“Yeah?”
“Doesn’t matter if we’re not sleeping together right now. You’re the only one I want, and maybe I’m just being an optimist, but I think things might work out between us.” He nudges me and gives me a wink.
Now’s the perfect time to tell him. “Cill.”
“Yeah?”
“All right, sorry about that. Busy night,” Chad says, coming to a stop in front of us.
“No worries, man,” Cill answers. “You still having a margarita on the rocks?” I nod. “Okay, margarita on the rocks for the lady, and I’ll have another Bud Light.”
“What were you saying?” he asks, leaning over to hear me.
“Oh, I was just gonna say…”
“There you guys are!” London says, flinging herself against the bar. “There’s so many damn people here. Cill, you’re loved.”
He smiles. “I think Royce offered everybody a free drink or some shit. Who knows why so many people are here.”
London orders a drink, and then the rest of the crew joins us, so I decide I’ll just tell him tomorrow. There’s way too much going on right now. Tonight’s not the night for serious conversations. Tonight’s the night for drunken shenanigans.
“Let’s go to the special, reserved booth,” I say. “Time to play drink while you think.”
“Oh no,” a couple people grumble.
“Oh yes,” I say.
“And here’s where we get drunk,” Cill says, following me to the table.
“Isn’t that the point? To get the birthday boy drunk?”
While we scoot into the booth, Cill whispers, “The birthday boy has other plans.”
I grin, glancing around to make sure nobody’s paying attention. “You gonna tell me what they are?”
He squeezes my thigh under the table but leaves it at that.
41
Cillian
Everyone’s drunk. I’m horny. I want to leave.
Two in the morning came fast. We’ve been here drinking since nine, and though we paused the drinking to eat some food and have some of the cake London brought in from Flaky Vicki’s, drinking has been the predominant activity.
Yes, some of us got up to dance. Not me.
Yes, we played more drinking games. Elijah bailed out of the games early, because he’s responsible and didn’t want to get too drunk to where he couldn’t drive home.
Yes, I struggled to keep my hands to myself when it came to Midge. I managed a few under-the-table touches because nobody’s looking down there.
But it’s fucking late, and I can’t stop thinking about getting Midge naked and underneath me. Tonight, without too many words, and with plenty of touching, I think we’ve decided to start things back up again.
“All right, people. Thanks for everything. I’m heading out,” I announce, slightly running my words together.
“You’re not driving, are you?” London questions.
“Yeah, didn’t Elijah drive you?” Royce adds.
Elijah left an hour ago because I told him I’d be getting a ride home with Midge. Nobody else knows that was the plan. Well, Midge does, but Midge is drunk, too.
“Oh shit.”
“You could stay upstairs with me and London,” Royce suggests, though I know they’ll want their own alone time.
“I’ll grab a Lyft.”
“Me too,” Midge says, grabbing her phone. “I have the app. Wanna share?”
“Sure.”
London chokes back a laugh. It definitely seems like she suspects something. I’ve seen her watching us a little more closely than usual.
Jon and Daniel left a little bit ago, I’m assuming via Lyft as well, because they both had a lot to drink.
I say goodbye to Royce and London, giving them both hugs before they disappear to the apartment upstairs.
Only a few people remain, but Royce has two bartenders and his manager here to close things down for him.
Me and Midge stumble outside, enjoying the cool air and the fact that we’re now out from under watchful eyes. She takes off her shoes and checks her phone.
“Five minutes.”
“Your house or mine?” I ask, because we both know that wherever we’re going, we’re going together.
“Yours is closer.”
I give her a drunken, happy smile. “I like your thinking.”
We crash into each other, our mouths connecting in a frenzied kiss. A car drive’s up next to us and honks, so we pull away to get into the Lyft.
The drive to my house isn’t long, but when I close my eyes, I find it hard to open them again. My blinking slows way down, and I know the alcohol and late hour are getting to me. I shake my head, trying to snap myself out of it.
Once we pull into my driveway, I take the keys from my pocket and head up the walkway to unlock the door.
Inside, I don’t bother turning on any lights, I only head straight to my room.
“Want anything?” I ask, after we’ve already passed the kitchen.
“Just a bathroom.”
Once in the bedroom, I point toward the attached bathroom, and Midge disappears behind the door. When she flicks the light on, she says, “Oh God, bright lights are no good.” She gasps. “I look like shit.”
I chuckle, removing my shoes and jeans, then flop onto the bed to wait. I close my eyes, and the room tilts. Oh man.
I hear Midge knock something over, followed by a drunken laugh, and then I don’t remember anything else.
Lights out.
When I finally wake up, it’s because my phone is vibrating and dinging on the table next to me.
I reach out and grab for it, squinting at the screen to read the message from Royce.
Royce: I’ll be there later. Hungover as fuck.
Well, at least I’m not alone. Now that I’m awake, I push back the covers and sit up, scratching my head. I don’t even remember falling asleep last night.
I get up and make my way to the bathroom, because my bladder feels like it’s going to explode. After I piss, I stand at the sink and read a message written across my mirror in lipstick. Well, not a long message. All it says is You’re cute and a little heart underneath.
Midge. She must’ve done this when she was in here last night. I don’t doubt she came out and was disappointed to find me asleep. God, that’s embarrassing. I spent most of the night whispering promises of sexual adventures just to pass the fuck out.
As I brush my teeth, I realize I didn’t see a text from her on my phone. Did she leave and go home last night? I didn’t notice her in the bed, but then again, I didn’t really look around. My back was to the rest of the bed, and I just sat up and came straight to the bathroom.
I quickly finish up, then walk back to the bed. The covers are all bunched up, and initially, I don’t think she’s here, but then I hear a slight snore. My feet carry me to the other side of the mattress, where I find Midge curled up, almost completely hidden under the blankets. I only spot some of her hair splayed out on the pillow.
She stayed.
My lips curve up as I listen to her soft snore. I decide to let her sleep as I head into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and scrounge up some food.
As the coffee’s brewing, I trot over to the laundry room and pull a pair of clean lounge pants and a white T-shirt out of the dryer. I’ll shower later, but for now, I have to get out of last night’s button up shirt.
The coffee pot beeps, letting me know it’s done, and I find eggs and bread. Well, it’s not much, but it’s something.
I drink a full cup of coffee before I start making the food, just to give Midge some extra time to sleep. As the eggs are cooking, I hear the toilet flush in the master bath, and as I’m putting the bread in the toaster, Midge turns the corner.
“Smells good in here.”
I smile at her. Not because of what she said, but because of what she’s wearing. She’s no longer in her skirt, instead she’s in one of my T-shirts.
“Looks good on you. Not sure
if I prefer this or the lingerie.”
She looks down at the shirt and grins. “Well, this does nothing for my figure,” she jokes. “Hope you don’t mind. I found it folded up on your dresser. I didn’t want to sleep in that damn skirt.”
The toast pops up. “Perfectly fine with me. I thought maybe you left. I didn’t know you were in the bed until I came out of the bathroom and heard you snore.”
She gasps. “I don’t snore!”
“You do,” I say with a laugh. “Not like a bear. It was a cute, light snore. Like a baby bear.”
“Oh, that’s better,” she says, rolling her eyes. “A baby bear is still a bear.”
“You sleep all the way under the covers, too. Like, you’re hibernating.”
She steps forward, heading toward the coffee pot. “Can I get some?”
“Of course.”
“I wasn’t hibernating,” she says. “It was fucking cold in your room last night. I was freezing.”
I laugh. “Sorry, I like it to be cold when I sleep.”
“Yeah, me too, but that was like sleeping outside in Alaska.”
I put the toast and eggs on the plates, then take them to the small, round table that’s in the kitchen nook, near the windows.
“You could’ve cuddled up next to me. I would’ve kept you warm.”
She turns around with coffee cup in hand. “Yeah, wasn’t sure if you were the cuddly sleeper type.” Her eyes dart around the kitchen counter. “Sugar?”
I point to a black dish in the corner. “There’s creamer in the fridge.”
“Cool, thanks.”
“I’m not sure if I’m a cuddly sleeper,” I say, using her words. She makes a face at me and I laugh. “I’m serious. But you could’ve tried.”
She walks toward the table. “You were pretty out of it. When I saw you were asleep, I pulled the covers out from under you, which wasn’t easy. You’re like a tree. But with all the jostling and shoving I did to get you under the covers, you didn’t wake up,” she says with a laugh. “And sleepiness crashed into me like a wave, so I stole your shirt, climbed into the bed, and was probably asleep ten seconds later.”
“Well, I’m glad you stayed.”
She smiles at me from across the table. “Me too.” Before she digs into her food, she says, “Oh, I also stole some of your mouthwash.”
“You’re just a thief, aren’t you?”
She shrugs. “Maybe. I’m also gonna need to steal some Tylenol or something.”
I laugh. “You can take whatever you want.”
“I’ll remember that,” she says, her gaze roaming over me.
42
Midge
Once we’ve finished our food, Cill takes our plates to the kitchen and comes back with water and Tylenol for both of us.
“Thanks.” I grab the pills and pop them both in my mouth, swallowing them down with a gulp of ice-cold water. “And for breakfast.”
“No problem.”
Cill starts talking about something that happened last night at the bar, and though I’m listening and nodding, my head is elsewhere. Now is the time to tell him. Maybe this conversation isn’t a big deal to most. Maybe other people would have no problem telling someone that want to have a committed relationship, but I’m not those people.
He stops talking and studies me. “What’s going on? You seem zoned out.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I reply, giving him a small smile. “I uh...well, I’ve been thinking about some stuff, and wanted to talk to you about it.”
Cill straightens up, his face tensing up. “Okay,” he says hesitantly.
“Let me give you some history first. So, I told you about Jenny sleeping with my boyfriend, right?” He nods. “Okay, so Matthew was the last boyfriend I had. It was three years ago, and we were together for two and a half years. I met him when I was twenty-one, and fell for him hard and fast. He was a few years older than me, and I thought the sun rose and set with him. I was young and stupid, yes, but he never gave me a reason to think he wasn’t perfect.
“Anyway,” I say, waving my hand through the air. “Everything I did was for him. I never wanted to disappoint him or anger him. I was the perfect girlfriend. I let him have guys’ nights or guys’ weekends without complaining or nagging him. I didn’t go out with my friends almost at all, because he didn’t like that. He said he wanted me to be safe and that he was worried about me when I went out, so I thought he was just being a caring boyfriend.” I roll my eyes, realizing how stupid it all was.
“To sum up, he was a jerk. He was very controlling. Things had to go his way or he’d be angry, and I never wanted him to be angry with me. When he was happy, everything was fine. We laughed, we went out to dinner, we were normal. I mean, I thought so, anyway. Blah, blah, blah, fast forward and he meets Jenny. She’s a huge flirt, and doesn’t give a shit about people’s relationship status. We worked together at the bank, and she would flirt with Matthew whenever he would come in. He was polite, but when I asked him if he thought she as attractive, he said she wasn’t his type.
“Fast forward some more, and I start becoming suspicious. He’s out more, he’s not responding to my texts or calls. He visits me late at night, then he’s gone early in the morning. So, one day, I get into his phone while he’s in the shower, and I come across tons of messages between him and Jenny. It went back a few weeks, but I don’t know if there had been a previous thread he deleted or what. I found out everything I needed to know in a matter of minutes.
“He didn’t care about me at all, he told her he didn’t love me, though he told me he did every time we were together. They exchanged explicit messages and photos, and she talked shit about me, and he would laugh about it. It was awful. And it’s because of that situation that I’ve been happy being single for these past few years. Well, for almost a year I was still beaten down and insecure. I replayed every message they sent to each other, recalling every negative thing they had to say about me. I believed it.
“But one day, I woke up and decided to hell with all that. I began to love me, flaws and all. I went out, I met people, and I did whatever I wanted to do. I no longer had someone holding the reigns of my life. I was free, and I never wanted to give that up.”
Cillian leans forward and clasps my hands in his. “Midge, you should always be able to have your freedom, even in a relationship. It’s not healthy to only spend your time with one person. Having friends and a social life is good, and you can do that in a relationship. You were just with some selfish fucking asshole who got off on manipulating you.”
I give him a small, crooked grin. “I know. Because of him, I’ve thought all men would be the same way. He led me to believe that was the case. He used my inexperience against me, and told me I just didn’t know how serious relationships worked. Looking back, I see the bullshit, but I was blinded by what I thought was love.”
“Well, I can see why you’re anti-relationships if that’s the only one you were in.”
“I had boyfriends in school, but it was school, so nothing was too serious back then,” I say with a shrug. “One cheated on me, one broke it off because I wouldn’t sleep with him after a week.” I roll my eyes.
“Guys suck,” Cillian says.
I laugh and look him in the eye. “Not all of them.” He grins. “I think I’m ready to try again. With you.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “Yeah?”
I nod and look down at his thumb caressing my hand. “I’ve liked you for a long time, Cill. Back when we were just kids, and even more now. We never took a step to be anything more, so I figured you didn’t see me as anything other than a friend. But I loved our friendship so much, I didn’t mind as long as you kept coming around. I know we went a few years without talking much once we left high school. We were busy with college and work, then got into relationships, so we went from talking and hanging out every day to just saying hi to each other when we were out and about. But man, I’m glad we became closer these past couple years.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I had the biggest crush on you back then.”
“What?” I screech.
43
Cillian
I laugh, releasing her hands and sitting back in the chair. “Yeah, I thought you were the coolest chick in school. You had your no-nonsense attitude, and you were always speaking your mind, whether it was to a student or a teacher. You wore those plaid skirts with black tights and combat boots.”
Midge covers her face with her hands. “Oh God, I thought I was so punk rock back then.”
“It worked for you.”
“So, you liked me the whole time you were coming to my house?”
“Yep. Before then, too. But I really realized it after my parents’ died, and you were there for me. People don’t know how to act around a kid who lost his parents, you know? People at school stared and kept a distance, like I had some sort of disease. You didn’t though. You took me in like I was a lost puppy. You brought me home to your parents and y’all fed me and let me have some semblance of a family. Not to say my brothers didn’t act like family, but we were all struggling. Things were rough at home, and it wasn’t a happy place for a while.”
She tilts her head slightly to the left. “I get it. I’m glad I was able to help you in some small way during that time.”
“Small? You brought me back to life. I hadn’t really thought about it like that until Elijah mentioned it to me the other day. You kept me going when I just wanted to curl into a ball and stay in bed. You invited me and Royce out, and had me over to your house all the time. If I didn’t have you, I would’ve been depressed for a lot longer. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like without you.”
Midge presses her lips together like she’s trying to keep her emotions in check. Her eyes become glassy with unshed tears. I don’t want to see her cry, so I change the topic.
Truth or Dare (Kingston Brothers Book 2) Page 21