Page 10 of My Always One

Taking a bite of my breakfast sandwich, I groan. “Jeez, I feel awful.” I lift my large coffee in a mock toast. “Thanks for a great time.”

Marshal grins. “You had a great time.”

“Not waking to that.” I tilt my chin down to what’s under the table.

“I’m a guy. What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me why we had a slumber party again and why we couldn’t at least go to your room. You have a normal-size bed.”

“My room was already occupied.”

“Eww, gross. You let other people” —I lowered my voice to a whisper— “screw in your bed?”

Marshal shrugs. “It’s not a matter of letting. And I know who was in there. Bailey asked if he could use my room.” He shrugs again, taking a long drink of his black coffee. “What can I say? I’m a humanitarian.”

“Do you even know all those people still passed out?”

“Most of them.”

I force myself to take another bite. It’s a weird mind-over-matter thing. My mind knows that eating will help. My stomach isn’t convinced.

The sun escapes a cloud and I notice a discolored spot on Marshal’s cheek. Without thinking, I lift my hand to the spot. “Did you get hit?” Memories come back. “Wait, you got in a fight.”

“Not really a fight. I told that fucker to leave.”

Fucker?

“Leon?” I say and ask at the same time.

Marshal shrugs.

I remember the guy he’s talking about now. Whenever I turned last night at the party, I saw him looking my direction. Eventually, he found a seat by me at the bonfire. He was one of those guys who gives off a vibe, one that says he is confident and cocky, but his said more.

It gave me a warning.

By the end of the night, he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Marshal intervened.

I drop my head to my arms on the table. “Jeez, Marsh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

I peek up at him from my arms. “What about Wendy? You two seemed...interested.”

“Wendy will be around another night or she won’t. My friend, you were more important.”

“I was handling myself. I’m a big girl, you know.”

Marshal lays his hand on the table. “I know you can handle yourself. I just...” He didn’t finish the sentence.

“Leon gave me a creepy vibe,” I admit as I look again at the bruise. “Is he worse off than you, I hope?”

Marshal’s smile is back. “Yeah, I kicked his ass.”

“And the slumber party?”

“I wasn’t taking a chance on anyone coming back during the night.”

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