Page 16 of Shy Santa

I sighed, wrapping an arm around Addy. I relaxed into bed as the long ass day caught up with me.

CHAPTER10

Addy

Damn, my head hurt. A groan escaped my lips. It’s been a couple months since Maya and I went out and drank our livers to death. The overwhelming urge to pee hit hard, throbbing, and not in a good way. I needed to get up, or I’d be lying in a puddle.

I froze as a large arm tightened around me.Shit, did I get so wasted I brought a man home?

Slowly, I peeled my eyes open before slamming them shut against the early morning light, which pierced my brain with a million tiny knives. Turning my head, I caught the time on the clock that sat on the nightstand.

Wow, it was seven thirty. It was too damn early after a night out. Maybe if I was careful, I could slip out of bed without waking the man beside me.

Tensing my muscles, I inched my way out from under the guy’s tattooed arm—yummy, that arm was a work of art—and rolled until I fell to the floor. Why wasn’t my rug under me?

On my hands and knees, I lifted my head and took the room in. To my utter horror, I didn’t recognize anything. Where the hell was I?

Quiet as possible, I blindly grabbed clothes from the floor before easing out of the bedroom and down the stairs, pausing on the landing halfway down to pull on a black t-shirt that fell to my knees. Where my panties and dress were, I didn’t know. But a shirt that fit me like a dress would have to do for my walk of shame. Hopefully, my purse was downstairs and not locked away in a serial killer’s lair.

I swear I wasn’t the type to get blackout drunk and go home with a rando. Maya should have known who I went home with and where I went. She wouldn’t have let me leave without her approval. There would be a hint of last night on the text string with her. Because, at this point, it was a big black throbbing hole in my mind.

At the base of the stairs, I’m confronted with chaos. The front door was to my right and directly in front of me was a living room full of broken furniture and broke down boxes piled haphazardly. I hesitated, then head down the hall to the back of the old house, hoping to find the kitchen and get some water in me. My mouth felt like a fluffy animal died in there.

After passing a couple of doorways, I found the kitchen at the back. And good lord, it was an eyesore. Garish lime green cabinets mixed with burnt sienna colored counter tops while bright yellow floral wallpaper peeled off the walls. Whoever decorated needed an eye test. A new fridge, dishwasher and stove finished out the small space. An island with a couple of chairs sat in the middle, covered in the detritus of the guy’s life.

A bright purple backpack sat next to my purse. Rushing over, I grabbed my bag and dug out my phone. The pack of gummies fell out and sat next to the backpack. It was weird, but I guess a guy could like purple glittery crap. I hated glitter. It was worse than getting an STD. You could never get rid of it. My mom had loved anything sparkly. A violent shiver tore through me at the memories of my childhood filled with glitter, unicorns, and garish pink.

The sound of car doors slamming caught my attention when I opened up the text string with Maya. There were only three new texts from her. Mostly eggplant emojis and water droplets. Tension eased from my shoulders. She must have approved of the guy, if that’s what she sent me.

The door to the backyard jiggled before it opened. “Quiet hun, don’t want to wake your dad.” A familiar voice hissed.

Fuck, I knew that voice.

A little girl with beautiful curly auburn hair held back with glittery cat ears ran in and snagged the backpack from the counter.

Frozen in my seat, my mouth dropped open when Aunt Shirley walked in. Oh, fuck me…

“Addy?” she jerked to a stop inside the door. “What are you doing here? I thought you had plans with Maya last night?”

“Um… I uh…” Shit. What do I say? And who was the girl? How did Aunt Shirley know her? “We had the bachelorette party last night.”

A smirk on her lips, she closed the door behind her. “Alice-Grace. This is my niece, Addy.” Shirley waved her hand from the girl to me. “Guess she met your dad last night.”

“You know Mr. Bear?” The little girl asked, eyeing me skeptically.

“Uh… Yes?” I stammered.

The little girl climbed up on the stool next to me. Her enormous hazel eyes observed me. I lifted my hand in a lame wave. Kids, in general, didn’t freak me out, but I’d never been around any with a hangover.

“Want some gummies?” I asked, pointing at the bag that was half full Maya had given me.

“The fuck!” A loud booming voice demanded behind me. A large, tattooed hand darted out and snagged the plastic bag. “Why are you giving my kid pot gummies?”

The little girl shrank in her seat at his anger. I was right there with her. Every muscle in me froze, and I didn’t know what to say. My brain stalled out, like when you’re trying to load a page and the internet freezes with the spinning thingy going round and round.

“Now it makes sense why you were so off last night. You were fucking high.” The terrifying man grounded out; sparks flashed in his eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about? Those are gourmet gummies my friend gave me last night. I. Don’t. Do. Drugs!” I snapped when the loading swirl finally stopped spinning and my brain functioned again. “First, they’d fire me in a heartbeat if I tested positive for any drugs. And second, I would never do drugs for personal reasons.” I stood up and poked the man in his chest. Damn, he towered over me.

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