Surprise Me Maybe

12. Morning After

I wake up from a familiar ticklish sensation on my nose. Slowly, I open my eyes and see a pair of emerald green irises staring at me with curiosity. I grunt when I feel the heaviness in my head. My body is aching all over as if my bed has become ten times harder than usual.

"Did I kill the alarm again, sweetie? Wait, gimme a second to wake up and I'll make our breakfast in a jiffy."

Chloe glances in the direction behind me. "Why are you sleeping on the floor? And Ashton, too."

I freeze at her question. Gulping, I turn around to find Ashton sleeping on his stomach next to me, still in his black shirt and gray pants while his hand is lying limp on my waist. His handsome face is facing in our direction but his eyes are closed, soft wheezing escaping his partly open lips. My not-so-awake brain tries to recall how we ended up sleeping on the floor in my house. Then the scene of last night's dinner with Danielle starts to play in my head, followed by the quiet trip home, the making out in the driveway, the midnight talk, and the craziness afterward.

I shift my gaze to my coffee table to look for proof that my memory isn't playing tricks on me, and two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon glare back at me. Next to them are a pair of wine glasses with one glass still half empty. "Ugh," I groan as I put away Ashton's hand and prop myself up into a sitting position. "What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Why did you guys turn up so early? Ouch, my head." I press my palm against my temple when the headache announces its presence.

Chloe shrugs. "Grandma needs to go before nine for the wedding. So, why did you and Ashton sleep on the floor?"

"We had a...conversation then we fell asleep," I mumble incoherently. "We were so tired."

"On the floor? Why not sleep on the bed or the couch?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I can't remember." I wince from the shooting pain in my head as I move before gently poking Ashton's shoulder. "Ashton, wake up."

It doesn't take long until he stirs in his sleep and slowly opens his eyes. First, he looks up at me, then he roams his eyes over his surroundings before his gaze falls back on me and Chloe. He grunts as he rolls over and sits up, rubbing his eyes before looking at us again, probably making sure that he's not having hallucinations right now.

"Good morning," Chloe greets.

"Good morning," he croaks. "I can't believe we fell asleep."

"What did you guys talk about last night that made you so tired?" Chloe stares at us intently. "Did Danielle get angry at both of you?"

"No."

"Not really," Ashton and I answer at the same time.

"It has nothing to do with the dinner, sweetie. Don't worry. The dinner was awesome," I add, but when I notice Chloe's scrutinizing eyes on us, I know she won't let it go until she hears the answer to her question. "Right, last night we were talking about..."

"Work," Ashton finishes my line.

"Yes. Work," I say as I struggle to stand up. I've never felt this stiff all over for a while.

"Okay," Chloe mumbles but her face is still frowning. I'm just glad that she doesn't push further.

"I need to go upstairs. Be right back." I excuse myself once I'm on my feet. On my way to the stairs, I find my mom sitting behind the breakfast table with her crossword book in hand, her glasses sitting just right above the tip of her nose. "Morning, Mom," I greet without stopping.

"Morning. Slept like a baby?"

"Miraculously," I reply as I climb the stairs and disappear behind my bathroom door.