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“Oof,” I grunted as the floor smacked me. I crawled around on my hands and knees, urgently hunting the bathroom.
“Over there,” Adam pointed.
I couldn’t get to my feet, so I kept on crawling. Luckily, I made it in time for the morning-after throw-up session. God, when would I stop doing this to myself? I hunted for some toothpaste to finger-brush my teeth and then I stuck my mouth under the faucet and sucked up some water. I was completely dehydrated. Now I had to go and show my face. I hated this part. This is when I despised myself for what I did and everything I had become.
Stumbling back into his bedroom, my embarrassment peaked as he watched me with half-closed eyes. I hastily struggled to get my pants on, but I must’ve still been a little drunk, because I kept losing my balance and crash-landed on the floor.
In a quiet voice, he said, “You don’t have to run off, you know.” His voice suggested he had other plans for us.
My face heated up as I looked down at myself. I was mostly naked with faded bruises everywhere. I needed to get out of here and fast.
“Er, I have to work today.”
As I sat there, half naked and bruised, I pulled on my pants.
“Do you work every day?”
“Just about.”
I looked around for my bra and top and grabbed them to put on. His next words made me freeze.
“Well, Lexi, I really enjoyed last night. How much do I owe you?”
Jesus, he thought I was a hooker! My eyes welled up, but there was no way I would let them fall. I had to get out of here before that happened. I would not break down in front of this guy.
I cleared my throat to cover up my stupid trembling voice and dropped my head. “Hey, Adam, no worries. Last night was on the house. I had a lot of fun. Thanks.” Turning my back to him so he couldn’t see my face, I finished getting dressed.
“Look, I know it’s not any of my business, but you need to be careful, Lexi. Those are some pretty wicked bruises you have there.”
After some more throat clearing again, I said, “Yeah, I know. Thanks, Adam. For being so sweet.” I grabbed my purse and walked out the door.
I didn’t have any idea where I was until I hit the corner and saw the street sign. Oh hell. I was going to have a long walk home. It was just as well, because I was ashamed of myself. I had been mistaken for a prostitute. Adam, who happened to be a nice person, was going to pay me for my services. Well, didn’t that just make me feel proud of myself? Ugly tears blurred my vision during the long walk home.
* * *
I was an extremely slow learner. What can I say? The Golden Nugget was my destination once again one evening when I suddenly heard my name being called.
“Hey, Lexi!”
I turned around but didn’t see anyone I recognized.
“Over here. Across the street.”
I looked toward the direction of the voice, and saw a guy I had never seen before. He jogged over to me and said, “Why’d you run out the other morning? We had such a great time that night.”
Oh, for the love of God! It was Fred, or Barney, or whatever his name was. “Right. Sorry about that. I didn’t want to wake you up, but I had to go. You know, work and all.” It was apparent I was avoiding looking at him. He was pleasant looking, friendly eyes, light brown hair but totally not my type.
He gave me a wide smile, and said, “Well, you were certainly a hellcat. I’d love to do it again. Like real soon. The scratches on my back have finally healed.”
I prayed for the ground to open up and swallow me because I was about to throw up the sandwich I’d just eaten all over this dude’s feet. I laughed. Well, sort of. It sounded more like a ha-ha, with a choke added in. I said, “Okay. Cool. Well, I gotta go. I’m supposed to be meeting someone in a few minutes. Good seeing you.”
I took off almost at a dead run. My flip-flops were going to blow I was moving so fast. I just kept going, though, keeping my eyes on the sidewalk. The Charleston sidewalks were uneven and could be hazardous, which was why my eyes were focused down. Not wanting to crash and burn in my sprint-walk, my gaze concentrated on the irregular surface, when bam! I ran slap-dab into the front of someone. Only strong arms reached out to steady me and then pulled me into a warm, hard body.
“Whoa there, buddy. I’m good. You can release.”
I heard the sexiest laugh then. “Release?”
I looked up into Smoky Eyes himself. “Wow!” I said it without thinking. “Shit, I mean …” What exactly could I add to that?
