𝔽𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 (𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝)

11. In a Daze

I inhale deeply, recognizing a familiar scent as I do. What is that smell? I take another breathe full of it and feel myself smile. I don't even know why it makes me smile, but it does. After my brief moment of happiness, I feel a pounding in my head that completely voids that sensation. I roll over and blink my eyes open painfully. The feeling pounding throughout my skull is akin to being hit in the head with a baseball bat, at least I assume it is.

"Ohhh my heeeaaad..." I groan out loudly into the pillow beneath it.

"I've been there." I freeze then sit up abruptly. No no no, there's no way I'm here. I did not end up sleeping with him again. Did I? I wrack my brain but that only makes the pounding in my head worse, much worse.

"Sean?" I'm finally able to question. He's leaning against the kitchen countertop with his arms crossed over his chest. He's wearing dark jeans and a baseball tee. Even in my pain he looks good and I hate myself for thinking so. Sean is also wearing something else though— a look of complete disdain. What is that about? "How'd I get here? What am I doing here?" Please don't say, 'having sex with me before I kick you out again'. He looks me over and shakes his head before letting out a long sigh.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I search my mind for a moment thinking about all the moments before leading up to the club. I think about the dinner with Joey and then bar-hopping. We'd gone to the club and then I'd seen Sean... oh my god. I see Sean's fists endlessly pounding punches into Joey's face. He'd looked like a complete devil that night. I look up at him now in mortification at the memory. "He deserved it." He'd said the moment I jumped out of the bed, ready to hightail it out of here.

"You're crazy!" I can't help but shout at him because no one deserves the beat down Joey got. "Jesus Christ." I begin remembering him grabbing onto me, dragging me out of the club as I protested. "You're totally insane, completely bat-shit crazy. I can't believe what you did to him."

He looks completely unfazed by my reaction as he says, "keep thinking, sweetheart." What the hell else does he want me to think about? We were outside and then we came home. I try to remember more and am coming up blank.

"I... I can't remember really." Nor do I think I want to but I continue with, "I just," my head pounds making me pause, "we were outside. Then we were at your truck." Oh my god... the truck... My hands were all over him. I was all over him. I wanted him so bad. I remember the staircase, specifically trying to have sex with him on the staircase. If he's insane I'm even crazier. I was really trying to get him to fuck me everywhere after everything that'd happened. What is wrong with me?

"That asshole drugged you. That's why you want to fuck so bad." His words from last night play throughout my head. He could've taken advantage of me like Joey had seemingly wanted to. He could've thrown me out or at least just put me in my own apartment but he hadn't. Sean had actually taken care of me last night.

I remember how he'd helped me into his bed when I'd started feeling sick. He'd wiped my forehead with a cool washcloth after he'd pushed my hair out of my face. The entire time telling me everything was going to be alright. He'd looked worried and scared, if I'm remembering correctly.

He actually cares about me. That thought makes tears come to my eyes. He's not as void of emotion as he seems. He's just really really good at hiding them. Once I've collected myself enough, I look up at him and say, "thank you for taking care of me."

His eyes soften slightly as he gives me a nod of his head. He looks me over for a moment, probably making sure I don't get emotional again, before saying, " I got some breakfast." He holds up a bag from a local coffee shop. "Figured you'd be hungry when you woke up." He's right. Just at the mention of food I feel my stomach rumble.

I look at him for a moment and quirk my brow in disbelief. "You, asshole-of-the-year, went out and got breakfast?"

"Yes, the best-looking, asshole-of-the-year, went out and got breakfast." He smirks and I can't help but roll my eyes at his never-ending arrogance.

That arrogance alone makes me debate walking out of here. And if I know anything about Sean, it's that his warmth can quickly turn cold. It's also not a question of if it will happen, it's when. I don't know if I can take another round of being completely shut out by this man again. Like the light to the dark, a moth to a flame, I still walk up to him, snatching the bagel out of his hand.

"What time is it?" I ask after realizing I can indeed stomach food at this moment in time.

"It's six pm." Sean digs into his own bagel.

"So, this is dinner then."

He shrugs. "Not for you considering you're just waking up."

"I feel like such an idiot." I let out a irritated sigh at myself.

"You should." His words make me glare at him. I debate saying something in return but I don't. The cocky face he's wearing right now let's me know that he knows I want to say something. He's almost tempting me too, welcoming a rebuttal, but I'm not giving him the satisfaction. Instead, I just take a big bite out of my bagel.

After a few more quiet moments, with the two of us just studying each other, I finish my food. I ask him for some water and he gets me a glass wordlessly. I drink the entire thing from top to bottom, then wipe my mouth when I'm done. Sean's watching me in amusement, making me wonder what's going on inside of that temperamental brain of his.

Before I can really ponder that for too long and before he can tell me to get out, I thank him. I do so for the food and everything he did for me last night. He stares at me for a moment looking like he wants to say something but he doesn't. In the end, he just gives me a quick nod.

He snatches the empty wrapper from my food out of my hand before turning to toss both of our garbage away. As he does that I place my glass next to the sink, coming up behind him. I'm almost right on top of him when he turns around. I glance up at his startled frame, pulling my arm away from where I'd just left my glass on the counter.

Sean is motionless as he looks down at me and I'd venture to that it's because of my closeness. When he doesn't say anything, I step up on the tip of my toes trying to reach him. Almost as if he doesn't realize he's doing it, he leans down towards me with the most vulnerable look in his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes.

Once he's close enough I place a soft kiss on his cheek. He doesn't pull or push me away so I linger there, reveling in the feeling of his stubble against my lips. I pull myself away from him after a few moments, looking up at him in satisfaction. I want to touch him, hug him, something, but I don't. Instead I just turn around, grab my things, and leave him there looking dazed.

A/N:
Anyone remember what happens next chapter? *wink wink*

Anyway, hope you're all well and having a good week so far!