Chapter Twenty-Four
I’m woken up by the need to pee – all of the alcohol from last night is ganging up on my bladder – and while I could be tempted to lie here for just a little longer, I am now realising that I have a problem. A big one. And I’ve no idea what I’m doing to do about it.
You see, not only am I learning – right now – that I must have fallen asleep in Si’s bed while we were watching movies, and as though it weren’t awkward enough, that I’ve been here all night, I appear to have snuggled up to him, draping my arm across his body. I’m wearing my dress but, because it doesn’t have sleeves, my arm has sort of stuck to his shirtless torso. Removing it is going to be like ripping off a plaster.
He's still asleep, I can tell by his breathing. If I am only just learning that we fell asleep together, what are the chances that he hasn’t realised yet, if he’s still asleep? Perhaps if I can sneak out of here, he’ll never know.
I slowly remove my arm from Si’s body before gently shuffling to the edge of the bed. I finally get to my feet, scanning the dimly lit room for my shoes, before grabbing them and heading for the door.
I have never opened a door so slowly, or gently, in my life. I’m impressing myself – you would think I do this all the time. I pull it shut behind me, allowing it to click shut ever so softly, smiling to myself because I actually pulled it off.
Of course, it’s only when I turn around that I see Adam standing behind me, watching me sneak out of his brother’s bedroom. Shit.
‘Oh my gosh, you scared me,’ I tell him, still whispering, because now I really really don’t want to wake Si.
‘Sorry,’ he replies. ‘I was just going to the bathroom, so…’
His voice trails off. I don’t think either of us knows what to say.
‘Good night last night?’ I ask him, hoping he returns the question, so that I can tell him this is not what it looks like.
‘I should really…’
He points towards the bathroom door.
‘Oh, yeah, absolutely,’ I reply. ‘See you later.’
I head into my room and close the door behind me.
Shiiiiit.
It’s still early so I peel off my dress and grab a t-shirt, thinking I’ll get into bed for a bit, but I’m no sooner out of my dress and blindly wiping away at my make-up with a facewipe when I hear a knock on my door.
I rush to answer, hoping it’s Adam, hoping that he’s here for an explanation because I can explain, but it’s Si.
‘Oh, good morning,’ I say brightly, trying to style it out. ‘Sleep well?’
‘Well, this is sort of awkward but… did we sleep together?’ he asks me.
‘Did we… what?’ I say, blinking at him with faux innocence.
‘Did we sleep together?’ Si asks again. ‘It’s just… I’m covered in something…’
I notice Adam, over Si’s shoulder, walking from the bathroom to his bedroom and I really, really hope he didn’t hear that.
‘Covered in something?’ I reply. ‘Like what?’
Si steps into the light of my room, showing me his bare torso, and he is covered in strange brown marks.
‘Oh my God, what is that?’ I ask him.
‘I don’t know,’ he replies. ‘But…’
He points at my arm which has the same brown marks and…
‘Oh my God,’ I blurt. ‘You have nothing to worry about, it’s just fake tan. Mel covered me in it, and we didn’t think it had worked. I guess, we fell asleep last night, and I must have got it on you while we were sleeping. I’m so sorry, I’ll ask her what we need, to remove it.’
Si just laughs.
‘Fake tan I can handle,’ he reassures me. ‘Don’t worry about it. I know we’d both had a bit to drink. I did wonder if it has transferred… some other way.’
‘Oh, no,’ I quickly insist.
‘Well, that’s good,’ he replies. ‘I know you said that you didn’t want to rush into anything but, when you do…’
I smile. He seems so sweet and kind of vulnerable right now. I don’t want to get his hopes up, or let him down, so the only thing left to do is joke.
‘There are girls out there who won’t leave you with bad temporary tattoos,’ I tell him with a chuckle. ‘I’m mortified, I really am.’
‘None as special as you though,’ he tells me. ‘Anyway, see you at breakfast. I’m cooking.’
‘Great,’ I reply. ‘Can’t wait.’
Finally, alone, I take off my t-shirt and examine my body in the mirror. Wow, what a mess. I really need to stop letting Mel do these things to me.