Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
CHAPTER FIVE
NASH
The sound of a door closing stirred me, and then the pounding of my head caused me to wince. What the fuck had I done?
“Why is Nash here, Mommy?” a voice asked.
I opened my eyes to see where the hell I was when the sunlight caused me to curse and slam them back shut again.
“He slept here last night on the sofa and is waking up grumpy,” Riley replied.
I was at Brady and Riley’s house.
We had gone to the bar. I’d drunk a lot.
Then we’d come here… Oh, hell.
Groaning, I covered my face.
“And now he is remembering why drinking whiskey is a bad idea,” Riley said.
“Is he sick?” Bryony asked.
“Yup,” Riley replied.
“Where’s Daddy? Did he drink whiskey too?”
“No, he’s in the shower. I’ll get Nash some coffee. Go take your overnight bag to your room and put your things away.”
“Are we going to the pool today?” Bryony asked.
“Yes.”
Finally the talking stopped, and I gave it a few minutes before opening my eyes again. Slowly this time and sitting up. My mouth felt like sandpaper. How much fucking whiskey had I drunk? And what the hell… Oh, fuck.
“Riley.” I called out her name, although it sounded like a grunt.
“Yes?” she replied, stepping back into the living room.
“Was she here?” I asked.
“Oh yes, and you were in rare form. I can honestly say I’ve never seen you that kind of drunk.”
“Damn,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands.
“He’s awake.” Brady’s voice entered the room.
“Unfortunately,” I groaned.
Brady let out a heavy sigh. “We should have cut you off sooner. Didn’t realize you’d had so many until it was too late.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
“After nine, but Asa went to the field house for early morning workouts,” Brady replied.
“Great,” I muttered.
Riley walked back into the room with a cup of coffee and a pill in her hand. “Take this and drink the coffee. Then go home and shower because you stink. Once you’re recovered, you need to go find Tallulah. I am over this ridiculous standoff you two are doing. I know what happened, and it’s not what you think. Get over there and talk to her for all of our sakes.”
I took the aspirin and popped it in my mouth, then washed it down with the coffee. Glancing up at Riley, I saw she had her hands on her hips and was glaring down at me. “She’s not gonna want to see me after last night.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You were drunk. She knows that. She will want to see sober Nash. Now get yourself together.”
Brady sat down in the chair across from me, and Riley walked out of the room. I finished my coffee in silence. I wasn’t sure what all I’d said last night, but I did remember getting up in her face and smelling her like a damn crazed man. She’d smelled like Tallulah. God, I’d missed her.
“How bad was I?” I asked Brady.
He shrugged. “Other than the fact you tried to eat her up, not bad at all. She let you get close and didn’t move, so that says something. I’m not sure what the hell you were whispering in her ear, but she wasn’t pushing you away.”
“She ran out of here,” I reminded him.
He laughed. “Yeah, she did. You yelled at West like a jealous crazed idiot and scared the shit out of her.”
“Fuck,” I muttered again, then set my cup down and stood up. “I need to go. Where’s my keys?”
Brady nodded toward the door. “On the key rack,” he said.
I folded up the cover that had been thrown over me and then walked to get my keys. “Thanks for letting me crash,” I told him.
Brady smirked. “I don’t think I had an option. You passed out.”
Shaking my head, I left Brady’s. I had to get something in my stomach, and Riley was right: I stunk.
* * *
Asa wasn’t home when I pulled into the drive, and I was glad. Talking hurt my head. Listening hurt my head. Hell, breathing hurt my head. The hot shower, however, did give me some relief—or the pain medicine Riley had given me had started to work.
Once I no longer smelled of whiskey and smoke, I made myself some cheese toast. Food helped improve my hangover as well. Riley was right, I needed to go talk to Tallulah. Problem was I didn’t know where to fucking start. It had been thirteen months, twenty-one days, and seven hours since I had walked out of her office in Chicago. Seeing her last night didn’t count because my memories were blurry at best.
If after all that time she still consumed my thoughts, didn’t that mean something? I had to give her a chance to tell me why I’d walked in on her kissing that stupid fucker. I needed to know if she’d been with him this year. Had they dated? Had she been seeing someone? Could I handle it if she had been?