“Your body can’t handle anything that big right now,” I whisper as she throws up the water. “You need to just sip a little bit at a time. That way you can get hydrated and everything is going to be okay.”

Suddenly, she begins to cry.

“No, it's not going to be okay,” she pleads, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

I lead her to the bed and help her change out of her clothes. I turn around when she puts on her sweats and I tuck her into bed.

Not sure what the right thing to do is, I turn off the lights.

I grab my phone and my bag and start walking on my tiptoes toward the front door.

When I step on the uneven floorboard, it makes a loud creaking sound.

“Aren't you going to lie down?” she mumbles.

“Do you want me to?” I ask.

“Yes, please,” she says very slowly.

By the time I sit down on the edge of her bed and wrap my arms around her over the blanket, I hear her drift off into a peaceful sleep.

12

Emma

I wake up the following morning with a terrible hangover. My head is buzzing, my lips are parched, and my throat is dry.

I try to swallow, but it feels like my mouth is full of cotton and I cough.

I turn around and see him lying in bed next to me.

Liam's eyes are shut and he's even snoring a little bit.

When I try to lift my head, shooting pains run up and down my spine. I slow down my movements to stop myself from losing control.

I stagger toward the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I'm quite a mess. I don't remember taking a shower last night, but my hair looks like I have slept on it wet.

It's crammed, crinkled, and totally matted.

I grab the glass off the counter, fill it up, and drink one tall glass of water. I quickly follow it up with another.

After brushing my teeth, going to the bathroom, and popping three liquid gel Advil into my mouth, I debate whether I should go back to bed or simply jump into the shower.

The warm bed and the rumpled sheets call to me, but I know that if I were to take a shower and wash my hair, I would feel a lot better. I turn it on, wait for the water to warm up, and then get in.

The water glides down my body, invigorating every part of me. When steam starts to rise, I turn it down a little bit and revel in the coolness of the stream.

Stepping out of the shower, I feel like a new woman. My head still hurts, but my thoughts are clear now, less confused.

Wrapping a towel around my body, I tiptoe into the main room and put on a clean pair of leggings and a flattering black T-shirt with a V-neck and tapering waist.

“Hey, you're up,” Liam says while sitting up.

As soon as the covers fall from him, I see that he's dressed in the same clothes that he wore last night.

The only thing that's on the floor next to him are his shoes.

“You slept in your clothes? Those jeans couldn’t have been comfortable.”

“Oh, it was fine. I was so beat from the drive and… Everything that happened,” he says, rubbing his eyes.

“I'm really sorry about drinking so much,” I say after a beat.

He tilts his head to one side and smiles out the corner of his mouth.

“I don't know what happened. I don't drink like that very often.”

“No worries,” he says. “We've all been there.”

“I'm not sure that's really true, but I appreciate you saying that.”

I head to the kitchen and offer to make him some breakfast. He agrees.

After washing up, he comes out looking sparkling clean and utterly delicious. I don't have much in the fridge, but I do have a box of chocolate pancake mix I've been meaning to use up.

“So, what exactly happened last night?” I ask after we take our plates to the dining room table that functions mainly as my office space.

I move my papers and my computer, clearing four placemats.

I set down the plate of pancakes. I also have some strawberries and blueberries which I place next to the maple syrup.

“You really don't remember anything?” Liam asks.

“I remember that we had a fight and then I ran after you and we kissed. Then things get kinda blurry. We came back here and I got sick, right?”

“Yes, you could say that.”

“It wasn't too bad, was it?”

“No, not at all,” he says, taking a big bite and smothering the rest of his plate in more maple syrup.

I don't believe him, but I don't really want to relive the details.

Luckily, what I do remember is the kiss.

We were standing under the streetlights.

I was barefoot. He held me close. Our mouths touched…

“Are you okay?” he asks and I realize that I have just lost myself in his eyes.

I wonder for a second if I'll ever be here with him again. This morning feels like we're past the romance.

I mean he slept over, but it's all very friendly. Not sexy. The pancakes fill me up and the sugar from the syrup gives me a rush of energy.

When I get up to wash the dishes, he helps me clear the table. He places the plates into the sink and then brushes his forearm over mine.

Just touching him sends a shock of exhilaration through my body. He wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses me near my ear lobe.

I tilt my head toward the ceiling, exposing my neck, and letting his lips linger.

His kisses are soft. At first, they even feel a little bit unromantic, almost like belonging to a friend.

Then our eyes meet and things change.

I see the spark that I haven't seen before.

He kisses my mouth and I kiss him back.

When our tongues touch, a shock wave reverberates through my body.

He leans his body close to mine and I push into him.

We have had so many starts and stops, so I don't let myself get too excited. I keep thinking that I'm going to lose this moment.

Someone is going to walk in, he's going to pull away, or I’ll get cold feet.

His hands make their way firmly down my arms and then back up the small of my back. He positions me, moving me closer to him.

He drapes his body over mine and takes my head in his hands.

He kisses me over and over again until whatever worries I have start to disappear.

It feels good to be with him. His body is hard and strong, but there are layers of clothing separating us.

I want to feel his skin directly on mine, but I can't bring myself to pull away in order to take off his shirt.

Luckily, he starts to tug on it while keeping his lips to mine. After a few moments, we both start to laugh.

The laughter changes the mood somewhat, but once our eyes meet, nothing can stop us.

He pulls off his T-shirt. I run my fingers up and down his six pack and he flexes his stomach muscles.

I lick my lips.

He lifts my chin up to his and says, “Your turn.”

“What about your pants?” I ask and tug at the belt, letting it drop open.

His jeans slide down and I push them the rest of the way off his legs.

Keenly aware of the fact that I'm not wearing a bra, I feel a little bit embarrassed.

Liam catches my hesitation and whispers, “You're the most beautiful woman in the world.”

My cheeks get flushed.