Fire and Freedom - Book One of the Café Latte Trilogy

Chapter Sixteen - Ross

Chapter Sixteen – Ross

The alarm was far too noisy for my liking. I groaned and turned over, and then realised someone else was in my bed. Someone with blond hair. I blinked in astonishment; this was an unusual occurrence. I knew that I must have been completely hammered to allow someone to stay the night. Unless it was Jasper.

"Jasper?" I asked curiously.

The guy turned over and as much as I tried, I could not remember his face. I frowned, and then regretted it because shooting pains went right through my temple. What the fuck had Edward served me last night?

"Who are you?" I asked, pressing a hand to my head as memories returned; Jasper hadn't turned up to Fruits. He had sent me a text telling me that everything had gone fine at the meeting, and that he wouldn't be coming because 'my face looks like a Jackson Pollock painting, I'm going to plaster it in ibuprofen gel and sleep for two years'.

"We met at Café Latte," the guy in my bed replied, and I felt a vague twinge of recognition.

"We sang a Madonna song at the karaoke night," I groaned, memories flooding back to me. "Sorry, bad hangover. What time is it?"

"Seven," he replied, and then frowned. "You don't even remember my name, do you?"

I guessed. "Sam?"

"No," he said flatly.

I shook my head and honestly said, "Then no idea. Sorry, I was absolutely smashed last night."

"You and me both," he said, getting out of my bed. "I'll head off. You need anything?"

If I hadn't been hungover, I might have politely argued, but my head was pounding and it felt like my entire body was devoid of fluid. My mouth was so dry that the thought of water made me want to cry with need. Within minutes he'd changed and left. I hit the alarm clock that was still ringing and settled down in bed. It was Sunday; I didn't need to work today. Thank the Lord.

As I settled back down into the warm, cosy covers, I made a mental note never to drink that heavily again. I was just glad that no one knew someone else had stayed the night. It was bad enough that I'd let Jasper stay; if anyone else did I'd never hear the end of it. It was at least nice having Jasper stayed; he liked to cuddle, which usually annoyed me, but he was cute. I shook my head; the hangover was making me emotionally vulnerable.

I heard the lift open and a voice call out, "Ross, it's me!"

It was Raven, and it was seven in the morning on a Sunday. I groaned; why did no one ever let me rest?

"Are you still in bed?" she asked, wandering freely into my bedroom space. "It annoys me that you can get up with five minutes to spare before leaving and you still look good. Do you know how much concealer I need for that?"

I sighed, burying my head further into the pillow. "Go away..."

"No," she said, taking the pillow away from me. "Come on, you promised me that you'd come with us all this year - you even said last night that you were looking forward to it!"

"To what?" I asked, sitting up groggily. The room swam before me. "Oh Jesus, what was I drinking last night?"

"A lot of vodka," Raven grinned. "Too much for a man at your-"

"Finish that sentence, and die," I warned her, although privately I was agreeing with her wholeheartedly. "Now, what am I supposedly promising to do with you today?"

"The parade!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, you promised me you'd come and help me make banners!"

I groaned, lying straight back down again. "Fuck off; I only said that to shut you up in the first place. And you can't hold anything I said last night against me, I don't remember ninety percent of it."