Dancing with the Player | Book #1

Yet Another Hangover

I slowly opened my eyes then closed them. I had a huge, painful migraine all thanks to my dumb decision of getting myself drunk. I rolled over and snuggled closer into the source of heat. An arm wrapped around me causing me to instantly open my eyes. Oh god, please don't tell me I slept with a stranger. I quickly looked at my body under the covers to see that my dress was replaced with grey sweats and baggy black top. This stranger changed me!

My eyes wandered from the stranger's half naked body up to his face to realize, it was James. My eyes widened in shock as I continued to stare at him. Questions began to run through my mind making my migraine even more painful. How did I get here? Why is James here? Where even am I?

I thought James was peacefully sleeping until he opened his mouth,"You know, staring is rude."

"You know, snoring is annoying," I replied.

His eyes opened and looked at me, making me squirm under his gaze.

"I don't snore," he protested.

"Sure," I sarcastically said.

I groaned as I feel my head begin to pound. James handed me a glass of water and a Tylenol pill that was sitting on his nightstand table. I took it from his hands, put the pill in my mouth, swallowed it, and washed it down with water.

"Thank you," I told him.

I handed him back the empty glass of water and he put it back on his nightstand table. A piece of my hair fell in front of my face. James' hand reached out and put it behind my ear. His hand rested on my cheek and began to caress it. I stared into his eyes as he stared into mine. His eyes flicker down to my lips and inched a bit closer to me.

He pulled away from me,"You should go get ready. There's an extra toothbrush in the top cabinet. I'm going downstairs to make breakfast."

"Okay," I muttered.

He walked out the bedroom, leaving me alone in his room. I threw his covers off my body and went into his bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was messy and the bags under my eyes were visible. I opened the top cabinet and pulled out a purple toothbrush. I brush my teeth for about 3 minutes and rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash. I washed my face then combed out the knots in my hair.

Walking downstairs the smell of cooking food filled my nostrils. I entered the kitchen to see James cooking shirtless with his back against me. The moment I slide into the chair, James turned around and served me an enormous platter of food. An omelette with dark leafy greens, bacon, piles of fried potatoes, and a bowl of freshly cut fruits are on the plate. He then handed me cup of coffee and satin front of me.

He licks his fleshy lips and grabs a pieces of bacon. He eats the piece of bacon then starts eating the fried potatoes. I take a bite from the omelette. The cheese from the omelette melted into my mouth and I tasted the leafy greens.

"James, this omelette tastes amazing! What's the green stuff?"

With a boyish grin his raised his brows, opening up his eyes,"Stinging nettle, chives, and dandelion leaves."

"Strange combination but I love it," I beamed as I took another bite.

"All you do is chuck out the stems from the dandelions, boil the rest together for a few minutes, cold water, squeeze, and chop. That's really it," he explained.

I grabbed the bowl of fruits and ate a strawberry,"I didn't know you can cook."

"At first, I didn't know how anything about cooking, until the age of 9 I got really into it. You remember how I went to away every weekend? Well I went away to my grandma and grandpa's house. My grandma loved to cook and actually owned his own restaurant. He would bring me into the kitchen and have me watch how the workers would prepare food. It was breathtaking. One morning he closed the restaurant and taught me how to cook for the whole day. He showed me his book of recipes that he wrote and kept to himself. To this day I still have it."