Friends Don't

Chapter 15

I was awake for a few minutes before I finally gathered up the courage to face the daylight. I opened my eyes slowly and assessed the damage done.

One blink.

OK, it wasn't so bad. As far as hangovers were concerned, I definitely had worse.

One more blink.

The inside of my mouth was dry and chalky. I was doing alright now, but I was afraid if I sat up too quickly, I might get nauseous. My whole body felt achy and sluggish, like I was on the second day after a killer workout at the gym—but I was sure at least that part had nothing to do with the drinking. I swallowed, turned from my side onto my back, and attempted to stretch my arms over my head.

Did sex actually do this to me? Could I really feel like this afterward?

Damn...

You go, Rhett.

I turned onto my other side and the corners of my lips twitched into a small smile. Rhett was still asleep, his back to me. The rays of sunlight trickling through the cracks in his blinds were dancing on his skin whenever the wind rustled the leaves in the tree outside the window.

Very slowly I ran my hand up his back, feeling the even rise and fall of his shoulders. Every one of his muscles was relaxed underneath my touch, which made me realize something. For the first time since we'd started sharing a bed, he hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night because of some nightmare.

I wiggled a little closer and propped my elbow up on my pillow. This way, I could easily press a kiss to the side of his neck, feeling the fresh stubble of his beard tickle my lips.

When he didn't immediately react to my touch—he just shifted his head further away from me—I couldn't help but get a little impatient. "Are you awake?" I asked softly, still spreading a trail of soft kisses down the hard muscles of his tanned shoulders.

"I am now," he said groggily and slowly turned to face me. He looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "What are you doing here? What happened last night?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"What?" I asked and now I definitely felt nauseous.

"Are we naked?" he continued and I felt him move underneath the sheets.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Did he really not remember anything? I didn't think he was that drunk last night...

"Yeah, I'm totally kidding." Suddenly he was grinning wide and pulling me into his arms, giving me no other option than to lay flush against him. I still had one arm free though, which I used to slap him on the shoulder.

"That's not funny!" I hissed angrily. "Stop laughing!" But he couldn't stop. He fell onto his back and continued to laugh wholeheartedly, clutching his stomach defensively as I went to slap him again.

"I'm sorry, Dyl," he said, but the fact that he was still fighting to keep a straight face made me think he didn't actually mean it. "Last night was pretty awesome... and uh... I kind of want to do it again," he added gently, cautiously even, as if he expected me to slap him again for even suggesting such a thing.

I almost wanted to refuse him. I almost wanted to push him away and tell him he wouldn't get any when he was acting like a jerk...

But the thing was—

"Me too," I admitted with a defeated sigh and got on top of him, my legs straddling his hips. "But afterward, you're gonna make me breakfast. I want bacon and eggs."