My head is pounding. My stomach is churning.
What the hell happened last night?
Letting my eyes flutter open, I groaned, my mouth watering slightly. This isn't good.
"Morning sunshine," a too-cheery voice sang, making the pounding in my head worse. "How are you feeling?"
Drawing my eyebrows together, slowly, I sit up. Since when did Harvey have muscles like that?
I blinked, trying to get my eyes to focus. A shirtless back met my eyes. Whoever it is, is cooking. It smelt delicious, even though all I wanted to do is puke.
Glancing down, I noticed that I'm still in my skimpy Harley Quinn outfit from last night's adventures. Groaning again, I collapsed back heavily onto the fold out lounge.
"What happened?"
The guy turned around and my stomach clenched.
Why the hell am I with Coach Brennon? I glance down at my clothes again, and am immediately relieved as they were all still in the right place.
"This," he said, coming towards me casually. He passed me his phone into my palm and I dragged my eyes from his defined chest, to the screen. "Is what happened."
Blinking furiously, I stared at the message. Immediately, I am mortified.
Since when did my texting skills become so dismal? I must have been pretty drunk to send something like that. To the Coach, of all people. The text hardly makes any sense and I also told him that I think he is hot. How embarrassing.
He laughed at my expression.
"Don't worry, I don't care. It's funny."
"Funny is an interesting word to use," I groaned, sliding the phone across the bench. "That's horrible."
Chuckling, he shrugged. He placed two pieces of toast in front of me and my stomach growled in hunger.
"Thanks."
Tentatively, I took a bite. About three bites in, I was running to the bathroom. I just made it, before I vomited what felt like my life's consumption of food into his pristine, white sink.
Groaning once more, I leant heavily on the basin. After rinsing my mouth out, I glanced in the mirror and flinched.
I no longer had my blonde wig on, and my hair is messily falling around my face. My makeup is smeared and my mascara made me looked like I hadn't slept for a month.
I am never going to be able to face Coach Brennon after this.
"You okay in there?" he asked, his voice just outside the door.
Emerging from the bathroom, I gave him an awkward look. "This is so inappropriate. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine," he said with a wave as we both wandered back towards the kitchen. I stared distastefully at the now cold toast in front of me. I pushed it away, still feeling squeamish. "Last night... you said something."
"Even worse than we've already discussed?" I groaned, ignoring his intense stare.
"No, no," he said, shaking his head. "It's just... do you have parents?"
I blinked at him. That wasn't what I was expecting.
“I don't have a father."
"Okay," he said, taking a sip of his protein drink.
"And my mother is a complete work-a-holic. She's a surgeon at the private hospital so I'm just by myself, really."
He is silent for a few moments. "That must be hard for you."
I rolled my eyes. That's the first thing everyone says.
"I'm a big girl, Ashton."
His face is unreadable as he took another sip. "That explains why you felt you didn't have anyone else to call. What about your boyfriend?"
I blinked at him for a few times. "What boyfriend?"
He quirked an eyebrow at me and I didn't miss the flicker of a smirk that flashed across his mouth.
"The guy you're always walking around school with?"
"Harvey?" I laughed, shaking my head. "No way, he's my only friend. He was the one who showed me around."
"So you're not dating?" he pressed, his eyes never leaving mine.
"No, we're not," I confirmed. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged, fighting to keep the smile off his face. "No reason."
"Right," I said, rolling my eyes. "What have you got planned for today?"
He shrugged again, before he spread his scrambled eggs onto his toast. My stomach clenched and I looked away, the smell of the egg making me want to vomit again.
"Not sure yet."
"You want to try and eat something again?" he asked after a few moments of silence. He shoveled his last forkful of egg into his mouth, before placing his cutlery neatly on his plate and pushing it away from him.
I then realised I had been gawking at him.
"No thanks, I'd rather not defile your bathroom a second time," I said easily, leaning back in the stool. "I might head off soon; I've already overstayed my welcome."
"You haven't," he assured me as he grabbed my plate and threw the dry bits of toast into the bin. "Stay as long as you want."
"Thanks, but I really need a shower."
"I have a shower."
I paused as I had begun to slide out of the stool I had been perched on. I raised an eyebrow at him.
Did he want me to stay?
"I don't have any other clothes with me."
"You can wear something of mine."
I walked from him, giving myself a moment to gather my thoughts. I swiped at my phone that is lodged between the cushions of the lounge and tried to turn it on, before realising it is flat.
"That's okay, thank you though."
Slipping my phone into my back pocket, I bent over and threw my hair into a messy bun on top of my head.
"Okay, I'll drive you," he offered, wiping his hands on a tea towel draped over the oven.
My stomach tightened.
"That's okay."
"Grace," he laughed, coming towards me. He gripped my shoulders, his warm breath fanning my face. I stepped back, not wanting him to experience my post-vomit breath. "I'm trying to help you."
"It's okay, I like walking."
"And I like driving. Besides, you'll probably give people a heart attack if you walk like that down the street. Give me a sec," he said over his shoulder, as he headed into a room behind him.
I took a second to stare around at his place. It is surprisingly neat. He must live alone, or have a very quiet roommate. The apartment was very modern, with smooth, timber floors and high, white ceilings.
"You ready?" he asked, re-appearing with his keys jingling in his hands.
I forced a smile onto my face and began trailing after him. My palms began to feel clammy as we got closer and closer to his car. I gripped my shirt in my hands, trying to rid the sweat that had started to form.
The elevator ride down to the underground parking was awkward and tension filled. My eyes darted around and I silently thanked that we didn't share it with someone else.
As it dinged, the doors slid open and a man stood there. He jumped at the sight of me and I held in a laugh. He gave me an odd look as he shouldered around me and I heard Ashton chuckle under his breath beside me.
It didn't take us long to reach his park. His car is nice. It is a recent model Mazda. It is dark blue, with dark rimmed wheels.
I slid into the passenger seat, the new car scent still lingering in it. I usually enjoy the smell but right now, anything felt like it was going to trigger me to round two of vomiting.
"Nice ride," I commented, folding my arms across my chest.
My heart began to beat faster in my chest as the car rumbled to life.
He shot me a grin. "Thanks."
My throat felt dry as he reversed out of the underground parking. I hoped he didn't notice my anxiety.
In attempt to act neutral, I turned the volume up on his radio. He glanced at me, a smirk on his lips.
"What?"
"Nothing," he smirked again, returning his eyes to the road.
It was a short trip to my house as we apparently didn't live too far from each other. I rambled off directions, hoping my voice didn't sound as strained as it felt. His car pulled to a smooth stop at the edge of my driveway.
"Nice house," he complimented, with a low whistle. "You can tell your mum has a good job."
"Bit wasted on me," I said dryly, unbuckling myself. "It's just me so the size of the house is a bit pointless."
"Doesn't mean its wasted on you if you're the only one who lives there. You deserve nice things."
I gave him an awkward look. "Ah, thanks."
"I'll see you at school tomorrow?"
"Sure will."
"Meet me at the pool in the morning. I'll work on your strokes with you."
"Breaststroke?" I smirked.
He rolled his eyes. "Freestyle. Don't forget your try-outs are soon."
"How could I possibly forget that?"
"Oh yeah. Right."
"Thanks heaps for everything, Ashton. I really appreciate it." I said, giving him a smile. He shifted closer to me slightly and I stiffened.
"Anytime, Grace."
Tumbling out of the car, I shut the door behind me. With a wave, I stumbled towards my house, feeling slightly breathless.
I just stepped inside, when I met a furious looking Harvey. He had his arms folded and his eyes were narrowed.
"That better not be who I think it is."