COMMENT & VOTE
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Chapter 2: The Morning After
When I peeled my eyes open in the morning, I thoroughly regretted the night before. My head was pounding like a bass drum in a marching band and the pain was excruciating. I was incredibly nauseous, my stomach tied in knots and the queasiness was almost unbearable. This was one bad ass morning after, the likes of which I hadn't felt in quite some time. It wasn't often that I went drinking and this was precisely the reason why. What had I done? That was the only question swirling in my mind, one which I was desperately trying to piece together. Slowly the events of the raucous night returned to me in flashes. I had gone out partying and had way too fucking much to drink, there was no doubt about that.
After a few more moments of searching my mind I remembered that I had steamy, passionate sex, probably the best sex I've ever had, with a random stranger in the men's bathroom. I couldn't be certain if the name he had given me was his real one because Fenix was an obscure name. After that, I was first surprised and then threatened by my douche bag ex-fiancé Soren. He popped back into my life unexpectedly and though the events were fuzzy, I recalled his obvious threats and how creepy he made me feel. Then I was ripped a new one by my awesomely germ-a-phobic best friend Nash who did not approve of my choice of places for a sexual escapade. Yeah, what a night it had turned out to be and what a birthday present it was. After much thought, I decided that I was swearing off booze for a hell of a long time after that eventful episode.
Besides, my last year of college started in two days and I was not going to piss it all away. It was three years of hard work and study to get me to this point. All of that hard work, struggle and tears were just too valuable to cast aside over random drinking binges. Not now, when I was so close to graduating and fulfilling my families dreams for me. I wasn't on the best standing with my parents, but I owed it to them for past transgressions. I needed to focus and maintain my studies so I could graduate with honors, just like my family expected. I could not let them down again, not after last time.
I groaned and turned over with much effort, only to come face to face with something unexpected. I blinked a few times to clear my vision so I could get a better look. It was a picture, one I thought I had packed away and hadn't laid eyes on in months. I stared at it in confusion wondering how the hell it got there and why it would be placed so obviously on my pillow. Was I going through old photos last night after we got home? I wasn't sure, but in any case, the picture held interesting memories for me. The auburn haired beauty held tightly to a tall, blond haired man, his arms wrapped securely around her. The two smiling and seemingly happy and in love, but looks could be deceiving.
It was a photo of Soren and I, from last year on my birthday. It was a completely different time then, and I often wished to feel that kind of joy again. That was a time when we were happy, so much in love and things seemed much simpler. It was a facade of course, but in my youth and naivety, I fed into it wholeheartedly. I often wondered how I was fooled by Soren and why I didn't see his true persona sooner in our relationship. It freaked me out to think of how it could have gotten on top of my pillow, but maybe I was more drunk last night than I thought and left it there by mistake. This was exactly why I was never going to drink again.
A few seconds later, a thud sounded from the direction of my door. I thought it must have been a soft knocking, but it sounded and felt more like a wrecking ball smashing into my head. The pounding was almost unbearable and reminded me that my hangover was at it's highest point of misery. I hated my life. What the hell was I thinking last night? Sure it's fun to find yourself at the bottom of a bottle once in a while, but perhaps this time I'd gone too far. I quietly called for the intruder to come in and was pleasantly surprised when I saw Nash approaching me and crawling into bed with me. He wrapped his arm around me in a comforting way and I slid closer to him.
"Nash, get out. I feel like death warmed over." I mumbled into his hard chest. I rested my head against him and pulled him closer, contradictory to my words of wanting him to leave. I took in his sexy scent that was always calm and soothing to me.
"No shit sexy. That's what you get when you down a dozen drinks and get pounded by a random dude in the bathroom." He mused with a chuckle while resting his head on mine and kissing my hair lightly. He was one of my best friends and the closeness of our relationship was both unparalleled and unique to say the least.
"Shut up." I shoved at his bulky body, but again snuggled closer a second later. "You're just jealous that you didn't get to pound me last night." I replied as I buried my head in his neck. I loved having him so close to me. I loved him, in the strangest of ways, and he made me feel safe and secure.
"I can't say that it isn't true sexybaby. You know I would have given you your traditional birthday fuck, with great pleasure. And I do mean 'great pleasure'." He added with emphasis and a satisfied smirk.
I giggled lightly in response because he was just that adorable. So I liked to have sex with my best guy friend, what was wrong with that? He was hot and sexy and he would never leave me or cheat on me because we weren't in a real relationship. What girl wouldn't like those odds? What could be better in terms of a relationship than having eternal support and trust, but without the commitment and problems that go along with it? It was a sensible union and one that had been mutually beneficial thus far.
"Oh Nash, you know I'd take your hot ass any day over some bathroom guy. You are the best." I lied of course because even though I was drunk, I remembered the feel and passion of my fleeting encounter with Fenix the guy from the bar.
Nash's ego however, needed a little stroking after his birthday-fuck let down. It was our tradition to have sex on our respective birthdays, but I was otherwise engaged with Mr. hottie so that left him without a customary release. I felt bad about it, but was certain that he'd forgive me, as our arrangement was purely friendly and done out of convenience. There may have been a little more to it than that, but nothing I was willing to acknowledge.
"I'll give you a rain check sexyboy." I smiled and turned onto my back, trying to get more comfortable. I let out a sigh, thinking about last night and how I hoped bathroom guy was clean and didn't have any diseases. I didn't want to have to worry about getting sick after such an encounter.
"Hey, when are we going to the clinic?" I questioned impatiently. Now that I had thought about it, it was a very good idea to get tested as soon as possible.
"Well, I had to cancel the one for the 29th because I have a big game and some scouts are coming to town to watch. Hopefully I'll be good enough to make the draft." He commented errantly but I knew he had his hopes and dreams set on that encounter.
"So, I made an appointment for both of us on October 15th." He smiled, looking proud of his accomplishment. If Nash was anything, it was health and safety conscious, which was perhaps why he was such a germaphobe.
Just then, Mira slinked into the room and plopped on my other side like she owned the place. She leaned in and kissed me on the lips lightly, reached over me and kissed Nash too. I know it seemed weird, but that was just what she was like. She reached around and grabbed us both in an awkward group hug. We were one big happy yet decidedly dysfunctional family, always sharing the love, only Nash shared much less love with Mira than he did with me. I guess you could say I was his favorite plaything, to put it into perspective. He had occasion to be intimate with her as well, but on a far smaller scale. Neither of us were jealous however, because that was simply how things fell into place.
"So... details about bathroom guy. Was he good? How is his body? Did he make you scream for more? Was he big?" She shot questions out like bullets from a gun, clearly interested in a detailed account of my escapade. She eyed me impatiently while waiting for the gory details, which would undoubtedly excite her to no end. Mira was all about sex, not that she was a whore, but wildly engaged in all aspects of sexuality.
"Okay then, he was fabulous. His body was drool worthy, from what I felt of it. I screamed until my throat was sore and he was the biggest I've ever exeperienced. Sorry Nash." I looked remorsefully at Nash after that last answer. Damn, that last part did not work in my favor. Way to stroke the boy's ego, I chastised myself for undoing the good I'd just done..
"Okay. So, what the hell happened with Soren? Why was he there last night?" Mira asked again, but with far less enthusiasm this time.
The subject of my ex was a sore one at best, and not just for myself. The general consensus was that he was psychotic and he proved that fact last night. Mira hated Soren, everyone did and with good reason. After what he'd done and how he stalked me for months after our untimely breakup, the general feeling was that he was dangerous. I had to change apartments, move in with Mira and Nash, to avoid getting threatening letters and phone calls from his 'friends', who were the thugs he employed for various illegal endeavors.
"I don't know Mira, he just showed up. He says he wants me back and that I'm still his fiancée. I belong to him, or so he said. I believe his words were 'you'll never be free of me' or some shit like that." I shook the thought out of my head because it was fairly disturbing. I hoped he wouldn't try anything dubious this time, like he had in the past. I was scared enough at the fact that he had Nash arrested and beaten up, by dirty cops no less, who were obviously on his payroll.
"It's okay sexy baby, I won't let him get to you." Nash comforted me with his words and a kiss on the cheek. He really was the best. It was what I needed to hear, but I was tired of him putting himself in danger for me.
"Nash you're an idiot for not telling me that Soren was behind you getting arrested and beaten up in jail." I replied sadly.
I was disappointed in him for not being more forthcoming. We had no secrets, the three of us, that's how we worked. We were one hundred percent honest at all times, for the most part. That was just how we rolled. If I said 'do these pants make my ass look fat' and they did, I was met with comments like 'fat is an understatement' or 'hell yeah, go on a diet!' That was what a real and honest friendship was supposed to be like. We cherished the openness and integrity that it brought to our relationship.
"Babycakes, I'm sorry he threatened you. How did he know where to find you?" Mira wondered aloud. I could see that she was upset by the encounter. What upset me, upset her too, as a true friendship should be. We were like crazy twins that felt each other's emotions, but had different parents, except that she was a twin by birth so that comparison wasn't exact. It was weird, the way we related to one another but it was comfortable and expected.
"He's having me followed by a private investigator." I announced in a defeated tone. There was no telling just how much he knew about my life since I'd left him, but if he had me followed then my life would have been an open book.
"Get out!" Mira screamed in disbelief, with wide eyes.
"It's true. He knows where I've been and who I've been with in the last few months since we broke up. He says he even knows who I've slept with, including bathroom guy." I sighed heavily. This was making me crazy and slightly scared. The more I thought of it, the more frightened I became that he could use any information he wanted against me, to any end that he saw fit.
"That's fucked up. He's a psycho stalker." Nash shouted in frustration. I think he was upset with himself because he'd let his guard down and wasn't there when Soren first confronted me at the club. It wasn't his fault though, he shouldn't have had to watch me 24/7 because my psycho ex-fiancé couldn't let go and move on to someone new.
"You better watch out sexyboy. He knows you've been fucking Jade and you are so high on his hit list now." Mira teased but with a bit of truth in her words. I hit her arm and Nash glared at her.
"Knock it off Mira." I scolded her briefly but without too much emphasis. "Nash can take care of himself and us, right sexyboy?" I said in a seductive voice to fluff his ego yet again. Guys could be so high maintenance and much worse than girls at times.
"Hell yeah! I wouldn't let anyone hurt my girls." He responded, then flipped over me and landed on top of both of us. He then grabbed us both into a crushingly strong hug and kissed us randomly about our faces. I loved him to death, but he was such a freak sometimes, although I wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Seriously though, what are you going to do?" Mira asked with concern, when we had mustered up enough strength to push Nash's heavy football player's body off of us.
"I don't know. I guess I could talk to Mr. Anderson again, try to extend the restraining order and get him on stalking or something." I shrugged. I really wasn't any good at legal stuff and I was out of new ideas. That was what I had the family lawyer Mr. Anderson for. He got paid the big bucks to come up with ideas to thwart Soren, not me.
"I don't think it will work. You sort of need proof for that Jade and we don't have it." Nash frowned and furrowed his brows.
I didn't like it when he worried about me. It wasn't right to put him in such a position as to oversee my safety, or that I should be his top concern. He'd been worrying for months, no years, ever since the day I started dating Soren. Nash never liked him and always had a bad feeling about him, which I suppose was warranted considering all that he'd done against me. He told me all of the time about his skepticism considering Soren, but at first I brushed it aside because he had no proof of unfavorable behavior.
After about a year Soren, proposed to me. I didn't really want to marry him, but I loved him in my own way. In retrospect, I suppose I was settling for what seemed like happiness and that which would appease my parents, to whom social status and appearances meant a great deal. Nash saw how controlling Soren had become, how he had begun to treat me and begged me to break it off before something worse happened. I told him he was acting jealous and our disagreement almost ruined our relationship.
I was so stupid for not listening to Nash in the first place. He always had my back, no matter what, but considering the ups and downs of our past relationship and without clear evidence of wrongdoing on Soren's part, it appeared that Nash was looking out for his best interests and not mine. I couldn't have been more wrong. Soren was so much older than I was and deep in business with some less than trustworthy people, which should have tipped me off but I was blinded. As time went on Soren slowly started to become more possessive and scheming, not to mention his unfaithfulness which caused me to ultimately break it off.
"Oh, don't be so down babycakes. Let's forget all this gloom and doom and watch a movie. We only have one more free day before our epic senior year of college begins." Mira commented with a dramatic tone in her voice. She was such a nut. I often wondered if I wasn't just as crazy to have befriended her.
At her urging, we all settled on the couch with some snacks and decided to watch 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'. I loved that movie and I needed the chance to let my mind wonder freely and be far from worry. I snuggled into Nash and Mira and smiled at the happy thought of our last year of college together. We had so many plans and I was going to make them happen and enjoy the time we had left before adulthood reared it's head and had us going in different directions. What an epic year it would be, one I had no doubts would keep us busy.
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