Feeling brave, I reach out and touch the material of her skirt; it’s soft satin between my fingers. A groan escapes my lips. “This is the stuff wet dreams are made of.”
Lucie laughs and rolls her eyes, picking up one of the shots as the barman sets it down in front of her. She turns back to me and purses her lips. “Okay, rules. You do not leave my side the whole night. If I’m staying in costume, so are you. And let’s get absolutely rat-arsed to mollify this embarrassment.”
I nod in approval and signal the barman for two more shots as I pick up mine. “Solid plan. Here’s to a good night. Cheers.” I chink my glass against hers, and we grin before knocking them back.
thirteen
Lucie
As I slowly drift into consciousness, the first thing I notice is the ferocious pounding in my head. It’s like someone is savagely jackhammering the inside of my skull. I wince and reach up, raking a hand over my face. As I move, a wave of nausea makes my stomach roll. My mouth is so dry, my tongue feels like sandpaper. And … what the hell have I been eating? Or is that the flavour of morning-after vodka regret? It tastes like a sewer. I feel like death warmed up. Positively awful.
Rhythmic, heavy breathing from my right draws my attention, and I turn my head, confronted by Theo’s gorgeous face. He’s lying on his front, arms bent and tucked under his head, face all peaceful and childlike. He looks adorable while he sleeps.
“Aww, cute.” I get the weird urge to reach out and jokingly boop the tip of his nose with my finger. I smile to myself and let my eyes rake over his features, drinking him in.
Wait … what the …
I gasp as I realise this isn’t right.
Theo is in my room … in my bed?
I sit up quickly, clutching the thin sheets in my fists. I move so fast, another wave of nausea squeezes my stomach. I fight the urge to vomit. It’s then that I catch sight of my bare breasts.
Oh God, am I …
Closing my eyes, I count to five and hope I’m still dreaming this. But when I open them and carefully lift the sheets to peek underneath, I know I’m not dreaming.
I’m naked. Butt naked, apart from the fact that I’m still wearing the knee-high red plastic Wonder Woman boots from last night.
Embarrassed heat floods my face, and I glance back over at Theo. He’s still sleeping peacefully. Around his neck, a flash of gold material catches my attention. I lean in closer for a better look and realise it’s my Wonder Woman elasticated crown; it sits around his neck like a gaudy necklace. There’s more gold at his wrists; he’s wearing the gold bracelet cuffs from my costume too.
What is happening?
I gulp, and my eyes trace across his naked back, noticing flawless skin encasing muscles; he’s broad, tanned, perfect. My eyes rake further down, following the line of his spine right down to where the sheets bunch at the small of his back.
I have to know. Is he naked too? I carefully lift the sheets—and there’s his butt.
My eyes widen. It’s a damn cute butt, all firm and tight. You could bounce a penny off the thing; it’s so toned. He must squat.
Wait, this is no time for distractions, Lucie.
I’m beginning to freak out. I can feel the panic and mortification taking over. We’re both naked. That means …
But no, wouldn’t I remember if we had sex?
As I press my knees together, the skin at the inside of my thighs rubs and burns. Frowning, I lift the sheet again and look down. My face flushes when I see red chaffing on the insides of my thighs. Dear Lord. I know instantly what it’s from. Moving my leg to the side to get a better look, I spot something black and furry on my skin. My brain instantly fires the word spider at me. Squealing, I slap at it blindly. Two seconds later, after it sticks itself to my finger, I realise what it is … Theo’s Mario moustache.
My fraught squealing and thrashing wakes Theo.
He groans loudly and rolls to his back, throwing an arm over his eyes. “Ugh, I’m never drinking again!” he moans. “I feel like a microwaved turd.”
I gulp and decide to confront this head-on. We don’t have much choice in the matter. “Theo, did we … Theo!” I shake his shoulder to get his attention, as it appears he’s already drifted off again.
He licks his lips and finally moves his arm, turning his head to face me with a sullen grunt. He squints and blinks a couple of times, as if he has no idea who I am, and then a smile of recognition tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Hey.” He sits up awkwardly, holding his head, letting out a long, pain-filled groan. “Am I naked?” He lifts the sheet, and I get an eyeful of sculpted chest, and—oh my God, he has a semi. An impressive semi too.
I hate the flush of excitement that pulses through me.
I nod and wince. “I’m naked too. Apart from my boots.”
He chuckles and rubs his eyes with his fists. “Kinky.”
“I think we might have done it.” I shift my body, and as soon as I do, I know for a fact that we screwed last night. I can feel the slight ache between my legs when I move. It’s been a while; I’m definitely out of practice, and I can feel the difference.
“Did we?” Theo winces as he speaks, rubbing at his temples. “Ugh, I need to pee. I’ll be right back.”
He swings his legs out of bed, and I see a glimpse of glorious arse crack as he manoeuvres and reaches for the tartan throw from the bottom of the bed, wrapping it around his waist like a kilt as he stands up.
“Eww! What the hell?” Suddenly, he comically hops on one leg, grimacing as he reaches down and peels something from the bottom of his foot. “Well, I guess that answers that question.” He looks back at me helplessly as he holds up what he stood on.
A used condom.
Oh God. I gulp. “At least we were safe.” That’s more than I dared to hope for. Lucky one of us had the forethought to use protection.
He peers at it. “Looks like I got my happy ending. Not sure about you though.”
I close my eyes and feel my face flush. “I have beard burn on the insides of my thighs. I’m pretty sure I got mine too.”
“Oh, nice.” He laughs and reaches over, holding up his hand for a high five.
I raise one eyebrow. “Now is not a high-five moment, Theo.”
He nods, his hand dropping to his side, though his grin is broad, and he’s obviously proud of himself. “You’re right; that would be totally inappropriate.” His eyes move to the Wonder Woman wristbands he’s wearing, and he reaches for the crown that’s tight around his neck like a choker. “What the hell happened? Do you remember anything at all?” He pulls off the crown and frowns at it, and then he tosses it onto the sideboard.
I shake my head, racking my brain. I think back to the last thing I remember: the party, the drinking, there was dancing and singing and stumbling and lots of laughing.
“Shit, I gotta pee so bad.” He darts around the corner and goes into the bathroom.
The sound of a steady stream of urine hitting the water permeates the air, as he’s not bothered to close the door. I’m too hungover to care.
“Jeez, it’s a mess in here. Whatever we did, we definitely had some fun in here. Either that or you’re the messiest chick alive!” he calls from the bathroom.