Page 13 of Burn for You

“May.” I hear Heath’s deep voice like a warning. I look over to where everyone sits. Marina is knocked out, sleeping against her ma’s shoulder. Everyone is watching me intently, waiting for me to either fly or fall. I swing my head back to look in front of me. Too fast. The whole place is blurry. It’s spinning.

And then I’m falling.

I grumbleas I’m pulled outof a car seat.

“Come on, arms around my neck.” I’m so damn tired. I barely have the energy to move, but I do my best to follow the instructions given to me.

“That’s it.” And then I’m hoisted into a pair of tattooed arms.

“Heath?”

“Where are your keys?” he asks.

“In my bag.”

He sets me down and leans me against the front door. “Stay there.”

I watch him through tired eyes as he walks back to his car, reaches across the back seat, and comes back with my bag. He opens the zip and rifles through until he finds my house keys. I let all of my body weight fall onto the wall as he opens the door.

“Come on.” He steers me into the cottage and down towards my bedroom. “Let’s get you into bed, yeah?” I nod. “Okay, you get into something comfy, and I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Maybe a bottle.”

He chuckles. “Okay, a bottle.”

He closes the door behind him as he leaves, and I blow out a long sigh. I search my room before pulling an oversized t-shirt out of my washing basket. I rip my dress off and slip the shirt over my head before I walk into the bathroom. I tie my hair out of my way before I splash my face with cold water and fumble around for my face wash. My hand closes around the bottle, and I scrub the wash over my face before splashing the water over my skin once more, hoping that most of my makeup has washed away.

I groan as I stumble back to my room and slip under the covers, relishing in the feeling of the crisp sheets against my hot skin.

A knock sounds at the door. “Come in.”

Heath comes in with a bottle of water and two pills in his hand. “Thank you,” I say, taking them from him as he sits down beside me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ll have a raging headache tomorrow,” I attempt a laugh. “Thanks for bringing me home.”

He nods. “Why are you so determined?” I look at him blankly. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You put yourself in a situation where you passed out from being so drunk just so you could beat him.”

“Yeah, and?” I shrug.

He tsks. “Don’t be an idiot. Who cares if you or him win?”

“I do. You don’t think he won’t hold this against me for as long as he can?” Every word I speak makes my head throb a little bit more. I reach for the pills he’s holding and swallow them down, followed by a gigantic gulp of water.

“Honestly, no. He passed out in a booth as soon as you were out.” I stifle a laugh. “You two are ridiculous.” He tries to hold back a laugh, but he doesn’t do a very good job.

I grab his hand. “Thank you for bringing me home.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Now get out so I can sleep,” I say, shuffling down into the bed.

“Promise me no more stupid competitions.” He points at me, but I say nothing. He rolls his eyes. “Just lie for my benefit, at least.”

I smile. “No more competitions.”

“Good. Nighty night bug.”

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