3. Frankie
THREE
Frankie
“Rise and shine!”
To my absolute horror, sunlight infiltrated the room and seared my eyelids. I threw the quilt over my head and groaned. For being a basement guest bedroom, there was entirely too much natural light for my liking.
“Get out,” I said weakly.
Mattie chuckled. The edge of the bed dipped down as she plopped down on it. “Giles is making breakfast. Come join us. There’s lots of coffee.”
“You couldn’t bribe me to move for all the coffee in the world.”
My head was ringing. I had woken up in the middle of the night and pounded a glass of water and two ibuprofens. It was helping a little but not enough.
“You should have left with me last night.”
I moved the quilt down to peek out at my sister. She was already dressed in a maroon sweater and dark jeans. Something about her being so put together right now irked me. It was like this mild hangover was a reminder of how pathetic my current predicament was.
“Are you really trying to lecture me at” —I glanced at the digital alarm clock from the nineties placed on the bedside table— “seven-thirteen in the morning?”
Mattie laid down next to me and looked up at the ceiling. “No. But you’d be feeling better right now if you’d listened to me.”
“Whatever,” I said, sitting up and reaching for the water bottle I’d set on the nightstand. My mouth tasted and felt like sand.
“How was the rest of the night?” she asked. “I was surprised when I beat you home. I almost called to check on you, but then I heard the basement door slam right as I was getting ready for bed.”
I rubbed my temple. Thankfully, the headache was already dissipating.
“It was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of things,” I said, my thoughts drifting to Oliver. He definitely had helped get my mind off things. He had been just as infuriatingly annoying as he’d been attractive. And a good kisser to boot.
“I’m glad it helped,” Mattie said.
Her look of sympathy made me want to curl up into a ball. I wasn’t the type of person people pitied. I’d been the top of my class, always popular, financially secure, thriving in my career. People always envied me. They didn’t feel sorry for me.
“I kissed a guy last night,” I said, wanting to change the look on my sister’s face to one of interest instead of sympathy.
Her eyes widened as she sat back up. “What? Who?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just some guy. He came into the bar right as I was leaving.”
“What was his name?” she asked. “Maybe I know him. ”
I threw the covers off and got out of bed. “I doubt it. He said he literally just got into town.”
Mattie’s face wrinkled. “You made out with some random guy? A stranger? That’s not like you at all.”
“That was kind of the point,” I said, rifling through the top drawer and pulling out a fresh T-shirt. I was the type of person who had to immediately unpack their suitcase upon arrival at a destination. It didn’t matter how short or long the trip was. I couldn’t stand living out of a messy suitcase.
“Was he cute?” Mattie sounded both impressed and disturbed at the same time.
“Obviously.” I pulled the T-shirt on before throwing on a pair of sweats over the tiny shorts I typically slept in. The rat’s nest on top of my head would have to wait until after breakfast. The pounding in my brain had nearly subsided, but it now demanded coffee in order to go away completely.
“What did he look like? Do you like him?”
“Mattie.” I looked at my sister exasperatedly. “I don’t even know him. We flirted for like two seconds before he started being kind of rude. He tried to call me out for being uptight or something.” I stretched overhead before rubbing my eyes. “But he had a cute face and I was little tipsy. End of story. He seemed like some sort of drifter or something. Not even close to my type.”
“What is your type again?” Mattie asked, tapping her chin. “Neurotic douchebag who would sell your soul for a promotion at work?”
I snorted and threw a pillow at my sister’s face. She caught it easily.
“That was one guy,” I said, holding up a finger.
She was referring to the coworker I had slept with ages ago. She’d met him while visiting me for a long weekend. We’d all gone out on a Friday night and he’d talked her ear off about how indispensable he was to our company. We hadn’t lasted much longer after that. It was hard not to be grossed out by him after seeing him through the unforgiving lens of my sister.
“It’s all I have to go off of.” She winced as if remembering how physically painful her interaction with that guy had been.
“My last boyfriend was nice. You would have liked him,” I said, remembering Thomas. He was a sweetheart, but not very career driven. It had worked for a bit, but he’d gotten fed up with my schedule.
“Too bad you only dated for like two months, and I never got the chance to meet him.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “It was three.”
“Whatever. Same difference.”
“I need coffee if we’re going to discuss my love life this early in the morning.” I threw open the door to the guest bedroom and walked out into the finished basement. Mattie had moved into Giles’s house when they started dating. It was this quaint little bungalow. The bedrooms were all upstairs, but he’d finished the basement off years ago to add a guest bedroom, bathroom, and a small sitting area. It was honestly perfect. I could stay here for a bit and not be right on top of my sister due to the two floors of separation.
Mattie scrambled off the bed and followed me. “Tell me more about the guy from last night. Did you get his number? I really don’t think you’re in a position to be turning down anyone right now.”
I shot her a dirty look before trudging up the wooden stairs. “Why would I get his number? It’s not like I’m going to date him or something.”
“Not date. Flirt. Hook up. Have you no imagination?”
I threw open the door to the main floor. “That sounds like a distraction. I need to focus on perfecting my résumé and getting interviews,” I said, walking into the short hallway that led to the door to the backyard. Immediately to the left was the opening for the kitchen, where voices spilled out.
“And you can’t get laid while you’re at it?” Mattie asked as we both stepped into the kitchen.
I froze as soon as I saw him. Mattie’s husband, Giles, stood there with a cup of coffee—but he wasn’t alone. Leaning against the counter, wearing a gray sweatshirt, a beanie, and a smirk, was Oliver.
Shit.
Not only did I look like absolute crap while he looked completely perfect, he had definitely overheard Mattie.
“Um.” Giles gave us both a raised brow look. “Morning?”
I turned to Mattie and whispered in her ear, “That’s the guy.”
When I pulled away, she had a confused look in her eyes before a lightbulb went off. She glanced at Oliver then back at me, giving a small nod of approval.
“Morning,” she said loudly, sweeping into the kitchen and wrapping an arm around her husband. “I was just telling Frankie that she needs to have some fun while she’s here.”
I tipped my head back and groaned. “And I was just telling your nosy wife that I don’t have time.”
“You have nothing except time.” Mattie reached into a cupboard and pulled out two mugs before handing me one.
“Thanks for that,” I said flatly, taking the mug.
“Mattie, this is Oliver. Ollie, this is my wife, Mattie.” Giles pointed the spatula he was using to scramble some eggs between the two of them.
“Thanks again for all the hospitality.” Oliver reached out to shake Mattie’s hand. “And it’s good to finally meet you. Giles says great things.”
Mattie squeezed Giles’s shoulder. “I would hope so. But seriously, thank you so much for coming. We never thought we’d find an advanced instructor to replace Johnny this late in the season.”
“Happy to be here,” Oliver said.
“And this is Mattie’s sister, Frankie. She’s staying with us for…well, I guess I don’t know exactly how long.” Giles sounded a bit worried about the idea of an open-ended visit.
“Frankie, huh?” Oliver stroked his chin, assessing me.
“Don’t worry, I’m not moving in or anything,” I said to Giles, ignoring Oliver and moving straight for the coffee machine.
I could feel Oliver’s eyes on me as I filled my mug from the carafe. When I met his gaze, he still wore a smug smile, clearly waiting for me to say something.
“Um, can I talk to you over there?” I asked, pointing through the small dining room to the living room.
“Me?” Oliver pointed at his chest.
“Him?” Giles looked between the two of us.
“Yep.”
“Sure.” Oliver pushed himself off the counter and led the way into the other room.
As soon as we stepped into the living room, he spun around. Damn it, he looked good. Even better than I remembered from last night. The dim bar lights and my tequila haze had not done him justice at all.
“Look,” I started.
“Nice hair.” He surprised me by grabbing a piece of hair by my face and twisting it between his fingers.
I blanched before raising my own hand to my head. I could feel the frizziness of my messy bun. Any attempt to smooth it down would be pointless.
“Sorry we can’t all look perfect in the morning,” I mumbled .
“You think I look perfect?” he teased. Why did he have to be so obnoxiously endearing?
I took a sip of coffee to distract myself. “Okay,” I started again, but he still interrupted me.
“Is this the part where you ask me not to tell anyone what happened last night?” he asked.
“What?”
“You know. The part where you’re embarrassed by what happened last night and you don’t want anyone to know we made out so you ask me to keep it a secret. But of course, we’ll inevitably slip up and everyone will find out anyway.”
“I told Mattie like the second I saw you,” I said flatly.
His forehead creased. “Oh.”
I let out a small laugh. “Did you think this was one of those movies where the main characters can’t communicate and cause all this unnecessary drama?”
He tilted his head, still smiling. “Maybe. Sounds like fun.”
My grin spread across my face. Oliver might not be the kind of guy I could see myself with, but he was amusing. I’d give him that.
“All I was going to say was that I wasn’t exactly acting like myself last night. I’m sorry for?—”
He held up a hand. “Let me stop you right there, because you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
I tipped my head back and resisted groaning. “Fine. Sorry was the wrong word. I’m just trying to say that last night was out of character for me.”
“You mean you don’t typically go around kissing strangers you just met outside a bar? I’m shocked.”
Something about the know-it-all way he said it, eyes staring right into mine, made me want to kiss him all over again to prove him wrong.
“Exactly,” I said instead .
“What sort of person are you then?” he probed.
I took another exaggerated sip of my coffee, staring at him over the lip of my mug. “The kind that doesn’t like to get into the gory details of my psyche before eight in the morning.”
“Got it.” Oliver snapped his fingers. “I’ll wait until the evening.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I narrowed my eyes. “All I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t expect it to happen again.”
He stroked his chin at that and pretended to look thoughtful. Then he leaned in so his face was only inches from mine. “What if I beg?”
A small gasp escaped my lips. But before I could regain my composure and give him a response, Giles entered the room behind us.
“Breakfast is ready,” he said, giving us both a quizzical look. “Do you two know each other or something?”
“No,” I said at the same time Oliver said, “Yes.”
Giles furrowed his brow and looked to Mattie, who had stepped into the room behind him.
“They just met,” she clarified. “At the bar last night.”
“Oh, small world,” Giles said, still assessing the two of us. My brother-in-law wasn’t exactly the warmest and cuddliest of people, but we got along okay. He was more of a loner than anything. We’d hardly had a conversation alone since he and Mattie started dating. I knew she secretly hoped that my being here would spark a friendship between the two of us. I wasn’t opposed to the idea. I just simply didn’t know if I had the time.
“Did someone say breakfast was ready?” I asked, dying to change the subject and get away from the curious nature of Oliver’s stare.
“It’s on the table,” Mattie said, shooting me a devilish grin .
“After you,” Oliver said, placing his hand on my lower back and motioning toward the kitchen. He seemed to be reveling in every moment of my discomfort, and it drove me nuts.
I stepped away from his touch and moved into the dining room before sitting down for breakfast. Oliver took the seat across from me and winked before digging in.
I did my best to ignore his stolen glances throughout the meal and focus on my food.
So much for never seeing this guy again.
And so much for a kiss without consequences.