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Chapter Twenty-One

FALLON

What. The. Fuck! Trying not to believe it was only a little past four in the morning, I turned away from the clock and stared at the ceiling. I had a lot to drink last night, but unfortunately not enough to forget… everything.

I looked over at the deliciously naked Mackenzie sleeping next to me, and blew out a breath, remembering the events that happened over the last twelve hours.

Meeting Mackenzie at the bar. Drinking, dancing, and… the sex. Unforgettable, every room in the house, type of sex.

Black Silk sheets barely covered her gorgeous body, and the sight almost wrecked me again. I wanted to get under the sheets and lay there with her, or wake her up and?—

“Oh my God!” I mouthed, rubbing my face and trying to forget everything that happened.

I slowly inched my way off the bed and froze when she shifted. She turned on her side and I let out a relieved breath when she faced away from me. I got dressed and got the hell out of there as quietly as I could manage.

As soon as I got in my apartment, I slouched down against my door. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I whispered. What was I thinking?!

That was a huge mistake. An amazing, toe curling, multiple orgasmic mistake that couldn’t happen again.

I stood up, shaking the memory from my mind, and went to take a shower. I had to get rid of anything that lingered from my night with Mackenzie.

I had never been the kind of person to have a one-night stand and sleep with a complete stranger—that just wasn’t who I was, but…

There was just something about Mackenzie. When I was around her, I seemed to lose any sense of rational thinking. But not anymore. What we did would not happen again. It couldn’t.

After my ex cheated on me, I swore to myself I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.

Mackenzie was a mistake that wouldn’t be repeated, even if she was the best I’d ever had.

I woke up in the late afternoon, but just barely. I felt worse than I did after my party, but only parts of me. The rest of my body… it didn’t matter. It’s not happening again, stop thinking about it!

I shook it off and went to make dinner when my phone started buzzing.

At least I had the good sense to turn off the ringer before going to bed last night. But sober me didn’t have any good sense at all, because despite seeing who was calling, I picked up anyway.

“Hello?” I said in a groggy voice, almost as if my voice was tired and overused from the night before.

“Hello, love! I have been calling you for at least an hour, where have you been?!” Drea’s chipper voice made me want to throw my phone into a fire.

I groaned. “I’ve been home. Could you lower your voice, just a little?” I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, squinting from the afternoon sun. “I just got up. I’m not feeling that well today. Sorry if I scared you.”

It wasn’t a total lie, I wasn’t feeling well, just not for the reason she probably thought.

“I’m just glad you aren’t dead in a ditch somewhere. Do you need me to bring you anything?” The sincerity in her voice made something inside my chest crack.

“No, I’m fine, really. I’m going to take a hot bath and get some rest. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Fine,” she relented. “Get some rest, and if I don’t hear from you later, I’ll send a search party!” With that threat, she hung up. I chuckled and started on my bath.

A hot bath was one of the things that always helped me when I was having a bad day. Lately, it seemed like there were more bad days than good.

My bath time routine was down to a ritual at this point. I had a wax warmer plugged in that also doubled as a night light. I tossed in a few handfuls of lavender salts, and some lavender bubble bath infused with essential oils into a scalding tub. I loved seeing the steam rise from my skin when I left the bath. I turned off the lights and turned on some relaxing music, attempting to float my thoughts away.

I tried really hard to focus on anything but last night. But no matter how hard I tried, it kept creeping back into my mind. Finally, I gave up, climbed out of the water that was filled with memories I didn’t want, and headed back to bed.

The following day, I was awoken by a violent knocking on my door. I checked the time, and scowled when I saw that it was the ungodly hour of five in the morning. Common sense told me to stay in bed, but my curiosity got the better of me.

I rolled out of bed and walked to the door. When I checked the peephole, I contemplated not answering, but I knew if I ignored her, I wouldn’t have a door anymore.

“Good morning, Dre—” I barely got the words out when she swung the door open and stormed in.

“Please, do come in,” I muttered.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was, Fallon Rose?! I was this close to calling the police on your ass!” She whirled around and was talking aggressively with her hands. Subtly was not her strong suit.

“Calm down, Dre. I fell asleep. I told you I wasn’t feeling well.” The half-truth came out easier the second time. I wasn’t about to tell her exactly why I was feeling sick.

She glared at me. “Well, a lot of good that did! You still look like dog shit, love.”

I rolled my eyes and flopped onto the couch. “Thank’s, Drea. That makes me feel better.”

“Well, you do. I’m sorry—are you sure you’re alright?” She rubbed my arm, and I tried to hide my emotions—something I was never good at.

I cleared my throat and looked at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a stomach bug, I think. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

It might’ve seemed silly to an outsider that Drea freaked out over a few hours of no communication, but after my breakup, I hit a rough patch. It got so bad that I turned off my phone for days at a time and barely left my room. I even took vacation days from work because I didn’t see the point of leaving my bed. If it hadn’t been for Drea, I don’t know how I would’ve survived.

“I just worry about you, you know, after... well, it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re okay. Is Mackenzie still giving you trouble?”

I looked away at the mention of Mackenzie’s name and shook my head. I couldn’t tell Drea what happened—not until I could sort through my thoughts about it myself.

“Nope, no trouble.” Except my internal troubles! “I haven’t talked to her, so we’re all good there.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie. I hadn’t talked to her. Not since I slept with her, anyway.

I let out a sigh as she headed for the door, but my relief was short-lived when she turned back around. “I’ll call you later, okay? And you better answer this time, or so help me!”

“Yes, Mother.” I laughed, following her to the door. I just wanted to be left alone with my thoughts swirling inside my head. Regret threatened to consume me, mixing with the desperate need for a repeat of our night together, and I was dizzy from it all.

When I opened the door, I froze. Mackenzie was going into her apartment and my breath caught when our eyes met. Drea looked between us with a question in her eyes, and my cheeks burned with guilt.

“Bye, Drea.” I shoved her out the door. She smirked at me as she greeted Mackenzie, and thankfully, she didn’t plan on striking up a conversation as she left.

“I…” I started, but quickly shut the door and locked it, hiding like the coward I was. I was afraid of what she would say, and terrified I had nothing to say. If I was being honest, I was afraid she would either say she regretted last night, or she wanted a repeat. Which option I wanted it to be, I wasn’t so sure.

Of course, not ten seconds after she left, Drea blew up my phone:

Drea: I felt that tension, what happened??

Drea: Jesus christ, she is still hot! You better take that!

I groaned as I slouched back on the couch. I already had it, and look where it got me!

Me: Oh my God, Drea, seriously? Go talk to Skylar! Remember your devoted partner? I’m going to take a nap.

I turned my phone on silent and hid underneath the covers, hoping everyone stayed away and left me alone for the rest of the day. I royally screwed up…