Gently

Pounding Headache

A hammer was being slammed across my head. The constant throbbing behind my eyes was unbearable. Light trickled in through the window, blinding me as I raised my head. I was still wearing my dress, which was wrinkly and bunched up around my thighs.

My heart rate picked up when my eyes landed on the figure next to me. Zane was on his stomach and his head was turned towards me. Wearing nothing but a pair of slacks, he looked at peace.

"Zane!" I said, shaking him awake. The events of last night were fuzzy.

Slowly he lifted his head and then propped himself up on his elbows. An expression of confusion spread across his features as he looked around the room. "What time is it?" His voice was deeper than normal.

"The time? You're worried about the time? What the hell are you doing in my room?" Memories of last night slowly surfaced through the haze. We had snagged another bottle of champagne and managed to find the library. After that, we took a cab home.

Zane glanced at me before finally sitting up on the bed. He raised his arms above his head and let out a yawn. I watched his back muscles ripple from the action before sitting up myself. "No idea. I must have gotten confused and thought I still slept here," he said over his shoulder.

There was a small tattoo on his left shoulder. Surrounding a bouquet of roses was a triangle. It was simple, done in just black ink, yet I immediately realized that it was an homage to his late mother.

"When did you get that?" I pointed at the tattoo. The absurdity of me not knowing about a tattoo on Zane's back tugged at me briefly but I brushed it aside. He looked over his shoulder and then towards the window.

"Oh. Years ago," he said with a shrug, getting up from the bed. Once again, he stretched and a warm feeling spread through my body. Was Zane always this ripped?

I followed him with my eyes as he easily strode towards the armchair by the door. Even in his drunken haze, Zane had managed to neatly place his coat and button-down on the chair. As he turned towards the door, I called out to him.

Coming to a stop, he looked down at me. His eyes fell to my dress before finding my face again. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I just wanted to know. Did we do anything last night?" My brain had managed to piece together the series of events from last night. I already knew that we didn't do anything last night but I wanted to hear Zane say it.

I brought a pillow to my lap, watching the light bounce across the ridges of his body. "No. We didn't. The only reason I crashed here was because I thought this was still my room."

"Okay."

"Okay." He turned to leave and then paused. "If we ever did anything, I would want us to be sober." A blush crept across my cheeks and neck as I watched him disappear outside. What the hell? I didn't blush. I never blushed. Groaning, I pressed my face into the pillow.

Massaging my head, I tried to rid my brain of thoughts about Zane. I would need a cup of coffee and a shit ton of Tylenol to get through the rest of the day. Stumbling to the washroom, I grumbled false promises to myself about never drinking again. Red eyes surrounded by dark eye shadow stared back at me. I splashed water on my face in hopes that it would stop the pounding.

It didn't work, of course.

Outside, Zane was seated at his usual spot at the counter. His eyes were closed and he had his hands wrapped around a mug of coffee. They flew open when I walked into the kitchen. Silently, he pushed a cup of coffee in my direction.

"You planning on putting a shirt on anytime soon?" I said with a laugh, reaching over to grab the cup. Leaning against the stove, I faced Zane and took small sips of the bitter drink.

Like me, his eyes were puffy and tired. His hair stuck up in odd directions, making him look younger and more innocent. He was still wearing the dog chain around his neck, which rested across his heart.

"That depends. Are you planning on changing out of that dress anytime soon?" He smirked before taking a drink from his mug, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. My stomach did a summersault. Sweat started to build under my arms and at my neck.

Two could play that game.

Setting my cup down, I slid my leg out from the slit of the dress. "Why do you ask? Does it bother you?" Zane swept his eyes across the length of my leg. Eventually, his eyes reached my face.

We stared at each other, daring the other to speak. Obviously, the flirting was brought on due to our hungover state. The scary thing was that I was actually enjoying it.

A knock at the door broke us from our daze. Clearing his throat, Zane pushed away from the bar and went to open the door. I shut my eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. When I opened them, I was face to face with none other than Hannah.

"Damn, girl. What have you two been up to?" Hannah wiggled her eyebrows as she looked at Zane and then me.

An uncomfortable-looking Zane excused himself and stepped into his room. "Please tell me you tapped that?" Hannah said with a whistle.

"Stop objectifying my husband," I said, rolling my eyes. "He doesn't appreciate it."

"I really don't!" Zane shouted from his room. Hannah snickered and turned towards me.

"Guess what? Guess what?" She was hopping from one foot to the other.

"You got me a fucking puppy?" I asked, running a hand through my hair. No doubt my hair resembled a bird's nest at this point.

"What! No. Are you hungover?" She cocked her head and passed her eyes over me.

"Maybe a little bit. Stop talking so loudly." I reached for the stove as a wave of dizziness passed over me.

"Ravi proposed!" she screamed, holding out her hand to show me the ring. It took me a while to process what this meant.

Once it registered in my brain, I started squealing and jumping around the kitchen with Hannah. Zane came back outside, this time wearing a t-shirt. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Ravi proposed!" I said with a laugh. "I can't believe he actually grew a pair and went through with it."

"You have to come to my engagement party!" Hannah's smile was so wide that it lit up the room. Seeing her so content made me feel all gushy inside.

"Yeah. For sure, honey. I will be counting the days." I reached over to hug her again.

"You too, lawyer-man. You're coming to my engagement party too," Hannah declared.

Zane was leaning against the wall, watching us with a dazed look. "I'm not sure if you would take no as an answer."