Mackenzie lay very still. Her head was pounding fiercely and she knew by the foul taste in her mouth that she must have puked her guts out the night before. Even worse, she was pretty sure she wasn't in her own bed at home. She opened her eyes just enough to catch a glimpse of her surroundings. "Shit," she whispered soundlessly as her suspicions were confirmed.
"Good morning, darlin'. It's about time you woke up."
Mackenzie flinched and opened her eyes to stare at the man who had spoken. His hair was damp and he wore nothing but a towel and a grin. "AJ," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"You were expecting someone else?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I don't know," she said hesitantly. "Was I?"
"You don't want to know," AJ said shaking his head and standing back up. The towel slipped dangerously low on his hips. Mackenzie closed her eyes and listened to him moving around the room. She didn't think she had ever felt so sick in her entire life. Sighing, she pulled the blanket up over her head. "AJ?" came her muffled voice from under the covers.
"Mmmhmm?"
"Where are my clothes?"
"Hmmmm," he said, screwing up his face and thinking. "The best I remember, they're between here and the front door."
"Well, hell!" she cursed. "Why didn't you stop me?"
"Oh, baby," Alex said, breaking into laughter. "When you decide you want to do something, there just ain't no stopping you." He walked over to the bed and tugged the blanket down to reveal her flushed face. "Besides," he grinned unrepentantly, "you know I always try to accommodate the ladies."
"Um. . . . Alex," she began, avoiding his eyes and relieved to see that boxers had replaced the towel, "just how accommodating were you last night? I mean, we didn't. . . . ummm, me and you. . . . we didn't. . . .?"
"Make love? Baby," he growled sexily, caressing her face with his hand, "when we make love, I promise you, you'll remember."
"I guess I would," she said, slowly inching away from him, "with all those pigs flying around." Alex froze as her words sank in. "Well, aren't you just hilarious this morning," he said, plainly offended.
"Alex," she began.
"Why don't you hit the shower?" he interrupted. "You can use my toothbrush , if you want. I'll fix some breakfast while you get cleaned up," he said, pulling on a pair of baggy jeans.
"Don't fix anything for me," she said weakly, her stomach churning as she began to climb out of the bed. She wrapped the blanket around her and made her way to the bathroom as quickly as she could.
*********************************
"Let me entertain you," Alex sang as he stood at the stove frying eggs. He laughed as he realized he would never hear or sing that song again without picturing Mack in all her naked glory. He'd been speechless when she'd begun her impromptu strip tease. By the time she'd shed her last piece of clothing though, he'd been more than ready to take her up on her offer to "entertain" him. And he would have too, if she hadn't been so drunk. Hell, if he hadn't known from experience just how hung over she was going to be when she woke up, he'd have stayed in bed with her this morning. "Bone," he said, "you're a goat, man, you're a goat."
"Who's a goat?" Mackenzie asked as she entered the kitchen, holding her head. "And does he have any aspirin?" Alex picked up a bottle off the counter and tossed it to her. "Do you want some milk to wash that down with?" he asked.
"No," she said, gulping. "Water's fine."
"Help yourself. I think there's some clean glasses in the dishwasher," he told her. "Nice outfit, by the way."
"Thanks, she said. "They're just some old rags I threw on." Not finding any of her own clothes in the bedroom and unwilling to search the rest of the house wrapped in a towel, Mackenzie had borrowed a pair of AJ's boxers and an Armani shirt. She walked over to the dishwasher and took out a glass. As she turned toward the sink, the aroma of fried eggs wafted through the air. Mackenzie gagged, threw her hand over her mouth, and ran for the bathroom.
Alex set the frying pan off the burner and turned off the stove before following her down the hall. He found her hanging over the commode with the dry heaves. He almost felt guilty for frying the eggs. But then, payback was a bitch and he hadn't appreciated her comment about flying pigs. He ran cold water over a washcloth and knelt down beside her, pulling her hair back out of her face. When her retching finally subsided, he wiped her face with the cold cloth. Mackenzie lay her head down on the toilet, pillowed on her arms. "AJ?" she said weakly. "Can we keep whatever happened last night just between us?"
"You mean between me, you, and the rest of the guys?" he said.
"The rest of the guys?" she asked, feeling sick again.
"Yeah, you remember the guys," he teased. "Brian, Kevin, Nick, . . . . .Howie?"
"Now I know you're lying," she retorted. "Howie wasn't there."
"Remember that part, do you?" AJ said.
"No, but if Howie had been there," she said, "I'd be puking in his toilet right now instead of yours."
"You're right," Alex gave in, "it was just me and Kev."
"Kevin?" Mackenzie groaned. She had only known Kevin a short time, but still, she knew him well enough to know he would feel compelled to lecture her on whatever she had done the night before. "This is so embarrassing," she said.
AJ shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said. "We've all prayed to the porcelain god a time or two."
"I suppose I did a lot of "praying" last night?" she asked.
"Yeah," AJ said grinning. "Most of it before we left the bar."
"Oh, God," she groaned, hiding her face in her arms.
Alex would never forget the look on that redneck's face when Mackenzie had puked all over him. He had taken his hands off of her pretty quickly then, and AJ and Kevin had been able to get her out of the bar without any trouble. "Do you wanna tell me what last night was all about?" he asked. After a moment's hesitation, Mackenzie raised her left hand and wiggled her ringless fingers. "You broke up with Mr. Perfect? Oh, I see," Alex said, slapping his palm against his forehead, "you were celebrating."
Mackenzie mumbled a response. "I'm sorry," AJ said, cupping his hand to his ear. "I didn't quite catch that."
She raised her head and looked him in the eye. "Go. . . . to. . . . hell," she repeated.
"Ah, baby," he said, "you were too good for that idiot anyway."
Mackenzie sighed. "AJ, could you spare me the pep talk, please? ‘Cause all I want right now is to go home and die in peace. Where's my car, anyway?" she asked.
"It's here," he said. "I let Kevin take mine last night," he explained. "I'll drive you home and have Kevin pick me up there." "You don't have to drive me home. I can manage," she said stubbornly.
Alex leaned his hip against the sink and crossed his arms. "I'll be driving you home," he insisted. "And don't even bother arguing with me ‘cause you always lose anyway," he informed her.
"Do not," she muttered under her breath.
"Come on," Alex said, reaching out his hand to help her up. "Let's go
find
your clothes."
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