My vision came into focus and I realized where I was. I looked around the room and bits and pieces of the night before started to come back to me. My own words echoed in my ears. "I love you, Jared." 'Fuck! How embarrassing. I am never drinking again.' I mumbled to myself.
I knew that things would definitely be strange between Jared and me now. I sat up in bed and covered my hands over my face in embarrassment. He wasn't in bed with me, so my drunken escapades last night must've caused him to sleep elsewhere. I pulled the blanket back and slid my body off the bed, still reeling from the effects of the alcohol. Dizzy and extremely hung over, I slowly walked to the bathroom.
Jesus, I looked a hot mess and raked my fingers through my knotted hair. I used the bathroom and since I didn't have my toothbrush, I took a cap full of Jared's mouthwash to rinse my very dry mouth. Not wanting to face him just yet, I paced, barefoot in the bathroom while calling for a cab.
I knew that I couldn't just hide out in there, so I walked back into the bedroom. I made his bed and sat down for a few minutes, gathering up the courage to face him on the way out the door. Looking around the floor for my heels, I was flat on my stomach looking under the bed when I heard him speak. "Please tell me you didn't fall out the bed."
Of course he'd walk in now. I squeezed my eyes shut and responded. "No, I'm just looking for my shoes."
He stepped closer and took my hand to help me up. "If I remember correctly, they are somewhere by the couch. You hungry?"
All I wanted to do was get home, shower, and forget all about last night. "No, I just called for a cab. I really have to get home because I'm not feeling so good. Thanks for letting me stay." I turned to walk away and hurried down the stairs as quickly as possible. I just wanted to stand in the shower until my headache was gone. I walked around the couch and slipped my feet into my heels. "I'm going outside to wait, but thanks again for letting me stay." I turned the knob and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.
He started to say something, but I pulled the door closed behind me, blocking it out. I certainly hoped that he didn't come out to talk and was relieved to see my driver pull up almost immediately. I climbed in the back seat, I rattled off my address. The steady movement of the fifteen minute ride made my already upset stomach turn even more.
Walking in the door, Nicole was in the kitchen making herself some breakfast. She glanced over at me and my immediate reaction was "Don't." I held my hand up to let her know that I wasn't joking.
"I've already called Luke and told him that I'm sick. Of course he knew that I was hungover, but today I've got zero fucks to give."
"No, no. Tell me what happened." She moved a little closer, holding out her plate of food and making me gag.
"I told Jared that I love him, and no, I can't eat. I don't want to talk about it Nic."
"Ok, then! My flight leaves at five so I'll be leaving soon. Can I at least get a hug? God knows when I'll be seeing you again." Her words made me feel even worse and I wrapped my arm around her.
"Nic, I'm so sorry that I was a shitty friend during this visit. I'm so fucked up right now. I promise next visit will be much better." She seemed to accept what I said and hugged me back.
I tossed my purse down on the table and rushed into my room, closing the door behind me. I desperately needed a shower. I peeled my dress off and cringed as once again the thought of professing my love for Jared filled my head. 'How stupid am I?'
I started the water in the shower and cursed myself over and over as I stepped under the hot water. About twenty minutes later, I wrapped a towel around my body and walked into my bedroom. Nicole was sitting on the bed, looking down at her phone. "Hey, I've got some good news. I changed my flight to Saturday. I know you're kind of upset and let's face it, this trip could've been better, so let's have an old school girls' night. No men, no going out, just kind of like an old fashioned sleepover. What do you say?"
"Ok, I'm good with that as long as there is no drinking. You pick the movie, but do you mind if I take a little nap? My stomach is still upset from last night." I pulled the towel off of my head and started to brush my hair.
"Yeah, sure. I'll go clean the mess I made from breakfast."
She walked out and closed the door. I got myself dressed and just as I laid down my phone started to ring. It was Luke to remind me of dinner tomorrow night. We both had to attend and it was scheduled for seven so I knew that most of my day would be picking up his suit and running to take care of a few things before we flew out on Sunday.
I got myself comfortable, after Luke hung up, and quickly dozed off into a dreamless sleep. It was past four when I finally woke up feeling a lot better. My head was heavy, not because of the hangover, but because the nap lasted longer than I intended. I lingered in bed for at least another hour, struggling, as my body tried to muster the strength to get up. My mind kept finding new ways to torture me with the blurry memories from the night before.
I went to the bathroom to freshen up, and while I was brushing my teeth I heard a knock on the open door.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Nic asked with obvious concern in her voice, and I rolled my eyes as I started rinsing my mouth.
"Well," I began, patting my face dry with a towel, "for starters, I'm starving, so I guess at least my stomach has decided to forgive me."
Nicole chuckled softly, and followed me to my bedroom. She sat on my bed and watched me tidy up my room a bit, while making small talk. She said she already had Netflix ready for when the pizza came, so we'd just sit, chat and not think about anything else.
I plugged my phone in, and left it charging in silent mode. I just needed in break from everything, including electronics and her old school sleep over would help. "I forgot to thank you, you know, for staying! I realize I'd be losing my mind if you weren't here distracting me." I admitted as we walked to the living room.
"There's no way in hell I would leave you to deal with this all by yourself." She grabbed my hand as we sat on the couch. "You're my best friend! Plus, I don't have to be in Vegas until Monday, so..."
"OH MY GOD!" I cut her off, gasping so loudly I almost choked. "Shannon! Gosh, I almost forgot. How did it go with Shannon? Tell me!" Suddenly I felt so excited, my body temperature rose and I had to start fanning myself.
"Oh, Jen! He's the perfect combination of sexy and sweet! He was so damn good, I still feel my legs going numb when I thought of last night." She gushed. "Oh my God, if this worked out we'd be sisters, me and Shannon, you and Jared."
My expression turned somber as she mentioned his name, and all the memories that I had managed to hide, were now flooding back into my mind.
"I'm so sorry. Sorry! I didn't mean to say his name."
She apologized, rubbing her hand over the back of mine and I shook my head with a smile. "I promised no boys, so we're not talking boys!" She assured me, pressing her index finger across her lips, promising silence.
The pizza arrived within the next few minutes, and instead of watching the romantic comedy Nicole had picked, we chose a horror flick. We barely watched it, just chatting and laughing at old memories.
Close to ten o'clock, my body was ready for bed again. I guess when you're no longer twenty one, your body doesn't recover from extreme partying as quickly as before. So, I wished Nic a good night and thanked her again for staying and for the lovely girls' night.
After my bedtime rituals, I crawled under the covers, and took a deep breath before unattatching my phone from the charger. Jared's smile immediately popped back into my mind, and I couldn't help the shy curve that was now on my lips.
I unlocked the screen and saw only one quick text from my mom, telling me she loved me. Putting the phone back on my nightstand, I turned to the other side, and getting as comfortable as I could, I fell asleep, waiting for another text that never came.
