I give up and get out of the car. He’s already seen me shitfaced; how much worse can seeing the inside of my apartment make things? “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Sparkles holds his hand out expectantly. “Keys?”
I dig them out of my purse and hand them over. I take deep breaths to prepare for what he’s about to see. As the door creaks open, I’m hit with a cloud of smoke and raucous laughter. Awesome, Cybil has company.
Gavin cautiously steps inside with me close behind. I look around his big body to see what we’re dealing with. Mom and two of her friends are sitting around the coffee table smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. Oh well, it could be worse…at least they’re fully clothed. Gavin’s eyes narrow on the center of the table. The exact spot where Cybil’s friend—Mandy, I think—is leaning over, snorting white powder up her nose through a hollowed-out pen. Even in my current state, I can see how bad this looks. Fuck.
Gavin glances back at me and glares. “Friends of yours?”
I nod toward Cybil. “Friends of hers.” I step in front of him and begin pulling him toward my bedroom. “This way.”
“Baby Girl!” Cybil calls. “Who’s the hot piece of ass?”
“None of your business, Cybil!” I shout behind me. All three women cackle maniacally in response.
I peel Gavin’s clenched fist open and grab my keys to unlock the door to my room. I see the question in his eyes but he doesn’t say anything. All bets are off once we’re closed inside and I turn the locks.
“What the hell is going on here, Kat? What was that out there? Is that what you’re into? And why the hell do you have a goddamn deadbolt on your bedroom door?”
I flop onto the full-sized mattress perched on the floor and groan as a fresh wave of nausea hits me. “Sparkles, please not now. I feel like ass.”
I feel the bed sink as he sits down and sighs. “Kat, I can’t do this. I can’t…be with someone that has an addiction.”
I roll onto my stomach and shove a pillow over my face. “First of all, we’re not dating, so you have nothing to worry about. Secondly, that’s her thing—not mine. I’ve never touched a single drug in my life.” Not willingly anyway. “As you can imagine, her lifestyle comes with certain…challenges. The lock is there because I believe in taking precautions.”
He lifts the pillow off my head. “Care to elaborate?”
&nb
sp; “Not really.” The fog surrounding me is getting thicker by the second, making it increasingly more difficult to keep my eyes open. “Look, Sparkles. I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. I think it’s time for you to go. Thanks for the ride…and the drinks. Although I’m seriously regretting the drinks right now.” I feel like I’m recovering from dental surgery. I know I’m slurring—my mouth feels thick with cotton—and I may or may not be drooling.
“Good,” he says. “Maybe you’ll think about that next time you decide to do something so colossally stupid. Jesus, Kat. What if I didn’t show up? What would you have done with that bastard who was propositioning you?”
I curl into a ball, desperately wanting this conversation to be over. “I would’ve figured something out… I always do. Besides, I don’t normally drink like this. It’s been a really bad day.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t want to be a stripper,” I whine. I roll over and instantly regret it when the ceiling starts spinning again. “Ugh, I’m going to throw up.”
Gavin jumps off the bed and before I can figure out what he’s doing, he’s shoving something in front of me. “Here.”
He grabbed the small wastebasket from the corner of my room. As I’m puking up what’s left in my stomach, he leaves the room and returns with a cool towel that he places on the back of my neck. At first, I try to resist the help, but truth be told, it’s kinda nice.
“Shh, it’s okay, Kat. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll take care of you.”
The last thing I remember is thinking how much I wished that could be true.
YELLOW SUNLIGHT STREAMS THROUGH THE WINDOW as a chill breaks out over my skin. I stretch and realize that I’ve stripped down to my bra and underwear. When did I do that? I glance around my room and thankfully, find it empty. I get out of bed, wrap an old afghan around my body, and stumble down the hall into the bathroom. I feel slightly more human after brushing my teeth and showering, although my head is still pounding.
I practically leap out of my skin when I step into my bedroom and see Gavin sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Jesusmotherofshit!” I shout. “Where did you come from?”
His face is expressionless. “How are you feeling?”
I close my door and pull the towel more tightly around my body. “Humiliated.”
He cocks his head to the side. “What do you have to be embarrassed about?”