Alexandra
Someone,pleasekillme now. The bathroom spins around me as throbbing pain like a drum pounds behind my temples. I empty my stomach again. What on earth possessed me to drink so much? I don't tolerate alcohol well, so normally, I'd have a couple of glasses of wine or cocktails, then I switch to water or mocktails. Even when I was at college, I was the sensible one, making sure everyone arrived home safely or didn't end up needing their stomachs pumped. Heidi would argue with me and say it's the control freak in me that stops me from letting my hair down and having fun. She's right. I don't like feeling or being out of control, which makes it difficult for me to let go, but not impossible.Flushing the toilet, I plod to the sink and wash my hands. After rinsing my mouth with water, I grab the mouthwash. As I swish the liquid in my mouth, another wave of nausea hits me, making me double in half. I swear, I'll never drink again, I promise myself. Closing my eyes, I fight the urge to vomit again; there's nothing left in my stomach, just nasty bile. I remember dancing and laughing with Heidi and Katie, and then everything fades to black. I can't remember what we did, what time Katie left, or how I changed myself before going to bed. Opening the bathroom cabinet, I take the aspirin bottle and drag myself to the kitchen in search of liquid gold.As I make my way to the kitchen, I gasp at the state of the living room—it looks like it's been hit by a tsunami. Pizza boxes, bags of chickpea puffs, and take away boxes lay strewn on the floor. When did we order tacos? The more important question is why did we order them when we had pizza when Katie arrived at seven o'clock? I stare aghast at the coffee table, taking in the half empty Tequila bottle, shot glasses, lime wedges and salt. Crap! This explains my memory loss and the tacos. My gaze drifts to the blue light flashing on my cell phone, notifying me I have unread messages.
"Oh, my God, I'm dying! I need coffee, now," Heidi shrieks, her harsh, piercing cry making me wince in pain.
Massaging my temples, I groan. "Please lower your voice. My head is killing me, Heids." She throws her arms around me, giving me a quick hug.
"Sorry, babe. It looks like we had a hell of a girls' night in. I can't remember much after the second bottle of prosecco," she whispers before letting me go.
"I woke up with the mother of all hangovers. I've no memory of what happened either. Maybe we should call Katie to check if she is okay." Picking up my cell phone, I dial her number, ignoring the missed calls and text messages from Sebastian. I'll deal with them later.
Katie answers after several rings. "Hello," she whines.
"Hey girl, are you okay?"
Grunting, she replies, "I'm not okay. I have a hangover from hell. I'm never touching alcohol again. I told Dan I can't go to work tonight. He was a teeny-weeny bit mad when I came home, blind drunk at three am this morning."
"I'm sure he will forgive you, hun. Erm, I don't remember talking to Sebastian, but it's safe to say, he might be a teeny-weeny bit mad too, because I have a shitload of missed calls and text messages." I release a strangled breath as anxiety gnaws at my insides, making the nausea worse.
"Whoopsy daisy! The last thing I remember is singing karaoke and taking selfies. Don't worry about it, you can't change whatever it is you think you've done. Just talk to him and apologize," she suggests. Oh, for Chrissakes, no! We took selfies? Did I drunk text him? I need to check my cell, like right now.
"Thanks, Katie. I need to go and do damage control. Stay hydrated and rest. I'll call you later."
"Take care, Allie. Talk to you later." I throw my cell on the couch, wondering how much worse this day can get. I need coffee, then I'll deal with Sebastian's messages. Heidi gives me a quizzical look.
"Katie is hungover, but fine. Let's clean this mess. Then we can have some coffee and toast, even though the thought of eating anything turns my stomach into knots." Dipping her head once, she hoists herself on her feet.
"Sounds like a plan."
Between the two of us, it doesn't take long to clear the mess. The loud screaming noise of the coffee machine whirling and grinding the coffee beans makes me wince in pain. This will teach me not to mix alcohol next time. Unscrewing the aspirin bottle, I take two tablets and swallow them with some water, then slide the bottle across the quartz kitchen island in Heidi's direction.
"Do you want cashew or almond butter on your toast?" Heidi opens the cupboard door and tilts her head, waiting for me to answer. Katie and I take turns in making homemade nut butters. They're delicious and full of goodness, which we need right now.
"Almond butter and banana, please."
We stroll to the living room, depositing our asses on the banquette seats next to the bay windows overlooking the garden. I take a sip of my coffee, too reluctant to take a bite of my toast. Instead, I sit there staring at my plate and wondering if I should open Sebastian's messages.
"Is it a good time to tell you we may have ordered toys?" Heidi queries, then lifts her coffee cup to her lips. I gawk at her in bewilderment, too surprised to say anything.
Clearing my throat, I mutter. "Toys?"
She bobs her head. "Uh-huh. For you, me and Katie. I have notifications for a couple of other things, but haven't checked what else I ordered. I'll check later and return them." Heidi's unrestrained laughter brings out the cute dimples in her cheeks.I continue staring at her as if I'm an idiot who doesn't understand. What the hell happened to us last night? Why on earth would we order toys?
"Anyway, there isn't anything wrong with ordering toys, right? They'll come handy when Sebastian stays over and when I bring Christopher for a test spin," she adds. Leaning against the tufted banquette, I shake my head and flash a playful grin at her.
"Test spin?"
"Hell yes! Everyone knows before buying an expensive Ferrari, you need to test drive it first to see if it's the right car for you." She squeals with laughter, and it's so infectious I can't help but join in with her.
As we stop laughing, my cell phone vibrates on the table, stealing my attention. Biting my lower lip, I scroll through the messages. Oh, shoot. I stare in horror, wondering how I'm going to dig myself out of this hole. Photo after photo of us slamming back tequila and prosecco shoots, singing and dancing, but that's not the worst of it. The worst is a video of me doing a striptease. A freaking striptease! I scroll down to the messages we exchanged after I drunk texted him the photos and videos. I bury my head in my hands to hide my embarrassment and drop my head on the table. What were you thinking, Allie? Obviously, nothing because if you did, you wouldn't have said those things. I sound like a two-year-old having a tantrum.
"How bad is it, babe?" Heidi interrupts my self-castigation. Lifting my head, I unlock my phone and hand it to her.
Heidi covers her mouth with her hand, suppressing a shocking gasp. "Why would I listen to you? You don't own me. What you gonna do about it? Maybe I would stop drinking if you were here…I dare you, make me, big boy! It's so cute that you think your threats to punish me scare me when my next-door neighbor's three-year-old hits harder than you." She reads some of my most cringeworthy comebacks. "Dang, Allie. I'm speechless. What're you going to do? I'm sure he knows it was the alcohol talking and not you."
"Like father, like daughter. After a few whiskeys my father turns from nasty to evil just like Jekyll and Hyde. It seems alcohol brings out my dark side too, so I can't excuse my behavior just because I had one too many. It's why I never have more than a couple of drinks."
Rising to our feet, we take our cups and plates with barely touched toast back to the kitchen and retreat to our bedrooms for a quick nap. Jumping into bed, I shoot Sebastian a quick text, apologizing for how I behaved. My screen lights up with his reply as I'm about to set my phone on my bedside table.