Famous

A Rude Awakening

Courtney opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. Her head already hurt like crazy from last night, and the sunlight shooting through the blinds added insult to injury. She groaned, turned away from the window, and opened her eyes again. She wished she had taken her chances with the sun when she saw who was lying next to her.

Courtney wanted to scream, but the noise wouldn't come out. It was like her vocal cords froze up with the rest of her body. Instead, she jumped back and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Duncan woke up to the sound. He let out a yawn before sitting up. "What the fuck?" He muttered, where'd the comforter go?" He looked over the edge of the bed and nearly had a heart attack. He screamed, causing Courtney to cry out with him and hold the comforter tighter around herself.

"What—what the hell happened last night?!" Duncan frantically ran his hands through his hair.

It took Courtney a moment to respond. She had to feel around the floor to make sure it was real. Yep, carpet. It's real. "Isn't it obvious?" She whispered. "We were both drunk." She slowly stood up, keeping the blanket around her small frame. Her entire body shook. This broke two of her biggest rules of things she swore she'd never do as an adult. One, have unsafe sex, and two, let her ex touch her again. How did she end up breaking two at once?

Duncan glanced at her and then stared at the wall ahead. He studied his giant Nirvana poster, feeling nauseous. Do we humans usually feel the Earth spinning? He took a deep breath through his diaphragm-something that his therapist taught him-and looked at Courtney again. "Do you remember anything?"

"—I've been trying," she managed. "All I remember is looking for Heather at the club."

"Geoff. I was supposed to hang out with Geoff," Duncan scolded himself. "He needed the support."

Courtney spotted her clothes sticking out from under the bed. She shuffled over and grabbed them. "I need to get dressed," she stated, almost robotically.

Duncan, still ruminating on how he could've forgotten about Geoff, didn't notice her leave the room. When he saw that she was gone, everything rushed back to him quicker than a river. I slept with my ex while I was drunk. I don't see any condoms lying around anywhere, and I'm assuming she's not on the pill. Oh boy. OH BOY.

Duncan got out of bed faster than a child on Christmas morning. He hastily slid on his clothes, leaving some inside-out, but he couldn't have cared less.

By the time he was out of his room, Courtney was long gone. The bathroom and guest bedroom doors were wide open. How is it possible for a woman to get dressed that fast? He scratched his head, perplexed. Then again, if I found myself in her house, I'd be out quicker than the flash.

Duncan paced the living room, thinking of a way he could find out if she were on birth control. That's all he needed to know. He pushed his feelings to the side because the damage was done. The only thing left to worry about now was the future, and he certainly didn't want to be associated with Courtney for the rest of his life. Is Geoff still friends with her? I remember them talking at the bar last night. He called his friend, anxiously rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Yellow?" Geoff answered.

"Geoff!" Duncan sighed in relief. "Hey man, random question. Do you happen to have Courtney's number on you?"