She unscrewed the bottle cap to take another sip before shuffling over to make room for him at the door. Alek copied off her and carefully slid the key into the opening. The lock made a whirring sound and a green button illuminated.
“Have a good night.” He propped the door open with his foot and turned to give the key back. Bridget wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The sudden movement tangled their feet, and she fell backward into the hotel room. Alek landed on top of her, and the opened bottle sloshed its contents onto his neck before clattering to the floor. The door slammed shut behind them. Bridget rolled over on top of Alek and held the bottle over his face. “Have one drink,” she whined. “I don’t want to be the only fun one here.” Alek opened his mouth to protest, and she tilted the bottle into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered. It tasted dry and sweet and burned as it washed down his throat.
“I could tell you wanted to come with me but needed a good excuse.” She released her grip around his neck and stuck out her bottom lip in a flirtatious pout. “So I gave you one.”
Alek’s legs wobbled as he stumbled to his feet. He brushed the back of his neck with his hand and moisture dripped from his fingers.
“Oh no, you’re all wet.” She held her arms out for balance as she stood. “Come rinse off with me.”
Unable to trust his legs, Alek staggered over to the bed.
“Whoopsie.” Bridget tripped over her shoes as she kicked them off. “I may have had a teensy bit too much to drink.” She giggled and swept her blond curls up into her hands. “Help me with my zipper?” She backed into him. The heat from her body warmed his tingling thighs.
“I, uh.” Alek’s cheeks turned red and his eyes felt like they were swimming in his head. He pawed at one of the zippers spinning in his vision.
“What is taking you so long?” Bridget dropped her hair and looked back at him. “Wait. Are you…drunk? Seriously? You’re swaying around like a toddler and you barely even had one drink.”
Alek shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a burp.
“Oh my God. Epic fail. And you’re so cute. Shame.” She stepped away from him and began the process of turning her strapless top around her body so the zipper faced front.
Alek crashed backward onto the mound of decorative pillows and watched. His thoughts spiraled and his vision blurred. “H…How are—” Hiccups interrupted his question. “How are you doing that with your body? It’s all twisted all around.” Hiccups intermittently halted his laugh.
“Someone must have pregamed. Why do I always get stuck with the losers?” she grumbled. “Okay, look there’s water next to the bed. Drink it and sober up a little bit. I’m going to hop in the shower. When I come back, you better be ready. You don’t want to let this go to waste.” She unzipped her top and it fell to the floor.
Those are nice, Alek thought before closing his eyes.
Nine
“Hey! Hey! Jesus Christ. Alek, or whatever your name is, get up!”
Alek rolled to his side and away from the person poking him. “Be gone,” he grumbled. “I will wake later.”
“Fine. Then you’re going to have to pay for another night in this room. Check out is in like five minutes, and I’m not getting stuck paying for your lazy ass.”
“Check out?” Alek opened his eyes and squinted against the sunlight pouring in from the room’s picture window.
“Yeah. You passed out for like six hours off of that baby shot of Absolut. Totally ruined an otherwise fantastic night. I even had to sleep on the couch because you were all sprawled out like an enormous dead ogre. Now get up! ándale!”
Alek sat up, panicked. “What have I done?” A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes.
“Well, let’s see.” Bridget took a break from packing her heels into her neon green overnight bag to tick off the list. “You embarrassed yourself by proving what a total lightweight you are. You lost your shot at ever hooking up with me. And you ruined a perfectly good throw pillow by drooling all over it.”
Alek glanced down at the mound of pillows he slept on. A slick spot saturated the ivory silk, creating a puddle of beige. He flipped it over and stood up. “I have to go and find the new, uh, my friend.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” She dropped her bag by the door and took her phone from the pocket of her turquoise hoodie.
The skin on the back of his neck was tight, and he rubbed his hand over it. “Disgusting,” he groaned. The vodka Bridget spilled on him the night before had dried into a sticky film. The raspberry stink followed him as he rushed to the bathroom.
“Sure, take your time. Go to the bathroom. Take a shower. It’s not like I have anywhere to be.”
Alek watched Bridget’s reflection in the bathroom’s mirror. She impatiently shifted her weight side to side while repeatedly pressing the call button on her phone.