Dani’s eyes shot open, her breathing strained and panicked.
What’s going on? Where am I?
Everything was dark. She recognized she was on her bed but not much else. Her hands scrambled around until she found her phone, giving her a little light. Immediately she noticed a glass of water on her nightstand.
Did I put this here?
She didn’t really care, though. Her entire mouth was dry, her vision was still wonky even with the new light, and she could feel a headache coming on. She swiped the glass of water and gulped it down without any more contemplation.
Fuck, I’m drunk. What was I-
Everything came back to her. The power outage, the vodka, the talks with Ryan, the… other stuff with Ryan.
If she wasn’t already drunk she would have blushed.
Holy shit. We actually kissed. We fucking kissed!
All the time she spent feeling embarrassed about her growing crush on Ryan. The lengths she went to just to prevent herself from fantasizing about him too much. It didn’t matter anymore.
Wait.
Her heightened state dropped back down to Earth.
We were drunk. No, we were hammered. A kiss like that doesn’t mean anything. What if he regrets it? What if everything is awkward now and we stop hanging out and he hates me and I have to move out and-
She heard voices from the living room. Unable to resist her curiosity, she got up from her bed to go see if she could hear the conversation. The moment her feet were on the ground she stumbled, catching herself on the nightstand.
Oh wow, you really overdid it, girl.
With more thought put into her steps, she made her way to the door and tried to parse any of what was being said.
It was no use. She could make out two voices that she recognized as Ryan and Simon. Those two were easy.
Is he telling him what happened?? There’s no way, right?
Another voice spoke up. Definitely a woman.
What? Is Rachel here or something?
Part of her was nervous it wasn’t her. That Ryan had somehow, in the short time Dani had been passed out, gotten a date and invited a girl over.
One drunken kiss and I’m already acting jealous. Jesus, get a grip.
Not wanting to let her mind make up anymore improbable situations, she opened the door.
“Wow, awake already!” Ryan said as Dani entered the living room.
Well he doesn’t seem super regretful or anything.
Although it was dark, Dani could make out everyone in the apartment. Ryan was on the couch where she last remembered seeing him. Simon was in the kitchen rifling through a cupboard, wearing a jacket for whatever reason. And Rachel, also wearing a coat, next to him using her phone as a flashlight for him.
Dani’s entrance caused all three to turn and look at her.
Thank god it’s so dark out, I must look like hell.
“Yeah I-” Dani coughed and remembered to reset her voice back to male-mode in Rachel’s presence. “I heard talking and wanted to see what was up. Is the power seriously still not back yet?”
“Nope,” Simon piped up. “Looking for candles now. I swear we had some.” He closed the cupboard he was searching and moved to the next, Rachel following suit.
“Oh!” Dani steadied herself and trudged toward the linen closet. In a moment, she was handing a small cardboard box of tea candles to Simon in the kitchen.
“Wow I was never going to find those,” Simon said. One after another, he began to light the candles and set them on the counter. “Thanks for being able to remember where I lose things.”
“Hey, Danny!” Rachel murmured and waved.
“Hi, Rachel!” Dani responded, giving her own half-hearted wave back. “How are… erm, what’s up?” She then gave a slight head nod that she only ever saw guys do.
Ugh, why do I feel the need to put on this act. If I was a little drunker and hadn’t slept I would just come out to her. She’ll probably start being here more often. I don’t see Simon dumping her anytime soon.
“So like, why are you two wearing jackets?” Dani asked. It didn’t feel any colder than normal with their shoddy furnace. Her headache was growing stronger. She made her way back to the living room to sit down, forgetting Ryan was there on the couch.
How is this asshole acting so chill about all this. I didn’t dream that kiss, did I?
Her question was answered when she saw Ryan finish pouring and immediately downing more vodka. The candles Simon kept lighting had revealed some more of the living room. On the table, the bottle they had been drinking from was almost empty.
I know I’m a mess but there’s no way I drank half of that myself. Did he just double down after I went to bed?
“They just got here, like… a minute ago.” Ryan slurred his words.
He just had a dumb grin glued to his face, the same one he always had when he was drunk. Dani tried to test if he was avoiding eye contact with her, but he seemed as normal as ever and she deemed it safe to sit next to him on the couch.
“Yeah, our date got cut short by the blackout,” Simon said, still lighting candles as if it was his purpose in life. Dani counted twelve but he seemed intent to keep going.
“Hey, I have an idea!” Rachel said, walking toward the couch with two lit candles in her hands. “Why don’t we play cards or something! You guys have a deck, right?” She set both candles down on the coffee table and took off her coat.
“We do!” Dani started. “It’s in the-”
“Yeah!” Ryan shouted. “A game, let’s do that!”
Rachel rolled her eyes and looked to Dani. “Where are they?” She mouthed.
“Also in the linen closet. We… don’t have a lot of linens.” Dani felt strangely embarrassed by that.
“Ah, right. What else would I expect from an apartment with three guys.” With a smile, Rachel walked over and began to search their catch-all closet with her phone light.
Ouch. But she doesn’t know, so I should expect it. Besides, I keep all my towels and blankets in my own closet anyway.
While Dani shrugged off the comment, she noticed Simon, who was previously the most focused person in the world, had stopped igniting candles. He gave Dani a concerned look.
Hopefully he doesn’t say anything. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think I’m ready for anyone outside of this apartment to know about me.
Determined to move forward, she whispered to Ryan, “I can’t believe you’re still drinking. I don’t even remember when I went to bed.”
Ryan blurted out a short laugh. “You mean you don’t remember passing out?”
Dani tilted her head. “What?”
Lowering his voice, Ryan leaned toward her ear. “You fell over onto the couch and were just out. I was scared for a second but your breathing seemed fine so I just took you back to your room.”
“You mean…” Dani’s heart began to race. “I managed to stand up and you led me back to my room? Right?”
Maybe I’m not understanding him. I mean he’s so drunk I can barely make out what he’s saying!
Ryan rubbed his eyes as he clarified, “Nah, I had to carry your drunk ass. Good thing we’ve been going to the gym, right?”
Oh. No, I understood him.
Dani had to look away now that the tea lights were out and could reveal her blushing.
He carried me, ohmygod, this can’t be real.
She looked over at Simon and Rachel, neither of which were reacting. Thankfully Ryan had managed to keep it quiet, which was really a miracle considering his state.
Aahhhh! He carried me to my room! That’s so sweet. Oh my god, and the glass of water! That must have been him too. Why can’t we have blackouts more often?
“Aha!” Rachel shouted from the closet, holding up a small deck of cards. “Finally got it. Alright, now who knows how to play Euchre?”
Dani’s eyes shot open, her breathing strained and panicked.
What’s going on? Where am I?
Everything was dark. She recognized she was on her bed but not much else. Her hands scrambled around until she found her phone, giving her a little light. Immediately she noticed a glass of water on her nightstand.
Did I put this here?
She didn’t really care, though. Her entire mouth was dry, her vision was still wonky even with the new light, and she could feel a headache coming on. She swiped the glass of water and gulped it down without any more contemplation.
Fuck, I’m drunk. What was I-
Everything came back to her. The power outage, the vodka, the talks with Ryan, the… other stuff with Ryan.
If she wasn’t already drunk she would have blushed.
Holy shit. We actually kissed. We fucking kissed!
All the time she spent feeling embarrassed about her growing crush on Ryan. The lengths she went to just to prevent herself from fantasizing about him too much. It didn’t matter anymore.
Wait.
Her heightened state dropped back down to Earth.
We were drunk. No, we were hammered. A kiss like that doesn’t mean anything. What if he regrets it? What if everything is awkward now and we stop hanging out and he hates me and I have to move out and-
She heard voices from the living room. Unable to resist her curiosity, she got up from her bed to go see if she could hear the conversation. The moment her feet were on the ground she stumbled, catching herself on the nightstand.
Oh wow, you really overdid it, girl.
With more thought put into her steps, she made her way to the door and tried to parse any of what was being said.
It was no use. She could make out two voices that she recognized as Ryan and Simon. Those two were easy.
Is he telling him what happened?? There’s no way, right?
Another voice spoke up. Definitely a woman.
What? Is Rachel here or something?
Part of her was nervous it wasn’t her. That Ryan had somehow, in the short time Dani had been passed out, gotten a date and invited a girl over.
One drunken kiss and I’m already acting jealous. Jesus, get a grip.
Not wanting to let her mind make up anymore improbable situations, she opened the door.
“Wow, awake already!” Ryan said as Dani entered the living room.
Well he doesn’t seem super regretful or anything.
Although it was dark, Dani could make out everyone in the apartment. Ryan was on the couch where she last remembered seeing him. Simon was in the kitchen rifling through a cupboard, wearing a jacket for whatever reason. And Rachel, also wearing a coat, next to him using her phone as a flashlight for him.
Dani’s entrance caused all three to turn and look at her.
Thank god it’s so dark out, I must look like hell.
“Yeah I-” Dani coughed and remembered to reset her voice back to male-mode in Rachel’s presence. “I heard talking and wanted to see what was up. Is the power seriously still not back yet?”
“Nope,” Simon piped up. “Looking for candles now. I swear we had some.” He closed the cupboard he was searching and moved to the next, Rachel following suit.
“Oh!” Dani steadied herself and trudged toward the linen closet. In a moment, she was handing a small cardboard box of tea candles to Simon in the kitchen.
“Wow I was never going to find those,” Simon said. One after another, he began to light the candles and set them on the counter. “Thanks for being able to remember where I lose things.”
“Hey, Danny!” Rachel murmured and waved.
“Hi, Rachel!” Dani responded, giving her own half-hearted wave back. “How are… erm, what’s up?” She then gave a slight head nod that she only ever saw guys do.
Ugh, why do I feel the need to put on this act. If I was a little drunker and hadn’t slept I would just come out to her. She’ll probably start being here more often. I don’t see Simon dumping her anytime soon.
“So like, why are you two wearing jackets?” Dani asked. It didn’t feel any colder than normal with their shoddy furnace. Her headache was growing stronger. She made her way back to the living room to sit down, forgetting Ryan was there on the couch.
How is this asshole acting so chill about all this. I didn’t dream that kiss, did I?
Her question was answered when she saw Ryan finish pouring and immediately downing more vodka. The candles Simon kept lighting had revealed some more of the living room. On the table, the bottle they had been drinking from was almost empty.
I know I’m a mess but there’s no way I drank half of that myself. Did he just double down after I went to bed?
“They just got here, like… a minute ago.” Ryan slurred his words.
He just had a dumb grin glued to his face, the same one he always had when he was drunk. Dani tried to test if he was avoiding eye contact with her, but he seemed as normal as ever and she deemed it safe to sit next to him on the couch.
“Yeah, our date got cut short by the blackout,” Simon said, still lighting candles as if it was his purpose in life. Dani counted twelve but he seemed intent to keep going.
“Hey, I have an idea!” Rachel said, walking toward the couch with two lit candles in her hands. “Why don’t we play cards or something! You guys have a deck, right?” She set both candles down on the coffee table and took off her coat.
“We do!” Dani started. “It’s in the-”
“Yeah!” Ryan shouted. “A game, let’s do that!”
Rachel rolled her eyes and looked to Dani. “Where are they?” She mouthed.
“Also in the linen closet. We… don’t have a lot of linens.” Dani felt strangely embarrassed by that.
“Ah, right. What else would I expect from an apartment with three guys.” With a smile, Rachel walked over and began to search their catch-all closet with her phone light.
Ouch. But she doesn’t know, so I should expect it. Besides, I keep all my towels and blankets in my own closet anyway.
While Dani shrugged off the comment, she noticed Simon, who was previously the most focused person in the world, had stopped igniting candles. He gave Dani a concerned look.
Hopefully he doesn’t say anything. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think I’m ready for anyone outside of this apartment to know about me.
Determined to move forward, she whispered to Ryan, “I can’t believe you’re still drinking. I don’t even remember when I went to bed.”
Ryan blurted out a short laugh. “You mean you don’t remember passing out?”
Dani tilted her head. “What?”
Lowering his voice, Ryan leaned toward her ear. “You fell over onto the couch and were just out. I was scared for a second but your breathing seemed fine so I just took you back to your room.”
“You mean…” Dani’s heart began to race. “I managed to stand up and you led me back to my room? Right?”
Maybe I’m not understanding him. I mean he’s so drunk I can barely make out what he’s saying!
Ryan rubbed his eyes as he clarified, “Nah, I had to carry your drunk ass. Good thing we’ve been going to the gym, right?”
Oh. No, I understood him.
Dani had to look away now that the tea lights were out and could reveal her blushing.
He carried me, ohmygod, this can’t be real.
She looked over at Simon and Rachel, neither of which were reacting. Thankfully Ryan had managed to keep it quiet, which was really a miracle considering his state.
Aahhhh! He carried me to my room! That’s so sweet. Oh my god, and the glass of water! That must have been him too. Why can’t we have blackouts more often?
“Aha!” Rachel shouted from the closet, holding up a small deck of cards. “Finally got it. Alright, now who knows how to play Euchre?”
