Page 8 of Give Me Love

“I’ll be back. You might want to call an Uber.” I pat his shoulder.

He pulls his phone out of his front pocket and barefoot still, I make my way toward the bathrooms, looking down to make sure I don’t step on anything while trying to get around all these people, which isn’t easy in my unstable position. Geez, why did I drink so much? I haven’t been out in a while, and eating hasn’t been on my radar. I’ll pay for this tomorrow, but screw it.

Sometimes a girl just needs to let loose. I duck just as an elbow nearly catches me in the eye.

“Watch out,” I say, annoyed that I’m so short without heels. Where did I put those anyway, and why is the bathroom so far from the bar?

“This isn’t the dance floor,” I mutter as the drunk girls twerk by their seats. I go to pass the steps, but curiosity makes me stop and look over at the big barrel of a man. He turns his head toward me.

“Can I help you?” he asks. My eyes go from him to the top of the stairs. I look at the all-black glass and wonder if whoever is up there is looking down at me. I also wonder where the guy I was having a staring contest with went. I haven’t seen him down here at all, and believe me, I’ve looked.

“Just going to the bathroom,” I say.

“It’s that way.” He points around the stair rail toward the back.

“Thanks.” I know where it is. A girl doesn’t not use the restroom when she’s constantly tossing back fun liquids. I glance at the wall of glass above me once more before I cross under it and head to the bathroom.

I hear someone coughing when I enter the red tiled bathroom with low-lit lights.

“Claire?”

“In here,” she grumbles.

“You okay?”

“Drunk.”

I smirk. “Ready to go?”

“Please.”

I stand on the outside of the stall she’s in as she flushes the toilet. The door opens, and I peek around. Her brown hair is pulled back, and loose strands hang around her face.

Mascara goes to waste under her eyes, and she stumbles into the door. “You don’t have to leave just because I didn’t eat earlier.” She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I’m not staying by myself. Austin called an Uber. Besides, I’m pretty sure I’m drunk, too.”

“Okay.” She exhales, and I move so she can walk out. “I’m never drinking again.”

“We say that every time.”

“But this time I mean it. I’m going sober!” She points her finger in the air. “That means you’ll have to go sober, too.”

I smirk as she walks up to the waterfall sink, drinking water from her cupped hand. With a gargle, she spits, and I hand her a napkin as I lean back against the wall.

“Better?” I ask, feeling extremely tired.

“I’m not sure I’d say better. Less pukey, though.”

I chuckle. “I’ll take that. Come on. Let’s get home.”

Chapter Two

Kathrine

Blinking my eyes open, I wince when the light from my open blinds hits me like a sledgehammer. Groaning, I roll over and try to adjust my vision as I move my head and look at the time on my clock.

Two-thirty.

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