Heat - Harry Styles

eleven

I'm really not an irresponsible person. I promise.

That being said, you probably wouldn't believe me after last night. It was nothing too bad, I suppose. I didn't sleep with Spencer, but we did spend a lot of ...quality  time together. My cheeks burned pink just thinking about it. I begrudgingly pulled myself out of bed, head spinning from the remnants of the whiskey and tequila that were still flowing through my bloodstream.

I made my way across my bedroom and into the bathroom, eager to brush the taste of regret out of my mouth. Still slightly drunk, I had to steady myself on my cold counter as I reached out for my toothpaste. I sighed as the flavor washed over my tongue, not being able to stop myself from thinking about the minty taste that was on Spencer's lips last night.

I cringed and pushed the thought from my head.

After throwing on some shorts and a t-shirt, I made my way into the kitchen, desperately in need of carbs. And there I was, sitting on the granite counter, shoving biscuits and jelly into my mouth and washing it all down with grape Pedialyte when there was a knock on the door. Almost instantly, I heard the click of my mother's heels against the hardwood floors. I probably should have gone upstairs or at least have made some effort to look more presentable for whoever my mom had coming over, but my head was still fuzzy and my feet were sore so I stayed put.

"Spencer, what a lovely surprise!" I hear my mom exclaim from the foyer. "Come in, come in. I think Sloane is still upstairs. Why don't I pour you a glass of iced tea before I go up to get her?"

My eyes widened immediately and I attempted to brush the biscuit crumbs off of myself as I heard the voices approaching. It was too late to help my disheveled appearance, and it quickly became clear that this was as good as it was going to get.

"Oh, honeybee, I didn't know you were in here," my mother says as her scrutinous eyes drag across my body. I just knew that she was absolutely devastated that Spencer was seeing me in such a state. "I'll just leave you two alone then," she drew before shooting him a quick smile. She quickly scurried back into the living room and the two of us were left alone.

The room was heavy with unspoken words, dense like the humid Charleston air.

"So," he started as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his khakis and leaned against the wall, "how are you feeling this morning?"

"Not great, but I've been worse," I admitted before turning my eyes back to my plate of food.

He took the small moment of silence to move closer to me, effectively grabbing my attention.

"Last night," he began with a smile creeping across his face, "was--"

"a mistake," I cut him off. His smile fell immediately and the tension in the room was practically palpable. I dropped my pounding head into my hand, taking my nose between my pointer finger and thumb, squeezing lightly in an attempt to relieve some pain. "I'm sorry, Spencer. It's just... it was just a mistake. I didn't mean for things to go that far that quickly."

He bit his lip and nodded, directing his own eyes towards the ground.

"It's not that I don't like you because I do," I clarified, causing him to perk back up. "It's just that I'm in a really weird spot right now and it's probably in your best interest to not get involved with me."

"It's another guy, isn't it?"

I swear I probably flinched upon hearing his question. All I could think about was Harry. My silence was apparently a good enough answer for him because he sighed sadly and ran a hand down his face.