The Boy Next Door

Actions and Reactions

The next day, you were woken up by the sun glaring through your curtains and the urgent need to pee. You sat up, quicker than your body would like and it caused you to have a pounding headache. Fuck, how much did I drink last night? Turning to your bedside table, you found an aspirin and a water bottle and you said a silent prayer in thanks as you consumed them.

Once, you had relieved yourself, you walked up to the sink to wash your hands and face. After you rubbed the sleep away from your eyes, you looked at your reflection in the mirror and gasped in shock. You carefully lifted your hand and gently traced your fingers on the mark on your neck, unsure whether it was a figment of your imagination. Alas, the hickey was real. What the hell happened last night?

You headed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to grab yourself some more water when you heard Mark come out of his room. He spotted you and flashed you his killer smile and you almost turned away from how bright it was. Unfortunately, you were too hungover to enjoy it.

"Morning," Mark greeted shyly as he approached, bottom lip caught in his teeth. He was excited and nervous to see you this morning after the events of last night. He still wasn't sure how you would take it, but he took it as a positive sign when you didn't run away from him. Yet. "How are you feeling?"

"Less hungover than I thought," you chuckled. "I still have a bit of a headache but at least I'm up. Were you the one that left me the aspirin and the water bottle?"

"Yeah that was me," he smiled again. "I thought you might need it."

"Thanks. Wait, does this mean you were the one that took me home last night?"

Mark furrowed his brows in confusion. You should've known that he was the one that took you home; you even agreed when he had asked. He nodded once and was about to elaborate on his answer when you interrupted him with another question.

"That's great," you sighed in relief. "That means you can tell me how I got this hickey on my neck last night and who it was from. I have been trying to wrack my brain and —"

"Wait," Mark interrupted this time. "Don't you remember anything from last night?"

You shook your head. "I must've drunk more than I thought or Jackson had laced those red cups with something else. I can usually remember everything but the last thing I remember from last night is challenging you to a drink off."

Mark took a deep breath and closed his eyes to try and calm himself down. It was just his luck that when he finally thought things were progressing, it turned out that you didn't remember a thing. His heart sank. He didn't know what to do, though the choice was clear. He didn't know how you felt towards him yet so his safest bet was to act like nothing happened. Or so he thought.

"Mark, are you okay?" you asked him worriedly since he hadn't replied to your question.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry, I was just sifting through my memories of last night to see if I can remember seeing anything for you, but I can't think of anything. I'm not sure who the lucky fella is."

"Actually, I think I'm the lucky one. I don't remember it, which means it wasn't with someone important or someone worth remembering."

Wow, Mark thought to himself, you really had a way with words. He replied, "Yeah, I guess."

As the words left your lips, an unwelcome thought suddenly entered your mind. What if the guy you hooked up with, was Mark? No. No. NO. It can't be. There was no way. Right? Or he wouldn't be standing in front of you like this. Or would he? Oh, God. There was only one way to find out if you had made a complete fool of yourself.