Sam was one of those insufferable people who simply did not get hangovers. Some mild dehydration, maybe. But for the most part he could rise and shine with the best of them, even after a night of heavy drinking.
Auriel on the other hand, was a mess. An absolute ruin. Which had the effect of making Sam feel terribly guilty about what they’d gotten up to last night. He handed her a cup of water.
“Oh thank god”
He briefly considered saying ‘you’re welcome’. Better to leave the douchey faux-confidence type jokes for another time though.
Auriel’s parents had a nice little place out in the suburbs. It was every bit the image that the idea conjured in one’s mind. With the wrought iron fence and the nice green lawn and everything. There was even a little dog barking away upstairs. No doubt sensing Sam’s intrusion.
He should probably say something. The false confidence of alcohol had well and truly worn off and he was starting to feel like he didn’t belong here. Like Auriel was one step away from asking him to leave before her parents could arrive.
They hadn’t really had sex, but it was close enough. Sam reasoned that he didn’t need to see this girl again. Not that she would want to see him again anyways. Besides, he really needed to get ready for work.
“Hey, so. I had a very nice ti-”
“Hey Auriel! Wake your fat ass up!”
Sam had been interrupted by a loud girl bursting in from upstairs. She had brought the little dog with her. Who proceeded to bark at the strange man in his domain. Much to Auriel’s chagrin.
“BARKBARKBARK”
“Oh! Sorry sis. Didn’t know you were out whoring last night” The young girl stuck her tongue out and smiled broadly. Not so secretly delighted by this turn of events. “I’ll just leave you alone then”
As Auriel’s sister waddled up the stairs and out of view. Auriel sat up for the first time.
“Sorry about that. She’s such a pain in the ass with her fucking rat dog”
“No worries. So, I had a nice ti-”
“Oh Fuck! I have to clean my fucking sheets!” Auriel ran off down the hall to assess the damage that she had caused last night.
“...I’ll just let myself out then”
Sam was halfway to the door when Auriel emerged to see him off.
“Hey, sorry I was a disaster last night”
“No, it’s fine. I had a nice time with you”
Auriel smiled through the headache. “Me too. Call me”
“I will” For a change, Sam thought that he might actually mean it.
-
“Fuck!”
Sam knew there was no chance that he wouldn’t be late for work as hopped into the shower. There was no time to do anything but rinse, lather and get the fuck out. His only saving grace in this scenario was that his boss happened to be something like his best friend. Still, he had no intention of testing the limits of friendship by showing up 45 minutes late for work.
With lightning speed, he washed his thin body .
“Ow!”
Funny, his chest hurt just a bit today. Oh well, no time to dwell on it.
As he hastily exited the shower. He raced for the medicine cabinet to brush his teeth.
“Ow!” His nails must have been getting a bit long because he caught one while reaching for the toothpaste. Again, no time to deal with that.
“Huh?”
Sam observed his face in the mirror. He was looking a bit anemic. Was he getting sick or something? Perhaps some time off work wasn’t out of the question. But no, all of this could be dealt with later. Right now he had some real world, adult responsibilities that urgently needed his attention.
He threw some work appropriate attire on and ran out the door.
-
Sam worked in a warehouse. Moving, stacking and organizing boxes for a big furniture store. He was a grunt but he was kind of the head grunt because he was the one licensed to operate a forklift. An awesome responsibility which he took very seriously. Only pretending that he was piloting a giant robot about twice per day.
It was lunchtime, more or less as soon as he arrived. Instead of being displeased with him. Sam’s friend Larry Hughes decided there was nothing for it but to take a break and shoot the shit.
“You shoulda seen this girl man. She was hot as fuck” Sam wasn’t typically one to brag. With Larry it was different though. They were often in full on disgusting man mode together and neither judged the other.
“Show me her profile” Larry reached up as Sam offered his phone. “Oh nice, And you can tell she looks better in person too because these are bad selfies and she still looks pretty hot. How was the pussy?”
“We didn’t actually have sex. We got way too drunk”
“Oh, right right. Still though, nice”
“Yeah, she was nice”
Sam stared off into the middle distance. Contemplating his life. He considered himself something of a hookup artist. Sort of. But last night had been a bit different. Was working in a warehouse, crushing beers with the guys and having sex with random girls most weekends really what he wanted to do?
“What’s up Sam? You look different today. Like you need a haircut or something” Sam’s friend knew him very well. And keenly watched for the signs of depression. Including a lapse in personal hygiene.
That comment had made him feel self conscious. He felt different. There was a weird, wistful feeling in his stomach. It wasn’t new though. Actually it kinda felt familiar.
“I dunno. I think I might be getting sick”
“What kind of sick?”
Sam took a deep breath. “...I dunno. Maybe I’ll take a sick day”
“Yeah buddy. Whatever you gotta do”
Thu May 13 19:08:12 2021