Last night and that damn drink

John Leblanc

When I opened my eyes that morning, it took me a few minutes to regain consciousness and realize that Greg's arm was around me. Hold on. What! As I came to, I jumped out of bed and stared at him in horror. He and this mania of sleeping attached to something. He should get a girlfriend, damn it! I knew I shouldn't have accepted his offer to sleep in the bed so that I wouldn't…

I blinked a few times and looked down at my leg. I was standing on both feet, without crutches. I moved my plastered leg slightly, and to my surprise, it didn't hurt. It didn't hurt! Finally! The doctor said that the day this happened, I could celebrate, because it would be the day to say goodbye to the cast.

Smiling, I walked – half dragging myself, since the cast was heavy – out of the room, heading for the kitchen. I know Greg's apartment like the back of my hand, after all, it was my first home as soon as I left my parents' house. I knew nothing about Sturgis and Greg was the only crazy person who agreed to give housing to a newcomer to the city. Those were crazy times…

I approached the counter where the coffee pot was and started to brew coffee. I am absolutely sure that everyone will need a good cup to start the day well. After all, I have no doubt that they will face a serious hangover from last night. If only they were more controlled like me.

Once I had organized everything in its proper place, I pressed the red button and let the coffee maker do everything else. Getting things done while carrying about five kilos of plaster back and forth is definitely not easy. I am tired! I'm glad this torment will soon be over, because then I can get back to work and soon, soon I'll be fit again.

I took a deep breath and settled down on the wooden stool in front of the counter. I barely sat down, and a dashing figure emerged from the restroom. It was Matt. As soon as he noticed my presence, he sighed with relief and walked to the kitchen.

“Good morning, bro.” I smiled. “I'm making coffee. You know what I mean?”

“No good.” He denied it. “I'm already leaving.”

“You don't have to start rehearsing now. Everybody's dead!” I ended up laughing at the situation.

“Actually, I'm going home.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Hey, what about rehearsal? Aren't you rehearsing today?” I frowned.

“Yes, but first I need a shower.” He took a deep breath. “And also to do me a favor.”

“A favor?” I raised my eyebrow. “What favor?”

Matthew gave a straight smile and began rummaging through the pockets of his jeans. He pulled out a cell phone with a lilac case and placed it on the counter, looking at me fearfully.

“Can you give it to Anastasia?” He asked, causing me to frown.

“Why did you take her cell phone?” I asked, suspicious. “I thought you had missed each other.”

But that's exactly what Matt said as soon as he arrived at the parking lot, barefoot and smelling of dead fish. When he got into the car, and we asked him why he smelled so bad, he gritted his teeth, but he didn't answer us. I wonder at what point they bumped into each other?

Matt pressed his lips together, staring at the device.

“She dropped it in the parking lot.” He stared at me and smiled minimally. “Anastasia is a terrible drunk.”

I nodded and ended up laughing, but I'm suspicious. Matt is hiding something.

“Sorry about your sneakers.” I forced a smile.

“Don't remind me.” He snorted. “I think Anastasia better clean it properly.”

“Anastasia?” I raised my eyebrow. “Why her?”

Matt interrupted his sentence.

“Well, if she hadn't disappeared, I wouldn't have to go after her and they wouldn't throw up on my shoes.”

“Got it.” I nodded, even though I knew it was a lie. “But, I'll let her have it.” I said, putting the cell phone in my pants pocket.

“Thanks, bro.” He sighed. “I'm on it.” He warned and went to the door of the house.

I watched him put on the pair of sneakers that Greg had lent him, open the door, and say goodbye with a nod to me. As soon as he left, I burst out laughing at the situation. It is obvious that he is hiding something. Now, what could it be?

***

Anastasia James

I was in my room in Chicago, but I was not alone. Matthew was there too. And his hands held my face with precision, while his mouth, which fit perfectly on mine, moved in a hurried and intense rhythm. His hands began to move down, feeling my skin, and the kisses decided to follow, moving to the sensitive area of my neck. As soon as a hickey was given, I ended up gasping and fingering my short fingernails on Matt's arm.

I was very excited, and the amount of clothing covering my body was uncomfortable, almost suffocating. He pulled away from me momentarily, looked into my eyes, and returned his attention to my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt the exact moment when my feet left the ground.

I crossed my legs around his waist, narrowing any and all space between our bodies, as he walked toward my bed. I interrupted the kiss, bringing our foreheads together, and we looked at each other. A wide smile broke out on our lips and Matt let go of me on the bed.

As soon as my back hit the mattress, I jumped up and sat on the bed, scared and gasping for breath. I looked around and realized that I wasn't in my bedroom in Chicago, and no perverted Matthew wanted to take over my body. It was just a dream – which seemed to be very real, but just a dream.

I felt a certain relief come over me, but I became tense the next minute. What the hell was that? Since when do I dream about things like that? Even though I haven't been involved with anyone for a long time, I've never been one to dream about it. I made an attempt to get up, but my head felt throbbing, so I remained seated and squeezed my eyes shut, seeking some relief from the pain.

I vaguely remember last night, but I know I drank. A lot. I drank so much that I don't even know what the drink tasted like anymore, I only remember that it was colored, because I was delighted when I saw the other women in the club holding that glass up and down. But now, how did I get here?

I got out of bed, this time more carefully, and crept to the bedroom door. As soon as I opened it, I was almost blinded by the brightness coming from the windows in the living room, but a delicious smell of coffee invaded my senses, waking me up instantly.

I walked towards that aroma from the heavens and was pleasantly surprised to see the bare, broad back of a man, who I later recognized to be Johnny because of his long hair and yellow text mark pants from yesterday. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee, and only noticed my presence when he turned around, blowing out the steaming liquid.

“Oh, you're up already!” He arched his eyebrows, surprised to see me.

“Yeah, I woke up with a hell of a headache.” I forced a smile, trying not to look down at his defined abdomen.

“Here, have some coffee.” He raised his cup to me.

“But what about you?” I took his hand and supported it on the counter, settling down on the wooden stool there.

“I made coffee to give and sell.” He laughed nasally, pouring himself another cup.

I eventually noticed the muscle in his arm, which tensed as he moved. When Johnny is fully dressed, he doesn't look that strong. But, I think Matt can be… What am I thinking? Have some manners, Anastasia. Pay attention to what he is saying.

“Don't you think so?” He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I'm sorry, but what did you say?” I frowned and saw him smile.

“I asked if you don't think we're being irresponsible for spending the night drinking and not rehearsing for the championship, I could see the concern on his face.”

“No, I don't.” I shook my head negatively. “On the contrary. We are well ahead of schedule.” I gave a slight smile. “And a little rest is good for the mind.”

“And you rested well, huh?” He raised his eyebrow, laughing nasally. “Yesterday was just one big party.”

“Don't remind me. Last night was a real mess.” I rolled my eyes and picked up my mug, putting it to my lips.

“Yeah, Matt said.” As soon as Johnny said it, I spit out my coffee and grimaced. I forgot to sweeten it. “Can you believe they threw up on his sneakers?”

I frowned as I added some sugar to the coffee. I was stirring it well to mix it, when a fragment of last night came to my mind, making me roll my eyes.

“I was the one who threw up.” I huffed. “I told him I'd clean it up, but he was very rude and told me to get out of his face.”

“Oh…” Johnny narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “And what did you do afterwards?”

I tried to force my memory, but I couldn't remember anything else, so I shrugged.

“I have no idea.” I laughed nasally. “I think I overdid it last night.” I grimaced and stared at him.

“All of us.” He nodded and stood up, surprising me.

“Your foot!” I raised my eyebrows, pointing at the cast

“Yeah…” He giggled.

“Doesn't it hurt?” I frowned.

“Well, no..." He shrugged. Seeing my astonished face, Johnny frowned and relaxed his posture. “I think I need to pay the doctor a little visit, don't you?”

“Of course.” I nodded vehemently.

“Yeah, maybe I'll go today.” He laughed nasally.

“If you like, we can go together after rehearsal.” I suggested.

“Right.” He nodded and started walking toward what I guessed was the bathroom. He stopped suddenly, rifled through his pockets, and turned to me. “Here you go.”

I frowned when I saw my cell phone in his hands.

“Did I leave it with you?” I asked, checking to see if there was any battery in it.

“No.” He smiled. “Matt asked me to give it to you.”

“Matt?” My confusion tripled, but all Johnny did was shrug his shoulders and went on his way, towards the supposed bathroom.

I unlocked the device, checking that there was nothing different, but, surprisingly, everything was in its place. I didn't understand. Among so many more reliable people, why did I leave my cell phone with Matthew? I let out a long sigh and stared at the coffee in my cup, thinking about it.

Why do I feel like I'm overlooking something very important?

***

Matthew Jones

I am turned around.

My mind wouldn't let me close my eyes for a minute, and I blame Anastasia for that. Yes, she is the biggest culprit in this whole story, because if she hadn't done what she did, I wouldn't have stayed… I locked my jaw and closed my eyes tightly. I won't think about it anymore. No more. The more I dwell on it, the less productive I will be.

I took the helmet off my head and put it on the handlebars, then got off the bike. Without further ado, I walked to Rachel's and pulled open the front door. The classical music echoing throughout the place gave me a good sense of whom, even after a good hangover, was already there, rehearsing, so I went over there.

And as expected, as soon as I stopped at the door of the practice room, I saw Anastasia taking a few steps in front of the mirror. She was wearing a white blouse and black gym pants, which fit her body. I ended up swallowing hard. When she noticed my presence, she paused the music and turned to face me.

“How nice that you are here!” She sighed, relieved.” I had an idea to finish the choreography and I needed you here to test it out.

I blinked a few times and stared at her, analyzing her expression. Is she… calm? I thought she would be a nervous wreck, or at least as anxious as I am.

“Let me put on the music.” She said, and walked over to the stereo.

No, I don't see this. After everything, she is literally going to act as if nothing happened? Anastasia is not like that… or is she? I narrowed my eyes at her, who was humming, while searching for the song on her cell phone. I can't believe I've lost a night's sleep and she won't even justify herself or apologize. Yes, my pride is wounded, and no, I won't let it go.

“Aren't you going to say anything?” I asked, and she turned around.

“About what?” I said, still focused on my cell phone.

“Yesterday.” I said the obvious, making her look up, confused.

“What about yesterday?” She frowned.

“Stop playing dumb, Anastasia. I hate this.” I stared at her boredly.

“I'm not playing dumb. I really don't know what you're talking about.” She shrugged. I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. I can't believe you're telling the truth.

“Are you telling me that you don't remember anything you did or said last night?” I looked deep into his eyes.

Anastasia opened her mouth, but said nothing, just stopped and began to reflect. Probably the alcohol is clouding all her memories. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I can't believe I'm going to have to tell you this. I faced her again and moistened my lips.

“What is your last memory from yesterday?” I asked, just to make sure.

“I don't know, Matthew!” She huffed, impatient.

“Then think about it.” I insisted. She laughed breathlessly and stared at me, incredulous.

“Look, if you're still mad about those shoes, I'm not going to apologize, because I asked you if you didn't want me to clean them, but you were so rude!” She crossed her arms under her breasts, defensively. “If anyone owes an apology here, it's you.”

“Is that all you remember?” I moistened my lips, unable to contain my laughter.

Anastasia blinked, not knowing what to do or say, making my smile widen even more. Okay, I was angry, but now she's over it.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked, fearfully.

“Do you want me to tell you?” I smiled mischievously and she nodded.

After Anastasia threw up and possibly ruined one of my favorite sneakers, she even apologized, but no, I was not a thick one. From then on, it was her inebriated mind that came up with everything else, because I couldn't even say anything. I barely opened my mouth and she walked off, half staggering, towards the table where we were sitting before. When she saw that it was empty, she marched towards the exit and I, even though I stank and got dirty looks for spreading the stench all over the club, followed her.

As soon as we arrived at the parking lot, the first thing I did was to wipe the tutti-frutti stuff off my feet and walk barefoot. It was better to end up hurting my feet than to smell that smell for another minute. And I was obviously pissed off, because I didn't want to babysit anyone, but it was kind of fun taking care of Anastasia, because she was sobbing and changing her feet while walking.

Since I was the most sober of the five, we all had to go in Greg's car. The only thing I did was to make sure that John's truck was locked up tight, since I would be spending the night in the nightclub parking lot, and also, to dump my sneakers in the dumpster. I would not be crazy to carry those with me and finish infecting the whole car with that futum.

It seemed that my torment was near its end, but it only seemed that way because it had just begun.

I parked the car, we took the elevator and entered the apartment. Johnny wanted to sleep on the couch, but Greg insisted, and Steph pointed out that he should sleep in the bedroom with Greg. After all, Johnny had a cast on his foot and there were still the girls. So, it was decided that the girls would sleep in the guest room, Johnny with Greg, and I would sleep on the couch in the living room.

With everything perfectly settled, Steph stayed in the bedroom to talk to the boys, and I, as tired as an old lame horse, left them there and went to the living room. I grabbed the blanket and pillow that Greg had lent me, and when I mentioned to lie down on the couch, I noticed that there was a cell phone lying there. I thought it was Steph's, but as soon as I touched the screen and saw a picture of a pair of sneakers, I knew for sure who owned it.

I thought about leaving the damn thing there and letting her hunt it down tomorrow, but the possibility of it ringing and waking me up in the middle of the night pissed me off. So I huffed and went to the guest room. I knocked a few times on the door and heard no sign, so I just walked in.

It was empty.

I thought I would find her passed out on the bed, but the sheets were only slightly rumpled, with no sign of her. I took a few steps into the room and was startled when I heard the door close. I turned abruptly in that direction and saw that it was none other than Anastasia.

I didn't even have a chance to explain to her why I had ended up in the room, because I was pulled by my shirt and had my lips sealed by her mouth. And I even tried to pull back, but the more I pulled back, the closer Anastasia got.

We stayed like that until I was pinned against the wall.

She held my face in her hands and continued kissing me, but when she saw that I was still, she moved down to my neck where she nibbled and ran her tongue over it. I won't be a hypocrite to say that I just wanted to get out of there, because seriously. When a woman goes soft on a man, even more so when it comes to Anastasia, there is no negative option of the thing. It is yes and forever yes. But, she was drunk. And my responsible adult side was screaming about how wrong it was, but… Damn!

When Anastasia's hands stopped inside my shirt, and her fingernails did their naughtiest thing in playing with the skin of my belly, I shuddered and was forced to compress my lips so as not to let out a peep. But, she realized that this was my weak point and continued. Until she nibbled my earlobe, which for me, was the last straw to fill the cup.

Since I was going to do shit, I wanted it to be well done.

I took Anastasia's lips for myself and was readily returned. She was too short and I couldn't bear to get all bent out of shape to kiss her, so I grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into my arms. Her wrapping her legs around my waist, decreasing the contact between us, only made things worse for me, since now I could feel her almost directly.

I walked over to the bed, without breaking the contact between our mouths, and threw her against the mattress. Her eyes were shining with desire, so I moved forward on her neck, receiving a gasp in response, which encouraged me to continue.

Anastasia was reacting well to my stimuli, but suddenly she became quiet. She was no longer responsive and lay limp on the bed. I was worried, so I turned away to look at her and could not believe my eyes when I saw her with her eyes closed, asleep. Yes, Anastasia had simply passed out, making me laugh in disbelief. She drank them all and couldn't even stay awake to finish what she had started.

Finally, I just covered her body with the blanket and left the room without even looking back.

I tried to sleep, right? But, after everything, my cock was just throbbing more and more, needing attention. And I wouldn't get up just to jerk off in the bathroom. And I wouldn't get up just to jerk off in the bathroom, because it's no fun doing it alone.

I was rolling from side to side for so long, that before I knew it, the sun had risen. The first person I saw was Steph, who seemed to have slept just as badly as I had – the difference being that, although she had gone to bed very late because of the conversation with the boys, she did sleep. A little, but she slept.

I don't even know what time it was, but Steph said she was going home to take a shower and go to the club to pick up Johnny's truck, so, despite being tired, I didn't dare to sleep. Not even if I wanted to, I don't think I could…

Anastasia was motionless. She barely blinked, and her cheeks were redder than a tomato. She must be embarrassed to death, but I am clearly enjoying the situation. I was angry that she left me in the mood and then didn't know what really happened – or was going to happen – but this just became pure entertainment for me.

“You know, I was once told that there are three kinds of drunks.” I moistened my lips, staring at her intently. “The ones who get carried away.” I held up my thumb. “Those who get unbearably boring.” I added my index finger. “And those who muster the courage to do what they most want to do.” I raised my middle finger and smiled debauchedly.

She tried to argue, but I interrupted her.

“We usually do what we most want when we are drunk.” It was not an absolute truth. In fact, I don't even know who came up with it, but at the moment it is being very useful to pick on Anastasia.

“You are ridiculous.” She crossed her arms under her breasts.

“You didn't think I was ridiculous yesterday, when…

“When what?” She fired off. “Because all I remember was throwing up and falling into a very long sleep.” It went on and on. “I think you're making all this up. Or you dreamed it, right? The mind is no man's land.”

My jaw dropped.

“You're kidding, right?” I laughed out loud.

“I don't know, you tell me, Matt.” She forced a smile, making me clench my jaw. I didn't know what to say, and then, because of my silence, Anastasia walked past me and out of the practice room, leaving me standing there like a fool.

Damn last night and that damn drink.