Always Him (Always #1)

Chapter Nineteen

My head was still buzzing as I walked into the lecture hall, wishing I had some hot wasabi. Maybe I'd feel more alive if I did. I'd fallen asleep on the floor, my back against the couch. Jasper's head was in my lap. After the last dance, we'd shared another cup of wine and proceeded to fall to the floor, laughing our asses off before eventually falling asleep as we were. The scramble to get ready and look presentable was a chore, especially after tripping over Jasper on the way to my room with my dress still on. I'd run to my room, attempting to take it off but had to run back, tripping over Jasper one more time and beg him to wake up and free me from this dress. He'd managed to release me without lifting his head from the floor. He'd mumbled something at me, but I couldn't understand, nor did I have the time to ask him to repeat himself.

Once I'd gotten dressed, yanked at my hair to make it presentable, and brushed my teeth, rinsing out the taste of the wine, Jasper had finally woken up. His head was in his hands as he sat on the arm of the couch.

"Last night was fun." He grumbled, blindly reaching for the aspirin I'd just taken. He took a couple of pills before going on. "But next time, we stop the wine after one bottle."

"Agreed." I'd rasped out. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out for school. His head had hurt so bad that he didn't even press the issue on me walking to school today. I didn't want to, but I didn't feel like missing out on two days in a row, plus there was no way I could blow off work with Carly again. She may be lenient, but I never wanted to push my luck with her.

"Have a good day."

I responded with a grunt that I would have to work for today. My head wouldn't let me be more creative with my words.

On the way, my dad called and told me he'd have my car waiting for me when I got out o work. I'd grumbled on about how he didn't have to have had my car that long when he never really needed it in the first place. He ignored my words, just told me to be grateful that things were looking up for me again.

In the lecture hall, I tried to listen to the professor; I really did. But it was of no use. Once the homework was announced, I wrote it down and left the hall, not paying attention to the eyes following me as I left. I didn't bother going to my next class either, just visited the professor in their office; I was lucky it was study hours. They'd grumbled at my intrusion but gave me the notes and lecture link for that day, sending me off with barely a wave before going to back to the stacks of tests on their desk.

I made my way to Carly's office. I could relax there for a while, let this headache go away without hearing a weary professor drone on about which organisms were the most intimidating when it came to the common cold. She wasn't in the room when I entered, but I still closed the door quietly behind me; my head couldn't take much noise. Wine hangovers could be worse than tequila hangovers when you drank enough of it.

My desk was cool beneath my head as I rested on it, soft as a pillow. The cool wood chilled against my warm skin. I sighed with relief, closing my eyes, drifting off into a peaceful, soundless world.

A smack on the desk had me jumping up, kicking the desk with a yelp. I looked around for the culprit, spotting Carly with her arms crossed, eyes bunched up with concern. "You look like hell ran over you, girl."

It certainly felt like it. "I'll be fine," I mumbled, closing my eyes again at the intense light ensconcing the room. "Just a little headache."

She laughed. "So, you say. What happened last night and the night before to make you not able to come in again yesterday."

"I had a terrible nightmare the other night about my brother, and I couldn't get over the feeling and didn't feel like coming into work." I peeked out of one eye. "I'm sorry." Slowly I opened the other eye, the world still felt too bright, but I managed to keep them open. "Then last night, Jasper decided to surprise me by recreating my senior prom, and we may have had a touch too much wine." My fingers were pinched tight to hopefully downplay her concern on how much alcohol I'd consumed.