Post by Zane Constantine on Feb 3, 2012 3:35:34 GMT
The sun wasn’t up yet. He didn’t know how he knew that with his eyes that felt like they were sewn shut, but he did. Zane started drifting upward from sleep to consciousness, not sure what it was that was waking him up. His body began to stir long before his mind did and he felt something soft and warm against him. He turned on his side and pulled it closer, cuddling the warmth to his skin and burrowing his face in fragrant softness that made him smile, eyes still closed. His lips found the warmth and he pressed them against it, his arms also tightening a bit to pull it closer to him again. Sleeping Zane was happy and content. Too bad it couldn’t last.
The sound that was waking him up finally roused his slumbering mind and registered. It was the high pitched whine of a dog. And not just any dog, his dog, Lucy. Lucy only whined like that when she had a pressing need, which meant that as much as Zane did not want to move from his current position, he had no choice. It was either stay in bed and have to clean up the mess, or get up and take her outside. He stretched and it was then Zane realized the warmth he had been cuddling to him wasn’t a pillow or blanket…it was a person.
Or, to be more exact, it was a woman. He knew that from the placement of his hands. Zane wondered if it would be worse to remove them quickly like they were burned or to leave them where they were. Eventually his mind cleared enough for him to start to wonder as to the identity of the woman he was holding. Zane didn’t just bring women home. Except one time. After Thora had broken his heart and spirit, there had been one drunken night he had tried not to think about too much. He was old-fashioned and believed that you should only sleep with someone when you were in love with them, which is why his experience was limited to the years he was with Thora and that mistake back in Italy. But here he was, in bed, and there was definitely a woman with him.
It was then the previous evening’s activities started coming back to him. He had gone to the pub and met up with Nona. They had watched some movies while drinking copious amounts of a coffee liquor. He ran his tongue around his mouth and found the flavor still lingered. And then…they had kissed. Zane was nothing if not logical and his brain was beginning to put two-and-two together. If he had started the evening with Nona and a bunch of liquor, it meant he was probably starting the morning with Nona and a bit of a hangover. So the warm body he was holding to him could only be one person…Nona.
Zane’s heart started pounding in his chest as some of the rest of his memory stirred. Hot kisses, warm skin, stumbling to her room while flinging off clothing…he had done the stupidest thing he could have ever done in his life; Zane had slept with his best friend’s little sister. The cold reality of the situation washed over him and cleared away the last bit of lingering alcoholic haze and left him with a sharp pain in his chest and a pounding head. Keiran was going to kill him. And Nona deserved better than a drunken tumble with him. ‘Fuck, Constantine. You’ve really gone and screwed things up, haven’t you?’
He slowly removed his hands and released her, pulling away and at last opening his eyes. The room was still shrouded in darkness but Zane never had a problem with that. He blinked and was able to make out that he was in Nona’s room, which would mean this was her bed. So yup, it was definitely Nona in the bed with him. And…wait…why was he naked and she not? His tongue wet his lips, trying to bring moisture to a mouth that suddenly seemed devoid of it. If she was dressed, she had gotten up at some point and come back to bed. ‘The pub.’ Nona would have locked up the pub last night and then come back to bed. She had come back to bed to be with him.
He rolled over on his back and stared up at the black ceiling, never feeling more terrible than he did at that moment. Guilt sat on his chest like a hundred pound weight and he found it hard to breathe. He was going to have to leave, to slink away like one of his shadows. The whining on the other side of the door reminded him there was more than just his train-wreck of a life going on here. It was bad enough his drunken mind had given in to what he had wanted to do for a while, but he couldn’t let Lucy get to the point of barking.
Zane carefully sat up, trying to make as little movement as possible. He hoped Nona was still sleeping, though sneaking away while she slept seemed like a horrible thing to do. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to face her just yet. His eyes scanned the darkness and found his pants and Zane got up and walked as quietly as he could and slipped them on. After a minute of standing in the dark looking around, he spotted his shirt and slipped it over his head. ‘Shoes. He couldn’t spot them in the room…maybe he had kicked them off in the living room. He hoped so. Walking home barefoot would suck.
He shadowed through the door into the living room to avoid making any noise but was greeted by a large, white fluffy dog who whined even louder. Zane’s blue eyes opened in panic…he really didn’t want Nona to wake up now and find him gone but still in the apartment. Though if he was being honest with himself, there was no good way for this to happen. Zane wanted to hit his head against the wall even though it was already throbbing like he had done that several times. And why did his back hurt like he had a sunburn?
After spotting his shoes and slipping them on with no socks, he located Lucy’s leash and clipped it on her collar. Dog regarded him from his cushion in the corner but apparently the old creature didn’t need to use the bathroom the same way Lucy did because he didn’t stir from his location. So Zane picked up his jacket and looked down at his dog. His options were to try to walk her quietly down the stairs and out the back door…or pick up the monster and carry her through a shadow portal outside. He settled on the latter and scooped up the dog, grunting lightly over her awkward weight before calling together the shadows and stepping through them to the outside.
He set Lucy down on the grass and the dog immediately walked away to take care of her business. But Zane wasn’t paying attention. His mind was back upstairs in a small bedroom where a woman was sleeping. Part of him wanted to go back, to crawl back in that bed and pretend like there was nothing wrong with what they had done. But he had betrayed his best friend. He had taken advantage of Nona when she wasn’t in a condition to make a good decision. Zane decided he was definitely not going to win any awards for ‘Friend of the Year.’
When Lucy concluded her business and trotted back over, Zane could have sworn she had a look of amusement on her face. He glared at her and started the walk home, the cold morning air turning his cheeks red as the sun finally began to peek over the horizon. He felt in his pocket to pull out his cell phone to check the time and with a growing sense of horror realized it was back at the apartment where he had set it on the coffee table while they were watching a movie. There was no way he could go back for it. ‘Didn’t like the damn thing anyway.’ He had only gotten it because Nona had insisted it was ridiculous for them to not have a way of getting a hold of him when he wasn’t home or at the school. Zane had no idea when he’d have the balls to go get it back. It would mean either facing Keiran, who would somehow know immediately what he had done because Keiran always seemed to know everything, or facing Nona whom he had just snuck off from.
All-in-all…Zane felt like the lowest creature who ever lived.
The sound that was waking him up finally roused his slumbering mind and registered. It was the high pitched whine of a dog. And not just any dog, his dog, Lucy. Lucy only whined like that when she had a pressing need, which meant that as much as Zane did not want to move from his current position, he had no choice. It was either stay in bed and have to clean up the mess, or get up and take her outside. He stretched and it was then Zane realized the warmth he had been cuddling to him wasn’t a pillow or blanket…it was a person.
Or, to be more exact, it was a woman. He knew that from the placement of his hands. Zane wondered if it would be worse to remove them quickly like they were burned or to leave them where they were. Eventually his mind cleared enough for him to start to wonder as to the identity of the woman he was holding. Zane didn’t just bring women home. Except one time. After Thora had broken his heart and spirit, there had been one drunken night he had tried not to think about too much. He was old-fashioned and believed that you should only sleep with someone when you were in love with them, which is why his experience was limited to the years he was with Thora and that mistake back in Italy. But here he was, in bed, and there was definitely a woman with him.
It was then the previous evening’s activities started coming back to him. He had gone to the pub and met up with Nona. They had watched some movies while drinking copious amounts of a coffee liquor. He ran his tongue around his mouth and found the flavor still lingered. And then…they had kissed. Zane was nothing if not logical and his brain was beginning to put two-and-two together. If he had started the evening with Nona and a bunch of liquor, it meant he was probably starting the morning with Nona and a bit of a hangover. So the warm body he was holding to him could only be one person…Nona.
Zane’s heart started pounding in his chest as some of the rest of his memory stirred. Hot kisses, warm skin, stumbling to her room while flinging off clothing…he had done the stupidest thing he could have ever done in his life; Zane had slept with his best friend’s little sister. The cold reality of the situation washed over him and cleared away the last bit of lingering alcoholic haze and left him with a sharp pain in his chest and a pounding head. Keiran was going to kill him. And Nona deserved better than a drunken tumble with him. ‘Fuck, Constantine. You’ve really gone and screwed things up, haven’t you?’
He slowly removed his hands and released her, pulling away and at last opening his eyes. The room was still shrouded in darkness but Zane never had a problem with that. He blinked and was able to make out that he was in Nona’s room, which would mean this was her bed. So yup, it was definitely Nona in the bed with him. And…wait…why was he naked and she not? His tongue wet his lips, trying to bring moisture to a mouth that suddenly seemed devoid of it. If she was dressed, she had gotten up at some point and come back to bed. ‘The pub.’ Nona would have locked up the pub last night and then come back to bed. She had come back to bed to be with him.
He rolled over on his back and stared up at the black ceiling, never feeling more terrible than he did at that moment. Guilt sat on his chest like a hundred pound weight and he found it hard to breathe. He was going to have to leave, to slink away like one of his shadows. The whining on the other side of the door reminded him there was more than just his train-wreck of a life going on here. It was bad enough his drunken mind had given in to what he had wanted to do for a while, but he couldn’t let Lucy get to the point of barking.
Zane carefully sat up, trying to make as little movement as possible. He hoped Nona was still sleeping, though sneaking away while she slept seemed like a horrible thing to do. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to face her just yet. His eyes scanned the darkness and found his pants and Zane got up and walked as quietly as he could and slipped them on. After a minute of standing in the dark looking around, he spotted his shirt and slipped it over his head. ‘Shoes. He couldn’t spot them in the room…maybe he had kicked them off in the living room. He hoped so. Walking home barefoot would suck.
He shadowed through the door into the living room to avoid making any noise but was greeted by a large, white fluffy dog who whined even louder. Zane’s blue eyes opened in panic…he really didn’t want Nona to wake up now and find him gone but still in the apartment. Though if he was being honest with himself, there was no good way for this to happen. Zane wanted to hit his head against the wall even though it was already throbbing like he had done that several times. And why did his back hurt like he had a sunburn?
After spotting his shoes and slipping them on with no socks, he located Lucy’s leash and clipped it on her collar. Dog regarded him from his cushion in the corner but apparently the old creature didn’t need to use the bathroom the same way Lucy did because he didn’t stir from his location. So Zane picked up his jacket and looked down at his dog. His options were to try to walk her quietly down the stairs and out the back door…or pick up the monster and carry her through a shadow portal outside. He settled on the latter and scooped up the dog, grunting lightly over her awkward weight before calling together the shadows and stepping through them to the outside.
He set Lucy down on the grass and the dog immediately walked away to take care of her business. But Zane wasn’t paying attention. His mind was back upstairs in a small bedroom where a woman was sleeping. Part of him wanted to go back, to crawl back in that bed and pretend like there was nothing wrong with what they had done. But he had betrayed his best friend. He had taken advantage of Nona when she wasn’t in a condition to make a good decision. Zane decided he was definitely not going to win any awards for ‘Friend of the Year.’
When Lucy concluded her business and trotted back over, Zane could have sworn she had a look of amusement on her face. He glared at her and started the walk home, the cold morning air turning his cheeks red as the sun finally began to peek over the horizon. He felt in his pocket to pull out his cell phone to check the time and with a growing sense of horror realized it was back at the apartment where he had set it on the coffee table while they were watching a movie. There was no way he could go back for it. ‘Didn’t like the damn thing anyway.’ He had only gotten it because Nona had insisted it was ridiculous for them to not have a way of getting a hold of him when he wasn’t home or at the school. Zane had no idea when he’d have the balls to go get it back. It would mean either facing Keiran, who would somehow know immediately what he had done because Keiran always seemed to know everything, or facing Nona whom he had just snuck off from.
All-in-all…Zane felt like the lowest creature who ever lived.
