1 Night (A Time for Love Series Prequel)

Chapter 4

One second I was looking and feeling good – even though the heels hurt my feet, I knew they made my legs look a-mazing – and the next I literally had vomit everywhere. Soaking through my dress, dripping down my cleavage, and ruining my shoes.

"Oh. My. God."

I wasn't sure if Cal said it or if I did, because I sure was thinking it, along with a long string of curse words.

"I'm so sorry," Cal managed, somehow sounding drunker now than he had before he'd lost the entire contents of his stomach on my person.

The elevator doors opened and I urged, "Hurry, hurry, get to your room and open the door."

We rushed down the hall, and when he started to fumble the key card I yanked it out of his hand and opened the door myself, pushing past him to get inside and get in the bathroom. I didn't care if he was behind me or if his friends were in the room, I needed to get this puke off of me before I lost it.

I threw my purse on the counter and fished the money out of my dress, then turned the water on in the shower and hopped under the stream, squealing when the still-cold water hit me. I bit back the urge to jump out and let the water beat the puke off of my dress. Once the chunks were mostly off, the water started to warm, and I pulled the dress over my head, gagging slightly as it passed over my nose.

"You okay?" I heard as Cal knocked on the bathroom door.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted back, sounding half crazed, probably because I was. I'd seen a lot of nasty things at the strip club, usually involving men's jizz, but never had I been in a situation like this.

"Sorry," I barely heard him say as I tossed my bra and thong on the shower floor and began dousing myself with shampoo. I washed my breasts first, then any skin that had been exposed to the vomit, before finally washing my hair, face and every other inch of my body.

Once I felt clean, I picked up my clothes and washed them with the soap as well, tossing them over the top of the shower to dry, before giving myself another good scrub.

Needing to feel a little normal, I blew my hair dry, before wrapping another towel around myself and exiting the bathroom. I expected to find Cal passed out on the bed; instead, he was sitting in the chair holding two bottles of beer, and there were a few empty mini bar bottles on the table in front of him.

"Do you really think you should be drinking?" I asked, embarrassed to find I sounded like the mom he'd accused me of being earlier.

"Hey," he said, looking at me as if he'd never seen me before, then I saw recognition dawn and he held one bottle up to me in his shaky hand.

I took it before he could drop it, then sat in the chair across from him and took a long pull. The cool liquid felt good down my throat.

"You're wet," Cal said, then asked, "What happened?

"Seriously?" I asked incredulously. "You threw up on me."

"I did? I'm so sorry," Cal said miserably, dropping his head in his hands. Then he brought his gaze back up to mine. "I remember ... I've never thrown up like that before in my life."

"What the hell did you have to drink tonight?" I asked, not really wanting to talk about the puking fiasco any more.

"What didn't I drink would be the better question," Cal replied with a sharp laugh.

He leaned forward and tried to set his beer down on the table. Before he could knock it over, I caught it and said, "It must have been a lot to get a big guy like you that wasted."

"Bachelor party," he managed as his eyes started to close.

When he made another hiccupping sound, I jumped up and got out of the way, right before he spewed all over the table.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, wondering how in the hell he had anything left in his stomach after the elevator. Once he was done, I looked at him, wondering what the best thing to do now was. I couldn't just leave him like this, not when he could have alcohol poisoning or something.

"I'll stay until your friends get here, but we have to get you cleaned up and do something about this smell," I said, thinking I was talking to myself, since he was obviously fucked up.

I was surprised when he stood up and said, "Shower."

"Wait," I called when I realized he was going to take a shower now. His shirt was off and he was struggling to get out of his pants when I got into the bathroom. I took a moment to appreciate his well-sculpted chest and biceps, I have a weakness for biceps, then reached up to get my clothes off of the shower so he didn't get them messed up again. I tossed the bills into my purse and grabbed it up off the counter.

"Take a quick one," I told him. "If you're not out in five minutes, I'm coming in to get you. The last thing I need is you drowning in here."

I left him alone and hung my dress over the back of the chair. I stuffed my bra and panties in my purse, hoping they wouldn't ruin anything inside, then placed my purse on the dresser and pulled out my phone.

There were three texts from Ginger asking if I'd found the mystery man's hotel.

You owe me more, one week isn't going to make up for what I've been through, I texted her back, then looked around at the mess Cal had made.

"Fuck," I managed as I looked around for something to clean his puke up with.

There was nothing. No paper towels, napkins, nothing. I looked at the suitcases and clothes strewn haphazardly over them, briefly considering using his clothes, then decided I wasn't that much of a bitch, and kept looking.

"Whatever," I muttered, then whipped the towel off my body and started cleaning up. Still talking out loud to myself, I added, "I deserve three weeks in Mexico and a hard pounding by a well-toned cabana boy with a hard cock."

Even as I was cleaning up after Cal, I couldn't believe I was doing it. It was totally against my nature. Usually I'd walk out the door with my middle finger in the air and let him fend for himself, but there was something sweet about this guy that made me want to do the right thing and make sure he was okay.

I heard the water turn off and seconds later the door flew open, and Cal strode out, naked as the day he was born, or at least, as naked as I was...