Oh, no. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening. How could she have been so stupid? She and Eva had been getting to a good place, and now it would be ruined.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Mei said, oblivious to Lily’s inner turmoil. “Did you forget you let me crash here? It was your idea. Save money on the Uber fare.”
Lily needed to focus. She could freak out later, when she was alone. There was no way in hell she could tell Mei what had happened. “Yeah, no, I remember.” Vaguely, anyway. “I’m good. Just clumsy.”
Lily swept up the pieces of broken glass before Hades got any stuck in her paws. As if summoned by the commotion, she appeared as Lily was tipping the last few fragments into the garbage.
“I didn’t know you had a cat!” Mei looked overjoyed, stretching out a hand for Hades to sniff. “What a cutie.”
“Only when she wants something.” A pointed meow was sent in her direction, and Lily tipped some kibble into her bowl.
“What’s her name?”
“Hades.”
“For a girl?”
“Well, I got her when she was a scrawny rescue kitten, and they told me she was a boy. I was always losing her underneath things—the couch, the kitchen cupboards, even the floorboards once. Seeing as Hades is the God of the underworld, I thought it fit. By the time I found out she was a girl, the name had already stuck.”
“I love it.”
“Want something to eat? Nothing cures a hangover like something greasy.”
“Count me in.” Mei hopped onto one of the countertops as Lily reached for a frying pan, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck.
“Sleep funny?” Lily said. “I have a guest room, you know. You didn’t have to stay on the couch.”
“Drunk me heard you say that and decided going up the stairs was far too much effort.”
Lily snorted, the smell of frying bacon filling the room. “How drunk were we?”
“Hammered. Luckily, Alisha had just as many drinks, so don’t worry. You didn’t make a fool out of yourself.”
Lily thought of Eva’s tongue licking into her mouth and wasn’t so sure about that.
Having Mei in her space was nice. It was a step of their friendship they’d yet to make—hanging out with one another without work giving them an excuse—and it was one Lily was happy to take. She was glad she’d met Mei, glad she was starting to build something of a life for herself here, something separate from her family, something that was just hers.
After they’d eaten, food and coffee soaking up any lingering alcohol in her system, Lily drove Mei home, surprised to find she only lived a few blocks away.
“You should come by one day,” Mei said, before she got out of the car. “I’ll cook you dinner to repay you for letting me drool on your couch.”
“Sounds good,” Lily said around a laugh. “Have a good Christmas.”
“You too.” Mei waved, and Lily waited for her to get inside before returning home.
A shower was the next thing on her agenda—Lily was sure she smelled terrible—but she was distracted by her phone, abandoned on her bed. A text waited for her when it eventually turned on, and Lily scoffed when she read it.
She wouldn’t classify her night as good by any stretch of the imagination. While she’d had fun with Mei and the others, it was overshadowed by her idiocy, but she didn’t want to talk about it with Elsa.
It offered a welcome distraction, though.
I got very drunk. It was messy.
Elsa had replied by the time Lily had gotten out of the shower, feeling refreshed and clad in her favorite Christmas pajamas. While she’d been working, she hadn’t been in the festive spirit, her house bare of the decorations usually adjourning every visible surface.
Something she was going to remedy today.
She needed a distraction. If Lily kept busy, she’d stop thinking about how Eva had felt pressed against her.
