County Line

It's a Heartache

Darci’s POV:
I woke the next morning with a pounding in my head that rivaled some of the hangovers that I had lived through in college. Last night when I had gotten home, one beer turned into two, and before I knew it, two had turned into a whole case plus the remainder of the Captain Morgan I had in the cabinet.

Rolling over to my side, I sat up and rested my head in my hands, willing the pounding to stop. Grabbing my phone, I checked the time. It was nearly noon. I hadn't slept this late since college. Knowing that I needed to get up and get motivated, I stood up from off the bed and stretched. In my oversized t-shirt and panties, I slowly made my way to the kitchen. I had one mission, and that was coffee. I damn sure needed the caffeine to help with the headache that I had. At the first sip, I felt it hit my soul. Carrying my mug into the living room, I sat down on the couch and started flipping through the channels, looking for something to watch just until I felt a little more human. 
After finishing my coffee, I felt a little better. At least the little drummer in my head wasn't doing his best impression of playing in a heavy metal band anymore. For that I was thankful. 

I carried my cup to the kitchen and was making my way to the stairs when I heard my doorbell ring. 

“Who the hell is it?” I muttered to myself as I walked over to the door. The person standing on the other side was the last person I wanted to see. Standing there in all his glory, looking like sex on legs, was Brantley. Seeing him standing there made me remember what I was wearing. There was no way in hell I was opening that door in just my t-shirt and panties. Nope. The man had already said he didn't want a random hookup or a relationship. What would he think if I opened the door, barely dressed? 

Like a scalded cat, I took off for the stairs, taking them two at the time. To go in search of pants and a bra. As I was getting dressed, I heard my doorbell ring again. I quickly slipped on a sports bra and found a pair of my workout shorts. I was throwing my hair in a messy bun as I came down the stairs. I was just about to open the door when I heard the doorbell ring again. 

“What?” I damn near yelled as I snatched the door open with so much force that I had to stop it before it slammed against the wall.  Guess you could say my drinking last night didn't help my mood when it came to him. “Why are you on my doorstep?”

“Well, I wanted to apologize.” Brantley said, but the smile on his face did nothing but piss me off further. 

“For what? You were just being honest. Let me rephrase that, you weren’t sugar coating shit. Wasn't that what you said?” I said, standing in the doorway when he tried to walk inside. “I didn't ask if you wanted to come in.”    

“Darci, look. I'm sorry for being an asshole last night. I didn't mean to make you feel cheap by telling you that I didn't want to hook up.”

“Apology accepted. Now goodbye.” I said as I went to slam the door but just before it closed, Brantley stuck his foot inside.

“We're not done here.” Said Brantley as he pushed the door back open. 

“Yes we are. There’s nothing more to say. You apologized for being an asshole and I accepted. We have nothing else to discuss. Now please, move your foot out of my door so I can get back to doing what I was doing.” I said, pushing on the door in an attempt to close it.

Before I knew what was happening, I was listed off the ground and being tossed over a shoulder. For a brief second, I let the smell of his cologne fill my nostrils before I let my anger take over. 

“Goddammit Brantley. Put me down. I’m not 2 years old and I damn sure don't need to be manhandled. This is my house in case you forgot.” I said as I balled up my fists and started hitting him in the back. His muscular back. His tattooed, muscular back… Shaking my head, I shook the thoughts of his tattoos out of my mind.