Was it five? Maybe it was six…she couldn’t remember. Rylee stared hard at the bottles on the table and tried to remember how many beers she’d consumed. It was hard to distinguish between her bottles and Trace’s, and things were starting to get a little blurry too. She was feeling good though, and she had finally managed to stop thinking about Justin Timberlake.
Trace sat next to her and giggled at something she had just said. She couldn’t remember what she’d said and she would bet money that he couldn’t either. Trace was a happy drunk and it was rubbing off on her.
“I love you, Ryles.” He kissed her sloppily on the cheek. He was also a very affectionate drunk, but Rylee wasn’t about to complain.
“Thanks, Tracey.” She giggled at the nickname she’d just given him even though it wasn’t that funny.
“Seriously, I don’t know why Justin is fucking around with Christina when he could have someone like you.” So much for forgetting about Justin. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Christina is hot and all…but she just…she’s not you.” He grinned lazily at her and slung an arm around her shoulder. “You’re a cool ass chick, Ryles.”
“Yeah, but I’m still not Christina.” A pout settled on her face and Trace pulled her closer.
“Hey…hey…” He tried to come up with something to say but his mind wasn’t processing at its usual rate. Before he could truly process what was going on, his lips were settled on Rylee’s and she seemed to be reciprocating.
He took advantage of their position on the couch and managed to pull her on top of him, his hands roaming over her ass.
Trace had been attracted to Rylee when he first met her. He thought she was gorgeous, but he also thought she was one of the most down to earth people he’d met. She could hang with the guys but you never really forgot she was a female. He liked that.
He just wasn’t as attracted to her as his actions might indicate. That and his best friend had a thing for her. Although Justin was being an ass about it all, there was a line that friend’s didn’t cross, a guy code. But, being a man, he wasn’t about to stop now. Somewhere in the back of his mind, though, there were warning bells going off.
Rylee was hearing the same bells, but her wounded pride and the fact that she hadn’t been properly kissed or touched in months were silencing those warnings. She knew that this wasn’t a good idea, especially when she had feelings for Trace’s best friend. But then, the bitch in her said that Justin deserved it. At least, that’s how she would rationalize this scene later when she could actually process thoughts.
A moan came out of someone’s mouth, it was hard to tell who’s. Trace’s hand found its way up Rylee’s shirt which soon found its way to the floor. She managed to get his buckle undone and his shirt came off shortly after.
Neither person was really thinking as the rest of the clothing found its way off of body parts and around the room. Rylee was on top of Trace as he laid back on the couch. His hands were everywhere and it felt damn good to be touched like that. She grabbed onto his erection and smiled as he moaned out her name. His mouth found her nipples and he paid close attention to each before falling back into the cushions.
That was the extent of their foreplay.
The sex was sloppy and it was quick. Trace hadn’t had sex in a while either, and mix that with being drunk, he didn’t have a chance at lasting long. At any other time he would’ve been extremely embarrassed, but now he could hardly form coherent thoughts and Rylee didn’t really seem to notice. She was bouncing on top of him, panting and cursing. His eyes rolled back into his head as he was sent over the edge, and by the sounds of her moans, Rylee was close behind him.
Spent, she collapsed on top of him and promptly passed out. Trace was already snoring.
~*~
“Shit.” Someone was pounding on her head and singing Johnny Cash as they did so.
Rylee attempted to open her eyes to catch a glimpse of the culprit, but when the light hit her eyes she snapped them shut quickly and let out a groan.
“Turn that shit off.” Trace’s voice came from somewhere on the other side of her and she winced at the loud noise.
“Fuck Trace, don’t yell.” She winced again at the gravel in her voice. “Fuck.”
Johnny Cash started to sing again and Rylee finally comprehended that it was her cell phone going off. She felt around in her general area and actually managed to locate the offensive device.
“ ‘Lo?” Talking too effort that she just did not have.
“Rylee?” Justin’s voice came over the line and Rylee let out a grunt.
“What?” She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, and she felt like she’d been run over by a semi.
“You were supposed to be in the studio two hours ago. Are you sick? You sound horrible.”
“Oh shit. Shit!” She rolled off of the couch and landed with a thump on the floor. The pain in her head increased but she fought through it and stood up. This was a bad idea. If possible, the pain in her head doubled and her stomach flip-flopped.
To add to her discomfort, she noticed for the first time the clothes that were thrown around the room and the fact that she was completely naked.
“Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” She was starting to panic.
“Rylee?” Justin’s voice sounded in her ear again and she remembered why she was standing in the first place.
“I’ll…I have to go.” She hung up the phone and it dropped to the floor with a thud. She stared around the room in a daze, completely in disbelief. Noise next to her caused her to stir and she looked over to see Trace on the couch…naked.
“Fuck! Trace!” At this point, the pain in her head was a moot point. They were both naked and Rylee was pretty sure it wasn’t a coincidental accident. She knew they’d had sex last night, she just couldn’t remember it happening.
“Shit woman, stop yelling, I have a headache the siz-” his words stopped abruptly when he saw her standing there in her birthday suit. Noticing his stare, Rylee quickly grabbed the closest piece of clothing which happened to be Trace’s t-shirt. “What?”
“Trace…I…Ithinkwehadsexlastnight.” Her sentence was spoken so quickly she wasn’t sure he understood her, but he was quickly putting the puzzle pieces together.
“Fuck. Rylee?” Both adults were silent for a moment, trying to process everything through the haze of their hangovers.
“Was it good?” Rylee’s voice broke the silence and Trace’s jaw dropped at her question.
“What?”
“The sex, was it at least good?” She turned to face him and saw him struggle to recall. “You don’t remember either?”
“I…” He rubbed his hands over his face and let out a breath. “Shit, the last thing I remember was shot-gunning that beer and almost spitting it all over you. After that, it’s all just…black.”
Rylee sat herself down on the couch and Trace pulled the blanket a little closer to his body. He may have had sex with the girl, but he wasn’t really comfortable being naked in front of her.
“I can’t remember anything. I remember trying to figure out what beer I was on and the next thing I know Justin’s calling telling me I should be in the studio.”
At the mention of Justin’s name an awkward silence settled over the pair. They looked around the room and spotted the graveyard of empty cans and boxes of pizza. When their eyes met again, both of them started to crack up laughing. Tears were coming to Rylee’s eyes and Trace was having trouble breathing.
Neither was really sure what was so funny about this situation, in fact, it was a big deal. But, for some reason, it stuck them as funny.
“Oh, Justin’s going to shit when he finds out about this.” Trace’s chuckled fizzled out when he noticed that Rylee had stopped laughing all together.
“You’re going to tell him?” She suddenly looked worried. It was one thing for she and Trace to know, but it was something different if Justin knew.
“I don’t need to tell him, Ryles, he’s going to see it all over my face. I’ve never been able to hide things from Justin, especially when I’ve just gotten laid.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t count because you don’t remember it.” Trace laughed at that.
“It doesn’t matter if I don’t remember it, it still happened. Don’t tell me that you and Christina can’t tell.”
“Oh shit, I didn’t even think about Christina.” She chewed on her nails and fell into deep thought. Trace took that opportunity to find his boxers and slip him on. The awkwardness seemed to have dissipated and he was glad for that. His hangover was enough to deal with at the moment, he didn’t need to have a woman freaking out on him too.
He wasn’t really sure what would happen with him and Rylee now. He was pretty sure that neither of them had feelings for the other, but still, last night changed things. He was hoping that they could just look back on this thing and laugh, but there was a chance that it would really affect their friendship.
“I’m so late for work.” Her voice broke through his thoughts and he noticed her going through her cell phone. “Justin called three times before I finally picked up. I’ll be he’s so pissed at me.” She didn’t seem to be speaking to him so Trace decided to just stay quiet. He knew that Rylee was worried about Justin finding out. He had a feeling that Justin wasn’t going to be very thrilled about it all (which he had no right to be upset about anything, but he was an ass like that) and this might affect things between him and Rylee.
“Can I shower?” She claimed his attention again.
“Yeah, sure. The towels are in the closet across the hall from the bathroom and there should be an extra toothbrush in the cabinet.”
She didn’t say anything else as she turned and headed down the hall. Trace dragged a hang over his head and cursed. Why did he have to be such a horny and impulsive guy?
~*~
Justin’s head snapped up from being bent over the sound board as he heard the studio door open. A ragged and disheveled Rylee had walked in and he breathed a sigh of relief that she was seemingly OK. He held up a hand to stop the singer in the booth and spoke into the mic.
“Hey Dylan, take five.” He turned in his chair and watched Rylee for a minute before addressing her. “Hey, RJ, can I talk to you for a minute?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. He took a hold of her elbow and led her into the hallway. The light out here was harsh and bright and he took in the bags under her eyes and her sallow skin.
“Are you OK? I was worried about you when you didn’t show up this morning.” He was looking at her with concerned eyes and Rylee felt like even more of a mess.
“I’m fine.” Her voice came out in a rasp and she cleared her throat to try again. “I’m fine. I’m really sorry that I was late. I, uh…I guess you could say I had a bad night last night.”
His frown deepened and he gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
“Was it because of me?” Rylee’s eyes narrowed onto his face and she held back a sneer.
“It doesn’t matter what the cause of my bad night was. Even if it was you, you wouldn’t be in any position to do anything about it, right?” He didn’t answer so she continued. “I’m here now, and I won’t let my night affect my work. Let’s just get back in there and finish this day. Dylan is waiting.”
She stepped back through the studio door and Justin stared at it as it closed. He let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face.
He knew he’d made a decision and he had to stick to it, but that didn’t mean he wanted things to be cold between him and Rylee. Letting out another sigh, he headed back into the studio. He had work to do, the drama could wait.
