Chapter Fourteen #2
Sighing, I give a curt nod, and she wraps her arm in mine as we walk to my car and head to Lunar’s house.
Well, technically, it’s Ryan’s house, but he’s living with Tillie now, and Danger and Lunar rent the house from him.
It seems to work well for everyone. I feel guilty about leaving Ria at the studio, especially because I can’t text her to explain why.
It bugs me more than ever that I still can’t write properly in times like these.
I’m a grown man, I should be able to text my girlfriend, for fuck’s sake.
It just makes me more determined than ever to get this shit under control and get my life on track.
“You okay? You seem even tenser since we left?” Lunar asks as we walk through the front door of her house.
“Yeah… but I feel bad for leaving without saying anything.”
“Just send her a text. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Letting out a slight groan in frustration, I say, “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Um… no minutes,” I lie.
Lunar shakes her head. “You’re a mega rock star with a bankroll to match, and your cell is still on a prepaid, not a plan? Geez, you boys will never grow up. I’ll text Danger to let her know where you are.”
Nodding, I send her a weak smile. “Thanks.”
“Coffee?”
“Got anything, um… stronger?”
She winks. “Bourbon it is.”
Lunar strolls over to the kitchen cupboard and pulls down a bottle of William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon and two tumblers.
I let out a shocked gasp. “Um… Lunar, that’s nearly a grand’s worth of bourbon right there.”
She looks at the bottle and shrugs, opening it, pouring a hefty amount into each glass, and handing me one. “Danger owes us. Bottoms up.”
She clinks her glass to mine and I take a long taste of the incredibly smooth liquid.
Three hours later and many more drinks, Lunar and I are at the dining table, one bourbon bottle down and a tequila bottle open. Our manic laughter has died down, and our epic head pounding has begun as we both sit quietly, our forearms on the table and our heads firmly planted on them.
“Do you think Danger still thinks I’m pretty?” Lunar slurs.
I glance up at her, her head still on her arm, and I scoff at her like she’s being ridiculous. A small trail of drool falls from my mouth, but I wipe it away with a little more gusto than necessary. “Fuck, are you kidding me? You’re stunning, Lunar.”
She dramatically looks up, her eyes rolling around her head. “But Zaria is sooo pretty, he’s gonna fall for her for sure.”
My head snaps back in shock. “What? No? Really? No, he loves you.”
“He loved Ella-schmella, too. And he fucking cheated on her before she cheated on him.”
“Pfft… they were long-distance when he did that, and he was a totally different guy with Ella than he is with you. He loves you waaay more than that bitch.”
She groans, flopping her head back down on her arm. “We’re doomed.”
“You and Danger?”
“You and Zaria, me and Danger… maybe we should be polygamous and live as one big happy frouple?”
“Danger couldn’t handle all this,” I say with a chuckle, running my hands up and down my chest as she looks up and bursts out laughing.
The front door opens, and Danger walks in.
“Hey, there you are… I’ve been trying to call you.”
“Ha, I haven’t heard it.” Lunar pulls out her cell and checks.
“Twenty-four missed calls and seven text messages.” She bursts out laughing, causing Danger to raise his eyebrow as he looks from her to the bottles on the table.
“Oh, fuck! It’s on silent, sorry, babe. Oh shit!
I didn’t tell you to tell Zaria about Nate. ”
I look to Danger.
“It’s okay. She knows you left together. Matt saw you both go. But she is worried, Nate. Gotta say, I’m a little worried.”
Lunar scoffs. “We’re great…” She hiccups. “Drinking… having our own party, right, Nate?”
Suddenly, I feel exhausted but also weird, looking at the guy who was basically dry-humping my girlfriend all afternoon. “I’m gonna go,” I say, probably a little louder than I meant it to sound.
Danger looks at me as I stand and stumble to the side, nearly falling over as my world spins.
“No offense, Nate, but you’re not going anywhere. You can’t drive like that. No way.”
I curl my lip up and blow out a puff of air. “I’m fine,” I say, stepping forward to walk off, but everything spins, and I face plant the floor next to Lunar. She squeals with laughter while I lie face-first, wishing it was anyone but Danger watching the mess I’m in right now.
“Yeah, you’re going straight upstairs to the spare room, Nate. No arguments.”
“Yeah, Nate…” Lunar slurs. “Even I know you can’t drive. We’ve drunk too much.”
Danger is standing above me as I roll over onto my back and nod, conceding defeat. “Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath.
He places his hand out for me to grab, so I take it, and he helps me up. Faltering on my feet, he exhales. “Lunar, stay here. I’ll help you in a minute. Let me get Nate to bed first.”
“I like it when you’re all bossy and dictatorial,” she replies with a salute, making Danger chuckle and me groan.
He throws his arm around my waist and helps me up the stairs.
It’s a slow process, but we’ll get there.
Leading me to Ryan’s old bedroom and over to the bed, he throws me down on it.
I bounce up and down on the mattress a few times, chuckling with the movement as Danger battles with my shoes.
He finally gets them off and then sits on the edge of the bed.
“Nate, you probably won’t remember this in the morning, but… I’m sorry.”
I look up at him and squint. Well, I think I do. I’m not really sure. “Sorry?”
“I know watching me with Zaria was hard on you and Lunar. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you guys. Obviously, today was dreadful. But I’m glad it’s done and dusted, and neither of you has to see any of that again.”
“It was not easy. You need to reassure Lunar, Danger. She thinks you’re gonna cheat on her with Ria.”
Did any of that make sense?
I blink a few times, finding it hard to register anything I’m actually saying.
Danger exhales and runs his hand through his hair.
“Shit! Right. Okay. Thank you for telling me. That’s not going to happen, you know that, right?
” I nod and sigh. “Nate, there’s no attraction between Zaria and me.
Not that she isn’t stunning. It’s just, I’m one hundred percent committed to my fiancée forever.
And I wouldn’t do that to you. Even though we’ve had our differences, you’re still one of my best pals, Nate. ”
“Thanks, man, that means a lot. But I’m good… drunk but good. Go tell this to Lunar. She needs to hear it more than me.”
He slaps my leg. “Sleep it off. I’ll bring up some water and something for the inevitable headache later.” Danger stands and goes to the door. Before leaving, he turns and exhales. “Thanks for taking care of her today.”
“Yeah, right, more like she took care of me.”
He half-smiles and nods, walks out the door, closing it behind him with a click.
I exhale and pull out my cell. There were missed calls from Matt and a text from Ria about an hour ago. I quickly open it to see a clownfish, and I smile as my heart pounds in my chest. I reply with a dove and send it just to let her know I’m okay.
She doesn’t reply or try to call.
So I turn over and close my eyes with a slightly spinning head while drifting off to sleep.
***
My mouth is dry, my throat is sore, and my head is relentlessly pounding as I slowly wake up from a restless sleep.
I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to lubricate it, but it’s to no avail.
Opening my eyes, I’m stunned by my surroundings, then remember I’m in Ryan’s old room.
Groaning slightly as I sit up, I look at the bedside table to see painkillers and a giant glass of water.
Quickly popping the pills, I throw them back and swallow the entire contents of the glass, instantly regretting it as my stomach churns from the intrusion. I rub my face and look at the time, seeing that it’s close to lunch.
I wonder how Lunar’s fairing today.
Sliding out of bed, I get up slowly and put on my shoes as best I can, then hobble downstairs. The smell of bacon assaults me, and my stomach flips as I enter the kitchen. Danger is at the stove, cooking, wearing a very feminine apron. I smirk as he turns to look at me, tongs in hand. “Morning.”
“Mm…” I murmur.
“Well, at least all you did was snore all night,” he says, explaining the sore throat. “Poor Lunar’s been barfing most of the night. She finally stopped at about five this morning when she passed out cold.”
“Shit! Is she okay?”
“Yeah, hungry as fuck apparently and hankering for bacon…” He chuckles. “You hungry?”
Shaking my head adamantly, my lips turn down in distaste. “No way! I don’t know how the hell she can eat today,” I sneer, and Danger smirks.
“You just need to puke, then you’ll feel better.”
Lunar comes bounding down the stairs, looking sprightly and radiant, like she isn’t hungover at all. I groan internally. “Morning, Nate…” She takes one look and continues, “You look terrible.”
“Thanks, you look way too good for how much we drank last night.”
“The key is to puke it all up, then the next day, you feel bonza.”
Smirking, I hold in my laugh. “Oh God, sometimes I forget how Australian you are.”
“You can take the chick out of Oz, but you can’t take the bogan out of the babe,” she quips, and Danger laughs.
“So, bacon’s ready,” Danger says.
“Great! Nate, you having some?”
“Just coffee. Lots. Of. Coffee!”
Danger chuckles as he places the bacon onto one plate and brings it over to the table while Lunar pours two cups of coffee. We all sit, and Lunar hands me the giant mug, which, in all honesty, is not big enough.
“Thank you, you goddess,” I say, and she shakes her head as she picks up a strip of crispy bacon and pops it in her mouth.
“So, you two are good?” I ask.
Lunar looks to Danger and smirks.
“Yeah, we’re good. It’d take a lot more than that to break us apart,” Danger says, placing his hand on Lunar’s and squeezing.
She winks at him.
I’m glad for them. I just hope things are okay with Ria and that leaving her at the studio hasn’t fucked things up between us.
“Did you talk to Zaria?” Lunar asks.
“Not yet.”
Danger sighs. “Dude, it’s not her fault. Don’t be mad at her—”
“No, I know, and I’m not. I just needed time to wrap my head around this. I just hope that in doing it, I haven’t fucked up and scared her off.”
“I’m not gonna lie… she was pretty upset when we realized you guys left. She was concerned about you.”
“Yeah, I should’ve called her.”
“You weren’t in a fit state to call her, Nate.”
Nodding, I pick up my coffee and take a drink. It burns, but I need the caffeine hit.
After Lunar and Danger inhale their bacon, and I finish my coffee, I figure there’s no need for me to hang around. I should probably call Ria, but my battery is nearly dead. So, instead, I’ll head out to see her.
I say my goodbyes to Danger and Lunar, and they tell me not to drive too far, as I may still be over the limit.
But my need to see Ria outweighs the negatives right now, and a DUI is something Tillie could fix if push comes to shove.
I feel perfectly fine sans a major fucking headache, but I am not stupid.
I know the alcohol will not be out of my system, so I do the sensible thing and order an Uber.
It would be reckless to drive.
I need to get to Ria, and the fastest way right now is an Uber.