Page 21 of Your Biggest Downfall
“You swear we didn’t... ?” I asked again, hating that I was so vulnerable. My head was fucking throbbing.
“I swear.”
I nodded and then pulled out of his grasp. “I need to go make sure Luna is okay.”
“I saw her out there. She said she was going to get dressed.” He got off the bed and handed me a white pill. “It’s Tylenol,” he added.
“Thank you,” I said, nodding, and then grabbed the drink from the nightstand. Sipping it to make sure it wasn’t booze, I was grateful it was just water.
“Hey,” he said when I finished.
“Yeah?”
He brought his hand to my face and pulled away a rogue strand that had fallen forward. “I, uh,” he started to say but then stopped.
“What?” I asked, laughing a little at the otherwise confident guy, known for his social media thirst traps, snagging ladies, and fucking girls wildly at orgy parties, being hesitant.
“I wanted to say that even though we were drunk last night, I remember what you said about your mom and wanting to escape.”
“Oh,” I said, embarrassed. “That was just . . .”
I didn’t know what it was. I wanted to tell him it felt good to confess that to someone. It was comforting to realize someone else carried the same weight—the urge to escape from the mess of real life. I wanted to say how much it meant to finally be here, sharing this quiet understanding amid the storm of everything else in my world. We were two wandering souls, briefly tethered by our mutual sense of loss and longing. The unspoken words lingered between us.
“It was what it was.” Austin shrugged. “I wanted to say I appreciated it.”
“Yeah,” I huffed out a breath. “I agree.”
There was a long silence where Austin stood there, staring at me intently. His gaze was intense, as if he was trying to get into my mind.
“Sorry about your mom and Ledger and shit. It sucks to feel left out.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “It does.”
Another long pause.
“I need to uh... I need to go. Do you know where my clothes are?” I asked quickly.
“Shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I put them in the washing machine because they kinda stunk. I don’t think they’re ready...”
I looked down. What the hell... There are worse things than doing the walk of shame from Austin Hart’s apartment in only his shirt. Maybe it’d win me some street credit from Luna.Although I would absolutely be telling her what happened last night and needed the tea on how the hell she got two guys to fit in one hole.
“Fuck it.” The shirt was long enough, hitting me mid-thigh. It was probably as long as a dress, and with my boots, it looked intentional.
“You going to wear my shirt home, Supernova?” He quirked a brow with that smirk back in place. “I like that.”
“You are foul, Hart. I’m going to throw it in the trash the moment I get back, soha.”
Oh, good one, Nova. You got him there.
He slowly swiped his tongue over his lower lip, pulling on it slightly. “Sure you are, Supernova. I know you’re going to wear it at night while you graze your fingers around your tight little hole.” He took a step closer to me, hovering his mouth over mine. “Drench your fingers, baby, then bring them up and smear them along your lips while you imagine all the ways I can dress you up.”
“Ew, Austin,” I laughed, taking a step away from him. I was not about to give him the satisfaction of smelling the fact that I was indeed dripping and blushing. “You left me with no choice other than to wear it home.” I turned to grab my shoes and head out.
He let out a deep chuckle. “Don’t smell it tonight and think of all the ways I could destroy that sweet, tight cun?—”
“See you on the ice, Hart,” I shouted over my shoulder, not allowing him to finish.
This was the Austin I missed. This was my friend who, sure, fine, maybe I wanted to kiss... a lot last night, but I didn’t and he’s just a friend.
