I didn’t love waking up in James’ bed and him not being there.
It was disconcerting.
Either he hadn’t come home, had slept in another bed because I was snoring too loud or he was up, chipper and I was the only one suffering in my hangover.
I ventured out of bed and wandered into his living room. I couldn’t see any evidence he was there. No keys, no phone, no wallet.
Perhaps I had come home alone.
I didn’t remember what had happened the night before. I intentionally blacked out the second half of the night after I told Taylor how much my heart was breaking from what his brother was doing to me.
I told him how miserable I had been. And how Douglas was tormenting me and how I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.
It was all stupid drunk talk, designed only to make me feel better. Instead of trying to mend the situation with what I said, I choose to forget what happened next.
It’s not a healthy approach to life but it would have to do.
I went over to James’ coffee pod machine and placed one in. The sound of it brewing the drink hurt my head but I knew it would be worth it. I went out onto the small balcony adjoining James’ apartment and sat down with my drink.
The fresh air was heaven on my face. The coffee helped too.
And as I looked over the balcony down to the back of James’ apartment block, I watched a car pull up and James exit the backseat. He was holding a brown paper bag, and two coffees, and wearing the same clothes from the night before.
“Hellloooo” I called out to him. “How are you, dirty stop out?”
James hung his head.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be up yet,” he called back up to me. “I was going to get changed and pretend I had been out to get these for us.”
“Well, you’ve been busted. Come tell me all about it.”
This was the perfect distraction from everything from the night before. A hook-up story involving James and some mystery man. I loved it. I could live vicariously through him.
James crashed through his front door and slumped on the couch. I sauntered over to him, took one of the coffees, and put my feet up on his lap.
“So, who’s the guy?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
I clicked my tongue at James.
“Now, now, sharing is caring. You can’t not say anything to me.”
I was his best friend, after all, and there had to be something good to have come from last night.
“Don’t make me tell you where I stayed. You’re not going to like it.” Unless he had flown to Singapore to be with my absentee boyfriend I don’t imagine I could have hated it.
“James, just be real with me.”
“Fine.” He took a big swig of his coffee. “I stayed with Taylor and GG.”
You did what?!
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
By the way, this all started when Andie turned thirty-five, and her then-boyfriend didn’t call her.
Or the day after that.
Or the day after that, too.
Everything started to unravel when her BFFs got into bed with her ex, too… ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
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