Page 4 of Unforgivable

Seriously, who the fuck has purple eyes? I must have been seeing things. Did I take drugs last night? Nah, I would have remembered that…wouldn't I? Ugh, who the fuck cares. I feel like I'm dying…

I dragged myself into the shower, leaving it cold in the hopes that the temperature would wake up my muddled brain a bit. Spoiler alert, it didn't but at least I was clean and no longer smelled like an extra onTheWalking Dead.

When I walked out to the kitchen, I heard faint grunts and squeaks from a mattress coming from Griffin's room. I smirked to myself thinking how I was glad at least one of us got laid last night. And again this morning evidently.

The smell of fresh ground Arabica wafted around me and my mouth watered even as my stomach tried to rebel. I'd had enough hangovers to know that coffee was pretty much the opposite of what my body needed, but fuck if I was giving up my morning jolt. Call me a masochist, but coffee was life.

As I waited for the pot to brew, I tossed back two Advil and chased it with a full bottle of water to hopefully take care of the pounding in my temple.

The noises from the bedroom reached a crescendo and I shamelessly eavesdropped on the finale. I couldn't resist the free entertainment since I knew Griffin had a knack for picking out the screamers. Something told me I was right on the money just before a high pitched squeal met a loud, drawn out groan that I'm sure could wake the neighbors.

I quietly sipped my coffee and waited to see who the prize was behind door number one. Five minutes later, Griff's door opened and a cute little blonde came traipsing out, freshly fucked and disheveled.

Her eyes went wide when she saw me, embarrassment clear on her face as she realized someone had been present to witness their morning adventure.

“Oh, hi. I didn't…uh, know Griffin had a roommate,” she stammered. I just raised my mug in acknowledgment and headed for the couch. Griffin stepped out of the room sporting black joggers, a smug smile and nothing else. His dark auburn hair was scraggly and sticking up at all angles, but for some reason it worked for him.

“Sup, Hawk. How you feeling?” Griff rumbled as he swaggered over to the coffee pot. The girl stayed frozen to the spot, eyes ping-ponging between us. “You alright over there, cutie?” he chortled when he noticed she hadn't moved.

“I'm fine!” She squeaked, cheeks flushing with color. “I'm gonna…head out. Thanks for last night, Griff.” She shuffled over to him to kiss him on the cheek. Griffin at the last second turned his head and captured her lips in a hard kiss. She let out a little moan before he pulled back, leaving her a little unsteady as she left the apartment.

“Text me if you want a sequel!” Griffin called out before the door shut behind her. Coffee cup in hand, he plopped down right next to me on the couch, almost sending hot coffee over the edge of my own mug.

I growled at him, which only made him chuckle. “I see you're still working on that concept of personal space we talked about, huh?” I muttered, leaning against the arm of the couch to get a little distance.

“Eh, I'm a work in progress. Dude, what happened to you last night? Last I saw, you and that chick were headed up to smash nasties, but then she came down all hot and bothered saying you couldn't get it up. You get whiskey dick or something?” Griff taunted, shoving me in the shoulder.

“Fuck off, man. We were both too plastered for anything to happen. Plus we were interrupted by some dickwad and it killed the vibe,” I griped, remembering that nerdy twig who ran his mouth with me and ticked me off.

“Ouch. The only things that should kill a vibe are dead batteries…or so my ex told me,” Griff offered sympathetically. “So you just came home alone and passed out?”

“After killing half a bottle of Smirnoff I had lying around, pretty much. Not one of my finest choices and trust me, I'm fucking paying for it,” I complained as my head throbbed on cue.

“Shit, that sucks. Well, Kenji's coming over later to play some GTA. You wanna join?”

“If I live that long…” I mumbled while Griffin simply laughed at my misfortune.

Hours later when my headache had subsided to only a dull thud, I was crushing Kenji and Griff in a street race, my fingers flying over the controller in my hand. They had incorrectly assumed my hangover would give them an advantage for winning.Amateurs, both of them.

Griffin was cursing up a storm while Kenji was quiet in his usual brooding intensity. He was also on the Lacrosse team and a midfielder like me. Out of all my teammates, Kenji and I got along the best. Hewas chill, funny, and an amazing athlete. I was actually a bit shocked when Coach named me captain over him. It wasn't like I didn't work hard to earn that shit, but still. Kenji was incredible at what he did and everyone respected him, but he was only ever supportive of my captaincy.

“Don't you fucking do it! Don't do it! DAMN IT!” Griffin yelled, jumping off the couch as my character raced across the line in a photo finish with his.

“Unfuckingbelievable,” Kenji mumbled before tossing his controller over his shoulder on the couch.

I did nothing to hide my arrogant smile as Griffin continued his tirade and Kenji sprawled out in defeat next to me. “I warned y'all not to underestimate me.”

“Hangover, my ass,” Griff muttered petulantly. “I'm never playing with you again, fucker. Also you're paying for dinner!”

I laughed at his temper tantrum, always finding it entertaining to annoy the shit out of him when I could. My phone lit up next to me, and I reached over to decline the call until I saw Coach's name flash on the screen.

My stomach twisted into knots thinking about why he'd be calling me on a Saturday night. I didn't want to get too in my head over it though. I was captain. He probably wanted to check in with me after these first few weeks of school.

I took a deep breath before answering it. “Hey Coach, what's going on?”

“Hawkins, I need to see you in my office tomorrow. Can you be here by 9am?” Coach demanded gruffly. Dread flooded my nervous system, but I shoved it down.

“Uh, yes sir. No problem. Everything okay?” I asked cautiously.

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