Sam was staring at me from his seat. The same bewildered expression as before. Same as my own.
He felt it too.
He felt the spark that whizzed through our bodies at that crazy moment.
And it was right then and there, half-sober, that I, Lucille ‘Lucy’ Monroe, knew that kiss would change my life forever.
* * *
Chapter Two
Who opened that damned curtain and why?
The sunlight seeping through was blinding me. How was it possible to be this bright? I couldn’t even bear to keep one eye open. Let alone two. I couldn’t even lift my head off the pillow. It was too heavy.
I should have known that would have happened. It always happened with wine. Yet I still drank the cursed drink.
Wine hangovers were the worst.
Thank heavens that client cancelled on us or I would have made an utter fool in front of more than just my boss. More than I could have possibly done, I corrected myself. As if that was not enough.
Shit. I ruined my boss’s suit. And he carried me from the restaurant like a toddler. And then I kissed him.
Why didn’t the wine make me forgetthatby this morning? Wasn’t that what usually happened after getting drunk - a blackout?
Oh, shit, shit, shit.I kissed Sam.
I shut my eyes even tauter than they already seemed glued together. But no, the image was still there in front of my mind’s eye. I saw Sam’s face just an inch from mine, looking into his dilated pupils outlined by the silvery colour of his irises.
I opened my eyes with a deep groan, hoping the bright light would take away the images.
But all I saw then was complete darkness.
My eyes blinked and blinked until my eyesight adjusted enough to recognize that I was in my bedroom and the curtains were now shut.
The bed dipped a little and I made out the form of someone sitting at the foot of my bed.
“Finally awake?” That was Joe’s voice. My best friend and roommate.
Tossing the bedsheet away from my face, I used my little energy to push myself through the arduous job of sitting up in bed.
“What time is it?” My voice was coarse. My mouth was too dry.
“Nearly ten.”
Ten? I hadn’t slept past seven in ages. Then I noticed Joe wearing his work suit minus the jacket and with his tie loose around his neck. Joe was always up and ready for work by six at the most. “But you’re still here?”
“Wanted to make sure you woke up alright. You spent half the night in the bathroom.”
Oh, the bathroom. I remembered that. Specifically leaning my head over the toilet bowl and emptying the previous night’s delicious meal.
“I came home drunk.” And to be stating that obvious dumb thing, I probably still was.
“Figured as much.” His tone mixed with a hint of irritation. “I saw you crawl into bed. And I do meanliterallycrawled.”
I remembered that too. Couldn’t stand on my own two feet from the second I had shut the apartment door behind me. Not even to remove the dress I wore – that Istillwore.
I looked back at Joe. His lips were one thin line. His glabella was creased enough that his eyebrows were nearly touching one another and could be mistaken for a uni-brow.