Mostly left to his own devices, I turned back to his drink. Now, the amber liquor swirled. It hadn’t been until now, the alcohol actually hitting him, that thoughts traveled at light speed to becoming sowed. Freshly turned earth. Planted. Placed for and meant to be harvested, I was getting that weird excitement and dread mix. Finally allowing himself to think of Natalie. But at least he was relieved; at least his feelings toward her were not so terribly horrible, not what they could be.
Once more, he sipped from the glass and felt the warmth draining into his gut. Although it did little to assuage the rising lightheaded feel, it was already starting to go to his head; he realized he might have overdone it. I should go, he managed to mumble to himself, fumbling to find his way upright.
But in the effort to rise, the world would pretty nearly go mad-tilting fiendishly-one way and another…eddy back to the bar on the sudden jerk to find support. The vision would blur, and there would be a great surge in him to just close his eyes and let the darkness-ahh-close his eyes.
The last thing he felt or remembered was the trepidation from the feeling of lurching out of the bar-the cool night air hit his face. It was almost like the last straw, then everything went black.
I woke slowly. First, to the pounding ache in his head; then, to a shaft of light coming through a window he did not recognize. With each move met a tower of groans that went through his skull in waves of pain. It was several moments before he could work out he wasn’t in his hotel room. Panic flared in his chest, and he tried to sit up only to meet the off-kilter feel of strange sheets against his skin.
What happened? What the fuck?
I squinted in the direction of the light, but the impossible happened. My eyes had somehow found a way to be pulled open. My heart stopped. There, in the bed before him, was Arlys. She lay down next to him, her blonde hair spread out as if fanned out into a halo on the pillow.
And she was naked.
“Oh God,” I moaned, voice like gravel. His mind tried to race, tried to squash all of the puzzle pieces of the night before together, but all he came up with was a gaping nothing where his memories should reside.
There had been something of a shift; then her eyes fluttered open as her smile widened.
“Morning, handsome,” she purred, stretching out long and like a cat.
What it did to my stomach, that sounded something like queasiness and fear.
“Wh. What are you doing here?” The voice was barely more than a whisper, made thick with disbelief.
Arlys pushed herself up, sheets slipping off of her in a languorous stretch of wantonness that bared her shoulders. “You don’t remember?” she asked, all but giddy, and peeked at his face from under the towel.
“No.” Reagy lied, shaking his head. “I haven’t remembered since after the bar. What the hell?”
That wicked smile deepened a little on Arlys, and she leaned that much closer again, warm breath tickling his ear. “Let’s just say you were very. very enthusiastic. last night, to say the minimum. I’m surprised you don’t remember.
He had all the evidence he needed, sprawled right before his eyes: the bed, the messy beddings, Arlys-all this added up to one horrifying total.
“I have to go,” he mumbled, not even stepping out of bed yet, with hands shaking, trying to find his clothes.
He looked upon her with the face of ultimate satisfaction, even though the baby did not attempt to cover herself. “So soon? I thought we could do it all over again tonight, but seems like there’s no point with your memory wiped out.
Brandon ignored her, his mind racing, as he threw his clothes back on. He had to get out of there, away from her, away from the nightmare of his
With each button, his hands would shake as he buttoned up his shirt; all movements clumsy, frantic. In his mind, he thought quickly to piece everything together, but with every attempt, nothing of the prior night returned to him, and at that moment, panic began to creep into his bloodstream from his veins.
Arlys settled back into bed, her gaze-now on him-peeled back this time with amusement and something darker that Brandon couldn’t quite put a finger on. It seemed so tempting, she was the vixen in here, so voluptuously inviting he felt now she was closing a trap around him. All he needed to do was make his exit and get some space between him and whatever had gone down in this room.
“You’re awfully quiet this morning,” Arlys said, her voice sparkling though I could hear an undercurrent of steel. “I thought we shared something special last night. Don’t tell me you’re going to run off without even saying goodbye.”
“I-this was a mistake,” I blurted out, hardly loud enough to be heard. He fumbled at his tie, his fingers too unsteady to manage the knot. “I shouldn’t have-”
“Mistake?” There was a razor edge to Arlys’s voice, and her eyes slit in my direction as she sat up, letting the sheet slip down to her waist. She didn’t act worried. “You were more than willing to get it on last night. Don’t wuss out on me now.”
It would make arguing with him the thing he most wanted to do, yet what he said brought the evidence to life; that hole in his stomach didn’t feel like it was really him now, would it? Nothing would describe the bed that he lay in now or her. That isn’t something he could do-never to Natalie and never to himself.
“I don’t know what in hell happened. But it damn well can’t happen again. I’m-”
“Married?” Arlys finished for him, razor-edged with sarcasm. “Oh yes, I know everything about your pure little wife. But, Brandon, do you really think she will be as understanding as you are?”
My body froze; at that moment, her words meant so much to him. He spun around to her. His heart was racing so loud in his chest that for that second, he didn’t hear anything. What are you saying?
She swung her legs sideways across the bed, stood, and moved toward him with a flowing grace that was almost predatory, sending a chill down Brandon’s spine.
She moved in on him, stopping with an inch to spare between their faces. “I’m saying,” she said softly, “that you’re in a very delicate situation. One that could go very wrong if your wife were to find out about our little rendezvous.”