31. Encore Performance
Chapter thirty-one
Encore Performance
Edward
The three of us look at each other in question.
“Were any of you expecting someone?” I ask. We have pizza, we have drinks... I don’t think I ordered anything else.
“Don’t look at me!” Stanley raises one hand defensively. Drake only shakes his head.
“I’ll get it. I swear if one of you ordered a stripper...” That’s not what I need tonight.
“Maria?!”
She stands in the hallway, her arms wrapped around herself and her head hanging low. Her hair obscures most of her face but I can see that she’s crying.
For a split second, I can’t help but admire the way that dress hugs her figure.
“What... what are you doing here?” My first instinct is to be angry. She’s the one who chose to leave. She wanted to cut ties and move on with her life. Why should I offer her any help now?
But when she lifts her head and I can see the pain embedded in her eyes, my anger and spite are no longer important. Something’s happened and I can’t just turn her away.
“This... this isn’t where I want to be. He was supposed to take me to Chelsea’s...” She manages between the sobs and gasps for air. “I gave him the wrong address. Could one of you...”
I sigh and step to one side to let her in. In passing, I can smell the strong odor of alcohol coming from her. I guess that explains some of what’s going on.
“Did something happen?” I close the door and gesture to the guys to make some room on the couch. Drake is frozen mid-bite into his pizza and Stanley pulls a spit-take, covering some of my couch in his cider. As if I don’t already have a four-year-old covering it in stains every day.
“Can I get you something to eat? Some water?”
Maria collapses on the closest end of the couch, as far as she can be from everyone else. The other two give me a strange look; I shrug from behind Maria.
I have no idea what’s going on.
“I don’t need anything. You can just drop me at Chelsea’s place so I can be out of your hair...”
Stanley does her the courtesy of handing her the box of tissues.
“Nonsense. It’s late. You can sleep it off here tonight and then your boyfriend can pick you up in the morning.”
That must have been the wrong thing to say because she lets out a loud wail that sets my teeth on edge.
“Okay, maybe we don’t do that...” I look over at Stanley; he shrugs and clears some of the pizza boxes aside.
“Did something happen?”
“He broke up with me. He said I was... He didn’t want...”
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to explain any of it right now. I can lend you a shirt to sleep in for the night and you can take my bed.” I pull her closer and she rests her head on my shoulder. The stink of alcohol is strong. Letting her sleep it off would be the best idea.
“I’m sorry that your night’s ruined. I didn't know him very well, but he seemed to make you happy.”
“He did. I was...” She pulls out a tissue and blows her nose. “Are you sure? I can just take the couch.”
“But we’re watching the game...” Drake whines. Stanley smacks him on the arm.
I swear, sometimes Drake doesn’t think before he speaks. It’s going to be his downfall.
“Come on, let’s get you settled in. I can grab you a glass of water while you change.”
I put my arm around her and lift her from the couch. The guys watch me leave, looking just as confused as I feel. This is definitely an unexpected change for the evening.
“Where’s Alex?” she asks under her breath as I close the door behind us. I leave her by the door and cross the room to the closet to find an oversized shirt to lend her.
“At his mom’s for the night. We were, uh, celebrating Drake’s sobriety. It’s been almost two months now.”
“Oh... I... I’m happy for him.”
The guilt settles between my shoulder blades; she probably wanted to be invited. Circumstances made that next to impossible, with how antagonistic the entire situation was.
“Hey, maybe when you’re feeling better tomorrow, we can have a celebratory breakfast. How does that sound? I can go get us some breakfast sandwiches and some coffee.”
“Mm...” Maria slips out of my hands and onto the bed. Her body practically melts into the mattress as she lets her body go slack. “That sounds nice.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I’m pretty sure she’s too inebriated to pay much attention to what I’m saying right now.
So I focus on removing her shoes and placing them by the closet so that she can find them in the morning.
I start undoing the zipper of her jacket when her eyes dart open and she grabs onto my collar.
“Why’re you so nice to me?” she asks with a slur, her eyes unfocused. “After all the crap I put you through?”
“Hey, we put each other through crap. It doesn’t make us bad people. We still deserve kindness once in a while.”
Her bottom lip trembles as she struggles not to cry. I try to ignore how cute she looks in this moment.
That thought has the rug pulled out from under it when she suddenly pulls me in for a kiss, her lips rough and uncoordinated. It steals my breath away and turns my brain into mush. I can feel the pizza in my stomach battling its way up, confused as to what’s going on.
I quickly pull away before I give in to my baser urges.
“Get some sleep, okay?” I say with a shy smile. I know that my leaving is only going to cause disappointment, but I’m not about to take advantage of her in this state. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us.
“No, please stay,” she whines as she maintains her grip on my collar, her eyes slowly welling with tears. The sight of her makes my heart sink into my stomach.
“Bring them in with you.” Her eyes dart to the door. Is she really suggesting this now? The ache between my thighs says yes; the lump of meat in my skull says no.
“Maria... I’ll be here in the morning.” I slip my fingers between hers and slowly pry them off, as much as it pains me. “We can talk after breakfast.”
A pretty pout pulls on the corners of her mouth before she eventually lets go. She allows me to remove the rest of her jacket before curling up in the middle of the bed. Too late to get the covers out from under her. I grab another duvet from the closet and toss it over her.
Well, that was certainly a surprise.
There was little sleep to be had as I tossed and turned on the couch. I suggested to Stanley and Drake to go home so that they wouldn’t have to deal with this, but both of them refused. They weren’t going to leave me with the burden of taking care of an inebriated Maria in the morning.
And that meant figuring out further sleeping arrangements.
Drake chose to sleep on the floor of Alexander’s room since he was the shortest. Stanley chose to sleep in Maria’s empty room; the bed was still there but without any sheets.
That left me with the couch, which I was fine with because I needed the quiet and space to think about what had happened.
I keep telling myself that she didn’t mean it, that she’s just drunk and on the rebound.
And yet, that simple kiss brought me back to when we’d first started sleeping together. The soft way she touched me, the moments we shared, how special she made me feel even though there was no commitment to each other. Just simple fun.
I guess in all that fun, I must have missed how much her presence brought to my life. Not only with taking care of Alexander but also with helping my life feel more organized and stable.
No wonder I was in such a funk after she left. It felt like my life had been flushed down the toilet.
It’s that dawning realization that wakes me from my three hours of sleep. Still early enough that the city streets are still quiet but not late enough that the sun is past the horizon. It’s grey outside, which probably means rain.
I should probably go out and get breakfast before then. I need to know what everyone wants.
I drag a hand down my face and pull myself off the couch, going to each person in turn to ask for their order. I’m met with a lot of grumbling and thrown pillows, as well as answers of “I don’t care.”
Can’t blame me if I get it wrong, then.
I crack open the door of my room to check on Maria. Still asleep. Curled up right where I left her. The temptation is strong to slip in behind her and pull her close. That would be presuming before I know where we stand with each other yet.
“Hey... Maria...” I shake her gently by the shoulder. It’s been seven hours since I put her to bed, plenty of time to sleep off most of the alcohol.
She groans at first and pulls the blanket over her head. Too cute. Too bad I’m not going to leave until I know what she wants.
“Maria~” I continue in a sing-song voice as I pull back the blanket. She’s not going to escape me that easily.
Something soft and warm grazes the back of my hand; her shirt has ridden up, exposing most of her breasts.
A light teasing moan escapes her and her eyes slowly peel open.
“Sorry.” My hand darts away like it’s on fire.
“No... don’t be sorry...” She pushes herself upright, the shirt slipping down just enough to cover her nipple. “I liked it...”
She takes my hand and guides it up her shirt to her breast once more, squeezing my fingers against her soft flesh. A sudden exhale swells her chest, and forces her bosom deeper against my touch.
“I missed the way you touched me...” she sighs. Her touch falls away to work on pulling the shirt over her head, leaving her topless in the soft morning light.
“I miss how you all touched me... I want that...” She presses her hand against the seam of my pants and I swell in response. The familiarity of her touch reminds my body how much it missed her too.
“Are you sure? The last time...”
“The last time I was scared. I was afraid of what other people would think of me. But I don’t care anymore. I want to lose myself in all of you. I want to know what ultimate pleasure feels like.”
I swallow at the lump in my throat and shake the cobwebs of hormones out of my mind. I have to listen to my brain for once and not my dick. I can't ruin this again.
“As much as I want to believe that, you just broke up with your boyfriend, Maria. And you’re still intoxicated.
As much as every inch of me wants to say yes, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
” I take her hand and squeeze it. It wouldn’t be fair to her or any of us to jump into this before she’s ready.
Maria bites down hard on her lip and her eyes glisten with the beginnings of fresh tears. I don’t care if my words are hurting her feelings. I need to know the truth from her.
“Right now, all I want to feel is loved, okay? Is that so wrong?” She thumbs away an errant tear. It breaks my heart to see her like this.
“It is if you’re not committed to it. We don’t need the drama of last time.”
"Al-... alright." She places a hand on mine and squeezes it in return. "Thank you for looking out for me, Ed."
"That's what we do, Maria." I lean closer and kiss her forehead. "Now get some sleep, okay?"
She nods before lowering herself to the bed. She rolls away from me and draws the covers up to her neck.
I breathe a sigh of relief mixed with disappointment as I leave, the dull ache between my loins throbbing with each step.
Shut up, you.