The Dating Deal

Ch. 13: Dylan's Doubts

Ashley

My first conscious thought was that there was sunlight in my face and that my head hurt like a bitch.

Groaning, I pulled the covers over my head to block out the light. That's when my groggy brain registered that I didn't have my usual blanket on top of me. As more of my senses kickstarted, I began to notice the several tiny differences at once. Like the way the bedsheets under me were rougher than my usual silk sheets. The way nothing smelled like my lavender scented fabric softener.

Panic seized me when I realized why it all felt different. Because it was different. I was in someone else's bed and I had no recollection of how I'd gotten there.

I jolted upright at once, looking at my surroundings. A wave of dizziness washed over me because of the sudden move and I collapsed back in bed.

"Fuck," I groaned and held my head. It felt like tiny bombs were exploding in my skull.

Shutting my eyes, I tried listing everything I remembered from last night in chronological order. Hopefully, that'd help me figure out how I ended up in someone else's bed.

The Eagles had a home game and I went to watch it like a supportive girlfriend. Bethany threw a tantrum. Shane and Juliette were there too. Then I met Kris outside the locker room. He invited me to dinner. Holden invited Shane for dinner too. Ugh, the car ride was awkward.

Just thinking about Shane and his big talk about how much of a great athlete he was made my stomach revolt. It made me wonder what exactly had younger me liked in him that I dated him for three years. Three long years of emotional turmoil that ended up making me question my worth and breaking me to the point I couldn't recognize myself anymore.

Maybe I couldn't see how much of an asshole Shane was because I was surrounded by guys worse than him. Among all the bad apples that was the male student population of my high school, Shane was like the least dented apple. So when he asked me out, it was easy to choose him over the alternatives.

But now with Kris in the picture, I could see the glaring flaws in Shane's character that I previously overlooked. Small signs that were a dead giveaway of what being with Shane would entail and yet, I ended up ignoring them.

Kris on the other hand was everything a girl would want in a boyfriend. He was sweet, caring, kind, and everything Shane could never become. He was my fake boyfriend and he had treated me better in the past few days than Shane had in the past three years.

The difference was so stark that sometimes it made me want to cry for my younger self for everything she went through in the hopes of getting an ounce of love from Shane. My life would have been so much better if I had never dated Shane. If only I had met someone like Kris sooner...

Kris!

I was with Kris. During dinner I had to sit on Kris's lap and I couldn't find a comfortable spot and then there was that cocktail...

Fragments of memories from last night flashed before my eyes like I was watching some kind of a parody of myself. While everything was pretty hazy and I couldn't remember anything I'd said or done, I distinctly remembered clinging to Kris and sleeping in the same bed as his.

Gasping, I sat up straight again and gingerly lifted the covers to peek underneath. I was wearing a t-shirt that I didn't recognize and was entirely too large for me. The t-shirt had ridden up, exposing my thighs and I quickly covered myself again. I wasn't wearing anything else. That could mean only one thing.

I slept with Kris. I slept with Kris.

"Oh, God," I gasped and brought my knees to my chest as I rocked back and forth, processing everything.