by Mia Ford
Reminded of this, I glance at the time. It’s incredibly late, now, almost too late to be going home. But the thought of asking Allison if I can stay is suddenly awkward.
Suddenly, Allison snorts.
“Now I’m more tired than I was before,” she says with a yawn.
She scoots up the bed and straightens the covers a little so she can slide underneath them. I watch her do this, too tired to move. Then she looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
“Are you coming, or are you just going to sleep at the end of my bed?” she asks.
Well, that answers the question. I’m too tired to argue, so I make my way to the top of the bed and slide under the covers, too, only just remembering to grab my phone; right before we unclothed by the front door, I had grabbed it out of my pocket and thrown it on the bed when we made our way into the room, knowing I would need it in the morning. I place it on the bedside table and melt into the soft mattress with a sigh.
I could deal with the awkwardness in the morning. Right now, I’m more than happy to finally get to sleep.
My alarm blares out and, on impulse, my hand shoots out and reaches to tap it. When I don’t find it straight away, I fumble around for a moment until I find the rectangular object. My eyes slit open so I can see a blurry light in the darkness, and I press a red button, making the room go blessedly silent. Sighing in relief, I close my eyes again, knowing that I have another ten minutes before the alarm will go off again.
Then my eyes open again. My phone is normally on my bedside table, which is on the left. Just now, however, my phone is to the right of me.
And, now that I’m paying attention, these sheets are soft and smell vaguely like lavender. My sheets are a little coarse due to how old they are, and I don’t put any of that sweet-smelling shit in my washing machine.
There’s also someone in the unfamiliar bed with me.
It takes me a moment for the memories to return. I didn’t have much to drink last night, and I’d had to go home early. That was when I stumbled on…
Allison.
I sit up quickly. Beside me, Allison stirs and then curls up a little on her side, her hair splayed on the pillow she’s laying on. She’s covered only by a thin sheet and, remembering how we went to bed the night before, I know she’s naked under it.
I blink. Taking Allison to bed…had not been how I had expected the night to go.
I can’t say I regret any of it, though.
Would she? I consider her carefully. She had just thrown herself at a stranger and taken him home. It had been incredibly good sex, yes, but neither of us knew each other. Was she the one-night-stand type normally? Or had last night been special because of the appearance of her ex?
It doesn’t matter, I decide with a shrug. We had sex, it was amazing, but the night is over now, and it’s time for us to get back to our real lives. I snatch my phone off the table and slip out of bed. She makes a humming noise in her sleep at the movement, and I quietly find my boxers, slipping them on before creeping out of the room.
I almost trip over a box that’s almost in the door, and I only just manage to sidestep it with a wince. Then I carefully close Allison’s bedroom door behind me and look around for the rest of my clothes.
I don’t know what type of person Allison is, but I don’t want to be here when she wakes up and regrets the hasty decisions she made last night. I’d rather keep the memory intact and leave with dignity.
Nodding to myself, I get dressed and leave the apartment, bidding Allison a silent farewell as I go. It’s unlikely, after all, that we’ll meet again.
Chapter Five
Allison
I wake up with the uncomfortable feeling that I should be remembering something.
I open my eyes and look around my room with a yawn. All my boxes are scattered around, still half-unpacked. Of course, unpacking is always on my mental to-do list. I just need to find the time to get around to it.
I glance at the clock. It’s eight-thirty, and my first class isn’t until eleven. So I’m not forgetting to go to college.
Then I realize that I’m lying on the left side of the bed. Normally I splay out in the middle, but I seem to have curled up to one side in the middle of the night. That’s unusual for me. It’s almost like I was making room for someone else…
And then, abruptly, memory slams into me.
Kyle!
I sit up, suddenly wide awake. My mind is working furiously, reminding me of everything that transpired last night. Seeing Jesse, whose personality had suddenly done an about-turn. Getting saved by Kyle. Hearing him jokingly suggest sex as payment for saving me. Deciding to take him up on that offer right there in the alley, which led me to invite him back to my apartment. Having sex with him and then telling him to stay because it was late.
“Shit,” I say aloud.
So, that apparently happened. I don’t know what came over me last night. Was it the alcohol? I hadn’t been that drunk! The appearance of Jesse? I vaguely remember telling Kyle to make me forget about my ex. Maybe it was Kyle’s muscles? They had been pretty amazing.
I flush at the memory of running my hands over his smooth, firm chest, feeling the dips of his skin and asking him how often he worked out. He was a mechanic, wasn’t he?
That’s right, because I asked him to take a look at Jacqui’s car.
Oh boy. Jacqui.
She’s either going to murder me for being so careless, or laugh herself stupid. To be honest, I’m not looking forward to either reaction.
I groan and rub a hand down my face. My head is throbbing, and I could really use some aspirin about now. Slowly, I get out of bed, grabbing a robe on the floor to wrap around my naked body, and shuffle out of my room.
In the living area, I look around. A tiny part of me expected to find Kyle out here, but I’m both disappointed and relieved to see that he isn’t. Disappointed because I hoped to at least thank him properly (without throwing myself all over him, this time) for his help with Jesse. Relieved because I’m so damn embarrassed about last night, and I don’t really want to have to face him right now.
In all honesty, I probably won’t see him again. I’ll refer Jacqui to him, but I won’t need to go with her. I don’t know where he lives and, while he knows where I live, he didn’t seem like the type of guy to track down a one-night stand…especially after he went through all the trouble of sneaking out before I woke up.
Alright then. What happened, happened, and I should just leave it in the past, where it belongs. Kyle is gone, we had a nice night, and now I need to focus on my own life, which includes getting ready for college.
Nodding to myself, I retreat to my bathroom. Right, no more thinking about Kyle.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that. As I shower and rub soap over myself, it’s hard not to remember his large, calloused hands wandering over my body. When I shove that thought away and tangle my hands in my hair as I wash it instead, I remember his fingers caressing my scalp.
I leave the shower, thoroughly irritated with myself, and track down some clothes. I find the bra and panties that I pulled off last night, and I remember the way Kyle fumbled with the bra, trying not to break it. I throw my underwear in the wash basket and grab some new clothes.
Of course, I had forgotten the clothes that I left in the doorway, where Kyle and I originally began undressing each other. Kyle appears to have moved them to the side so he wouldn’t trip over them, but they’re still a stark reminder of being pushed up against the door and thoroughly kissed.
Damn it, I think sourly as I throw those clothes in the basket, too.
Everything about Kyle was absolutely intoxicating last night, and it’s difficult to forget that. As such, I’m glad to finally leave my apartment and make my way to the bus stop.
The journey to the college is quiet; there are several other people on the bus, but they’re all focused on their own thing. I pull my phone out and tap a message out to Jacqui.
“Just on my way, wher
e are you?”
A message comes in seconds later.
“You’re early today. Something wrong?”
I glance at my watch and wince. In my zeal to get out of my apartment, I had left far earlier than I meant to; it’s only nine thirty now.
“No, just got bored at home.”
“You could do some of that unpacking.”
I snort at the reply. It’s fast getting to the point where I wouldn’t be able to use the excuse that “I’ve just left my boyfriend and found a place to stay,” for why I haven’t finished unpacking. Jacqui never took that excuse at face value in the first place. She knows me well enough to know that I haven’t unpacked because I hate doing it.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later for class.”
I’m about to put my phone away when it chimes with one last message.
“I’m already out. I’ll meet you there soon.”
I smile. I have a feeling that Jacqui hasn’t bought my excuse that I was just bored at home, and is checking on me. She really is a good friend.
Because she has a car and lives closer, my friend is already there by the time the bus pulls up outside. I yawn and step down, smiling as I see the curly-haired, dark-skinned woman leaning against the fence, reading something on her phone. She looks up as I approach.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” she asks in greeting.
Looks like I didn’t manage to cover up the bags under my eyes as well as I hoped I had.
“Some,” I defend. “Just…not as much as I should have.”
“What did you do?” Jacqui snorts. “Stay up all night eating chips and watching movies?”
“No, I… Hey, how did you know I stopped to get chips?” I ask.
“You always do that when you’ve been drinking,” Jacqui says with a roll of her eyes. “You stop at that little corner shop near your place and grab snacks, and then you gorge on them while watching movies until you fall asleep on your couch.”
I cast my mind back to other times I’ve walked home after drinking. Huh… She’s right, I do all that, don’t I?
Except I didn’t do that last night. Last night I grabbed a random man off the street and took him home to sleep with him, instead.
Jacqui eyes me, looking suspicious.
“You always follow that pattern,” she says. “What was different about last night?”
I draw in a deep breath. She was going to find out eventually; I can’t hold my tongue after I’ve started drinking, normally, so I’ll end up telling her whether I want to or not. It’ll be better for me in the long run if I just tell her now.
“So… I ran into Jesse,” I offer first.
Jacqui immediately scowls.
“That jackass?” she asks. “What did he want?”
“It was actually just a coincidence,” I assure her. “I ran into him after I bought my snacks. He wanted to get back together.”
“And you told him to get lost,” Jacquie says.
“Pretty much,” I admit. “He didn’t take it very well.”
Jacqui eyes me. “What do you mean by that?”
I rub my left shoulder. There are bruise marks on my skin this morning, and I’m pretty sure Jesse was the one that left them. Jacqui’s expression darkens.
“I’ll kill him,” she hisses.
“It’s okay,” I say. Jacqui scowls at me. “Well, no, it isn’t, but he was really drunk. I probably won’t see him again. And if I do, I’ll probably slap him, anyway. Besides, he got punched before he could really try anything.”
“By who?” Jacqui asks, startled.
“Ah… A guy named Kyle,” I say, clearing my throat. I turn to walk into the college grounds, and Jacqui falls into step beside me, looking curious. “He saw Jesse threatening me, so he came over, punched Jesse, and grabbed me so we could run.”
“Wow,” Jacqui says. “A knight in shining armor.”
“More like a tough guy with a leather jacket and really amazing muscles,” I correct.
All at once I know I’ve said far too much. Jacqui stops, staring at me.
“How do you know how amazing his muscles are?” she asks.
I flush. I see dawning comprehension on Jacqui’s face and I brace myself for her reaction. No matter how much I tried to prepare myself for it, however, my face still blazes red when Jacqui starts laughing.
“Seriously?” she crows.
“I was…a little drunk,” I mutter, trying to defend myself.
“Uh, no,” Jacqui says. “‘A little drunk’ is when you buy a shitload of snacks and eat them while sobbing over children’s movies. Taking a random guy off the street to have sex with him isn’t ‘a little drunk’. Damn, I should have kept a better eye on what you were drinking last night.”
“Look, it was just a freak series of circumstances,” I say, huffing. “He saved me from Jesse, and then he made a joke in bad taste about repayment…and I just wanted to forget about Jesse and everything else so I took him up on it.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mind at all,” Jacqui says dryly.
“He actually did try and push me away once,” I say, suddenly remembering. “He said that he didn’t think having sex with a stranger was a good coping method after Jesse cornered me.”
“Really?” Jacqui asks, intrigued. “So, he sounds like a genuinely nice guy, then. Are you going to see him again?”
“What… No!” I say, horrified at the thought.
Just thinking about facing Kyle after last night… There’s no way I can live it down. I was the one that threw myself at him.
“So you didn’t even get his number?” Jacqui asks, incredulous.
“He left while I was asleep this morning,” I say with a shrug. “So don’t just blame me for that one. We had sex, we fell asleep, and then he left.”
“Well…” Jacqui paused. “Does that mean he was at your apartment?”
I wince. I hadn’t meant to let that one slip.
“Allison!” Jacqui scolds. “Now he knows where you live!”
“He went to all the trouble of sneaking out,” I protest. “What are the chances of him coming back?”
“Who knows; you certainly don’t,” Jacqui points out. “He’s as much a stranger to you as he is to me.”
I remember the feel of his skin, of how it had felt to have his throbbing dick inside me, and swallow.
“Maybe he’s just a little less of a stranger to me than you,” I say.
Jacqui stares at me. Then she snorts, shaking her head.
“Whatever, too late now,” she says. “Now, tell me why you don’t want to see him again? He seems like a nice guy, and you were positively drooling when you talked about his muscles before.”
“Hey,” I say, blushing. “He seemed like a nice guy but, as you said, I don’t really know him. Besides, it was just a one-night-stand, nothing more.”
Jacqui stares at me with narrowed eyes.
“You’re embarrassed,” she concludes and I scowl at her. “Really? I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed. If I banged a guy that’s as hot as you seem to think he is, I wouldn’t have anything to be embarrassed about.”
“He was good looking,” I admit. I sigh. “You didn’t see me last night. I was all over him to convince him to have sex with me.”
“Well, you got what you wanted,” Jacqui points out.
“Not the point,” I huff. “Besides, I wouldn’t know how to find him.”
“I just think it’s pointless to be embarrassed now,” Jacqui says, shrugging. “If you really want, I can help you track him down?”
The thing is, I do know how to find Kyle if I want to. He told me where he works. I could easily go there and find him at some point.
But I think it’s best not to.
“No,” I decide. “Last night was nice, but I don’t want a relationship with someone based on the way we tumbled into bed on the first night we met.”
“Uh huh,” Jacqui says, clearly skeptical. “Whatever you want, Allison. W
ell, either way, the offer stands if you change your mind.”
“I know,” I assure her. “Thanks.”
She rolls her eyes at me, but grins. Then she slings an arm over my shoulder.
“So, you prepared for the test today?” she asks.
I freeze.
“Test?” I croak.
Oh, damn, I forgot about the test today. It was nowhere near as important as the grueling exams we just went through, but it will count toward a percentage of my class marks.
I had been fully prepared to go home last night and take a look over my notes before bed. Then I was going to quickly scan them when I got up in the morning.
Everything with Kyle, however, pushed all thoughts of study out the window.
“Well, look at you, Miss Studious!” Jacqui teases. “All grown up and forgetting about your studies after a good round of sex. Maybe I should track Kyle down for you; at least he got you to stop stressing!”
That’s it, I’m definitely not recommending the workshop where Kyle works as the mechanic to Jacqui. I don’t need to give her any more ammunition than I already have.
“Yeah, but now I’m really stressed!” I say, panicked. I wrack my mind. “What was the test on again?”
“Wow,” Jacqui whistles. She seems far too amused by all this. “You had a really good night.”
“It isn’t funny!” I snap.
“Sorry,” Jacqui says, smile finally falling.
She glances at me and I cross my arms, feeling oddly vulnerable under her gaze. Her lips are pursed now.
“Allison… Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks. “I mean, not about Kyle. About Jesse.”
I wince a little. I haven’t had much time to think about Jesse, in all honesty. After first sleeping with Kyle and then trying to forget about him this morning, I haven’t had much time to consider my encounter with him.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t remember it. My chest feels oddly tight as I remember the look in his eyes as he rushed at me. He had looked insane…like he had wanted to hurt me.
