ACHES

3. bitten

I did have his number, my phone opening to the contact page of "Matthew (HOT)" when I unlocked it. I cringed, realizing he probably watched me type that in there.

I had one unread message from Jenna, letting me know that Matty had forgotten his credit card at the bar. I texted her to let her know that I would pick it up this afternoon, and sighed. This was incredibly embarrassing. From his bitten and scratched chest, I could assume what we had been up to last night.

I grumbled, hopping into my jeans and putting on my coat. I brushed through my hair with my fingers, swinging my purse over my shoulder and exiting the hotel room. I walked to the elevator, humming to myself as I opened my phone to find the nearest coffee shop.

"What the fuck?" I muttered, realizing the hotel I was in was nearly a two-hour walk from the bar I had met Matty. Did we walk here? God, I hope he didn't drive me here.

'I want to show you another bar,' he had said last night. A flash of a memory, a silver flask and an orange streetlamp. A dark park, spruce trees towering towards the white circle of the moon.

I sighed, the elevator doors opening into the lobby. I called a cab.

I realized I was nauseous when I inhaled the driver's eye-watering cologne, and popped a mint to distract myself. I watched the lazy city roll past, everything brown and tired. I looked back at my shoes, swallowing hard as the driver attempted to hit every pothole he saw. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to conjure some sort of memory from yesterday. I could only see that orange streetlamp, burning blue in the center of my vision when I closed my eyes.

'Cold?' his voice echoed, and the corner of his jaw came to me. A shuffling sound, his jacket slipping off his shoulders. Warmth, heaviness.

I chewed my bottom lip, hoping he was sweet.

"Hi Jenna," I smiled, and she gave me a nod.

"How was he?" she raised an eyebrow, turning his credit card in her hands. I grabbed it from between her fingers, frowning.

"What do you mean?" I shoved the card in my purse, sitting on a sticky barstool.

"So this is the one you shut up about," she rolled her eyes, grabbing a few lemons.

"You hate it when I tell you about my boyfriends."

"Boyfriends?" she snorted, cutting a lemon into perfect wedges. The citrus smell stung in the back of my throat.

"Alright," I grumbled, really meaning shut up, "He was nice."

"Mm," she hummed, eyes down.

"That's it."

She set her knife down, holding her hands in front of her chest. She slowly drew them away from each other, waiting for me to tell her to stop. To say how big.

I just squinted at her.

"Did I start too big?" she dropped her hands, now looking at me with her all-seeing eyes. She rarely made eye contact, but when she did, I suspected she could see into every corner of my mind. If you can hear this, blink twice, I would often think.

"Sorry," I shrugged, dropping my chin into my palm. I looked at the lemon she stroked with her thumb.

"You can't remember," she gasped, a smile creeping onto her face.

I mustered the energy to look surprised, but ended up sighing.

"Oh God, did he drug you?" she blinked, then shook her head, "No, honestly, you were wasted before you had that whiskey."

"If I was wasted," I whispered, "Why did you serve me?"

"I like to let you experience the consequences of your actions," Jenna smirked, passing me a bundle of limes, a knife, and a cutting board, "Can you be useful here?"

"Yes boss," I sliced a lime in half, "And I don't think he drugged me."

"Good," she wiggled her knife in front of my face, "This has cut more than citrus fruit, you know."

"He was sweet, I think," I thought back to his rough hands tucking me in, to him carrying me into bed. "Fuck, I wish I could remember."

"You guys were heading to another bar, weren't you?"

"I thought so too," I nodded, "But I keep seeing this park, and I can't remember a second bar."

"A park?" Jenna frowned, concerned, "Where did you wake up?"

"A hotel," I said, shaking my head.

"Not your place?" Jenna didn't seem surprised, going back to slicing lemons. "You live five minutes from here."

I just shrugged, sighing. "I guess I'll have to ask him what happened."

"What if he can't remember either?"

"What if he remembers everything?"

We both stared at our hands, stumped.

"You kiss him?" Jenna broke the silence, grabbing my pile of sliced limes.

"I woke up in a hotel with him," I stated, then bit my cheek, "But we did wake up in a chair."

"Both of you?"

"Yeah, I was on his lap. It was actually sort of comfortable."

Jenna just grunted, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I stood, one hand on the bar, "We're going on a date tonight."

"Really?" Jenna gave me her icy stare again.

"He planned it. I just said okay."

"Well," Jenna put a hand on her hip, "He's rich."

"You think?"

She nodded, "Maybe hold on to that credit card."