“You can take me home, Nick,” Alesha added, her eyes still locked—although hazy—on him.
“Alesha, shut up. You’re not going anywhere.” I grabbed her arm and started tugging her down the sidewalk. I looked back at Nick. “Sorry. I guess I’ll see you later.”
What a disaster.
To my surprise, Nick caught up to us on the sidewalk and looped an arm around Alesha. She swayed and teetered in her sky high heels and he took her weight as she sagged into him. With a quick exhale, he swept her into his arms like she weighed nothing—which was almost true—and glanced ahead. “I got her.”
“Are you sure?”
Alesha smiled dreamily up at Nick like he was her white knight.
Lordy.
“This one,” I said, pointing up at my house.
Nick went up first and stood to one side, Alesha lulling in and out of a trancelike state, her mumbled words slurred and unrecognizable. She was gonzo. I opened the front door and hurried inside, pushing the door open as wide as it would go so Nick could maneuver Alesha inside without smacking her head.
Although, it might not be a bad idea. Maybe it would knock some sense into her.
I sighed. Doubtful.
“Where should I put her?”
“The couch is fine. She can sleep it off down here and that way I can make sure to wake her up bright and early with lots of banging around in the kitchen.”
Nick grinned over at me as he lowered Alesha down to the couch. “Banging in the kitchen, huh? Sounds hot. Am I invited to that party?”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t bite back the laugh that bubbled up at the mischievous look in his dark eyes.
Alesha babbled something before rolling up into a ball, her face buried in the couch cushions.
“Thank you,” I said, glaring at her rounded back.
“No problem.” Nick went back to the front door which was still open. He shifted his weight back and forth, as though trying to decide to stay or go.
“I’ll see you in the morning?”
“For the kitchen banging?” He chuckled.
“Goodnight, Nick.”
He raised a hand. “Tomorrow morning. Call me if you need anything, okay?”
“I will. Thanks again.”
“No problem.” He waved as he turned to go out to door and I watched him from the doorway until he ambled down the sidewalk to his truck.
“Nick?”
I turned back around at the weak, dazed voice from the couch. She’d rolled back over and was watching me with unfocused eyes. “Nick’s going where?”
I shut the front door and spun around, flinging my arms tight around my middle. “Where were you, Alesha?” I demanded, my tone dripping with acid. If she was conscious enough to ask about Nick’s whereabouts, then she was going to answer my questions. “I called you a dozen times!”
“Hey, I’m back by ten. Okaaaaaay?” She glared at me. “Where’s Nick?”
“No. It’s not okay. You’re drunk!”
“Nah,” she said, rocking her head back and forth on the couch cushion. She squeezed her eyes closed.
I bit back my angry retort. There was no point in arguing with her. She wouldn’t remember the conversation in the morning anyway. “Go to sleep, Alesha. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
I stalked off before she could beg me to stay and went upstairs to my room. As I got ready for bed, I cycled through a list of potential punishments and wished there was an effective way of grounding her for the rest of the summer.
“What the hell am I gonna do?”
I stripped out of my clothes, the smell of smoke from the fire pit wafted to me and I smiled sadly. How had the night gone downhill so quickly? What would Nick think of the entire mess? I shook my head. That wasn’t important. I had to figure out what to do with Alesha. I’d worry about Nick later.
But as I lay down to go to sleep, Nick was the only thing on my mind.
The next morning, Alesha was still sleeping off her night off down on the couch. As I passed through, on my way out of the house, I paused and briefly considered waking her. Before I cleared my throat loudly, I stopped and shook my head to myself. Not worth it. If I woke her up it would just start an argument that I wouldn’t have time to finish. So, as much as I hated the idea of leaving her alone all day, to do God only knows what, I forced myself out of the house and went down to The Siren.
Nick was one of my first customers of the day, coming through the doors half an hour earlier than he normally did. The morning rush wasn’t yet in full swing and he walked right up to the counter. I found it difficult to keep my eyes focused in the right places. The night before, in my tossing and turning, I’d had a vivid dream of the two of us tangled together and the memory of the dream was still clinging in my brain.