Damaged Goods

Chapter 2- A Straight Jacket Could Probably Cuddle Better

Waking up the next morning proved more difficult than expected for Aria. Her tongue was caked to the roof of her mouth and jackhammers were playing a symphony on her skull. This was exactly why her and alcohol had a love/hate relationship and never got along for more than a few hours at a time. Groaning, she rolled over only to run into a wall. Odd... she thought. She forced her eyelids open to see a very naked backside. "That's not Colin" was the first thing to run through her mind.

Scanning the room, she was relieved to see she was in her bedroom and not some stranger's basement in the middle of nowhere. But then who was this stranger and more importantly where was her boyfriend?! As soon as Aria asked herself the question, part of it answered itself in the form of a manipulative, cheating ex. Deciding the second part of her question would have to wait until the man in her bed awoke, she slowly dragged her body off the bed for a much needed shower and toothbrush.

She glared at her en-suite bathroom as the motion detection lights flickered on announcing her presence and blinding her sensitive eyes in artificial light. So much for wanting everything modernized. Right now she'd be happy with candle light and oil lamps. She rummaged through her cabinets, finally setting her eyes on some painkillers. Running the tap to swallow the pills, Aria checked her reflection and damn near choked when they attempted to lodge in her throat. "Holy hell," she mumbled as she noticed the rat's nest of blonde curls on her head, down to her leftover makeup and finally to the love bites that lined from her jaw to her thighs. "Hope he had a good time because I'll kill him for this little stunt!" she fumed. She looked as if she had been swimming with dog sized leeches, sucking the life out of her fair skin all night. Grumbling to herself about possessive egotistical males, she hopped into the shower in a desperate attempt to scrub away all the evidence of the night before. When she felt clean (minus those damn hickeys; she'd be stuck with those a few days) she stepped out and cursed herself when she realized she had failed to grab clothes. Wrapping a towel around herself, Aria peeked out the door. He was starting to stretch and open his eyes so she high-tailed it into her closet to get dressed. Not sure whether or not to put the extra effort into her appearance, she settled for a pair of dark wash skinnies and a form fitting tee from her college days. Pulling her hair up into a messy bun, she stepped out of her closet to find the blonde stranger pulling his polo on and securing the few buttons.

Even with a bad case of bed head and yesterdays clothes, she decided he was still quite handsome and could've done much worse. Damn men for not having to put any effort into their appearance at all!

"Breakfast?" she offered.

"Sounds great. I'll help," he replied.

His face was full of amusement, no doubt noticing her efforts to keep things from getting awkward. Polite, she liked it. Aria smiled and led the way into the kitchen. Pulling out the eggs, spinach, cheese and ham for omelettes, she saw him making himself at home starting some coffee. While cooking the two made small talk. Aria had learned his name was Marcus, he was twenty-nine and working at his older cousin's security company. When she tried to get him to elaborate, he would just shrug his shoulders and casually change the subject. She wasn't nosey and they were practically strangers so she didn't pry. She told Marcus about graduating from college three years ago as a Registered Nurse after he'd inquired about her shirt. He seemed genuinely interested in her responses and she wondered if this was all too good to be true and when he would be getting a phone call from an angry girlfriend.

After eating, she started to clean up when she gained the courage to ask, "So what's the catch? You seem too good to be true and I'm wondering if I'm going to have an angry wife on my doorstep."

Laughing at her bluntness, he smiled, again showing off those dimples he threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and replied, "No sweetheart. No wife but after a night like last night, I might find myself in the market for a girlfriend."

How was she supposed to respond to that?! Surely he was forgetting how sloppy she is when drunk; there's no way she would have been stellar. She wasn't even two days out of a long term relationship and nowhere near ready for that shit again. Being practically ignored for two years was bad enough but jumping back into that again would be insane. Now that she thought about it, a straight jacket could probably cuddle better than Colin...

"Aria? Are you in there?"

Snapping her head up she cringed as the pain amplified in her head and answered, "Yeah, sorry. What did you say, Marcus?"

His smile only stretched further at hearing his name off her lips-absolutely perfect. "I just asked if I need to worry about boyfriends, brothers, or fathers knocking me down a peg or two."

Clearing her throat she replied "Um no. No boyfriends, I'm an only child and my father passed away twelve years ago from a battle with cancer."

His smile immediately disappeared, replaced with a look of shock and pity. She despised pity, but being rude to Marcus who only seemed concerned wouldn't be right. "Shit I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't know," was his brilliant reply. Of course you had no idea dumbass, she thought. Yes, she was being unreasonable and knew it, but it was still a very sore subject- especially since her mother had killed herself out of grief a few years later.

His lips covered hers in an attempt to diffuse the situation, instantly shutting up her inner dialogue. As the kiss got heated, he pulled her shirt over head and lifted her onto the granite counter top. That's exactly how the police found them as they burst through her door, breaking its hinges and demanding for them to get on the ground.

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Another update! Enjoy, vote, fan and comment please. I'm working on the third chapter. Hopefully it'll be up tomorrow!