On My Brother's Bed

Chapter 3

Astrid's POV

I didn't plan on waking up tangled in sheets that didn't belong to me.

Or next to a man whose face I couldn't fully see.

My head banged terribly from how drunk I was last night.

All I remembered was laughter, lights. The feel of a stranger's hand on my hip, his mouth on my neck.

And then sex.

I blinked slowly, my head still pounding. The early morning sun filtered through unfamiliar curtains as a deep, masculine scent lingered around me. My bare skin prickled as the sheet slipped down my shoulders.

Panic crawled into my chest.

My bra was on the floor.

My dress–the tiny black one Talia insisted I wear–was draped over a couch.

Realization hit me right there. I turned to a man's silhouette, face turned away, one muscular arm thrown over his eyes.

I didn't recognize the room.

I couldn't even remember how I ended up here!

What the hell did I do last night?

I carefully slid out of bed, moving slowly and trying not to wake him. The throb in my head wasn't helping at all.

I gathered my clothes, and tugged my dress back on with shaky fingers. Then I stuffed my heels into my bag.

Whoever the heck that was, I would make sure we never crossed paths. Ever again.

Eventually, I got out of the hotel and hailed an Uber.

The ride felt endless. I kept checking my phone, expecting a text from Talia but nothing came. I looked like I'd lived through a tornado of sin and shame.

I didn't go straight home.

I couldn't let anyone see me this way. So I located a store and got into a new dress.

I wasn't sure how to feel. I wanted to be cool with it, and shrug the fact that I'd slept with a complete stranger.

Because damn, that man last night felt so dangerous. It didn't feel like a mistake.

*

By the time I got home, the front door was already open.

I paused. Did Rhett forget to lock it?

I walked in quietly, still barefoot. I made to move toward the stairs when the familiar voices and laughter echoed through the walls.

I tiptoed closer and peered around the corner to see Micah.

My brother stood in the kitchen, a bag on the counter, and a phone in his hand. He wore a wide grin.

Rhett stood beside him. They seemed to be in a deep conversation to even notice my presence.

Rhett looked so calm like any other day.

What the fuck was I thinking?

He looked so damn hot in that T-shirt that almost exposed his abs.

Like he felt my stares, his eyes flicked to me in a matter of seconds, and his smile faltered.

Something flashed in his eyes that reminded me of last night when that stranger touched my waist.

Those eyes...familiar. They looked so familiar. I couldn't remember.

The same warmth. It was the same way Rhett looked at me.

When he lifted his hand to his face, I saw the tattoo on his arm that looked exactly like the man on that bed.

Wait, was I hallucinating?

No. It couldn't be Rhett Rivers. It didn't make sense. It had to be someone else. It had to be.

Right?

Rhett was the only guy with that tattoo and those eyes.

"Astrid," Micah's voice made me flinch from where I stood. "You're up. I didn't come upstairs to your room. Rhett said you were fast asleep."

I flickered my gaze to Rhett and back to Micah, trying to move along with the lie.

"Ah. Yes." I mumbled, forcing a smile. "Barely awake."

"I also didn't tell you I'll be returning today. Rhett picked me up from the airport. Flight was hell." My brother walked toward where I was and hugged me briefly.

Rhett leaned against the rails, his arms folded as he watched me.

"She looks like hell too," he said causally, but his voice dropped an octave.

I glared. "Thanks. You look like a walking headache yourself."

"Alright. That's enough." Micah chirped in with a chuckle.

Rhett's mouth twitched and he gave me a knowing look. "Long night, huh?"

"None of your business," I muttered, brushing past him toward the stairs.

His hand brushed mine for barely a second. My heart jumped.

I turned around, and stared at him.

This time, I saw the same eyes. I knew I wasn't hallucinating.

It was him.

No. No way.

Was it?

"Don't stare too hard, Astrid," Rhett said, his voice low. "You might fall."

I swallowed and bolted up the stairs before Micah could notice.

Once I was in my room, I rested on the door, my chest rising and falling as I tried to catch my breath.

What did I just get myself into?

Memories came in like floods. The frat party with Talia, Rhett's arrival, and how he forced me to the car. Then we pulled up at a spot.

And now I couldn't look Rhett in the eye without wondering if it was his lips I felt.

Goddamit.

I couldn't believe it. It was still difficult.

Rhett wasn't the man I woke up to find on that bed.

For crying out loud, he was my brother's best friend. He only teased me and got protective when I dated losers.

But last night...why couldn't I forget it?

The feel of his lips on mine. His hands on my waist as he spread me open. I couldn't remember much, but I could swear down that I recalled how he thrusted into me like a possessed man.

"Astrid," Micah's voice called from outside.

I gathered myself back together and replied with a trembling voice. "Yes, Micah? Do you need something?"

"No. I just need you to come downstairs for breakfast once you've changed. I'm preparing something delicious." My brother said again. And then I heard footsteps retreating.

I held my chest like I was suddenly having a panic attack.

If my gut was right, if the goosebumps still racing in my arms meant anything–then I didn't sleep with a stranger.

I slept with Rhett Rivers.

And I had no idea what the hell I was going to do about it.