Citrus, Bourbon, and Cigarettes
Alexander
6:00 AM. The alarm is beeping. I roll partially off the side of my bed to turn the alarm off on my phone. I forget it’s Saturday, no official work, thankfully. Normally I’d be up and getting out to the gym, but today I want to sleep.
8:30 AM. My phone starts ringing. It’s Ryan. No work! I decline the call and toss my phone on the night stand. I let out a groan and fall back asleep.
11:00 AM. My phone rings again. I grumble overly annoyed. Fuck. I’m hung over. I roll over completely this time and my face hits a mane of brunette hair. I inhale and it smells like citrus, bourbon, and cigarettes. Not what I was expecting. What did I do last night? My phone rings again.
Bloody hell. This time I sit up completely, and rub the heel of my palms on my eyes. I don’t think I’ve gotten this drunk since college. Reaching for the phone, I answer.
“Geia [Hey].”
“Good morning to you too, buttercup.” A familiar accent over the phone sings in my ear.
I scoff, “What’s up shit stick? I haven’t heard from you in months.”
Chase Thompson. One of the greatest rugby players in the UK and the biggest man whore I’ve ever met, but my most loyal and honest friends.
“Just got in from New Zealand. Got a few of your emails. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to get back with you. We’ll need to catch up soon. There are some pieces missing to your story that you’ll need to fill me in on.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
“Listen mate, I ran into Chloe at the airport. She said she’s coming your way.”
I hear a moan from the bed and turn around. The brunette is sitting up and stretching. Tits out not giving a fuck. I see her get up and head to the bathroom.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I guess she told me she had a revelation and needs to see you.”
“I think a phone call would suffice instead of flying all this way. We’re only five hours apart. What on earth has her coming out this way?”
“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”
The brunette is back in the bed. She leans the front of her body against my back, wrapping her arms around my chest and licking my free ear. I really hope she washed her hands.
“Last night was so much fun,” she says trying to sound seductive.
“Óchi tóra, glykiá mou. [Not now, sweetheart].”
“Mmmm,” she moans in my ear.
“Sounds like you had a good time last night. That’s not Willow, is it?”
I throw the covers off and peel the brunette off my body. Stepping down off the bed I accidentally kick a bottle of whiskey and curse under my breath.
“Óchi [No].”
My eyes are still adjusting to the light as I stumble around. I’m jumping on one foot while peeling the condom off my toe and pulling the legs of my sweatpants over me.
“We’ll catch up. I got to go.”
“Alright boss, call me when you’re not preoccupied.”
“Kólos [Asshole].” I mumble as I hang up. I throw on a t-shirt and head to the kitchen.
Several minutes later, the brunette comes out of my room dressed. I don’t remember much about bringing her home at all or any conversations if we even had any.
“Coffee?”
“Nah, I’m good, thanks. Last night was amazing. Will I get to see you again soon?”
She leans over, exposing her cleavage to me.
I push out a huff, “Sorry, love.” That answer was enough for her to understand.
“Shame. I really hope we do this again though.” She winks and heads out.
I know exactly what to say to get her back in my bed, but I let her leave. I’m too hung over for this anyway. I rub my hand through my hair. Shit. That was the first woman I’ve brought back to my bed in months as a casual hookup. I've always been more of the relationship type, but I don’t have it in me to grow attached these days.
I hear my phone ring again and look at the screen. I let out a sigh before picking up, “Chloe.”
“Hey love. I’ve missed you.”
Later that evening after a cold shower and sleep on a bed of clean sheets, I’m pulling up to the airport in the pickup lane. Chloe is standing outside with her designer bags, in ridiculously tight jeans and a tank top that makes her breasts pop. She’s wearing a pair of heels that make her unnecessarily taller. She already reaches 5’9.
“I never thought of you as the SUV type.”
“It snows a lot in Boston. I need a reliable car.”
I notice there are two suitcases to load in the back, meaning this is a short trip. Yes, short. If it was long, there'd be about five. I slam the door to the trunk and lean against it with my arms crossed.
“Thanks for coming and picking me up.”
“Chloe, what are you doing here? You could have just called.”
“I changed my mind.”
I raise my eyebrows with a skeptical look waiting for her to continue. I have a feeling what this all means.
“I know it’s been quite some time, but I saw you and … your company in the news. You’ve been doing well. Not sure if the beard is the cutest, but I’d get used to it. I just … I’ve missed you so much Alex.”
“Chloe.”
“I’ve realized how horrible I was, and I should have been more open to what you wanted with your life. I was being so selfish.”
“I thought we already talked about this. You wanted to stay in London and that’s fine. To be honest, we weren’t meeting eye-to-eye on a lot of other things.”
“Well let’s move past that and we can start over. I want to … with you.”
Chloe walks up and places her hands on both sides of my face. She gives me a long, gentle kiss and I close my eyes, not unfolding my arms.
“I … didn’t get a hotel.”
I shake my head and let out a small chuckle. Of course, she didn’t.
