Chapter Three

IAN CARMICHAEL

I was pulled out of my haze when she suddenly pushed my hand, pulling away from me.

I let her go, rising up.

The girl looked around with confused, heavy eyes.

“Where am I?”

I narrowed my eyes, watching her scramble around. She looked clumsy.

“And who are you?” She asked, when she finally looked at me.

I tried not to look at her eyes.

“Where do you think you are?” I asked in response to her first question, glaring down at her.

She pouted, looking around. And then she scratched her head with a confused look.

“Oh!” Her eyes lit up. And then she giggled. “Party”.

Her smile fell, expression turning sad as if remembering something.

“It wasn't my fault. Why did she slap me? She was so mean”, she complained to no one in particular.

Why was I still standing there? She had woken up.

But I could not just leave her. She was drunk. It was unsafe.

I may not be the nicest person, but I was a decent human being at least. Sometimes.

“Where do you live?” I asked, harsher than I intended.

She looked at me, blinking slowly as if trying to remember her address.

“Why do you want to know?” She asked.

Patience.

“Because I want to take you home”, I explained, willing my voice to be calmer.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “How am I sure you aren't trying to kidnap me?”

I glared down at her. Why would I try to kidnap her? But then again, I was a stranger and she was drunk.

“I’m Christian's friend”, I said. Surely, that was enough for her to trust me.

“Why do you keep glaring at me like I pooped on your shoes?” She asked calmly.

My expression cracked at the weird image that question put in my head. The fuck?

I chuckled, shaking my head.

“Did Christian send you to pick me up?”

My smile fell.

“Yes”. No.

I should have called Christian to pick up his friend. But I did not.

She continued to look at me with a suspicious gaze. Like I was some kidnapper trying to convince a child to get inside his car.

“Okay”, she shrugged, giving in.

I couldn't help but wonder what was going through that drunk mind of hers.

She reached for her bag, before stretching it towards me.

I looked at the black crossbag, then at her. She stared back at me expectantly.

I huffed, before taking the bag from her.

But her hand remained stretched. When I did not answer, she waved it at me.

This girl…

I grabbed her hand. It felt softer, smaller. Trying not to dwell on how nice it felt to hold, I pulled her up.

She stumbled, but I caught her, holding her close by wrapping my arm around her back.

“Thanks”, she said with a smile.

I nodded at her.

“Christian never told me about you. Well he doesn't tell me much about himself either. What's your name?” She asked, as I led her outside the venue, through the back.

The last thing I wanted was someone seeing us and asking questions. It would be troublesome.

“Ian”, I said.

“Ian”, she repeated, as if testing the sound of my name.

I wanted to know hers. But I did not ask. It was pointless when I was not going to see her again.

“Are you like his best friend?”

“Something like that”. I had known Christian since I was young. He was a clingy fucker, who made it his mission to annoy me on a daily basis. After the incident, we became closer.

“Does he have any other friends?”

I let out a sigh.

“Ask him yourself”, I replied dully. Why was she asking me about him? It seemed like they were not close enough for her to know anything important about him.

“Christian is really nice. He's a bit naughty sometimes, and sweet. I like his smile”, she smiled dreamily, as if thinking about him.

I narrowed my eyes at her, hoping for her sake that she did not have a crush on Christian. Not like it was my business if she got hurt.

“You have a cute smile too”, she said, looking at me.

My brows drew together, then I remembered I had smiled when she said something about shitting on my shoes.

I did not know how to feel about her compliment, knowing well I barely smiled.

“I feel sick”, she grumbled, looking away.

We were outside already, and my car was not far away.

“Do you want to throw up?” I asked.

Before I could lead her towards the grasses, she leaned forward and puked over my arm.

“Shit”, I cursed lowly, quickly leading her beside my car.

She bent forward, throwing up over the grasses while I supported her.

She coughed, retching. I rubbed her back.

I frowned at the girl. She was making me do things I would never do for a stranger. It's probably because she was Christian’s friend, and he would not want her to be left alone like that.

“Do you feel better now?” I asked, once she was done.

She nodded.

“Wait here”, I said, leaving her to stand. Keeping my eyes on her, I opened my car and brought out a bottle of water.

“Here, wash your face”. She took it from me.

I watched her wash her mouth and face, before she handed the bottle back to me.

“Come here”, I said, sounding weirdly soft as I helped her inside the passenger seat of my car.

Once she was in, I removed my suit jacket, throwing it in the back seat along with her bag, before heading to the driver's seat.

“You have a nice car”, she said, looking around with a small frown on her face.

“Are you sure you're Christian’s friend?” She asked.

“You can ask him about me”, I said dryly, kicking the car back to life.

“Look, if you're going to… kidnap me just know that I have nothing to offer. My mother is mentally unstable, she probably won't recognise me. And Christian can't afford to bail me out either”, she explained, sounding rather calm for someone who was afraid of being kidnapped.

“Is that so?” I asked distantly, thinking about how she knew nothing about Christain’s background. I was suddenly curious about their relationship, because he seemed to care about her.

“Yes!” She nodded.

And her mother was mentally unstable. She had been crying about her in her sleep.

“What if it's not money I want?” I asked lowly, trying to tease her for amusement. I did not want to dwell too much on how hard it must have been for her, with her mentally unstable mother and all.

“Huh?” She sounded confused.

I kept my eyes on the road as I drove into it.

“Um… I’m not very healthy. My organs won't fetch you good money”.

I looked at her briefly, letting out a chuckle.

“Where do you live?” I asked.

There was silence. I glanced at her.

“I don't remember. My brain feels like mashed potatoes”, she mumbled, pouting her lips.

The hell…

“Try to remember”, I said calmly, trying to be patient with her. There was no way she had forgotten her address.

“I can't. It will make my brain hurt”, she mumbled.

I let out a sigh.

“Fine”, I said. I would drop her at a hotel.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked.

“A brothel”, I murmured.

“That won't work. I’m not sexy enough for that”, she sounded dull and slightly disappointed.

I didn't know why I gave her a once over at her answer, but I did.

With her loose jeans and sweater, I did not really see much.

“How old are you anyways?” I asked.

“Forty five”, she answered dully.

I scoffed, followed by a small tug of my lips.

I could see why Christian was friends with her. I wondered how she was when sober.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked at her to find her staring at me.

“Are all of Christian’s friends as handsome as you?” She asked casually and out of the blue.

I blinked, taken aback by the question.

“Ask Christian when you see him”, I replied, trying not to dwell on the fact that she just told me I was handsome. A lot of people compliment my looks all the time. It should not mean anything.

“Hmm”, she hummed. I could still feel her eyes on me.

“Brown eyes, thick brows, high cheek bones and sharp jawlines. You have a nice set of lips too. I like them the most”, she said casually, like she was listing items off a grocery list.

My cheeks warmed. I ran my tongue over my teeth, tapping my finger on the steering wheel.

She was intoxicated. I doubted she would be that forward while sober.

When I glanced at her, she was no longer looking at me, now staring at the window.

_____________________

“What's the name of this hotel again?” She asked, as I led her inside her room.

I ignored her question, like I had been ignoring her other random ones and sentences.

I turned on the lights, after which I turned on the heater. The room felt cold.

“Is this okay?” I asked, turning to look at her.

“The hell…”, I cursed, quickly turning away. She had taken off her sweater, leaving on what looked like a sports bra.

I had not lingered to stare, but I did see that for a petite person, she had a rather sizable chest.

“Put your sweater back on”, I told her. Was she not cold?

“No, it's dirty”, she refused.

When I turned to look at her, she was climbing on the bed. I sighed.

It wasn't like she was that exposed. I had seen a lot of women walking around in less. I was just… taken aback.

“Fine”, I grumbled.

She brought up the duvet, covering her body, much to my relief. At least she wouldn't catch a cold.

She closed her eyes for a moment, only to open them again.

“You won't take advantage of me in my sleep, will you?” She asked.

As if I would admit to that if I had those intentions.

“Sleep”, I said.

“Goodnight”, she murmured, before closing her eyes again.

I waited.

She remained quiet, already fallen asleep.

I sighed, turning off the bright lights to leave the dim ones on.

“Goodnight”, I said, walking out of her hotel room.

The door could not be opened from outside with the key inside, so I did not have to worry about some weirdo walking inside her room.

Why was I worried about a girl I barely knew?

I shook my head. I probably won't see her again. For some reason, I was glad about that.

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