Chapter 10
Serena
Where am I? What happened last night?
Intense pressure grips my skull, squeezing with every passing second. My eyes are slow to open and heavy. The taste of stale vomit coats my tongue, which feels like sandpaper and twice its normal size.
I have never felt like this before, even on my worst of hangovers.
I’m trying to remember what happened last night, but the memories are foggy. The last thing I remember, we were dancing and then everything went black. I vaguely remember a sofa, the smell of old food and… brown eyes.
The sound of a doorknob turning and then the soft click of the latch rings in my ears. Right now, a mouse could fart and I would hear it. My eyes are still closed when I hear Jules from across the room.
“Oh good, you’re up.” Her voice slices into my head.
“Can you not talk so loud?” I mumble. “I am literally dying right now.” My fingers pinch the bridge of my nose.
“You’re not dying, you’re just coming down from the drugs. Although, there was a point last night that I thought you were dying and I was lowkey freaking out for a second.” She sets a glass on the end table and then sits at the end of the bed by my feet.
“Drugs? I didn’t take any drugs!” I shoot up from my pillow. “I didn’t even have any alcohol.” My head pounds and I immediately regret shouting. And then a cold ease settles in my stomach. I’ve never taken drugs before in my life, and I most certainly didn’t have any last night.
“Honey,” She places a hand on my leg, “someone slipped something into your drink last night. Don’t you remember?”
“No… I don’t remember anything after Keirsten and I joined you to dance again.” A sickening, hollow feeling swirls deep within me, and I drop my face into my hands. I had no control over what happened to me, and I haven’t felt this powerless since I was a child.
“Isaac was almost positive it was Ketamine babe. I’m so sorry…” Her voice softens, laced with sympathy.
I lift my head from my hands and blink a few times to get the residual blurriness to go away. Jules is sitting next to me in one of my oversized shirts, which tells me she got into my closet while I was sleeping.
“What do you mean Isaac was pretty sure it was Ketamine?”
“Wow. You must not remember much.”
“No, I don’t. So can you please tell me?” Annoyance threatens at the edge of my voice.
“Well, we were dancing and laughing, having an amazing time. And then out of nowhere, you just dropped to the ground.” She shifts and tucks her leg underneath herself.
“It was so scary. And then Isaac appeared like a freaking knight in shining armor, picked you up and whisked you away to the break room.” She waves her hand in the air.
“You were so out of it. He made sure you were okay, and then he took us home.”
Groaning, I fall back onto my bed. I’ve never been more grateful for pillows before in my life. Even so, a sharp ache blooms from the contact and spreads into an overwhelming throb.
Drugs. Fucking Ketamine. No wonder I can’t remember anything.
My stomach drops when another thought hits me.
“Jules… did I… say or… do anything last night to embarrass myself?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She leans back onto her hands and tilts her head.
Whew. Thank God.
“Oh wait. You did tell Isaac that you dream about him.” She shrugs, like telling me that I confessed to Isaac that I’m dreaming about him is no big deal. It’s a huge deal.
Groaning, I roll over to my side and lift the comforter over my head. Why am I always saying shit like that to him? It’s like I can’t control myself when I’m around him and the words just come out like vomit.
It’s true that Isaac has been infiltrating my dreams, not only at night, but more recently during the day.
But I didn’t want him to know that.
I don’t even know why I’m entertaining them in the first place. They’re just fantasies. And I have a freaking boyfriend for fucks sake.
Granted, a boyfriend who’s barely around anymore. And who treats me like a burden. Who makes me feel like all I do is make mistake after mistake and can’t do anything right.
At least Isaac treats me like I matter. And he doesn’t even know me. A fucking stranger treats me better than my own boyfriend.
This is all so confusing. Do I like Isaac?
Or do I just like the mystery of him? The way he looks at me like he knows something I don’t.
What if I’m completely wrong about him?
What if he is just some creepy serial killer and the second I let my guard down… WHACK! He snaps and dumps me in the river like The Green River Killer.
Never to be heard from again.
There’s something about him that seems dangerous, but that same dangerous quality is what sucks me in. And I don’t know if that says more about him… or about me.
“I’m going to go get you some Tylenol and orange juice. Be right back.” Jules pats my leg before getting off the bed and leaving the room.
What did I do to make life so confusing right now? I was just existing a month ago. Not a care in the world. Now, I’ve got a possibly psycho, albeit insanely hot, man interested in me.
Which makes no fucking sense at all. But that’s besides the point.
My boyfriend of four years barely talks to me these days, and now I’m a druggie. Might as well just check myself into rehab and throw away the key.
Okay, I have been spending too much time with Jules lately.
I feel the weight of her body when she settles back into her spot on the bed. Rolling back over, I remove the covers and take the orange juice and two tablets from her hand before she grabs her phone from the end table.
My God, this tastes so damn good. I tip the glass back and greedily gulp it down in long desperate swallows.
“By the way, Isaac… he’s… kind of intense.” Jules looks up at me from her phone.
“What do you mean?”
“He went full on crazy when you collapsed,” she says. “Like zero hesitation. He just swooped in and whisked you off to the break room.”
She frowns. “And when we were in there, he was drilling Keirsten, poor girl didn’t even stand a chance. He just kept asking her what happened, over and over.”
My stomach tightens. I hate that she had to endure that.
“And then,” Jules hesitates, “when we brought you back home, he called you baby girl. ”
My eyes widen. That’s presumptuous.
“Like you were his girlfriend or something.” She shrugs. “I don't know, it was just…weird.”
He called me baby girl? I know that I should be freaked out. We don’t even know each other. But, it’s actually kind of sweet that he cares so much about me.
“Yeah… that is kind of strange.” I took another sip of my orange juice and then set it down on the end table.
“Just be careful with him, Serena.” Jules sets down her phone and scoots up closer to me on the bed. She places her hand on mine, her face etched with concern.
I sit up more in bed and grab her face with both of my hands. “You have nothing to worry about Jules. I’m with Tyler.”
Jules snorts and grabs my hands. “Please, I see the way you look at Isaac. I’m your best friend; you can’t hide anything from me.” She raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. “Besides, I noticed how you said you’re with Tyler and not I love Tyler .”
My face heats up and I know my cheeks are bright pink right now. Jules laughs and pats my knee. “I’m not judging girl. You know I am the last person to judge. I’m just saying, be careful. It’s okay to have fun, I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
I honestly never thought about pursuing anything with Isaac. Yes, I’ve thought about him, on more than one occasion. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything. Right?
After last night, and the apparent approval from my best friend, I’m not so sure.
I’ve been feeling so lonely lately with Tyler being gone all of the time. He’s been distant, we haven’t had sex in like three and a half weeks, and honestly? I’m starting to forget what an orgasm feels like.
Right now, I just want to take a hot bath and forget about all of this confusing shit. I’m embarrassed for letting myself fall into such a compromised position, and I just want to be alone.
“Thank you for taking care of me this morning, but I’m sure you’re probably busy and you can get going.” I urge.
“Not a chance. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone, and I don’t know when Shitface is going to be home.” She shifts forward.
“I’ll be fine. Promise.” Sitting up, I plaster a smile on my face and hold up my hand beside me. She looks at me trying to figure out if I’m lying or not. Something must have convinced her, because she gives me a soft smile.
“Well, I’m going to head out then babe. Keirsten already left, so you’re positive you’ll be okay?”
I nod and try and give her the most reassuring smile I can muster.
With one last look, she stands up, kisses my cheek and leaves my room.
I hear the front door shut behind her after a few minutes and make the decision to throw on some sweats and go pick up Belle from the neighbor’s before taking a hot bath.
***
Fresh out of the bath, I curl up with my favorite sherpa blanket with Belle by my side, completely lost in the new book I started reading. The romance is hot… but the sex is even hotter.
I am officially in my smut reading phase, and I regret nothing.
If I can’t live out my fantasies in real life, I might as well live vicariously through an innocent lead female character who gets absolutely dominated by a dark and mysterious man with a giant cock.
Smut aside, it’s nice to know someone is living their romance dreams, even if she is a fictional character.
I wonder if Isaac has a giant cock? My mind wanders and soon it’s filled with all kinds of scenarios. Many of which end with his hand around my neck, buried deep inside me.
Belle nuzzles her nose underneath my arm and sticks her head through, breaking me from my fantasy. Her big golden puppy dog eyes look up at me with wonder.
No. More like hunger.
Her eyes dart over to the bowl of pretzels on the arm of the couch next to me. She wants one, and she knows exactly how to win me over.