Bound By Ink & Lust

Chapter Ten

Jillian

~Hidden Citizens - Turn Me To Stone~

My mouth was dry and my head ached. I opened my eyes and groaned in pain as the light hit me. My hand flew to my head; the pain was excruciating.

I hadn't had a hangover in a long time, and it came back to me in a rush why I didn't drink to extremes anymore. I slowly sat up and cursed myself as the nausea hit me in waves. Shit, I was going to vomit. I lurched out of the bed, and it was at that moment that I realised I wasn't in my own bed.

I was at Nate's house and I didn't know where the bathroom was. Didn't matter; I'd find it.

Five minutes later I'd found the bathroom and emptied my stomach of its contents. I dragged myself back to the bed and laid down. The energy it took to vomit wiped me out and sleep claimed me again.

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When I came to, I still felt awful but at least the nausea was gone. As I slowly sat up, I assessed my surroundings. Nate's bedroom was painted in a hushed grey; very masculine. There was not clutter in here, just a bed, bedside tables and a wood chest of drawers. He had one painting on the wall above the bed; some abstract swirl of reds, oranges and black. It didn't make any sense, but then again, I figured art was subjective and it must have meant something to him.

As I examined his room, I wondered where he was. The house was silent and I briefly considered that he actually wasn't here. My heart sank at that thought. And then I wondered where the hell that thought came from.

Shit.

It had just been sex for fuck sake. I may have been drunk, but I vaguely remembered him hesitating to sleep with me, and I also remembered that I'd forced him into it. Well, to say I forced him might have been exaggerating a little; Nate never needed forcing into sex. But what the hell did it mean for our friendship now? If he wasn't here, did it mean he was avoiding me? And why was I upset at the thought that he wasn't here?

Shit.

I pushed the bedspread back, got out of bed and went in search of him. As I padded through the house, I smiled at the simplicity of his surroundings. I liked simplicity and little clutter too. He had the bare basics with only a tiny amount of decoration, and his walls were painted white. I loved the cleanliness of white. I also loved the few plants I saw scattered through his house. It all surprised me.

Nate wasn't here. I looked through the whole house and didn't find him. But I did find a note on the kitchen table that told me to make myself at home and that he'd gone into work. My heart warmed a little at that but it was still heavy with worry that he was dodging me.

Deciding that I actually wanted to get the hell out of here, I made my way back to the bedroom and got dressed. Christ, I hadn't made the walk of shame in a long time having given up on one night stands awhile ago. I called a cab and waited for them to take me away from the scene of what I hoped wouldn't be the end of my friendship with Nate.

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I stepped out of the shower. My body was clean but the regret still clung to my soul. Why had I been so dumb t sleep with Nate and think it wouldn't affect our friendship. The friendship we'd just patched back together.

I'd texted him just after I left his house to let him know I was gone. That was an hour ago and I still hadn't heard back from him. I didn't expect much, but I at least expected a reply.

Sighing, I got dressed for work. I wanted to pop into the studio before the club, I had a few hours to kill and I needed to see how the newbie is getting on.