Chapter 20

Today is the best hangover I’ve ever experienced. My head is pounding, a stampede of some sort of heavy animal running riot in my skull. My mouth is dry and parched; the desperation for water and a Tylenol is unrivalled to any pain I’ve ever felt. My light sensitive eyes, oh god my eyes, they are burning in the morning light, the slightest ray of sun that sneaks past the blackout curtains making my eyeballs feel like they’re being cooked alive.

But still this hangover is so, so worth it. Because lying beside me with her arm tightly wound around my waist and her head buried in the crook of my neck is Mackenzie Daniels, and that means that everything that happened last night wasn’t just a figment of my drunken imagination.

We really kissed, we really admitted how we felt and finally, finally, I’ve started to know what really falling for someone feels like. There’s no point in even denying it, I’ve had a crush on Mackenzie from the moment I laid eyes on her in Benny’s after soccer practice in the summer, and getting to know her has only strengthened the feelings I’ve tried to deny having for her.

I smile despite the agony inside my head and open my eyes, braving the sun and letting my eyes settle on the girl asleep beside me. Or more specifically on me considering that her leg is thrown over mine and a higher percentage of her body is pressing down on mine than the bed, but she isn’t heavy. Her face is clear of makeup, even in her drunken state last night she managed to remove it in between trying to kiss me senseless; she succeeded in doing so several times until I had to force her to be quiet in case the rest of the girls heard us. Her thick lashes are skimming against her cheekbones and her full lips are slightly parted, short huffs of breath escaping past them as she sleeps.

I can’t believe I got so lucky.

I lift my hand and let the pads of my fingertips skim across her soft skin, tracing the curve of her jaw and the slope of her brow. She’s beautiful, stunning, easily the most attractive person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. My fingers move from connecting her freckles to playing with her hair, her sandy blonde hair curling delicately around my fingertips, the colour a bright contrast to the sun kissed skin of my index finger. I can’t help but rest my forehead softly against hers, her skin warm and comforting.

I feel her stir, her voice mumbling incoherent sentences against the skin of my neck as she nuzzles further into my shoulder, her hand fumbling slightly until it comes into contact with mine. I grin, my pain seeming to fade away as I watch her lace her fingers through mine, squeezing my hand gently in her own, her thumb sweeping circles across my knuckles as I feel her start to come around against my neck.

“I want you to cleave my head from my shoulders.” I hear her groan, her free hand propping her body above mine as she opens her eyes, the grey appearing white in the morning light. I watch with a smirk as she comes around, wincing at the light she’s voluntarily sticking her eyes in. But then she smiles, a grin so soft and bright that all of my pain and surroundings fade away until it’s just the two of us, her face mere millimetres from mine. “Actually, no. I don’t want you to cleave my head from my shoulders.”

“Why?” I ask, my gaze locked on hers once she finally stops squinting through her eyelids and looks at me properly. “Make your mind up. Am I decapitating you or not?”

“Not yet.” She smiles, her incisors skimming across her bottom lip until her full grin is visible to me. She drops her head; her mouth mere centimetres away as she tilts her head slightly against mine, her smile only broadening as her lip ghosts over my own. “Because without a head, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

She tilts her head further and presses her lips gently, but hungrily to my own. Kissing her is bound to be my new addiction, her lips something I already can’t get enough of. She tastes of mint after I forced her to brush her teeth mere hours ago, those same teeth she is now using to bite down gently on my lip. I force myself into a sitting position, now being able to use my hands to cup her face and pull her closer, meaning that she now has one leg on either side of my body as she straddles me. She pulls back, only to look at me and grin bashfully, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, before leaning in and kissing me again, this time more forcefully.

She’s an incredible kisser, her pace and pressure causing my stomach to erupt with butterflies, the tips of my fingers tingling with excitement as I drop one hand to her thigh and dig my nails in as a way of grounding myself, for fear if I let myself go too much I’ll end up somewhere in the clouds. She gasps in pain, and I take the lead, forcing her onto her back as I prop myself above her, her legs wound tightly around my waist. I allow the tingles in my fingers to spread throughout my whole body, warmth spreading like a wildfire as I continue to kiss her with every fibre of my being. I feel her hands skim the bottom of the long t shirt I borrowed from her, breaking away from her lips long enough to let her pull it over my head, leaving myself exposed in my bra and a pair of shorts she let me sleep in.

“You’re easily the most breathtakingly beautiful girl I’ve ever met.” Mackenzie breathes quietly, her eyes skimming over my body as I begin to grow nervous under her gaze. It strikes me that she’s the first person so see me in an intimate way like this and for me to remember it, and suddenly all of my confidence drains away like water down a plug hole. I find myself shrinking under her gaze, the look in her eyes making shocks fizz along my skin.

“You make it sound like I’ve had a lot of competition.” I chuckle, but even to my own ears it seems forced, no doubt it sounds the same to Mackenzie. She manages to soften her expression more than I thought possible, her thumb brushing across my cheek before resting there. I lean into her touch as she sits up and pulls my shirt back over my head, making me feel slightly more comfortable as she hides my previosuly exposed skin.

“I’ve been with three other girls, Alex.” She says honestly. “One of which cheated on me with Whitney Sandoval. You are easily the kindest, most thoughtful, and most stunning I’ve been with so far. Everything about you is pretty damn great, Alex, especially how much of a friend I considered you before last night.”

“Even with our constant fighting and falling out?” I tease her, watching as her eyes wrinkle with laughter at my joke.

“Especially because of that.” She whispers, leaning up to connect our lips again, only for us to fly apart at the sound of the door to her bedroom opening, my cheeks burning in horror that if the interruption had been minutes earlier I would’ve been caught without my shirt and Mackenzie on her back.

“Oh sorry!” I hear April’s voice squeak through the door and I find myself shrinking into Mackenzie’s pillows, a sigh escaping past my lips. I can only imagine the crap and incessant teasing I’m going to have to grin and bear because of what she caught us doing. So much for me denying my feelings for Mackenzie because I’m sure being caught kissing the girl you claim you “don’t like” makes you a dirty, dirty liar and pretty much makes how adamant you were mean nothing. “I thought you were just up talking because I heard voices.”

“Well we’re up now.” I grumble in annoyance, glaring at April’s smug and devilish smirk. “I’m in half a mind to believe you interrupted on purpose.” Mackenzie chuckles and kisses my lips softly, lacing our hands together before hauling me to my feet.

“Come on, we might as well start passing the aspirin round or I’d make a pretty shítty hostess.”

Mackenzie pulls me to the door, April leaning lose to my ear as we squeeze past her into the hallway. “What I just saw calls for a squad meeting because I think some details need to be shared like right the fvck now.”

~•~

I’m getting a serious sense of deja vu. Once again I’m sat in a booth at a restaurant being grilled by my friend about Mackenzie. Only this time, there’s two people grilling me, and we’re in Benny’s instead of some random pizza place near UPenn. Faye and April volunteered the three of us to grab some hangover cures from Benny’s in the form of fried food, and at the moment we’re waiting for the order to finish being made, which gives them plenty of time to grill me about what April just happened to stumble on this morning in Mackenzie’s room.

Faye is here this time which means that both of them are going to gang up on me and leaves no room for worming out of it. They’re both looking at me with twin expressions on their faces, their eyebrows arched and lips tugged into amused smiles as Faye sits across from me whilst April traps me in the booth by occupying the space beside me.

“So,” Faye starts, popping her bubblegum with her pointed acryllic nail, her eyes glittering with a mischievous excitement. “First you forget to tell me that you like girls, then you hook up with Mackenzie behind both of our backs.”

“It isn’t like that.” I sigh, my eyes dropping to stare at a small cut out of Michael Jackson that’s staring at me from the collage of old singers on the table’s cover. I can’t look at them because I know the second I do I’ll turn as red as a tomato, so instead I’m opting to find cut outs of old celebrities I actually recognise.

“We’ll forget about the first point.” April sends a small glare at my best friend sitting opposite. “Because whilst we can’t relate we can try and understand how hard that must’ve been for you, but denying you like Mackenzie is a whole other level. Why couldn’t you just tell us how you felt like you did when you realised you liked Clay?”

“Can you remember how much you teased me when I told you about Clay?” I argue back, and watch as their faces turn slightly sheepish. Good. I want them to know how telling them things, despite the pair of them being my most trusted confidants, is incredibly difficult because I don’t like the fact they hardly ever take it seriously. “You two have been giddy since you found out, and April you’ve been playing messed up games that push me and Mackenzie together. I didn’t appreciate it! This is new for me and I didn’t want you two rushing me and ruining it. I love you guys, I really do, but you’ve never been ones for subtlety and subtlety is exactly what I needed with this.”

Faye and April have the decency to look guilty, realisation on both of their faces as they listen to what I have to say. They probably didn’t even notice that the teasing was having a negative effect on me, not that I let it show, but I’m pretty sure April feels bad about how she’s handled Mackenzie, especially that damn bus trip. I still to this day don’t know how she orchestrated all of that.

“We’re sorry, Alex.” Faye mutters apologetically, reaching across the table to grab my hand. “And whilst I’m not half as bad as April, I know I haven’t been calm about everything.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too. And I’m sorry for walking in on you two this morning, although I really didn’t plan it I swear! I just wanted to know where she kept the aspirin.”

I grin and throw a napkin at April, the tension dissipating just as quickly as it arrived, a smile back on my face and my back no longer up. We sit and joke around until our food is ready, April heading up to grab the take out bag whilst Faye steers me towards the car, her arm slung over my shoulder. We get back to Mackenzie’s apartment building and park in the underground parking after she text me the code to the door. Its weird, seeing April’s little citroen parked next to much more expensive BMW’s and Mercedes’. Looking around, I see that most of the cars are pretty much the same, and even Mackenzie’s car fits in with the rest of them. I can see her Audi parked over by the elevator and it blends in so well I almost second guess myself and think it isnt hers.

But I can see her soccer bag in the back seat, and I highly doubt the poshies that live here have kept their high school sports bags.

I walk into her apartment and find the rest of our motley crew laying around in her living room. Gemma is sitting on the floor beside Raven, both wrapped up in a duvet that they’ve grabbed from another room, the material pulled high over their heads. Both of them look rough as hell, dark circles underneath Gemma’s eyes and Raven’s dark hair piled atop her head in a messy bun. Mackenzie is sprawled out over her couch, the duvet we shared last night pulled right up underneath her chin as she flicks through films on netflix with a bored expression on her face. She doesn’t look as run down as the other two, probably because I force fed her water by the pint last night, and her expression brightens when she sees that we’ve finally returned.

“Oh thank God.” She sighs with relief, causing the heads of our other two friends to whip round. “I’ve never needed fries more in my life.”

I grin at her, watching as her cheeks redden slightly, as Faye begins to hand out food based on everyone’s orders. A double cheesburger and a coke for Raven, a chicken and bacon burger with extra large fries for Gemma. April and Faye both went for burger, fries and a lemonade, whilst I ordered a double bacon cheeseburger, large fries and an extra large raspberry milkshake.

“One chicken breast burger, fries and an extra large milkshake for you.” I smile as I drop down on the couch beside Mackenzie, my fingers brushing against the bare skin on her thighs. She takes her order greedily from my hands as I slide under the duvet she’s using, letting her rest her legs in my lap as I use her as a table.

“This better be raspberry.” Mackenzie teases as she brings her straw to her lips, her lips wrapping around it slowly as she maintains eye contact with me. I grin at her unashamed flirting, my eyes wandering around the room to see if anyone is watching. I grab the remote from her lap and toss it to April before looking back at her.

“Yes, I noticed you forgot to give a flavour.” I chuckle, watching as her eyes glint with amusement, removing the straw from her mouth before taking a giant bite of her burger. “Luckily, April didn’t ask any questions when I told her raspberry.”

We eat in a comfortable silence, occasionally swapping bites of our burgers and chiming into the battle over what film to watch. Eventually we all settle on watching Overdrive, but I think it’s because everyone got tired of arguing about it, and both Raven and April wanted to watch something with Scott Eastwood in it.

They never agree on anything. Actually, they never talk so they never have the opportunity to agree on anything. The fact that they’ve both openly voiced the same opinion means it’s destiny that we watch this film. Even if I know I’m going to be too preoccupied with the fact Mackenzie is resting her entire body weight on me and my body is burning because of it.

“I’m so full I could burst.” Mackenzie groans, stretching out like a feline across my body and resting her hand on my knee. Nobody can see anything as Mackenzie pulled the covers up to our ears after we finished eating, so I boldly lace our fingers together, watching as her face remains stoic despite the flicker of her lips. “I don’t know where you put all of your food.”

“She stores it in her ass.” Raven pipes up, a laugh falling out of my mouth at the blasé wink she sends my way, Mackenzie gripping my hand tightly under the sheets. “It’s the only valid explanation because no other body part grows except her ass.”

“It’s because I do squats, Raven.” I roll my eyes. “Maybe you should try it and you wouldn’t be so flat.”

Raven feigns shock and upset, her hand flying up to her mouth despite the humour behind her eyes. She throws a pillow at my head, which I dodge because she hasn’t got good aim, and watch as it hits April as she re-enters the room. Luckily it didn’t knock her drink out of her hand because she would’ve gone mental and I would’ve felt bad because it’s Mackenzie’s apartment we’re destroying.

“I’m turning the lights off now so I can see the film, nobody better disturb me and everyone better stay silent because I’m about to enter Scott Eastwood mode. Nobody wants to take me out of Scott Eastwood mode.”

April flicks the light switch and the room is bathed in dim light. Only the sunlight that is peaking underneath the curtains and the TV are providing any form of brightness, so I can just about make out Mackenzie’s form beside me because we’re sat the furthest away from the TV.

“Lean on me.” I hear her voice mutter quietly in my ear, my eyes looking at her with skepticism. She looks at me and grins, letting go of my hand and letting her own skim across my body. “Everyone is watching the film, come on they won’t know.”

I look around with a worried expression, my anxiety spiking at the thought of being caught, but the gentle smile on her face, and the way her fingers are shocking my skin as she gently slides them around my waist. I relax, knowing that the covers won’t see us, so I allow her to pull me in front of her, her head resting on my shoulder as she kisses the skin underneath my ear. We sprawl out across her couch, my head resting on her chest once we’re finally comfortable, the duvet slightly removing my vision of the TV.

I try and concentrate, the film actually sounding like it could be good, but with Mackenzie kissing my cheek, my shoulder, my skin, I find my focus constantly being diverted, especially when her hands slip underneath my shirt, her hands cold against my stomach.

I flinch and she chuckles quietly, her breath hot against my collarbone.

I spin in her grip and glare at her playfully, my nose brushing against hers due to our proximity. “Will you stop?” I ask her, only half joking. “I’m trying to watch the film.”

Mackenzie’s eyes crinkle at the corner as she smiles widely, her hand coming up to rest on my cheek. I suddenly forget the fact we’re in a room with four of our friends, the fear of getting caught suddenly disappearing from my mind. All I can concentrate on is Mackenzie. Even in the dim glow of the TV her eyes are bright, grey and silver clashing together to make her eyes look unique and mesmerising. Her irises never seem to be a block colour, always swirling and changing.

“Your eyes are my favourite thing about you.” I find myself whispering quietly, my thumb brushing across her bee stung bottom lip. “Well, I like everything about you, but your eyes are just something I can’t get enough of.”

Even in the darkness I can see the way her cheeks flame at my compliment, almost like she’s not used to receiving them. I drag my hand across her face to tuck a loose strand of her sandy locks behind her ear, unable to tear my eyes away from her, the film completely forgotten.

She leans in and closes the small gap between us, her lips pressing against mine in a gentle kiss. It’s different to the passionate few we’ve exchanged since yesterday, and I find myself sucked into her, unable to get enough of her raspberry tasting tongue. I prolongue for as long as I dare before breaking away, a smile on my face that I know I won’t be able to remove.

Mackenzie mirrors my face perfectly, her smile so wide and soft as she looks behind me before kissing me again, my eyes closing on their own as I drink her in, her kiss addictive and better than any drug. Her fingers bury themselves in my hair, her spare hand digging into my side so hard that I have to stifle a groan of pleasure and pain.

“Okay that’s enough.” I pant breathlessly, spinning in her grip and returning my gaze to the TV. My head is light and my grin is irremovable and I know that if I had allowed her to kiss me like that for much longer I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.

I feel her lips against my neck as she smiles into my skin, her teeth gently nipping as she gets comfortable behind me and starts to watch the film, my mind going crazy at the way her hands are wrapped around my waist.

I know with certainty I’m not going to be able to concentrate on the film, too much has happened and I have no idea what’s happening. It’s almost like it wants me to focus on the way Mackenzie’s fingers are drawing patterns on my stomach under my shirt.

So I do, and I continue to enjoy her touch even after my eyelids start to grow heavy, the feel of her skin on mine mixing with my delayed onset hangover lulling me to sleep.

I dream about the colour silver.

~•~

Hey guys i hope you liked this chapter!

Unfortunately I’m going back to work on the regular come tomorrow so I won’t have time to write as much as I have been (perks of being a keyworker). I’m gonna try and update once a week so I’ll update every Sunday night or Monday morning GBT.

So sorry this isn’t the most exciting chapter to leave you on but I hope it’ll keep you gripped for next week!!!

Lots of love

Lauryn xoxox