“I’m going to go down and finish straightening,” Rick said. “Then come in. Would you like some tea or wine?”
“Pour me wine—I’ll come down after I change and keep you company.”
Rick’s smile grew and he tugged me to him when I would have walked away. With care, he cradled my face, “Thank you,” he whispered, then kissed me.
“For what?” The reaction wasn’t what I’d expected.
“For being you,” he said, then gave me another kiss before he headed downstairs, his step considerably lighter. I stared after him a minute, then Fletcher’s snore rose in volume behind me and I lifted my gaze to the ceiling.
Men.
22
Fletcher
Every step down the stairs sent a frigid ice pick into my temples. The cold burn of pain spread to encompass my entire head for a brief second, before retreating back into the ether. I didn’t know whether to cup my forehead or the back of my head. Actually, I should take a couple shots to ease myself off the alcohol slowly because hangovers were for the birds.
Damn.
“You alright there, Fletcher?” Drew called from the kitchen.
“Shhhh,” I whispered and shook a finger toward her. The sun streaming through the windows left me squinting and wishing for some Visine. If I’d known I would spend my first night in Drew’s house getting plastered, I would have stopped by the store to get some.
“Did I tell you I’m sorry?” Rick murmured as I stepped into the kitchen, but he might as well have been screaming in my ear.
Fuck him anyway.
Last night I’d been living large, enjoying hanging out with someone who wasn’t after me for my family name, blackmailing me for money, or strong-arming me for my skills. Sometimes it was even a combination of all three. It had been refreshing for a few hours.
Until he pulled out a vodka bottle. He slipped me a few shots, all the while peppering me with questions on what I did, who I was, what I thought of Drew. At the time, to my happily drunk brain, I thought it was some fucked up male bonding time or something.
Looking back now...I was just lucky I learned to keep my mouth shut from a young age. No one grew up in an elite family without that lesson brutally instilled. The ones we usually had to fear the worst were the closest to us. I mean, they had the most to lose at the time.
I’d successfully dodged all of his questions except the ones about Drew. Damn it. I was pretty sure I got dopey-eyed and might have even giggled. Fuck, I hope that was a misplaced memory or part of my dreams.
Because I had some crazy dreams last night…
“Here,” Drew said softly as she held out a steaming mug of black coffee. I usually liked a decent amount of cream, but black was perfect this morning. Who cared what it tasted like? I needed the shock of bitter caffeine to my system to get rid of this massive Transformer tap dancing on my psyche.
“Thanks,” I grunted as I lifted the cup to my lips. It was just cool enough not to scald my tongue. The death angel that she was, probably poured it as soon as she heard me at the top of the staircase. That was a solid ten minutes ago.
“Just how much did you give him last night?” The blatant disapproval in Drew’s voice almost pulled a smile to my mouth. I said almost, because I was too busy sucking down the black gold to make any proper facial expressions.
“A few beers…” Rick hesitated but I finished for him.
“I think, buddy, you mean six beers, five shots of vodka and I’m pretty sure a few boilermakers.” Okay, keeping my voice to a low rasp didn’t hurt my head as much as I thought it would. “You know what they say, beer before liquor, never been sicker.”
Drew snorted as Rick spun on his heel and started dishing up eggs and bacon on three plates. When he turned around, I glared at him, just so he knew I was onto him.
Did I say fuck him yet?
Yes? Well, I really meant it. Fuck him. I was in a low spot yesterday and he took advantage of it. The one good thing was, now I knew he couldn’t be trusted.
“Do you want a fill up?”
Glancing at Drew as she approached me, I met her dark, luminous gaze and sucked in a breath. Flashes of her coming back last night flickered behind my eyes. Her leading me up the stairs, her unsnapping my pants.
Oh shit. I really fucking hope that was a dream and I didn’t cup my chubby in front of her. As blitzed as I was last night, I probably covered my belly button thinking it was my dick.