I tried to move, but he was on me; one of his legs wrapped over mine, his arm around my waist. His body was heavy and warm, and just thinking about extricating myself and standing up made my head spin. I was still drunker than I wanted to be, too. I glanced up, looking for one of those hotel conveniences that were put in to make the stay more comfortable… yes – there it was. A light switch behind the slatted headboard. I reached through and turned it off, plunging us into darkness.
There was only the sound of our breathing, then, and Ace gently snoring in my arms.
I huffed slightly, trying to settle into the pillow and relax. If this was how we were going to spend the night, it was fine. Even if I’d wanted more…
Just being held by someone was… well. It was a lot.
I closed my eyes, letting everything else fade away. Ace’s body was warm and alive against mine, his breath heated on my throat and chest, and the sound of someone else breathing in the bed made me feel instantly soothed. I had forgotten what it was like to be with someone like this. To be close and intimate even if it wasn’t about sex.
Maybe I should have expected this.
If Ace really was, well, ace, then no wonder his version of going to bed together meant just falling asleep – drunk or not. Actually, it would also explain why he’d gone from fine to falling over in a matter of seconds. Maybe he was faking it.
Maybe he wasn’t even asleep at all.
I opened my eyes and shifted just slightly, easing into the fit of our bodies together, and Ace shifted slightly against me in response. There. Maybe he was awake, after all.
And if this was all an act to keep things maybe more romantic and less sexual – or maybe less of both, if he only liked kissing when he was drunk – then I wasn’t going to push for anything.
Not after the last few years.
I didn’t think I could handle the humiliation of another rejection – from a guy I was actually starting to like – in front of everyone I considered a friend.
I closed my eyes and let myself drift off, warm in Ace’s arms. If this was all it was going to be…
At least it was something.
Ace
Instant regret hit me when I woke up to find myself firmly pressed up against someone else’s chest. For a second, I thought I’d done the worst possible thing: given in to Xavi’s whining and actually gone to bed with him again.
Then I blinked and slowly remembered, because it wasn’t Xavi’s shorter frame I was wrapped around. No, this body was tall, and lean, and smelled unfamiliar.
This body, I immediately realized, belonged to my roommate.
Brody.
Just like that, it all came crashing back: the bar, Xavi getting us thrown out, laughing all the way back to the room…
And then kissing.
I definitely remembered kissing.
I also definitely remembered the room spinning when I tried to walk around in it, and the bed feeling awfully comfortable – and then not a whole lot else.
Oh, fuck. I must have been so drunk I couldn’t perform.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
I shouldn’t even have been getting into that position with Brody in the first place, let alone embarrassing myself by just dropping off the deep end like that!
Brody stirred slightly and I held my breath, suddenly afraid to move. His arms around me – my arms around him – felt so good. I couldn’t help but admit it to myself. It was comfortable, like we were the exact right size to fit together like this. I hadn’t had more than one-night stands for most of college, and since then there had only been dates, no long-term relationships. Waking up in bed with someone…
It was new.
Especially doing it fully clothed.
What I did very much recognize, however, was the hangover.
