Page 21 of Archer
Hugging the soft black comforter around me, I blocked the sunlight from my eyes, finding some relief in the darkness. My mouth was parched and tasted like dirt. I hardly even remembered going to bed the night before, why did I feel like I got run over? Then, memories of the night before flooded my mind. Hours of rum and laughter with Archer, listening to classic rock, talking about our upbringings. I didn’t think it was possible, but I was having a lot of fun with Archer.
Then what happened? Quickly, I looked down at my clothes and saw I was still wearing the same jeans and t-shirt I wore the night before. I always knew alcohol was supposed to make you forget things, but holy, I couldn’t remember anything after I asked Archer if he was married. But something told me the night was cut short.
“Oh no.” Nausea swirled in my stomach as I recounted Archer discovering I was a virgin. “Oh no.” Memories of me yelling at him before stomping away. “Oh no.” I was never drinking again.
I remembered feeling confident the night before, about my anger. Confident that Archer had offended me, and I was in the right to insult him for the second time that week. Pressing my palms to my eyes, I tried to swallow the guilt brewing inside of me.
Why’d you have to get so serious?I asked myself.He was just drunk and kidding around. You were both having a good time, he didn’t mean any harm.
“Argh.” Why did I have to realize all of this now and not last night? Swinging my legs off of the bed, I decided to grab a glass of water and use the washroom before hiding for the rest of the month. When I cracked my washroom door open, I peeked around to ensure Archer’s was shut. Relieved to see it was, I bolted down the hallway to the sink. Three glasses of water later, I finally felt a little more hydrated.
Quickly sliding into the washroom, I looked at myself in the mirror and was shocked by how ghastly I looked. Pale skin, dark circles around bloodshot eyes, hair standing in all directions. It looked as though I aged a few years overnight. “More reason to not drink.”
After brushing my teeth to remove the nasty taste on my tongue and using the toilet, I snuck back into my bedroom and under the covers. Lying in the fetal position to ease my queasy stomach, my mind fell back on Archer. All night, I found my eyes landing on his dimples. They were so cute, softening up his face a bit to give him a gentler look.
He was surprisingly kind for a biker. Sure, aside from the rude comments about my virginity, he’s been nothing but a charitable host. I was being too hard on him. Or maybe I just spent too much time staring at his dimples all night through my beer goggles, as they were apparently called. I remember reading somewhere that alcohol was supposed to make you more attracted to people, so that had to be it. Although, it’d be crazy to act as though he wasn’t handsome.
Rolling onto my back, I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose as I stared at the cement ceiling of the bedroom. “Sex can’t be that great…”
Sure, I knew all about what sex was. Even homeschool had health class. My dad was thankfully too uncomfortable to try to teach that lesson, so he booked me an appointment with a female nurse who taught me all about the birds and the bees. That said, she broke everything into medical terminology, making sex sound like nothing more than a gross, uncomfortable, cold process that only led to pregnancy.
I wasn’t so innocent to believe that’s the only reason people had sex. My teenage years were spent socializing inside of fictional worlds, diving into the world of romance novels, dreaming of my own prince charming. Sex was always a beautiful moment of two lovers finally coming together, their bodies merging into one, creating a moment of bliss and euphoria. Of course, I knew it was a pleasurable experience, but one shared with someone you love.
Although, Archer really made it seem like I was missing out.But Archer is an idiot, I quickly told myself. Twenty-one was fairly old though, to be as inexperienced as I was. I’d never evertouchedmyself down there, telling myself it’d be worth waiting for my true love. It was nice, though, having Archer’s eyes trail down my body as he wondered how someone as pretty as me could be a virgin. I’d never had someone openly desire me as much as Archer, to be so upfront about their attraction.
It was a little… sexy.
My chest began rising as my eyes fluttered shut, picturing Archer’s dimples and bright blue eyes anytime he saw me. There was something dragging my fingers along the waistband of my pajama shorts, some sort of invisible force pulling me as I imagined Archer’s voice whispering something he’d never said to me before, “Just try it, Rose.”
Listening to the imaginary Archer, my fingers slipped underneath my cotton panties. “Just like that, Rose. Fuck, you’re sexy…”
“Mmm.” I couldn’t help but let a small groan as I rubbed myself, imagining Archer directing me. As he explored my girly-bits, a feeling began to grow inside of me, a pleasurable feeling I’d never experienced. It felt so good that I was completely lost in the moment, not noticing I forgot to close the door before returning from the bathroom.
Chapter Eleven
Archer
Before I even opened my eyes, I felt a familiar sensation like a jackhammer drilling through the bone between my eyes. Inside my mouth was the rotten taste of last night’s rum mixed with morning breath, and my hair was greasy from sweating all the alcohol out of my pores. Pinching the bridge of my nose where my headache throbbed the most, peering through my eyes to catch a glimpse of the morning’s daylight, I grumbled, “I gotta quit drinking.”
Using my muscle memory, I reached to my left to grab a bottle of water and ibuprofen I had left the night before. It was always good to be prepared for a hangover. Nothing sucked more than having to scramble out of bed for a glass of water when you’re still half drunk and nauseous, trying not to puke before you got some water down. Popping the pills to the back of my throat and polishing three quarters of the bottle in a few large gulps. More refreshed, I wiped the residual water from my lips and awaited the painkillers to kick in as I recounted the night’s events.
For the first time in a long time, I wished I blacked out and couldn’t remember anything. Normally the feeling of being so drunk you lose control was unsettling to me. Although I loved to let loose and have fun, I hated waking up with nothing but a blank slate of memories from the night before with the sinking feeling of regret, knowing there was no way I made it to bed without making an ass of myself. But that morning, I remembered every second of my drunk, dickhead actions from the night before.
“Fuck,” I said. “Why’d you have to fuck it up, Archer?”
That was turning into one of the most enjoyable nights I had in ages. For hours, we talked and drank, really getting to know each other. Sure, the liquor loosened her up, but when she wasn’t so wound up, she was actually really fun to talk to. There wasn’t a second during the night in which I thought I’d get lucky. Nor would I want to, it being her first time being drunk. But talking to her was so natural, so easy, I was genuinely looking forward to several more hours of great discussion.
But then I had to tease her for being a virgin.
“Idiot,” I called myself. She even asked me to drop the subject. I could have easily apologized right then and asked her about her favorite movie. Of course, I was too drunk and self-centered to realize her embarrassment toward the sensitive secret of hers was more important than my need to laugh. The worst part was that I hurt her. I’d hurt a lot of women before, but not over something so stupid and accidental. How was she ever going to trust me with anything ever again after I was so rude to her?
Across the hallway, her bedroom door clicked open, followed by footsteps rushing into the bathroom.She’s awake.I sat up straight in my bed to listen to her exiting the bathroom. Chances are she’d just head right back to bed to sleep off her first hangover, but if I apologized sooner than later, acknowledging that I was a dick, maybe I could fix it before it was too late.
The bathroom door reopened, and I held my breath, waiting to hear whether she went back to her bedroom or not. When a solid minute went by without hearing her door shut, my heart leapt. I knew I had my chance.
What will I say?
Underneath my breath, I practiced a potential apology. “Listen, Rose, I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have made fun of you for being a virgin. It’s just really weird, that’s all.” I clamped my mouth shut then scoffed at myself. “No. Don’t make her feel weird. That’s what screwed it up the first time.”
