1 Night (A Time for Love Series Prequel)

Chapter 5

He stumbled toward the bed, not even glancing at me.

I bit back a huff as I watched him face-plant on the comforter, his body bouncing slightly on impact. If I wasn't confident in how absolutely fucking fantastic I looked naked, I might be offended by the fact that he hadn't even registered me standing there.

"You okay?" I asked, walking softly over to the bed, unabashedly staring at his finely sculpted ass.

The man was built.

I brushed the hair off of his forehead, and Cal's eyes fluttered, as if he were having a difficult time opening them.

He grunted in response, but didn't move, which made me worry. The last thing I needed was this guy to fall asleep on his stomach, vomit again, then drown in his own puke. And with the way things had gone so far, it seemed like a pretty good possibility.

"Hey," I called, raising my voice in hopes it would penetrate. "Cal, you need to roll over on your side."

I pushed on his shoulder three times before he finally rolled the way I wanted to and settled on his side. Confident that he'd be fine in that position, I gathered up the disgusting towel and threw it in the bathtub, then shut the bathroom door.

Once I was satisfied the room was as clean as it was going to get, I opened a window slightly to get some airflow. Luckily, I had a small bottle of perfume in my bag, so I sprayed it around the room and hoped the combination of fresh air and fragrance would mask the smell of puke.

After putting the perfume back in my purse, I grabbed my phone and climbed up onto the other side of the bed from Cal and settled in, figuring I'd be much more comfortable in the bed than on a hard hotel chair. Plus, my body was tired from my shift.

Once the pillows were behind my back and shoulders, and the blankets were covering my chilled skin, I scrolled through my phone until I found the number I needed.

"Hey, babe," I said in greeting, glancing over at Cal and wondering briefly if he was cold on top of the covers.

"Simone," the voice on the other end replied. "What can I do for my favorite lady on this fine night?"

"I need your cheapest package to Mexico," I began, my eyes closing as I pictured a pristine sandy beach. "I don't care where ... Acapulco, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, wherever."

"Finally taking a vacation, eh? When are you looking at going?"

"First thing in the morning," I replied, unable to keep the smirk off my face.

"First thing ... Shit, you don't make things easy, do you?"

"Can you do it?" I asked, sending off a silent prayer.

My longtime friend and sometimes travel agent scoffed in response, as insulted by my question.

"Thanks, babe!" I said with a chuckle.

"I'll text you the details."

I disconnected the call with a smile on my lips, and that's when I felt it: Cal's hand on my breast. He caressed the bottom softly with his fingertips, then palmed my breast and squeezed. I felt need pulse from my nipple down to my clit, and my lids fluttered closed as I enjoyed the sensation.

"Shelly," Cal murmured, and my eyes flew open.

I looked over to see his eyes still closed, then plucked his hand from my tit and flung it off me.

"Wrong woman, loverboy," I bit out as disappointment and frustration coursed through me.

It's the best tit action I've seen in months, and he thinks he's with someone else.

"Huh?" Cal grunted, lifting his head slowly off the bed as his bloodshot eyes hit mine. "Oh, hey, I know you."

I couldn't help but snort at him as he smiled dopily at me.

"Yeah, and I'm not your wife, so keep your big mitts to yourself," I said, trying to sound stern even though I wasn't mad at the fact that he'd felt me up, but rather that he hadn't wanted to feel me up.

"Sorry," he managed, his expression turning puppy dog cute, then laid his head back down.

"So," I began, figuring it was safer to keep him talking than let him pass out. "You said you're here for a bachelor party. Who's the poor sucker getting hitched?"

"My buddy, Scott," Cal replied, his voice low, but clear, considering.

"And did you guys have a good time? I mean, before you got bombed out of your mind?"

"Kind of. I mean, it was more of a depressing event than a celebration. At least for me and TJ."

"Why's that?" I asked, curious.

"Because Victoria's all wrong for him." Cal tried to lift his head and maybe sit up, but gave up and flopped back down on the bed.

I did my best to ignore his dick flopping around with his movement, but it was kind of hard to do when it was in my line of sight, and, well, hard as a cock can get. And I couldn't help but think that Shelly was one lucky woman, in more ways than one.

I tore my gaze off of Cal's preening cock and tried to focus on his face, which currently held a frown.

"How so?" I asked, assuming Victoria was the bride-to-be.

"She's turning into his mother," Cal said, his tone conveying his disgust.

"Oh no, that's never good..." I began, then paused, considering. "Although, don't they say men marry women just like their mothers?"

"Not mothers like his. She's a rich snob who only cares about who has the most money and how their money or connections can benefit her," Cal replied, then went quiet. I figured he'd dozed back off, when he startled me by speaking again. "The thing is, Victoria didn't used to be all bad. She used to behave like an actual person and she and Scott were happy. That all changed once she got his ring on her finger. It was like Jekyll and Hyde."

"And what does Scott think?" I asked.

"He doesn't see the change, but believe me, the rest of us do. She'll never make him happy, not like she is now. Scott had never been close to his mother, so I can't imagine why Victoria thinks becoming more like her is a good thing."

Cal fell silent again and I thought over what he'd said.

"Maybe," I began softly, "this Victoria is portraying the person she thinks Scott wants her to be. Who his family wants her to be. Sometimes we morph into different people throughout our lives in order to survive."