Either she or Kate had neglected to draw the drapes of the hotel room, and sunlight streamed through the window. Eva rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head and burrowing further into the covers.
Her head pounded, making it impossible to go back to sleep. A cursory glance at her watch told her it was ten past eight—far too early to be awake, considering they’d only gotten back to the room at 4 a.m.
As she pushed herself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, a hand over her eyes to ward off the blinding sun, Eva vowed to never go out with Kate again. With the door shut, the room was blissfully dark, and Eva didn’t reach for the light switch.
She splashed some cold water on her face in the hope it would ease the throbbing behind her eyes. All it served to do was jolt her even further awake.
Peeking out of the bathroom door, she discovered Kate was merely a lump of blankets on the bed, a shock of red hair just barely visible on the pillow. Eva was debating whether to slip back beneath the covers or to start getting dressed when a raspy voice called across the room.
“Why are you awake at such an ungodly hour?”
“Don’t lectures start at eight?”
“Yes, but not on a Sunday. Sunday is for sleeping.”
“Well, I can’t sleep, because my head feels like it’s going to explode.” Eva opted to get back into bed, not yet ready to face the day, and sat with her back against the headboard.
“Join the fucking club.”
“You were the one who wanted to get wasted.”
“A decision I well and truly regret.”
Eva reached for her phone, frowning when she saw several unfamiliar notifications on the screen. “What did you do last night? Why do I have a load of notifications from something called CuteMeet?”
“Oh my God.” Kate sat up—too quickly, based on her grimace. Her hair stuck up in every which direction, last night’s make-up smudged all over her face. Eva doubted she looked much better. “You have matches already?” Kate grabbed the phone.
“Give that back!”
“It’s for your own good, Eva. Trust me on this.”
“I trust you on very little.”
“Let’s see what we’ve got, shall we?”
Eva leaned over her shoulder as Kate opened the app.
“Four likes and two messages. See? Being mysterious on these things works. Should we message one of them back?”
Eva lunged for the phone, because knowing Kate, she’d say something sexually suggestive and make Eva’s cheeks burn. “Neither of them appears to be stunning conversationalists.” Both messages simply read ‘hi’. “Where’s the creativity?”
“They’re leaving that up to you.”
“Well, they’ll be waiting a long time.”
“Come on, Eva! Live a little. You might find someone you like on there.”
“Unlikely.” Eva swiped the app away with her thumb. “What time is your flight?”
“Twelve.”
“Enough time for breakfast, then.” Rousing Kate was no easy feat, and Eva helped by packing Kate’s suitcase while she showered. By the time they were stepping out of the hotel lobby, shivering at the bite in the air, it was nine thirty.
“There’s a café down the street that does good pancakes,” Kate said, and Eva was happy to follow her lead. The smell of coffee and bacon hit Eva’s nose when Kate pushed open the door, revealing a cozy café with a handful of tables, a counter filled with mouthwatering pastries set against one of the walls.
“Everything sounds amazing,” Eva said, reading the menu on the table they were shown to. “How did you find this place?”
“Someone I met at the conference recommended it. In the last few days I’ve been here more often than I care to admit.”
