Chapter 4
Hungover
Abby rolled over and groaned. She pulled the covers over her head to block the sunlight piercing through the gap in the curtains like a strobe light, even through her closed eyes.
Get the house with the east-facing bedroom, her mom had said. It’ll be so refreshing in the morning. Her mom had obviously never woken up with a hangover in an east-facing bedroom.
She turned away from the window and folded the blanket off her head. Her body wouldn’t let her go back to sleep now. Stupid circadian rhythm. Didn’t it know she was hungover and it was the weekend? She had no reason to get up. Except to find Tylenol.
Throwing the covers off with another groan, she climbed out of bed and slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers.
She shuffled down the hall to the kitchen and turned on her quick-boil electric kettle.
If only her tea would steep as fast. She took her steeper and mug into the living room and curled up in her oversized chair.
Fuzzbutt, her pure black cat, trotted into the room and jumped up on her lap to butt his head against her chin.
She heard the guest toilet flush. A few minutes later, Lindsey stumbled in and made a beeline for the couch, where she collapsed and pulled the folded blanket from the back of the couch over herself.
“Your asshole cat smacked me in the face.”
“That’s his way of saying he loves you.” Abby set her steeper on top of her mug and watched the brew drain down. The fragrant scent of mango and ginger reached her.
“What does he do if he hates you?”
“Pisses in your shoes.”
“Guess I’ll take the love.” Lindsay tossed the blanket off. “Do you have coffee or are you still contemplating your life as a serial killer?”
“There’s a four-cup coffee pot and coffee on the counter just for you,” Abby assured her.
“Oh my god. I’d totally marry you if I was gay.” She stood with a groan and held her hands out like she was trying to steady herself.
“No, thanks. Been there. Done that. The T-shirt sucks.”
“I’m not an asshole. I’d totally be worth getting married again,” Lindsey said over her shoulder.
She returned about ten minutes later with a fragrant cup of coffee. “All hail java, the giver of life and consciousness.”
Abby didn’t have anything against coffee, but she’d gone an entire long weekend without having any and had spent two days with a severe headache dealing with caffeine withdrawals.
She’d figured she’d already gone through the process, so she may as well reap the benefits and had switched to loose-leaf tea blends.
Lindsey took a sip and sighed with pleasure. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Like there’s a revival of Lord of the Dance in my head. You?”
“‘Bout the same.” She glanced over the top of her mug. “Do you remember much from last night?”
“I remember lots of shots.”
Lindsey smiled. “Do you remember the hot biker?”
Abby groaned and slid down into her seat. Fuzzbutt meowed in protest as he was dislodged and had to resettle. “How bad was it?” She had a vague memory of talking to him. Mostly what she remembered was feeling nervous talking to such a good-looking guy.
“It wasn’t bad at all. It could have been a lot better if you hadn’t walked away from him.”
“I think he asked for a hookup, and I don’t do those. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Usually by taking your clothes off.”
If she had something to throw, she would. “You know what I mean. I’ve only been in long-term relationships, and the last one ended almost five years ago.”
“Mmm…there’s a lot to be said for no-strings sex.”
Abby wouldn’t know. “What about you? What happened to the guy you were talking to?”
“There was a line.” Lindsey dropped her head back onto the sofa cushion.
“What do you mean a line?”
“When I came back from the toilet, there were two women fawning all over him. It wasn’t worth the effort.”
“Sorry,” Abby said.
“Eh. You win some, you lose some.” Lindsay raised her head. “If you saw that guy again, would you give him a chance?”
Abby thought about it and her honest answer was…
she didn’t know. She remembered rambling about the suit of armor and him being nice to her and not making fun of her.
She also remembered the way his biceps had pulled at the sleeves of his shirt when he’d crossed his arms. And the way his jeans had hugged his butt.
He was the antithesis of everything she normally found attractive, and yet, she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off him. But she’d been married to Mr. Perfect and look how that had turned out.
“You totally would,” Lindsey teased.
“I don’t know. It’s highly doubtful he’d ever have any interest in a middle school art teacher, anyway.”
“I don’t know,” Lindsey said. “You didn’t see the way he was looking at you.”
“What way?”
“Like you were the last drink of water on a desert island.”
“Pfft. Unlikely.”
A sly grin spread across Lindsey’s face. “Do you remember telling him no hot, sexy motorcycle guys because it never turns out like it does in the books?”
Abby gaped at her. “I did not.”
Lindsey laughed. “You absolutely did.”
“Oh my god.” Abby covered her face with her hands.
“I’ll see what I can find out about him from Angela. I think they work together.”
Abby dropped her hands and scratched Fuzz’s ears. “That is so high school. I may as well write a note—do you like me? Check yes or no.”
“Pretty sure the kids just text nowadays.”
Tinker dropped his elbow to protect his ribs. “Oof.”
He went on the offensive with a quick jab combination but failed to make contact.
“What—” He blocked the uppercut and lifted his leg to keep his knee from being dislocated. “Do you know about—” He barely blocked the hook to his face. “Abby?”
Dani backed up and shook her arms, bouncing on her toes. “Who?”
Tinker straightened his arm and popped his elbow. “Abby. She was at the Knight’s party on Friday. She said she met you. Dark, wavy hair. Green, V-neck T-shirt. A little taller than you.”
He charged his sister, and she spun to avoid him, kicking him in the ass just to prove a point.
“Fuck.”
She chuckled in response. “Saw that coming from a mile away.”
He stretched his neck from side to side. “Abby?”
“I don’t know much about her. Hey, Ange.” Dani raised her voice so Angie could hear her on the other side of the Leonidas gym.
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember the woman Abby we met on Friday?”
Angie jumped onto the side boards of the treadmill before getting off and walking over to the mats where he and Dani were sparring. Although he used the term sparring loosely since Dani had surpassed his skill years ago. He was more of a human punching bag who occasionally swung back.
“Yeah. She came with Lindsey,” Angie said.
“So not with a guy?” he asked.
“No. Just Lindsey. Why?”
“Just wondering.” He was evading more than Dani’s punches.
Angie gasped in delight. “You like her! Tinker’s got a crush.”
He pointed at her as he circled his sister. “You, I can take.”
“Not with Dani in the room.” She sat on the edge of the mat and stretched her legs out in front of her.
“Besides, I don’t know her.” He grabbed his water bottle from the edge of the mat.
“Then why are you asking about her?” Dani asked.
Because he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head all day yesterday or that morning.
Because he kept picturing the blush on her face and wondering what else he could make red.
Because for the first time in longer than he could remember, he met a woman who wasn’t family, a co-worker, or a buddy’s old lady, and who interested him more than physically.
“Just wondering. She said she met Julia, and you yelled at her.” He pointed to Dani.
“Yeah, well. Julia was talking out her ass as usual.”
“She also said she liked you more than Julia.”
“I hope the fuck so,” Dani said.
“What I know is she teaches art and costume design at a local school, and Friday was the first time she’d been to a party in a long time,” Angie said.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“Because she literally said, ‘I can’t remember the last time I went to a party that wasn’t for work,’” Dani said.
He took a drink of water. “You know her friend, though?”
“Lindsey? Yeah. We met at a professional women’s symposium.
She was giving a talk on women in STEM. Attended by women.
Not the audience who should have attended.
I think women in STEM already know about all the roadblocks ahead of them.
But Lindsey was funny, so I talked to her afterward.
We hit it off. Not surprising since I’m an awesome judge of character. ”
Tink grinned and was once again reminded of how similar Abby and Angie were. If he had to guess, Abby was probably as ridiculously smart as Angie.
“Anyway. You want me to find out more about her? I can get her number for you if you want.”
“I don’t need you hacking women’s numbers to get a date,” he said.
“That would imply you date,” Dani said.
“I date.”
“Uh, no. You fuck around for a few weeks and then move on.”
“And?”
“That’s literally the definition of not dating,” Dani said. “The only one worse than you is Sleazy.”
“Every woman I get involved with understands it’s a benefits-only situation. I can’t believe you compared me to Turner.” That dude was the walking definition of man-whore.
He glanced at the large digital clock on the far wall. “I gotta go. We got a meeting about our ride to the school tomorrow.”
“Can I go with you tomorrow?” Angie asked.
“Melanie’s riding with me, but if you can find someone else to ride with, sure.”
“I’ll go,” Dani said. “You can ride with me.”
Ange clapped her hands. “Yay. Want me to find out about Abby?”
“I don’t want you to go looking for info, but if you happen to talk to her friend and she comes up in conversation, maybe find out if she’s single.” He would figure out the rest from there.
Angie stood, joined Dani and leaned close. “Tinker and Abby, sitting in a tree.”
He pivoted and rushed Angie, throwing her over his shoulder. She shrieked and threw her weight forward, forcing Tink to twist and grapple with her legs so she wouldn’t land on her head.
“Hi-yah!” Dani tackled him and took him and Angie to the floor in a tangle of limbs—he wasn’t sure what was his or theirs until one of them landed an unlucky knee to the inside of his thigh.
Fuck. He should have known better.