One Night with My Mate

3 Beach and Boys

Copyright © 2013 by TeeHarper

Thanks for the votes and comments, guys! Keep em coming! Big author's note at the end. I had a few things to explain.

Thanks to @Conf3ttiFalling for making the cover on the side (:

Chapter 3:

It was well within the night before I began to dream. Usually, my dreams were more nightmares than fantasies, but tonight I couldn’t decide which. I dreamed of sparkling blue eyes and tousled brown hair. Reoccurring memories spurred me on; never about the man himself, but about the events of the night before he came into the picture. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember a thing that happened after Tori had pointed him out. I had been too drunk. I didn’t even remember his name. His tortured expression as I made my escape haunted me throughout the night. Where was he? Who was he? Did he remember me like I remembered him? My thoughts began to fade. Thunder boomed in my delirious subconscious. The waves of visions floating in my mind began to diminish.

          I awoke with a start. My breathing was labored, and my stomach clenched in knots as I tried to breathe properly. Sweat covered my body in a thin sheet, causing my covers to stick to my exposed skin. Alec laid his head at the end of my bed and whined softly. He looked up with those big brown eyes and panted. His tongue slipped out of his mouth, hanging out on the side. The sight made me smile slightly. Outside it was dark. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed across the sky. The sounds made me flinch—a distant reminder of a not so distant past.

          “Are you hungry?” I whispered. Alec quickly jumped up and skidded to a stop in front of my closed bedroom door, turning back around to look at me expectantly. He was so cute with his big brown eyes and perked ears. I smiled and got out of bed. Warmth left me, and I tugged my robe over my goose bump covered skin, immediately wishing to crawl back under the warm duvet. As I opened the door Alec ran out into the hallway. His nails clicked across the floorboards, but other than that the house was fairly quiet. Rain pounded on the roof and rolled down the windows. The hum of the air conditioner filled what silence might have been there otherwise. It was a nice calm, only disturbed when thunder roared across the darkened sky. I was fairly afraid of thunderstorms, so anytime one started up it helped to have someone near me. Alec just happened to be my bed buddy for the night. Hopefully I’d be able to fall back asleep with him lying at my feet. I tiptoed into the kitchen and pulled out Alec’s food and his bowl. He eagerly stood by and wagged his tail while waiting for me to fix him his early breakfast.

          The numbers 3:58 glowed brightly on the digital clock above the oven. It was early. The combination of the storm and my dreams must have woken me up. I stood up and slumped against the kitchen counter as I watched the rain pour down outside. Aunt Jen had left several plates of cookies out on the counter, and I took the initiative to pick one up and try it. It was a good distraction cookie baked in the midst of sorrow. I remember one time when Mom had made cookies. It was sometime after Dad’s death when I was only seven or eight years old. She was crying and bustling around the kitchen just as Aunt Jen had done. Maybe it was a genetic thing. I silently wondered if baking cookies would help me cope as well.

          After awhile I lied down on the couch, not wanting to return to my bedroom where it was dark. The thoughts of my mother had darkened my mood, and I quickly pushed them away. The lightning outside lit up the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. Crooked electrical charges streaked across the dark sky. My muscles tensed, my hands clenching into fists as I tightly shut my eyes. Alec stayed by my side, which helped. I found myself squeezing the poor dog to death by the time the sun began to rise. Orange and red scattered across the clear sky, the storm clouds now having moved away. Eventually Jen got up and started cooking breakfast. The house stayed peacefully quiet, slowly filling with the smell of bacon and waffles. I smiled to myself, knowing Aunt Jen couldn’t see me. She knew waffles were my favorite.