Secret Rulebook of Cheating

Rule #15: One Hundred Miles Don't Rule Out Cold Feet

Brandon!

My eyes flew suddenly open as the name popped up in my mind.

What had I done?

My head spun reflexively to Jason’s side of the bed. It was empty. I raised a little, supporting myself on my elbows, but he was nowhere in the room. At the shift, a throbbing pain pierced through my brain and I slumped back down. The memories of the previous night were swirling in my head so wildly - it hurt. No, that was the gin.

Stupid gin! It’s all your fault!

Right. As if I wasn’t aware alcohol made everything seem so much easier. Like allowing myself to go for things I wouldn’t normally go for. I wasn’t thirteen anymore. I knew the effect.

Stupid Nicole!

That second glass had been a huge mistake. So huge I should have topped it with a third. That way at least, the memory of how stupid I was would have been wiped clean.

How had I let this happen? How had I let my control slip away like that? Skinny dipping? What was I thinking? Of course things would get out of hand! Since when had I become so reckless? One sexy guy walks my way and I forget all about Brandon? When had I become that girl?

The front door flew open and Jason entered before I could even pretend to still be sleeping.

That’s when. Stupid Jason!

“Morning,” he said with all the cheerfulness in the world. He was already in his swim shorts and a shirt and I noticed the two paper cups in his hands. “Coffee?” he offered, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me, handing me one of the cups. “You must be craving that.”

I sat up, my back to the bedframe, holding the cover tightly around myself. Awkward was an understatement of the way I felt. My throat was thick and I couldn’t quite look him in the eyes.

“Thanks,” I mumbled. I accepted the cup, ignoring the jolt at the brush of our fingers, and took a sip.

Once his hand was free he put it on my thigh over the cover and I did all I could to not bulge my eyes at him. I was utterly ashamed of what I had done last night and he was standing here acting as if it hadn’t been the biggest mistake in history of mistakes. I had to tell him before things got too far.

“You’re up early,” I commented, not really able to utter anything of substance at the moment.

“I’ve been up all night,” he teased and I knew I had to do it sooner rather than later.

“Listen…” I started but Jason interrupted.

“You’d better go do your girly stuff. The others will be waiting for us in fifteen.” He stood up and the heated patch of skin on my thigh under his palm grew cooler. “I’ll give you some space. To get ready,” he said and walked out again.

My head fell back, hitting the bedframe with a little thud. It resounded on the inside, causing another surge of pain. But it wasn’t as bad as the knot in my stomach. I could deal with the hangover. What was I going to do about the rest?

I left the cup of coffee on the nightstand and forced myself out of bed. I invested all my energy that the too few hours of sleep had restored, plus the amount the coffee had added, in bringing out the beach version of me. Twenty minutes later, I joined the others outside. Jason’s eyes flew to me the second I appeared in the automatic doorway. He was leaning against the back of a bench, the paper cup no longer in his hands. I focused my attention on the other four.

“Morning, Nikki,” Rob greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from glancing at Jason. “I could use another hour or two,” I admitted, hoping no one noticed.