. “You’ve got that ‘I did something I’m not proud of’ look going. What did you do?”

“I may have had sex,” I admit sheepishly, and Nessa’s eyes broaden with surprise.

“Youmay havehad sex?” she questions, her thick brows rising with intrigue.

I wince and I hold up my thumb and index finger about half an inch apart, “A little bit.”

Nessa playfully smacks my thigh with a laugh. “What the hell do you mean a little bit? How do you havea little bitof sex, and who the fuck with?” she asks and then gasps. “McFrappe?”

I shake my head with a groan, “God no.” I utter in revulsion, and Nessa stares back at me expectantly. “McBroody.”

“Nooooo!” She exclaims, her eyes growing wide like saucers, and she bounces up and down on my bed animatedly. “You had sex with hot McBroody?!”

“Yes,” I nod reluctantly, burying my face into the pillow and utter a muffled, “A little bit and stop yelling. My brain is about to fall out of my butthole.”

Nessa pulls the pillow out from under my head and hits me with it. “Screw your butthole!” She chirps, “Or did he?!” she giggles. “Oh my God, you better spill everything right the fuck now. How did it happen, why did it happen, how was it, how big was he? Was he good? I want every little detail!”

I stare at her, horrified, while she fires question after question at me like some coked-up drill sergeant. “Okay, okay, Ness, you’ve gone ultra-sonic again. Please just breathe. I’ll tell you everything; I’m begging you, just… stop… shouting.”

Nessa draws in a deep breath and exhales. Her eyes twinkle with interest when they open again, and she looks at me. “Okay, I’m calm. I’m calm. I promise. Spill.”

I let out a heavy sigh and force myself to sit up properly, leaning against the wooden headboard behind me. “You already know he came over,” I say, and Nessa nods eagerly for me to continue. “I didn't have the heart to kick him out when I closed up for the night, so I just left him there to sulk. When I went back out later, he was gone, but I found his phone on the chair. It must have fallen out of his pocket.” Nessa lets out a little squeal and puts her hands over her mouth in excitement. I can tell she wants to make some cliché comment about it being fate, but I give her a stern look and she holds back. “Anyways, I tried to catch up with him, but he had already left. So, I went back inside and figured he would eventually realize he lost it and come looking for it.”

“Uh huh, clearly he noticed right away. What happened next?”

I roll my eyes, smiling at her lack of patience. “Well, like the silly goose I am I forgot to lock the front door and went to the back to get started on making those lemon curd brownies. I had the music up; I was drinking my wine and dancing away that horrible date and singing along to Candyman.” Nessa smiles and nods, already fully aware of my routine. “Mid-dance, I turn and see him standing at the doorway to the bakery, just watching me.” Nessa squeals again and clamps her hands over her mouth.

“Oh my God, I want to say that’s creepy, but it’s also so freaking cute. Like a cheesy hallmark movie.”

“Nessa, it’s not cute, he almost gave me a heart attack!” I rebuke, throwing a pillow at her, and she laughs, catching it and hugs it to her chest. “Anyway, I screamed bloody murder, and I was holding the jar of powdered sugar, which, of course, I dropped, and it smashed all over the floor; bear in mind, I was barefoot. So now I’m stuck there…” I go on to explain everything that happened, pieces falling into place in my memory as I work my way through it, and Nessa listens to every word keenly, her gaze gleaming and the broadest smile on her face. “I feel like I invited him up here… but I’m not sure if we actually made it up or if I came up alone, passed out and dreamt of us having sex.”

Nessa smiles, reaches over and pushes my hair away from my shoulder, her eyes lower to the base of my neck. “Unless you gave yourself that love bite, sweetums, something steamy definitely went down.” I touch my neck, my face heating up under her suggestive gaze. “And judging by the flush in your cheeks, I’m going to assume you enjoyed every second of it.”

“Oh my God, shut up, Ness!” I huff, mortified and she giggles.

“I will do no such thing,” she retorts between peals of laughter. “How big was his shlong?”

“Nessa!” I gasp, reddening. “I’m not going to discussthatwith you.”

Nessa stares back at me, her mouth agape. “Uh, excuse me, best friend privileges. I shared every single detail of my night with Ethan. I’ve waited two years. You can’t hold back on me now; it’s time to return the favour, betch.” I roll my eyes, and she pokes my side. “I’ll hound you, I’ll hound you every day until you spill.”

“All right!” I laugh, slapping her hand away. “Okay, stop, I’ll divulge. Let’s just say the average woman can take up to five inches to the back of the throat.” I explain and Nessa pokes up a brow. “There was still another four inches to go.”

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