Alpha Charming | Rheon

NINETEEN

The first thing I felt when I stirred awake was the balloon in my head, slowly inflating and pressing against the insides of my skull. My brain felt like a mushy blob of goo and opening my eyes, it felt as if someone struck me with a bolt of lightning. Short and sweet, I felt like shit.

Cursing at the pain, I somehow managed to roll out of bed and stumbled my way to the bathroom. With my eyes still practically closed, one hand got the shower running and the other started stripping off last night's clothes.

I'm never drinking again.

Screw Reyna and her warm-up tequila. Was this how Madison felt every morning after clubbing? If so, she's a moron for doing it on a weekly basis.

The shower worked wonders on my body, soothing the aching muscles after I so spontaneously performed in front of those people. I cringed just thinking about it. And not to mention risking myself getting arrested for nearly starting a bar fight. The cut on my cheek stung at the mere memory of it, as hazy as it was.

After scrubbing off last night's grime, I wrapped myself in a towel. However, as I stepped out of the bathroom, I realized with a start this was Rheon's room and my clothes were all the way on the other side of the castle.

Shit.

Well, I'd rather run naked through the castle before putting on last night's outfit.

Peering at the walk-in closet in the room, I had an idea. Another thing my mother taught me was to never snoop through other people's things. So far, I broke the 'don't get into a stranger's car' rule, what's breaking one more? Hopefully, Rheon won't mind.

It was like walking into a fancy department store. On my left were several shelves containing neatly folded T-shirts and jeans, on my right, an entire closet space reserved for suits and dress shirts - all sorted by color, of course. And at the far end of the closet, hung his beloved leather jackets and...hoodies?

That could work.

I was instantly drawn to the dark grey one. Slipping it off its hanger, I held my breath to listen if anyone was coming before quickly unwrapping the towel. The damned thing barely hit the ground when, out of the blue, the door opened, and Rheon strolled in. He glanced to the side at the same moment I yanked the towel back up before doing a double take, his eyes the size of UFOs.

"Hey, don't look!" I shrieked, turning my back on him as I tried getting a grip on the towel.

"Sorry... I..." He averted his eyes. "You're naked. Is that intentional or..."

"What do you think? That I would just randomly walk around like this?" I caught him shrugging as if saying 'that wouldn't be so bad'. Scrunching my face in embarrassment, I added, "I don't have any fresh clothes, figured I'd just borrow something from you to make the trip to my room while keeping my dignity intact - the little I have left, at least."

"Perhaps, if you weren't so hungover and opening your eyes didn't hurt like a punch to the face, you would've noticed the fresh pile of clothes I left for you at the foot of the bed."

I froze when hearing him walk towards me. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed his one hand covered his eyes while the other held a pile of neatly folded clothes towards me. Muttering a thank you under my breath, he stepped away so I could dress in peace.

"I thought you should know," his voice came from deeper down the room, "the other packs have arrived already."

"This early?" I stressed, shimmying into the skinny jeans he picked out for me.

He breathed a laugh. "Actually, they're on time. It's two in the afternoon, Ash."

"What?" I lost my balance and drop to the floor like a dead weight, "Ow, shit..."