Saturday, Part. A

I stopped outside the door of my apartment on Saturday, taking my hair out of the ponytail and redoing it.  I wiped my fingers under my eyes to try and rub off any leftover smeared eyeliner that didn’t wash away.  I looked down at myself, realizing I was totally doing the walk of shame in the worst possible situation, and I hadn’t even had sex.  I took a deep breath, exhaling loudly, and opened the door to my apartment.

Sarah was sitting on the couch watching television, but I didn’t see Zach.  I raised my eyebrows at her.  She answered my unspoken question.  “He thought you’d be hungry, so he ran to Runza to get us all some food.”

“Oh perfect!  I need to shower.”  I dropped my purse on the floor, undressing as I went, to shower quickly.

I heard the bathroom door open while I was washing my hair.

“So, where were you last night?”  Sarah questioned.

I sighed.  “Apparently I had too much to drink and blacked out and so Luke took me home to his place where I passed out.”

“Blacked out?”

“Yeah.  I really don’t remember drinking that much.  I remember two vodka tonics and a couple shots.   That’s it.”

“That’s not like you.”

“I know, right?”  I was power showering and almost done at this point.

I shut off the water and we both heard knocking at the door.  Sarah exited the bathroom as I started drying off.  My head was still pounding.  I needed to get some Advil , pronto.  And probably drink a gallon of water.   I brushed my teeth and wrapped the towel around my body, letting my wet hair drip down my shoulders into the towel.  I opened the bathroom door, didn’t see anyone in my line of sight and slipped into the bedroom.  Throwing on sweatpants and an over sized sweatshirt, I sat on my bed to put some socks on.  I have a weird quirk where unless I’m at the beach or wearing sandals/shoes that don’t require them, I need to have socks on all the time.  I hate particles of stuff being stuck to the bottom of my feet.

I walked out of the bedroom and went to the living room where Sarah was sitting there destroying her food.  I smiled at the sight, but then laid eyes on Zach.  I stopped for a moment, and it felt like the world stopped with me.  Zach stood up, smiling, and walked over to me.  He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground in his embrace.  He set me down and we stood there wrapped around each other for what felt like forever, but yet, not long enough.  He put his hands on either side of my head and kissed my forehead.  I looked up into his eyes and just stood there, mesmerized momentarily. 

Zach broke the silence.  “Eat.”

I giggled.  But first went to my purse to dig out some Advil and got the largest glass I could find and filled it to the brim with water.  “Rough night?”

“I think I drank too much.”

“So it seems.”  I leaned over the coffee table and started eating.  At first I thought eating would make me nauseous, but after a few bites I realized how famished I was and quickly devoured the sandwich and fries.  I drank some of the Coca Cola Zach had brought me, too, to get some sugar in me.  While I was eating, Zach scratched my back and rubbed my neck.

I turned to face Zach, sitting sideways on the seat.  “This has to be the second best surprise, ever!”

He cocked his head and asked, “What’s the first?”

I grinned, “The plane ticket.”

He playfully punched my arm, and I returned the sentiment.  “I have a short practice from 3 to 4 to keep me ready for the match tomorrow.  What are you doing after that?”

“Seeing you?”  Although he asked it as a question, I knew it was a statement.

“Well, of course.  I guess what I really meant was, what are WE doing after that?”

“My parents are coming into Lincoln, and if it’s okay with you, I thought we could meet them for dinner, and then stay in and watch a movie or something?”

“Perfect.  And you know I never turn down a chance to see Ben and Gloria!  I love them!”  I squealed.  I realized how much my head still hurt, though.  “But, could we possibly take a nap before I have to head out to practice?  I have two and a half hours.”

“I’m not tired, but you can lay your head on my lap here, so I can watch tv?  You know it’s March Madness, and this round’s games are going to be starting shortly.”

“Oh yes.  How many brackets did you fill out this year?”

“Four.  You?”

“Only two this year.”  Sarah got up at that point and said she was heading to the library as she had a paper due Monday she needed to get some research started for.  Zach moved over to the couch and I followed, lying down on my side with my head on a pillow on his lap.  I closed my eyes and I faintly heard basketball talk in the background as Zach combed his fingers through my hair, lightly scratching my scalp.  The Advil started to kick in and calm my headache, and the soothing feeling of Zach playing with my hair put me right into a peaceful sleep.