One More Chance

Beauty and Brains

Bryce

Another morning, another hangover.

I groan and roll over in bed. I don't want to get up yet, not when it feels like there's a battery ram running through my head. All I want to do is sleep in but there's a gap in the curtain where the sun's shining right in my eyes. I reach for another pillow next to me but my hand encounters a face instead.

I prop myself up on one elbow. "Who the hell are you?"

I glare at the woman next to me. She's as naked as I am, her blonde hair a mess, and if I have to guess from the way she peers at me with one eye open, is probably dealing with the same level of hangover I'm in.

"Oh, Bryce, last night was wonderful." Her voice is as raspy as mine, thick with sleep.

"I'm glad to hear that, but who are you?"

"Oh, Bryce, you're so funny. I'm Fran," she replies, sighing dramatically. "You have to remember me. We had the most wonderful night together. You were amazing, baby."

Bits and pieces of the night before play back inside my head. It was one night of many with me going out to one of the newest clubs in town and getting drunk in the process. That's what fun is supposed to be, right? Although whatever "fun" I'm supposed to have lately hasn't been enough. Something's been missing. Maybe it worked for a few months until the day I wake up barely remembering the woman sleeping next to me.

I also remember other things. And because of that, I can't just smother myself under the pillows and hope to go back to sleep, not when Dad wants me to get started on some big important green building project. Sure, I have a degree in architecture but my masters is in business development. Too bad Dad keeps insisting I need to know the production side of things if I'm to take over the firm one day.

He's right, of course, but he also expects too much of me and so I end up having to have some poor underling do all the work while I take full credit. It's dumb but my father insists it's the only way I'll know how to run the business when he's gone. It's as if I hadn't spent three years learning everything I could about the business as an intern at one of the country's top architectural firms in New York.

I rake my fingers through my hair as I sit up. "Well... Fran. You'll need to show yourself out because I've got a lot to do this morning and not much time to do it."

She pouts, batting her eyelashes. "You'll call me later, right? I'd love for you to take me out to dinner tonight."

"Sorry, babe, I have other plans."

Fran pouts even more but gets out of bed, sauntering toward the bathroom without a stitch of clothing on. As she shuts the door behind her, I lay back in bed and groan.

What can I say? Sometimes, a one-night stand is simply that, a one-night stand. She's also throwing off the vibe of someone who's only after me for being one of Auburn Springs' most eligible bachelors. She'd laughingly told me so last night when we met at the bar. She even knew my standing, number four with the top spot held by my friend Dr. Tai Okuda. Another friend, Dr. Parker O'Neill ranked number six but he's actually off the market, having officially gotten engaged over the summer.

Who comes up with these lists anyway and how the hell did my ranking fall two slots from last year?

My phone beeps from the bedside table and as I retrieve it, I can't help but grin. Speaking of the devil...

Parker: We still up for golf at 1?

Golf. I'd completely forgotten. I promised Parker I'd help him with his golf swing. I mean, the guy may be one of the world's most promising neurosurgeons but his golf swing needs a lot of help.