Page 28 of The Harder You Fall (Rixon Raiders 3)

Pouting, I let her pull me along the hall to my room. “You know,” she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house so big.”

“What’s home like? Your home in Philly?”

“It’s not like this, that’s for sure.” Mya pushed open the door and found the light switch, but I said, “Don’t. I just want to get into bed and forget this ever happened.”

Mya guided me over to the bed and I flipped down onto it face first. Her amused laughter echoed in my skull. “I’ll get you some water and Advil.”

I don’t know how many minutes passed before she returned, the liquor-haze making me heavy, pushing me toward the edge of oblivion.

“Asher?” Her voice pulled me back into consciousness and I rolled over, cracking an eye open.

“Thanks,” I said, eyeing the bottle of water, box of pills, and gum.

“You should get some rest. I’ll—"

“Stay, you should stay.”

“Asher, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You’re right, it’s not. It’s probably the worst idea I’ve ever had.” I pushed up onto my elbows, kicking off my sneakers.

Mya hesitated, her eyes glittering with indecision. She wanted to go, that much was obvious. But something made her stay.

Padding over to the door, she closed it, before moving to the two-seater couch pushed up against the wall.

“You’re not sleeping there,” I said, suddenly feeling very awake.

“Who said anything about sleeping? I’ll sit for a little while and make sure you’re okay.”

“I think the chances of me hurting myself in my sleep are pretty slim.”

“You might choke on your own puke.”

My stomach lurched and I grimaced. “That is...”

“Disgusting?” Mya smirked.

“Can we pretend you didn’t see me half-passed out earlier, hugging the toilet bowl?”

“Too late,” she replied.

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” I groaned, tipping my head back and taking in a deep breath. “This was so not how I saw this going.” The words came out small.

The bed dipped beside me and Mya’s hand rested on my arm. “What happened tonight, Asher?”

Our eyes collided.

Time stopped.

It would have been so easy to tell her, to let her see inside the guy with the world at his feet.

“I... My dad called, it was a rough conversation.”

Her brows furrowed. “You threw an impromptu party and then got ass over elbow drunk because of some argument with your dad?”

“Well, when you say it like that...” Strangled laughter spilled out of me, but it quickly died when I felt my stomach churn again. “Fuck.” I clambered off the bed, making a beeline for the bathroom adjoining my room, leaving Mya, and all thoughts of my dad behind.

Mya