Page 40 of Awakened
The girls let me go, and I darted through dancing bodies until I was in front of Zach.
“Hey! Check this?—”
I grabbed his face and crushed my lips into his, cutting off whatever he was about to say. My forwardness surprised him, but he quickly got his bearings and kissed me back with just as much oomph. His hands pressed into the small of my back, bringing me closer. A few minutes of ass groping later, a throat cleared behind us, and we reluctantly pulled apart.
Brandon looked at us with disgust. “Come on, Zach. I like you, but can you not maul my sister in front of me?”
“To be fair, I mauled him.” I grinned at Zach’s happy, dazed smile. “Hey, you want to get out of here?”
“Absolutely, but what about Brandon and Seth? How will they get home?”
“Brandon can cram into Michael’s car.” Brandon nodded, his attention on Emily chatting up a guy at the bar.
“And Seth—” I glanced toward the door to the patio, swallowing down my unjustified jealousy.
I have no right to be mad. And yet, here we are.
The universe handed out a big fuck you when the doorflew open. The brunette and Seth spilled onto the dance floor, laughing, their hands roaming all over each other.
I gestured to the couple. “And Seth never has any trouble finding a ride.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Who was I to judge?
Scowling, Seth wiggled out of her hold and took a step toward me. Before he could say anything, I grabbed Zach’s hand and led him out of the bar.
We got to his car just as the world started spinning, and I puked my dinner all over the sidewalk. Like the sweet angel he was, Zach rubbed my back and held the hair out of my face.
The last thing I remember from that night was waking up as Zach carried me to bed. He tucked me in and kissed my forehead, murmuring sweet things I barely understood. I wanted to ask him to stay and hold me, but I couldn’t get my mouth to form the words before I passed out.
NINE
A weight landing on my legs kickstarted the beautiful hangover that had been awaiting my consciousness.
“Damn it, Em,” I muttered, grabbing my forehead.
“Come on, sleepyhead. There’re pancakes downstairs!”
I flipped onto my stomach, burying my nose in the pillow. “Leavemealone.”
Emily ripped the comforter off my body and smacked my ass. “Pancakes!”
Groaning, I rolled over to sit, testing out my nausea and headache. Bile sat on the back of my tongue, so I laid back down. There was no way I wanted to puke first thing in the morning, especially not in bed.
With my eyes firmly shut, I pointed at the door. “Go downstairs. I’ll be down after I scrub the first layer of skin off my tongue. Tastes like booze, vomit, and regret.”
Emily laughed. The mattress moved as she hopped up, and she shut the door behind her louder than necessary.
“Bitch.”
Rolling to the edge of the bed like a log, I forced myself into a hunched standing position.
I really need to slow down with the drinking. Poison is poison. Itdoesn’t matter how fast I heal. At this rate, my organs aren’t going to make it.
Walking as slowly as possible while still making progress, I shuffled to the bathroom across the hall. The short trip took a lot out of me, so I sat on the closed toilet seat and considered the sink.
You can do it. Just stand up and wash your damn mouth out.
I stood and glanced in the mirror. What a mistake. I looked like death warmed over with a side of pathetic. My hair was a tangled, matted mess, and last night’s lipstick was smudged across my cheek. A Kool-Aid-like stain remained even after vigorously scrubbing.
“Whatever,” I grumbled, tossing the dirty wipe and missing the trash can. Stooping down, it took every bit of strength to stand back up.
