Heartburn: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) by Tarrah Anders (100 best novels of all time TXT) 📕

I place my hand in his. “Thank you for having me. It was kind of nice.”

“Take care, and I hope that you stay out of trouble. Please remember that we won’t be covering your mistakes anymore. You’re an adult and that’s not our jobs.”

“Yes, sir.” I say, because there really is nothing more to say.

I guess my father will not give me a second chance anytime soon.

I’m on my fourth drink and I’m only getting started.

I have the bartender making sure that I never have an empty glass and a clear shot to the restroom, should I need to run into there.

I’m sitting at the bar with Geri. While we grew up together on the same street, we weren’t very close. But right now, after the night I had, she is the closest thing to a friend that I’ve had in a long time. So, I rang her doorbell after leaving my parents—hoping for someone to drink with.

She’s been listening to my entire story. From running around town with Reese Dillinger and stealing the high school rival’s mascot to stealing at the mall, and then even from smoking weed and getting drunk in the vineyards. All the way up until the day that I left town. I’m not sure if I’ve even let her talk or how long we’ve been here, but I’m clearly drunk by the time a plate of french fries is placed in front of me.

I look up at the bartender and point to the plate.

“We don’t want The Gazette to leak out all the juicy things that you’re talking about over here,” he says.

“Honey, I’ve been all over that gossip rag before. It wouldn’t be recent news. Ha! New news. That just sounds silly. Where did these come from, I didn’t order them?”

“The gentleman in the back-corner booth.” He angles his head behind me and points.

I turn in my barstool to follow his direction and my coordination is a little off as Geri moves as silent and quick as a cat to make sure I stay up in my chair. With her help, I see no one sitting in the corner booth and turn the barstool again.

Only that instead of Geri, Rogan is on the other side of me and Geri is sitting next to him. How long did it take me to turn back around? Wasn’t she just basically holding me up?

“Looks like you’ve had quite the night, Nurse Mason. I hope you’re not on call or working the early shift.”

“Dinner with my parents.” I say taking a sip of my pint glass.

“Ouch.” He takes a long pull from his bottle and shakes his head while also chuckling into the mouth of the bottle.

“What are you doing here, Doctor Quinn, shouldn’t you be working tonight?” I ask.

“Do you guys remember each other?” Geri points between the two of us. “I’m mean, you’re talking super weird and calling each other by your last names. You know that you used to date, like pretty heavily, right?” she asks looking between the two of us.

“Of course, we know who each other is. It’s not like we lost our memories,” I laugh, holding my hand up for another drink.

She looks between us, “I think I’m going to leave you in the trusty hands of Rogan here. Remember, take two aspirin and drink a glass of water before going to sleep tonight.”

“Aye, aye doctor Geri!” I salute her and end up poking my eye.

Not knowing the protocol for Rogan and I sitting at a bar, clearly drinking, together. I fist the drink placed in front of me.

13

Rogan

I watched from the back of the bar for an hour. I watched her talking to the bartender, I watched her smiling, laughing, then banging her head against the bar top. I sent her french fries and then took over the space of her old neighbor, Geri, who I’ve seen from time to time over the years.

I don’t know what we were talking about, or how we ended up at my house though.

But here we are.

In my bed. Naked. Together.

I’m pretty sure that we slept together in the biblical sense, and that it was more than once, at least that’s what the discarded condom wrappers are telling me from the floor beside the bed.

I pull myself up, my brain rattling against my skull with the movement as I can taste the mixture of saliva, sex, and cat shit in my mouth. I slowly move to the bathroom with my hand grazing the wall the entire time. I brush my teeth, piss, then return to my bed. Kindra’s bare back faces me, with a tattoo of what looks to be a large red and black shattered heart in the center of her back. Her long honey colored hair is all over my spare pillow and her mouth is wide open, drooling on it as well.

What the hell happened last night!

How did we end up here?

Why did we end up here?

She rustles and moves from her side to her back, baring her beautiful breasts. My mouth waters and I fight the urge to bend and take her nipple into my mouth. Blame it on still being drunk, and I know that would be a stupid move. It would open a can of worms that I really shouldn’t open.

Hell, I just broke up with Karin.

With her parting question being if it was because of Kindra. I’m hoping The Gazette doesn’t say anything about us being in the bar or leaving together.

She stretches and opens her eyes while yawning. Once she realizes that she’s bare-chested, she pulls the covers up, and her eyes go wide.

“Um, hi,” she says.

“Morning,” I return.

“How did we end up here?” She asks clutching to the bedsheet.

“Alcohol.” I say.

“Did we?” she looks around, avoiding my gaze.

“Yes.”

She sits up and looks around. “Nice room.”

“Thanks. Where are my clothes?” I ask myself. “Listen, last night shouldn’t have happened. We shouldn’t have… done what we did.” I stand up