Forbidden Love

Chapter 2

I wake to the sound of my phone ringing on my bedside locker. The sound pierces my ears and sounds about a thousand times louder than it normally does. When I sit up, it feels like my brain is moving around inside my skull. I don't recall ever being this hungover before. I reach for the phone with no real interest in answering it.

"Hello," my voice sounds nothing like it did yesterday.

"Is this Rose?" a male voice asks on the other end of the line. I clear my throat before responding.

"Yes."

"Oh, good, that means you didn't give me a fake number. I'm not sure if you remember me, we met at the bar last night. It's Jason." That's about the last part of the night that I do remember, the rest is all just blank. I do have an image of intense blue eyes stuck in my mind's eye but don't ask me who they belong to. It would be like asking me what happens when you die, can't answer questions that you don't have the answer to.

"Yes, I remember," I say while rubbing my eyes.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me tonight?" He wasn't making any kind of effort to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Sure. I'll text you my address." I hang up the phone before he has a chance to respond, desperate for some peace and quiet. I still couldn't come to terms with the fact that I had virtually no memory of the previous night after meeting Jason. This is something that has never happened to me before so I must be turning into a lightweight. I remember meeting Jason, but oddly enough I can't remember what he looks like. Maybe those eyes that are lingering in my mind belongs to him, but only God knows at this stage. I tried to put the pieces together, tried to retrace my steps, but nothing came up. I was stuck with images of blue eyes and a smile made of perfectly straight teeth, well not really a smile, more like a sexy smirk. I decided to give it a rest, I was sure that I'll start remembering things as the day goes on.

I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom on unsteady legs. I couldn't get to the faucet quick enough, my mouth was just as dry as the desert. I found some aspirin and swallowed two with my third glass of water and took out two more for Carrol. Her hangovers are the stuff of legends so I know she'll need these more than I ever would. I made my way to the kitchen and switched on the kettle before entering Carrol's room as quietly as I could manage, but she woke up as soon as I took a seat on her bed, just like I knew she would.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, already expecting some over dramatic response.

"Like I'm at death's doorstep!" And there it is. Sometimes I think that Carrol should've been an actress instead of a journalist because I don't know anyone who can pull off the act of being a complete drama queen as well as she can. "Why did you let me drink that much, Rose?"

"Hey, don't blame me! I can't remember most of last night myself," I say holding both my hands in the air.

"Do you remember the hot guy that drove us home?" Carrol was grinning from ear to ear but her question made me frown because I didn't even have any recollection of how we got home.

"I can't even remember that. The last thing I remember is some guy asking for my number."

"Jesus, Rose! Exactly how drunk were you? You'd have to be pretty hammered to forget that face. I can understand why Veronica acts like a world class skank around him."

"Wait, the guy Veronica spoke about on the way there is the same guy that drove us home?" Carrol just nodded while still smiling. "How did that even happen?"

"I have no fucking idea but somehow, you managed to get us a ride from the hottest guy in the city. Not exactly the kind of ride I would've preferred, but you know, beggars can't be choosers." All I could do was roll my eyes. I decided in that moment that it was completely pointless to even try remembering any of this.