Page 129 of Spicy Ever After
Maybe.
But her lips hover over mine, so close I feel her breath. And then she passes them by, moving over my cheek to my ear.
“I’d drop everything if you called me,” she whispers. “Maybe even my pants.”
Then her forehead thumps my shoulder, and she’s out.
Chapter Sixteen
HATTIE
I wake up with a box cutter through my temple and a dead muskrat in my mouth.
Or, at least, that’s what it feels like.
I’m also in a bed that smells deliciously male, but the sunlight flooding in through the windows is demonic.
Groaning, I roll over, and my stomach reminds me that out of all the organs in my body, it’s the one most likely to hold a grudge.
I try to pull the covers over my head, but when the side of my hand brushes paper, I stop. Half blind, I clasp the note and draw it close.
Morning, Honeysuckle,
I’m heading out to the harvester until lunch. I can give you a ride home then if you want. You can stay as long as you’d like. I’d like that. There’s a BioLite on the nightstand and coffee and cinnamon rolls downstairs. Pop knows you’re here, so don’t worry about spooking him.
XO
Beck
P.S. You are so fucking cute when you sleep.
I blink, rub my eyes, and then read the note again.
Fucking cute?
I feel about as cute as a shucked oyster, but rereading that line makes me feel about ten percent cuter.
Okay, twenty percent cuter than a shucked oyster.
I grab the BioLite, mentally scrolling through memories from last night. Jello shots. Dancing. More Jello shots. Pictures. More Jello shots. Calling Beck. Puking in a bathroom stall at The Goose—wait, no—The Grouse Room…
I crack open the sports drink and take a tentative sip.
And then I’m chugging it.
Holy crap. It’s like I’m swallowing Lemon Lime Life Essence.
My every cell is singing an anthem to BioLite.
I might actually survive this: My First and Last Hangover.
My phone is on the nightstand, so I grab it and text Beck.
Me: FIRST OF ALL, EVEN THOUGH I’VE NEVER HAD A BOYFRIEND, I FEEL QUALIFIED TO JUDGE THAT YOU ARE A TOP CALIBER BOYFRIEND.
Me: YOUR GIFT OF ELECTROLYTES IS SAVING ME.
Me: IF THIS WERE ANCIENT CHINA, I’D BE LI SHANG TO YOUR MULAN AND OWE YOU MY LIFE.
