Sweet Saltwater

Chapter 9

Iris woke up with a splitting headache and a very muddy memory of the night before.
Thankfully, the familiar scent and feel of her white linen duvet meant that she had somehow gotten home. She, however, had no recollection of how she had done that.

She squinted, the sunlight coming from the overhead window aggravated the aggressive pain in her temple, making it hard to focus on anything around her. She could tell that she was in yesterday's clothes. Her skin tight dress was damp, clinging to her chest uncomfortably. She tried to look around for any evidence of how she had made it home. Erica wasn't there. Did she not take me home? It hurt to think, or to do anything at all. Iris rubbed her temple, hoping to dull the pain so it would allow her to think, to remember. No luck.

She raised herself on her elbows to get a better view of the room, her head protesting avidly.
On the chair by her bed there was a black button up shirt which did not belong to her. As she looked at it, trying to remember whose it was and how it got there, a fragment of last night flashed in her mind.

Aiden was sat on the sand beside her, she was shivering aggressively. The cold from the multiple dips in the dark water had reached her bones and the weariness from the alcohol and the emotional day was also catching up to her. Aiden took his shirt off and gently wrapped it around her shoulders, his hands were steady, brushing against her skin lightly. Her eyes were so heavy, she tried to keep them open, to focus on the conversation that was surrounding her, but her eyes just wouldn't listen. Her head lulled to the side as sleep took hold of her, a supportive and muscular shoulder beneath her golden curls.

Fuck. She had fallen asleep on the beach. Someone must have gotten her home and she must have still been wearing Aiden's shirt at the time. She searched for her phone amongst the white covers. She had no idea what time it was, all she knew was that it was Sunday and she had work. Judging by the soft light coming in through the window she guessed it was still early morning, the rising panic easing only slightly with the realization.

Iris finally found her phone which, of course, was critically low on charge. She looked through her notifications quickly. There were a couple text messages from Erica saying Pierce had gotten her home safe, followed by a couple sappy texts about how much she loved Iris. Nothing indicating any concern. What caught her eye was a text from an unknown number.

Although I must admit you look great in my shirt, I'll be needing it back ;)

She read the message over and over again despite the light from the screen hurting her eyes. Iris didn't have it in her to reply - she had left Aiden to walk around shirtless after she so graciously fell asleep on him, all within the first 24 hours of knowing him. Oh and not to mention their grand meeting where she was bawling her eyes out. Jesus. She turned off the screen and plugged her phone in to charge. She would deal with this when her head didn't feel like it might explode. Iris closed her eyes and once again drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

***

Working hungover was hell. Iris had established that long ago, yet she had not learned her lesson yet, despite her 25 years of age.
Tilda, bless her, could tell that Iris was not well, so she actively tried to take the most difficult tables, allowing Iris to pick up after guests and avoid human contact. Vern was in town all day, thankfully, which meant that he wouldn't pester Iris about her drinking habits.

She didn't see Erica before her shift as her sleep and attempted recovery took priority, which meant that she still wasn't entirely sure about all the fuzzy details from last night. The debrief would have to wait until their "after shift beer", which would certainly be replaced by a glass of water, at least for Iris.