2 a.m.

Chapter 9

I wake up slowly the next morning, becoming aware of my surroundings. I'm sprawled across my bed and the clock reads one in the afternoon. The sun is bright but someone pulled my curtains shut and the room is dimmed from the thick red material. I lay my head back on my pillow, and smile thinking about last night. When the guys got back with the food we all sat down on the back porch, eating and talking till Bobbie and Shep showed up. They acted completely normal though, like nothing was different between them. The rest of the night is a haze in my memory, filled with drinking, music and my family. My vision swims a little and I groan, closing my eyes again and throwing my arm across them. Chinese food and margaritas do not mix well, then add in the fact we were up till early morning dancing and being stupid and I feel like crap. Happy, but hung the hell over.

My bed is empty. Where's Jack? I take inventory again and find I'm in a t-shirt and panties. And the t-shirt isn't mine; it's too long. A panicky feeling sets in my stomach before I hear mumbling coming from the side of my bed. I slowly roll over to the edge of the bed as I peer at the body sleeping on my floor. I'd know that delicious back anywhere and I smile at Jack's almost naked body. He's sleeping in his boxers, but what really catches my attention is his hair. The golden brown hair that I love is purple. No, not purple. It's the lavender color that the lanterns outside are. Only the tips, but his hair is without a doubt dyed.

"What the fuck happened last night...?" I quietly say to myself. My voice sounds hoarse and my throat feels dry so I slip carefully out of my bed and tiptoe past Jack to the sunroom. I keep little water bottles in the mini fridge and I open one, chugging it and then one more after. The water helps but I know brushing my teeth will too so I go into my bathroom and as silently as possible close the door behind me.

The first thing I notice is my hair. It looks like I have never picked up a brush in my life and I quickly grab mine and run it through, putting my hair in a ponytail. Then I notice the edges of my hair, which are the same ghastly lavender color that Jack's hair is tipped with.

"Oh no," I whisper horrified. I take the end of my ponytail gently in my hand, examining the strands. "I am so sorry," I whisper to it. Luckily that seems to be the only thing damaged on me. There are no permanent marker drawings I can see after a quick once over, and my face is fine other than being a little puffy like the rest of my body from the tons of salt we ingested last night both in our food and on the rims of our glasses. My stomach rolls abruptly at the thought of drinking anymore and I have to grip the edge of the sink to fight off the nausea.

Once it passes I decide maybe a shower will help with the stale feeling I have all over my body. The hot water rolls off and as I scrub my hair with shampoo I see purple tinted foam washing down the drain. I wash my hair twice for good measure and when I get out of the shower the color is way less severe. Now it's washed out, but it's still very noticeable in my blonde hair. I grimace and wrap the towel around me, then go get some clothes out of my dresser and change. I don't plan on leaving the house today so yoga pants and a tank top is the outfit for a hangover day. I sit on the edge of my bed and gently towel my hair off, rubbing the ends harder than necessary in hopes of getting that horrid color out of my hair. I hear Jack mumble something into the floor and I smile.

"Your hair is purple," I faintly hear from him. It sounds like he said it into the carpet and I lean over to the side of my bed and peek at him. His cheek is pressed against the floor and his eyes look over at me. He doesn't look bad, and I can tell he's not hung over, just exhausted. I let my damp hair fall over the edge of the bed and drip cold water on the side of the face. He groans and swipes his hand at it, turning his head to the other side.

"Do you like the color?" I ask him, sitting back up slowly to avoid the spins and returning to toweling it off. He mumbles again and I don't understand him but it sounded something along the lines of "Barney's ass".