Tipsy

Four

Chapter 4

Mikah

For the third day in a row, I'd woken earlier than the bar. My smart watch alarm stirred me at nearly four in the morning. It was pivotal I be up before Hallie for my plan to succeed. And for it, I'd need my phone's flashlight app. I blindly searched the floor beside my bed until my fingertips located it, finding I'd neglected to charge it before falling asleep. It also notified me of one missed text message from the very person I'd been trying to avoid last night... my ex, asking if I was coming back for a repeat of the night before.

While some nights we found ourselves back in bed together, I knew better. I'd fallen asleep deleting photos of Shelby and me instead of going back two nights in a row. There was too much hope hidden behind them. I wasn't ready for anything more than a few random hookups and still felt the need to punish her for lying about her feelings for Ollie. That heartbroken feeling wasn't going away soon, if ever. I wanted to stop having feelings for her altogether. There would never be a time where I believed Shelby no longer had feelings for my brother. The only thing I was sure of was Ollie no longer loved Shelby back.

The nearly dead phone was tossed over my shoulder to the mattress where I sat. The plan would have to go on without it. I rubbed at sleepy eyes, trying to focus. After spending an evening cleaning piss off the floor, my roommate was due for some karma.

The line of light from beneath Hallie's door was nothing new, and would aid with my lack of a flashlight. It didn't mean she was still awake, and it also didn't mean she was sleeping. The light was more commonly left on at night than not. I was banking on her getting little sleep with the drum show the night before. After snagging a few more items needed for the plan, I held a kitchen chair with one hand and used the opposite to open her door as quietly as possible. Heavy breathing confirmed the blonde being asleep. Although, you'd never know for sure with the mound of blankets Hallie was buried under.

It was weird to be in the room I had once occupied. The space had changed. My idea of décor was a few framed Chicago Bulls jerseys and some mementos from bands I'd played with over the years. Hallie's space was kept tidy, same as mine, but the amount of girly-shit she had accumulated in her twenty-three years was absurd. No one needed this many paisley pillows, makeup, and hair shit. The bathroom was bad enough with the birth control, tampons, and more makeup. With Shelby, it was the closet that was always the problem. Shelby had so many clothes, many still with tags and still in bags. She would spend money just to spend it and never cared whose money it was.

Looking to Hallie's open closet, there were clothes—mostly various colors of scrubs. That wasn't surprising. What caught my attention were multiple sets of clear plastic drawers beneath them. Normally, these drawers wouldn't have been questioned—I would have assumed they were full of more clothes. But one drawer hung open, and it was definitely not clothing.

"Jesus Christ." My eyes widened with the whisper, careful not to wake Hallie. I took another step to get a better look.

Sex toys.

Every size, shape, and color of dildo were present, including the crazy-looking dragon Hallie had used to troll my one-night stand with Kristina. With a quick glance over my shoulder to ensure Hallie remained sleeping, I quietly pulled the drawer beneath it open. This one housed the biggest selection of vibrators I'd ever seen, other than a sex shop my friends dragged me to during a bachelor party. Before the third drawer could be opened, Hallie rolled, causing me to shut the vibrator drawer quickly. She didn't wake, but it was too close; I needed to wrap this up fast—even with all the questions I now had about the closet of kink.

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"Have you seen a stack of notecards anywhere?"

I sipped my expresso as Hallie rushed around the apartment, tossing every pillow, cushion, and blanket in her path. She'd been going at this for at least a half hour. Even though there was an interview to attend for the bartender's position, there was no way I was missing this. I had outdone myself.