Page 21 of Accidental Fire
River handed him Marshall’s business card. “Put it on his account.”
The guy nodded, and we both laughed.
Banging on the door to my room woke me, but the bigger problem was the pounding in my head. “Coming!”
I sat up in bed and glanced next to me, seeing River was there, and when I lifted the sheet, I was relieved to find myself still in my boxers. I peeked over at him under the sheet to see him in crimson red briefs. Maybe I was still drunk, but they looked sexy as hell.
I slowly stood from the bed and pulled on my T-shirt from the previous night before stumbling to the door. Thethirdbucket we’d brought back with us from the beach was on the floor by the door, and it was filled with empty bottles, reminding me of River spilling the icy cold water on both of us. No wonder my fucking head was pounding.
The knock echoed in the room again, making my head want to blow off. “I said I’m fucking coming.”
I opened the door to see a petite woman with a cart. “Do you need housekeeping?”
“Thank you, but… Oh, can you take these? I’m fine.” I handed her the bucket and saw her smile.
“Have a nice day.”
I nodded as I closed the door.
I went to the minibar, grabbing two bottles of water. I wasn’t sure what we’d done the previous night—I didn’t think we had sex. I knew River and I had kissed, and I remembered not hating it, but what the fuck did that mean for me?
Scrambling from the bedroom caught my attention, and when I went to the door, the bed was empty. The sounds coming fromthe bathroom weren’t pleasant, but they were expected based on the amount of alcohol he’d consumed the night before—he mentioned tequila.
I walked to the door and leaned against the jamb, hoping I didn’t join him on the floor in front of the commode. I gulped down one of the bottles of water in my hand before I walked into the bathroom and touched River’s back.
His head was resting on his forearms as he leaned against the seat, his eyes closed. “Here. Have some of this, and I’ll get you some painkillers.” After handing him the water, I stepped out of the bathroom and pulled on some shorts. I saw the ones I’d worn the previous night on the balcony, along with my T-shirt and River’s shorts.
Why hadn’t I taken him to his penthouse when he’d suggested leaving? God, what had I been thinking?
Chapter Eight
River
It was completely humiliating to spill my guts in front of Kit. Aside from the tequila, I’d lost count of how many beers I’d had the previous night, but I remembered three buckets full…on an empty stomach. I sucked down the bottle of water as I tried to sort out what the fuck had happened.
Arlo’s ex-girlfriend had called him while we had a good vibe going on a new song about being alone. I’d been excited about going with Kit to the Cultural Center venue to get a look around and maybe have a meal, the six of us. I just wanted to spend time with the guy.
I knew Kit was straight. He gave off that vibe, loud and clear, but there was something about him that had me craving his attention and praise. I had no idea what it was, but I couldn’t get enough of him.
Arlo’s phone had rung just as we were working out the second verse of the new song, choosing to go back to the chorus after we got the verses and the runs for the guitar break worked out.
Arlo hurried back to his room while the rest of us continued working. Ten minutes later, he came back into the living room, and he was shaking like a leaf.
“Dude, what’s wrong? Somebody die?” Goldie’s tone was flippant. True, Goldie and Arlo were closer than Arlo and me, so maybe it was an inside joke?
I continued to strum the chords that would later comprise the melody for the song while JD worked out a bass line. Arlo said something before he dropped onto the floor and rolled to his back. Goldie went into the kitchen and returned with four glasses on a tray, along with a bottle of tequila.
“Hey, what about me?” Hardy asked.
“We don’t have a gig tonight. Let’s smoke,” Goldie said as he stared at our resident stoner, Hardy.
“No, guys, come on. Let’s not. We’re going out to the Cultural Center with Kit to look around, so let’s not smoke. Have a drink, and then we’ll go. I need to let him know we’re ready,” I said.
Arlo crawled over and raised himself to the couch to sit, bowing forward to prop his elbows on his knees before he braced his head in his hands. “Brittany’s pregnant, and her dad’s coming after my balls and all my money. She wants ten grand a month for child support, or her dad’s going to call the cops and turn me in. She might have been underage when I knocked her up, or so she says.”
“Wait, how old is this girl? I thought she was in college.” JD quit strumming his Fender acoustic bass and rested it against the arm of the chair where he sat. I did the same.
My head began to spin, so I took the glass Goldie held out and let him give me a shot of tequila, sure I’d hate myself in the morning. I knocked it back immediately.
