Strangers To Lovers

Chapter Thirty-Two

My head pounded as I fumbled around the bed, searching for my phone. The fog of sleep still clouded my mind, and the dryness in my mouth felt like I had swallowed sandpaper. Ella was beside me, lying on the bed dressed only in her bra, tangled in the silk sheets. I tried to clear my throat, but the roughness only caused me to cough. The flush in my cheeks had nothing to do with the hangover.

As I reached over her, my hand accidentally grazed her chest. "Did you just touch my boob?" Ella’s groggy voice broke the silence.

I froze, heart racing. "Uh... yes." My voice was hoarse. "Inadvertently."

Ella grimaced, her eyes still tightly shut, clearly not fully awake. Her body shifted, and as she stretched, the sheets slipped down, revealing more of her bare skin. My pulse quickened, and it wasn’t just from the hangover. I could feel my brain throbbing as she suddenly sat up, realizing she wasn’t wearing a shirt.

"Oh no! I don’t even have a shirt to change into!" she exclaimed, her hands instinctively pulling the sheet up to cover herself.

I blinked, trying to process her words. "Channing puked all over it, remember?"

Ella groaned, her expression a mix of embarrassment and frustration. "No," she replied, rubbing her temples. "I don’t remember."

"Yeah, you were gonna rip into him for it, but then you decided to hug him, and it all went downhill from there," I said, attempting to recall the details of the night.

I glanced down at myself, suddenly aware that I wasn’t wearing a shirt either. My body was covered in faint bruises from last night's antics, and I felt the same disorientation that Ella was experiencing. "Did we...?" I started, the thought too overwhelming to complete.

Ella looked at me, her eyes wide with realization, but then softened. "No," she said, her voice gentle. "We didn’t do anything."

A wave of relief washed over me, but it was quickly followed by a strange mix of disappointment and awkwardness. I laughed, the sound coming out rough and unsteady. "Good," I said, though part of me wasn’t entirely sure if I meant it. "But seriously, remind me never to drink again."

She smiled as she pulled the sheet tighter around herself, her eyes softening as she leaned back. "I’ll second that," she said, her voice still laced with the remnants of sleep.

Just as I was about to fully relax, my phone buzzed loudly on the bed, jolting me back to the present. I grabbed it, hoping to avoid another interruption, but the name on the screen made my stomach drop.

"Are you gonna answer that?" Ella asked, raising an eyebrow as she handed me a glass of water.

"It’s my mom," I muttered, staring at the phone like it was a bomb about to go off.

Ella sat up straighter, concern flickering in her eyes. "What’s she doing calling you now?"

I didn’t have an answer. Instead, I ignored the call, tossing the phone back onto the bed. "It’s too early to deal with her," I said, trying to push away the impending dread.

Ella sighed, handing me the glass of water. "Luke, it’s past noon."

I groaned, sitting up slowly as I took the water from her. The cold liquid was a brief relief, but it wasn’t enough to stop the pounding in my head. I rubbed my temples, willing the headache to subside.

The phone buzzed again. Ella, already up, was pacing across the room, her face tense as she looked at her own phone. "Something’s up," she muttered, placing the phone to her ear. Her expression shifted from confusion to anger in the blink of an eye.