Page 140 of Just This Once

“No.” She shook her head. “No one ever sees me.”

I sent her a quick glance but my worries lay with Hope, so my attention veered back to her. Her eyes were shut, and she looked for all the world as if she were taking a nap as she sat there against the wall of the bathroom floor.

Her face was pale.

“Same pills as the other night?” I asked, pulling various pill bottles from her purse.

She shifted her head up and down. “And some Tylenol too, please.”

“You got it.” I lined up the bottles and then unscrewed the cap on the water before giving Hope a sip. When she filled her mouth and winced, my stomach tightened, not a fan of watching her suffer. “Ready for the first pill?” I asked.

She nodded and opened her mouth. I fed it to her and then gave her another drink. We went through the whole process again and again until everything had been taken. With a relieved sigh, she sank back against the wall and closed her eyes once more.

As I put the prescriptions away, my gaze sought Waverly who’d silently watched the whole show.

She lifted one eyebrow. “I assume you don’t want the guys to know about this either.”

I sent her a look, apologizing for dragging her into my mess while Hope slurred, “Who’s that?”

“Just a friend,” I told her, smoothing my hand over her hair before standing and picking her up off the floor. “Now, come on, Trouble. Let’s get you out of here.”

“I’ll check to make sure no one’s around,” Waverly rushed to tell me as she opened the door and poked her head out.

In my arms, Hope turned her face toward my chest and reached up to drift her fingers over my cheek. “But I came with the girls,” she slurred.

Waverly waved me out, and I followed her from the bathroom. “I’ll use your phone and text them, letting them know you got an alternate ride home,” I promised. “Okay?”

She made an amused sound and tried to smile as her hand fell limply from my face. “They’ll think I went home with the orgasm king.”

I shrugged. “Well, you are, so at least it won’t be a lie.”

She huffed out a sleepy laugh. “The truth will be a strange twist for once. All I seem to do lately is lie. To Alec. To you. To everyone. Lies, lies, and more lies,” she mumbled sleepily, closing her eyes. “I’m going to start losing track of them soon.”

I squinted down at her face. “What did you lie tomeabout?”

“Hmm?”

“This way,” Waverly told me, jerking my attention from Hope. “Watch your step.”

We’d reached the stairs that led down to the sand and away from the bar. In front of me, Waverly kept going after she hit the bottom step, and she turned on her phone light to guide the way to the parking lot.

When she reached my truck, I moved close enough for my key to automatically unlock it, and then Waverly pulled open the passenger side door for me.

“You got it from here?”

“Yeah.” I nodded and sent her a grateful glance. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

But she shook her head with emotion. “No. You don’t. Not ever.”

My stomach twisted, reminding me of everything I’d helped her out with in the past, and I insisted, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

She shrugged to let me know she didn’t care what I said, and she turned away to jog back toward Cowpoke’s.

My gaze fell back to Hope. The rate of her breathing told me she’d fallen asleep. Of course.

I settled her into the seat and then securely belted her in before hurrying around to the driver’s seat, where I paused to watch her as I started the engine.

I was tempted to disregard her wishes and take her to the hospital anyway, but all she’d done was vomit. She didn’t feel as if she had a fever. She wasn’t bleeding anywhere. And the puking had stopped, so maybe she was right; the medicine would kick in soon, and she’d get better.

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