Callie side-eyes me before turning to Tyler and pointing a finger at him. “Make sure she gets into the rideshare okay, and don’t let her back into the club. Buzz the bar if you need help.”
He nods, and Callie squeezes my arm before walking away. It’s busy, and a couple walks out eyeing me as she disappears. Tyler clears his throat, looking uncertainly at me. I can’t remember how new he is.
I push off the countertop and head for the check-in area. It’s a large room with hooks and lockers basically, and a camera to monitor people’s personal items. My purse is still locked up where I left it, and my hands shake again when I pull out my phone and search the app for a ride.
Rich sent me a text, and my eyes stare longingly at his contact. It would be preferable to not be alone tonight, again, butI’ve never spent the night with him. I’ve never even slept with him. Between the drinking and the nightmares, being close with anyone is probably a bad idea.
~~~
“Rich! Richy!”
I wince at the volume of my voice, and, realistically, my dropoff choice. This was a bad idea at the club, and it’s a worse idea now.
What am I doing with my life?
“Are you sure this is the right address, girl?” My driver asks. I should've given her my address when I called for the ride. I should've changed it before arrival and eaten the extra cost. That would be the reasonable thing to do.
Knocking on a work associate's door at one in the morning, loud as shit? I don't think anyone around here likes me right now.
“He's a deep sleeper,” I lie. A little bit of sobriety returned to me on the drive, but I wouldn't call myself sober.Manageablemaybe, except for right this second. “Rich!”
“You best quiet your shit down before someone else comes out here,” the driver hisses at me. I think her name is Petunia, but that could also be from the pattern on her seat covers when I got in the car. “It's really late. This ain't your home?”
I hit Rich's buzzer again, wondering if he's finally sick of me. When I visit it's usually daylight, and he’s expecting me. This might be pushing the loose boundaries of our friendship. “Feels like home.”
A hiccup slips out, violent enough I stumble as little. My forehead slams against the brick, and I guess I'm still drunker than I thought.
“Holy shit, girl,” the driver hisses. She didn’t have to get out and stand with me at the door, but I think she might be a little bit worried about me.
I snuck two quick shots between the time I set the rideshare pickup and when I got in the car. I mixed them because it’s all I had in my bag, vodka and rum, and it’s definitely fighting me.
Just then, the door opens. A disheveled, shirtless Rich stands on the other side, rubbing at his eyes as he stares at us. There’s light inside that casts over him, giving me a good view of the sculpted chest he hides under his company-branded shirts.
I love those strange, hypnotic, violet eyes of his. I just want to stare -
“Thank God,” the driver continues, but my focus is on Rich alone. He’s giving me a wide eyed look, clearly confused. “This is your problem now.”
Thethisis probably me, but I don't even care. Rich takes one look at me, eyes swinging between myself and the driver. “You took a car here?”
“Mhmm,” the driver says. “She almost took herself out on your bushes up there.”
Rich purses his lips, eyeing me again. I can’t look that bad. I’m drunk, but I didn’t fuck anyone, go to another club, or puke. Honestly, that’s a solid night for me.
Sighing, he reaches out and wraps an arm around me. I shouldn’t let him do that, but Rich is good at calming my nerves.Too good,which is why I usually try to keep him at arms length because my wayward heart is weak. “Come on, Dreamer, let's get you to bed.”
I perk up at that, and the driver takes that as her sign to leave. She only got out because I almost wrecked my face on the pavement after tripping on the bushes. “You two have a fun night!”
He pulls me into the house before I can respond, which is probably a good thing. My stomach is doing flips and I think I'm finally in danger of puking.
Instead of moving us into the house, he shuts the door then turns and presses me against it. His hands press against the wood near either side of my head, and his nose brushes mine. “Dreamer, what problems have you gotten into now?”
Dreamer.Rich’s only called me that a handful of times…
My breath hitches. I’ve seen Rich look at me intently in the past, and he’s been watching me closely the last few months, but he never gets this physically close. I suppose we’re not usually alone, but this feels intimate.
His strange eyes are grounding, and they should help keep me rooted in the moment. But my brain is betraying me, making me think of another time.
“You will listen to me!” he screams, slamming his hands to the wall on either side of my head. “What is so hard about listening? Why are you so stupid?”
I flinch at the memory, and Rich’s eyes narrow. It’s like a movie, flickering between scenes. He steps back, frowning as he holds up his hands. “Kimber-”
His hand fists, hitting the wall around my face again. I shrink back, listening to the loud echo as the drywall gives beneath his anger. “You’re never getting away from me. I fucking own you now.”
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I shake my head. It makes the world tilt, but it helps to get the flickering under control and I stop falling into the flashbacks. The alcohol makes things worse, and I double over with a groan.
“What’s happening?” Rich asks wearily, and yeah, this was a gloriously bad mistake to come here. Friends is stretching it; we’re acquaintances at best. “Are you gonna hurl?”
I really want to tell him no, because coming to a hot guy’s house drunk shouldn't end like that. But words don’t come out when I collapse to my hands and knees, losing what’s left of my dignity on his wood floors.
