Strings (1 of 2)

"So you just left?"

"What was I supposed to do? Wake him up and ask for permission?"

"Did you at least leave a note?" 

I shake my head.

"I didn't think of it in the moment but what would it have said? Hey whatever your name is, thanks for the sex, peace? No. It's better this way."

Jade rolls her eyes at me but I know she agrees since she doesn't press further.

I decided to call her for breakfast after getting home this morning to fill her in. I needed to talk about it with someone, and who better than my best friend since Grade 3? She will take this to her grave.

With my family in the public eye, I have to be careful about who I bring into my life and what I share with them. Over the years I've learned the hard way that very few can be trusted. I have a decent amount of friends to go out with, but only Jade and my other best friend Santana I can fully trust.

"So you didn't get his name? Jesus Em!" She asks me while feigning shock. She presses her small hand to her chest and gasps dramatically at me. I know she isn't judging me, though - she never does. This isn't the first time I have told her about a night like this one. She likes to get every detail from me and tease me but in the end she supports what I choose to do.

I shake my head and shrug. "I never asked. If he did say it, I was too drunk to remember."

We both laugh and the waiter sets down our plates full of pancakes and we start cutting them.

I'll admit, a one-night stand with a guy I met in an alleyway was probably not my finest moment. But it wasn't really planned. After a few beers and many shots of tequila, on top of the drama of the night, I was not in the mindset to make smart choices. The memories of each bad decision flash through my mind as we eat.

Strike 1: getting on his motorcycle to drive to the club.

Strike 2: destroying my liver while my phone died.

Strike 3: agreeing to go up to his apartment a block from the bar to charge my phone.

Strike 4-100: laying on his bed to wait and everything that came after.

I can remember the whole night very vividly. 

He came into his bedroom with two glasses of water and set them down beside my phone on the nightstand. I sat up and crossed my legs, watching him. He sat down on the bed where my legs were before and turned to face me. His eyes were fuzzy from the drinking, like mine, but his demeanor was serious and focused. Focused on me. 

Neither of us spoke. We didn't have to. 

He leaned forward and pulled us together, our lips finally meeting. I put my hands on his sides to steady myself and leaned into his embrace. 

His hands gripped the side of my face tugging me closer as our kiss deepened. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and climbed on top of his lap, never breaking our kiss. His hands moved down to grip my waist tightly as he trailed his lips down my neck. My head tilted back instinctively and a soft moan escaped my throat.

I reached for his t-shirt and tugged it up, desperate for him to take it off.

"So..." Jade starts speaking again, pulling me from my memories and making me jump. She smirks at me and I know she knows what I was remembering. My face heats up and I look down at my food. "So, do we add him to the list of regrets or list of 'would-do-agains'?"

I swallow my mouthful of food and look back up at Jade. "Even though I left without saying anything, I don't regret sleeping with him. It was a night of fun I needed after the party and what happened with Dean. He was a welcome distraction."

Her expression softens when I mention Dean and I know she gets what I mean. I already told her that part of the night and thankfully she understood without me going into depth. She was there when Matt died and I started seeing Dean and she knows how hard it was for me to see him again.

She nods at me. "Would-do-agains then," she winks at me and I roll my eyes smiling. She always knows when she should keep things light and not press and I am thankful for that.

As I keep eating, I make a mental note to call Dean later. I'm not a child anymore, I can't just ignore him and what happened and hope he disappears for another few years. I need to apologize. Something tells me after seeing him at the party that he will be around more in my family's life - in my life. And even if he isn't, he still deserves an explanation. For everything.

"On the bright side, Em, if he doesn't have your name he probably doesn't know who you are or who your family is. So he won't be selling any stories to the press." I didn't think of that before, but that is a good point. I don't need my parents or anyone else finding out about him. Her tone becomes more serious as she continues. "We don't need another David..."

"That we can agree on." I raise my orange juice toward her and she does the same. Our glasses clink and she changes the topic to tell me all about her new fitness blog idea, memories of the night fading away as I listen.

Author's note:

Mini time jump since she said yes but I think it helps the story move along better.

It got a bit steamy last night as you can see... ;)

Decided to bring in more female characters, especially ones outside of the main characters and their llama drama.

Jade is loosely based on my friend who is one of two of my current readers and she has supported this story and my writing since Day 1 - so it is only fitting she gets to have a character of her own :)