Page 10 of When Midnight Strikes
9
Danny
Araging headache wakes me up. Opening my eyes to the unwelcoming, bright sun shining right through my window is not helping the situation. I grab the covers to pull them over my head. I glance down at my completely naked body under the covers. At least I took my clothes off before climbing into bed. I normally sleep this way anyway. I always hate the confinement of clothes on my body at night unless it gets really cold.
I crawl out from under the covers until my feet reach the frigid floor, and I continue to keep my eyes facing down as I walk into the slightly less bright hallway that leads to my very dim kitchen. I grab the empty coffee pot and fill it with water before setting it back under the coffee machine. Splashes of water hit my skin, reminding me that I’m still naked.
At least it wasn’t hot water that splashed on me. I put the coffee grounds into a filter, and while I wait for the coffee to brew, I head to the shower to wash off the remaining smell of sex and shame from the night before off my body. The warm water hits my skin, and my sore muscles welcome it. I let the water spray over me as I stand under it with my eyes closed and head facing down with memories of last night taking over my mind. A shiver runs through me at the memory of the guy in the black mask pressing me against the wall and having his way with me. My hand slips over my throbbing cock and I thrust into my fist, imagining it’s the stranger I’m fucking instead. I move faster against my fingers, shuddering the closer I get to climax. My panting grows heavier and my moans become desperate. One last thrust has me cumming all over the bathroom tile. “Fuck,” I scream and my voice echoes throughout the small space. The tile is cold when I press my forehead against it, having a hard time balancing on my feet. My toes curl into the hard porcelain tub and I struggle to push myself off the wall.
Once I come down from my orgasmic high, I exit the bathroom in nothing but a pair of jogging shorts, smelling like my usual soap and shampoo and no longer like the alluring stranger from last night. I know it was best to not know who the guy was; I still can’t help but let my mind wander over all the possibilities. Having sex in a public place has always been a fantasy of mine, but my ex-boyfriend didn’t share my same fantasies. He didn’t share the same love and compassion for me as I felt for him either.
I never imagined one of my fantasies would become a reality. It was one of those things I shoved into the back of my mind a long time ago as something that would only take place in my dreams or my novels. It almost feels like it was a dream. If I didn’t have the memories of last night’s event etched into my body, I would have thought it was a dream.
I pull out a coffee cup from the cupboard when a loud obnoxious knock comes at my door. It could only be one person, and I hadn’t had my coffee yet in order to deal with her. I love Vivian, but she can be a bit much in the morning. She’s way more of a morning person than I am. I open the cabinet again and pull out another cup as another knock comes at my door.
“Coming!”
I open the door just enough for Vivian to squeeze her way through before I can really get a good look at her. “Good morning, sunshine. Oh! You already made coffee and pulled out two cups. It’s like you have friend ESP.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my god, what time is it, and don’t you know how to text first?”
“Did someone have too much to drink last night? Or maybe you had too much dick? Well, tough stuff, buttercup. Today is the beginning of a new year, and we are celebrating with brunch at the new café that just opened down the street.”
I try my best to hide my annoyance, but based on her expression, I know I failed. “Wait, there are actually places open on New Year’s Day? What is wrong with these people?”
She rolls her eyes before taking a sip of her coffee and pulls out a bottle of ibuprofen out of her purse and hands me two pills with my mug. “Here, take these and drink up, and for the love of all things holy, put a shirt on man.”
I glare at her. “Uh, hello, I just woke up, and you decided to randomly show up here at the ass crack of dawn.”
Vivian sets her now-empty coffee cup on the counter with a loud thud. “Oh you love me, and you know it. It’s ten a.m. Stop being so dramatic.”
I leave her alone in the kitchen while I get dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey sweater. When I come out of my room, she is already pouring herself another coffee. “Aren’t we going to brunch? Aren’t you going to want coffee there?”
She blows on her hot drink before taking a sip. “This is just gearing me up for those mimosas I’ll be having with my pancakes.”
I can’t believe she is thinking about drinking again after last night. I’ll be chugging down water for the rest of the day. I couldn’t even drink another cup of coffee right now. I hope eating will help ease my stomach some. I fill up Felix’s bowls with food and water, and he meows at me, looking at me with those sad cat eyes that beg me not to leave again. I reach down to pet his yellow fur, and he purrs against my touch.
I drive this time since she drove all the way here from her place these last few times. She’s the one who always wants to go out, not me. I’m perfectly fine with hanging out in my apartment all day.
The cafe is packed when we get there. I sigh at the crowd of people waiting to be seated. It’s a holiday, and this place is probably the only place open right now, so of course it’s busy. Forty-five minutes of boredom later, we are finally seated at a table by a window. I open the menu before even fully sitting down. I’m so hungry, it’s all I can think about.
The waiter brings us water, and Vivian asks for a mimosa as I kindly shake my head when asked if I want one as well. My eyes fall back to the menu, and I’m about to tell Vivian what I’m going to order when my eyes land on the next person to enter the restaurant, Cole. I would think hooking up with the mystery man last night would help lessen this effect Cole had on me, but it somehow makes it more intense, which makes no sense whatsoever.
His eyes land on Vivian and me as her head turns to see what I’m looking at. She spots Cole, smiling our way, and waves him on over. He hesitates for a minute before making his way towards our table.
“Hey there, neighbor and neighbor’s friend.”
She stands up from her seat, reaching her hand out to him. “Vivian. It’s nice to officially meet you. I heard about how you saved the day by bringing Danny his mail. If you’re alone, then you should totally join us. No use in waiting in that long line when you don’t need to.”
His eyes move between us before smiling wide. “Yeah sure, I’d love to as long as Danny here is okay with it.”
I nod my head before sticking out my arm toward one of the empty chairs at the square table. “Of course, take your pick. You can sit by Vivian over there, who doesn’t know what boundaries are, or you can come sit next to me.”
He laughs and takes a seat next to me, and I smile at the fact that he chose that spot to sit even when knowing I was more than likely kidding about Vivian, but I really wasn’t. He would soon see that for himself. His arm lightly grazes mine as he opens his menu. I face his way after enjoying the small touch way too much, and he shoots me a wink that makes my stomach flutter.
