When the chick beside him didn't move he said again, "Hey, you need to leave. I have shit to do." She looked up at him from her rat's nest head full of hair and narrowed her eyes.
"You asshole. Are you seriously kicking me out right now? I just got up."
Not his problem. Cracking his back and feeling his muscles protest at the movement, he searched around for his clothes. His boxer briefs and jeans were in a heap on the floor at the end of the bed, and he picked them up and quickly put them on. When he was half-dressed he turned around and looked at her. She was spread across the bed, the sheet completely gone, and her legs spread.
"Come on, how about a little morning fun?" She moved her hand down her concave belly and started playing with herself. Alex made a grunt of impatience and pointed toward the door.
"No. I told you I have shit to do."
Her lips flattened, and she pushed herself up, completely unconcerned about her nudity.
"What kind of guy turns down sex?"
"The same kind of guy that brings random chicks home to fuck." He was being a prick, but he was hung over, pissed at himself for what he had done with this girl, and even more pissed that he disrespected Mary the way he had. No amount of reasoning could make him feel differently on the latter. He had pushed her away to make her see what a douche he was, but he still felt like a prick.
"What kind of girl do you think I am?" Her voice was outraged.
"The kind that goes home with a random guy to fuck." He used the same phrase on her as he had on himself. They were the same, no matter which way they looked at it. He felt like throwing up, and he wanted her out of his house so he could do it in fucking peace. He really didn't have anything to do today, well, not anymore. After pushing Mary away he didn't have tutoring today, and aside from maybe going to the gym to work out the toxins from his body, he was going to sit his ass on the couch and do absolutely nothing. No studying. No football. No Mary. He had practice Monday, and although he wasn't playing in games until he got his grades up, his still worked out with his teammates.
"You are such a bastard." Her anger was tangible, but he wasn't in the mood for it. He scrubbed a hand over his face again, needing a shave as bad as he needed a shower.
God, he had a fucking headache. He rubbed his temples, just needing her to leave.
He heard her mumbling profanities about his manhood under her breath, but he didn't say anything because she was right. "Fuck you, Alex."
He lifted his hand, and thanked whoever had helped him out that she was finally leaving. The sound of her wrenching the bedroom door shut, and then her angry, loud footsteps proceeded her slamming of the front door. Seconds later her tires squealing out of his driveway had him breathing out in relief. He sat on the edge of the bed and rested his forehead in his hand. He needed a gallon of water and some ibuprofen. There was a knock on the door, but he didn't bother looking up.
"Yeah?" His voice was muffled, but whoever was on the other side heard him because the door creaked open.
"You like look shit run over twice." Racer's voice was amused, which further pissed off Alex. He lifted his hand and flipped him off. Racer chuckled. The smell of meat had Alex's stomach roiling.
"Fuck off, Adam." Alex mouth watered with the threat of spewing up whatever was left in his stomach, but he swallowed roughly and forced himself to keep it down. "What time is it anyway?"
"It's after one, fucker. I made some burgers if you want."
Alex clenched his teeth at the foul words. Just the thought of food had him ready to puke.
Damn he had slept half the day away, although he had no clue what time they had gotten home.
"Dude, please. Shut the fuck up about the food."
Racer chuckled again. "Well, I can make you some eggs, you know with the really runny centers. Or I can get you some slightly undercooked sausage, you know, to help settle your stomach."
Alex grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Racer.
"Fuck you, Adam."
Nausea slammed into him, and Racer laughed loudly before darting out of the room. Alex stood and quickly walked to the bathroom, threw open the lid, and puked until he started dry heaving. Well, shit, he couldn't remember the last time he had thrown up.
He flushed the toilet and stood, bracing himself on the edge of the sink. When he glanced at himself in the mirror he winced at how nasty he looked. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair standing up every which way, and the five o'clock shadow from hell. His mouth tasted stale, and every part of his body ached. He had really fucked things up with her, but it had been for the best, because her wanting him was not only like a dream fucking come true, but also bad news. In the end he would hurt her, because that was what he was good at doing. Hell, he already had hurt her.
****
Mary knew this was a bad idea as soon as she made up her mind, and that feeling of dread continued to grow when she got in her car, drove to Alex's house, and now stood at his front door waiting for someone to answer. Her heart thundered hard in her chest, and her mouth had gone dry. Her anger still simmered below the surface, and her damn arousal was making its way through her body. The front door swung open, and she was struck speechless when she saw it was Alex in nothing but a pair of loose, low hanging sweats, and a towel slung over his wide, muscular shoulders. There was that dark, delicious ink that started on his right arm and wound its way over his shoulder and disappeared to his back. She knew that the wide expanse of his back held those intricately dark lines that swirled, twisted, and were sharp in contrast to his golden, hairless skin.
"Mary? What are you doing here?" She snapped her eyes to his and felt her cheeks heat. No doubt he just caught her checking him out. The way his jaw clenched, and the dark look that crossed his face had her nervousness leaving and anger replacing it. This had been a bad idea, but she was here now, and she would make her intentions perfectly clear. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him, and the way his abdomen clenched, showing off his six-pack, and the way his biceps bulged had instant heat pooling between her legs.
Don't get caught up by the pretty, sparkly things, Mary.
"I'm going to be perfectly honest. I am only here because I need you to still go with me to my sister's wedding. If you weren't my last resort I would have been happy to never see you again. The truth is I don't know any other males that don't have a girlfriend, or who I would even think would entertain the idea of going with me." Some of what she said was a lie, but not quite, and of course she wouldn't tell him that. He ground his teeth, but other than that he gave no outward reaction. "You're a dick, plain and simple, and I don't want anything from you aside from being my date. I'll still tutor you as long as you agree to go with me."
A beat of silence passed before he answered. "Are you serious?"
"I guarantee I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." She remembered last night, the hurtful way he made her feel, and the way he looked at her so unapologetically that her heart had twisted. "I want nothing else from you. This is just a business deal. I'll help you pass your class, and you go with me the weekend after next. When everything is said and done we can go our own ways, without having to ever think about each other again."
He didn't say anything for a long time, and with each passing second she grew more and more uncomfortable. After thinking about all of this before she left the house, she honestly hadn't thought about what she would do if he turned her away. She supposed she could just go dateless and deal with Margo and her mom, which was a lot worse than it sounded. He could appreciate a simple business deal, one that would benefit both of them, surely.
"I can always ask Adam if he wants to go with you." He cocked his eyebrow, and she curled her hands into fists. Oh, she had thought about Adam, albeit only for a moment. He may be big and muscular, but he was far too charming and nice, and no doubt would be a perfect gentleman. How sad was it that Mary wanted the complete opposite when she was around those snobs?
"Adam is too nice. I need a guy that is an asshole, knows it, and doesn't care." The dark look that covered his face had pleasure filling her. Good. She was glad she got a little reaction out of him. "I'm not holding a gun to your head. You either will or you won't, but I'm not going to stand here all day and wait for you to make up your mind." Mary was pretty proud of herself for having a steady voice and not flinching under his unwavering glare.