Today, I woke up on the couch. I don't have any memory of last night, nothing whatsoever. I know Nora, and I went down to Frank's for some drinks, but everything after that is a dark black abyss of nothing.
The couch is comfy on my sore body. I must have done some pretty crazy stuff last night for me to be this painful. Hopefully, I didn't do anything that weirded Nora out, that would really suck.
I sit up on the couch and immediately feel my head spin. I try and keep myself there but I crash back down to the sofa.
"Are you okay?" Nora's voice startles me. She's in the kitchen, standing over the counter. It smells like tea.
"Huh? No, I feel terrible, actually." I groan as my brain punches the inside of my skull. "I have a terrible headache."
Nora walks over to the couch and sets down a cup of tea on the coffee table for me. "Try this, it helps with my hangovers."
I try to reach for the cup, but my arm fails me and falls to my side. "Can you..." I motion at the cup, struggling to spit my words out.
"What? Oh, I see what you want." She picks up the cup and sits on the edge of the couch. She lifts the cup to my mouth, and I take a sip. It's like a warm blanket on my tongue, caressing each taste bud. She sets it back down. "I'm sorry, Nate. I should have stopped you sooner."
I shake my head at her apology. "No, don't apologize. I let myself get carried away. It's not your fault."
Nora sighs and looks down at me. "I still feel bad. I told you we'd go easy on the drinks. Fucked that up, didn't I?" She looks disappointed in herself.
"I could have said no, but I didn't. It's my fault, Nora. Please don't blame yourself." I rub my eyes and pull my blanket up to my chest. "What happened last night? I don't remember anything."
A crease forms in her mouth and she starts to smile. "You're funny when you're drunk. You did some pretty stupid shit last night, Nate."
I sigh and close my eyes. "What did I do?"
Nora giggles. "You tried flirting with a girl and got your head kicked in by her boyfriend. Probably why you have a headache, but you'll be fine." Her smile fades, and her tone turns serious. "Did you mean what you said last night?"
I look up at her with a quizzical expression. "What did I say? Was it something mean?"
She looks away at the wall. "No, nothing mean. Never mind, it doesn't matter." She takes the tea and lifts it to my mouth again so I can sip.
I finish my sip and put my head back on the pillow with a sigh. "I could go for a joint right now." Her smile comes back at my words.
"Oh! I wanted to ask you something." she takes a deep breath. "Can we smoke weed together? I noticed the apartment smelt like it, and I thought you could be there for my first high. It's okay if you say no. It was just an idea." Her face is filled with eagerness and excitement.
"You've never smoked weed before?" I ask. She seems like the type to be all over weed like a fat kid and a pack of smarties.
She shakes her head. "No, I haven't. My ex used to, but he never let me do it."
"What? What an asshole. Sure, we can smoke tonight. Let me cure my hangover first, and then we'll get high."
Nora practically jumps off the couch and into the air. "Really!? I've always wanted to try it!" She calms herself down and sits back down on the sofa beside my drunken corpse of a body. "Sorry. I get excited over small things sometimes." She looks away, embarrassed.
