Mike chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gracing you with something so beautiful until I know you can remember it. All right. Up we go.”
My arm fell back around his shoulder and he heaved me off the floor. The world tilted for a second, but it quickly righted itself. Good. Much better than the first time I tried getting up. Mike helped me into my bed and I lay back down before I heard him ordering room service.
Breakfast for him, and all of the liquids and Tylenol for me.
I listened to the water of his shower as I stared at the ceiling. The foggy haze of sleep and my hangover started to lift. Leaving me with nothing but my thoughts. My theories on what the hell really happened last night. My hand fell back against my chest. It was hard to breathe. Hard to think straigh
t. I turned over onto my side and gazed out the massive window with the sun pouring through the balcony windows.
Sun.
I needed the sunlight on my face.
I pulled myself out of bed and dragged my ass over to the door. It took an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how to unlock the damn thing before I slid it open. I walked out and flopped into a chair, relishing the heat against my skin. The sun against my face.
I relaxed back into the chair as the sounds of cars zoomed down below.
“You should talk to Rae, you know.”
Mike’s voice came from behind me and I sighed.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“You know she’s going to feel bad. She already felt bad last night.”
I shrugged. “She should’ve thought about that beforehand.”
“Come on, Clint. I’d like to think I know you a little better than this.”
I cleared my throat. “What happened last night wasn’t completely her fault. I played a part in it, too. Even if I didn’t realize it at the time.”
“Still. You two need to talk.”
I shrugged. “What do you expect me to do, then? Haul my hungover ass next door and try not to puke while I drag out of her whether or not she wants to stay together?”
“You know damn good and well that girl is head over heels for you.”
“And yet, that wasn’t how things came out last night.”
“She was drunk. And a bit high.”
I snickered. “Yeah. I’ve been both before. Separately and together. I know getting high relaxes someone and getting drunk makes them more suggestible to things their subconscious is wanting to explore. If anything, shit like that makes you more prone to being honest. Not lying.”
“Do you really believe that?”
I nodded slowly. “I’ve lived it too many times in my own life to think any differently.”
“Still, that doesn’t--”
“If you were in my position, what would you do?”
He stepped up beside me. “I’d talk to Allison and figure ou--”
“If you found out your girlfriend was worried about still being with you when she went off to Stanford, what would you really do, Mike? I mean, if you found out that Allison had doubts in her mind about you. If you knew…”
I licked my lips as my next words stained my tongue.
“If you knew that if you ended things--right here, right now--and she’d be better off for it, would you? Would you end it for her sake? If you really loved her?”