Chapter 9

Vanessa's POV

I don't know when the girls came home, or how I'd made it to bed - but the next morning, I awoke next to Daisy with my head pounding, my mouth parched. My eyes were dry and my face felt tight, still tear-stained from the night before. I cringed, as the memories of an awful first night flooded back.

"Hey, you're awake," Daisy murmured, rolling over.

I nodded my head against the pillow.

"You look rough. Did you throw up again last night?"

I shook my head.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason you're not speaking?"

I was afraid to open my mouth, for fear of an emotional takeover. I couldn't cry again - I wasn't drunk, there would be no excuse to use. Instead, I touched my throat, indicating it hurt, and pushed myself up off the bed.

"Water," I croaked, headed for the bathroom.

It had been over 12 hours since I'd last seen myself in the mirror: disheveled hair, raccoon eyes, smeared lipstick - boy, was I a winner! Maybe that's why I wasn't good enough for Sidney, I thought, as a fresh wave of tears spilled over. I turned on the tap to drown out the sounds of my sobs.

I had so wanted it to work, even if it was just for the week. People dreamt about their celebrity crushes every day - how many of them actually got to have their ultimate fantasies fulfilled with them? I had had my chance, and I blew it because my ego had gotten the best of me. So what if he couldn't remember my name? Was it really that important?

No, but you're also just one of a million other girls. You're not important to him either, a voice inside my head reasoned.

But it's not like we were getting married, the other one argued. It was just sex!

The devil won its battle, and there were no more excuses for my royal fuck-up last night. I had not only thrown Sidney out of my room, I had physically assaulted him. I physically assaulted him, I repeated in my head, and suddenly my tears were replaced with a hysterical fit of laughter. I get a chance with the sexiest man alive, and instead of screwing his brains out, I beat him up! Hahaha...

***

Sidney's POV

"Rise and shine, Sugar Lips!" someone yelled, barging into my room.

I opened an eye. "Fuck, Max - what time is it?"

"It's almost NOON, you lazy ass! Get the fuck up - we wanna hear your story about last night!"

I groaned, burying my face in my pillow. "I'll be down in 10 minutes."

"No, you won't. C'mon buddy, let's go," he replied, grabbing my arm in an attempt to drag me out of bed.

"Dude, I don't have boxers on."

"See ya downstairs," he said, bolting for the door.

I pulled the covers back over my head, dreading the face-off between myself and the nosy pack that was my team. I had spent half the night avoiding them, nursing my face and wandering the beach, alone. I didn't want to be in bed when the guys came home - they'd think I struck out with Vanessa if I was asleep before them.

I was back at the spot where we'd first made love - our bodies still imprinted in the sand. I remembered how soft her skin was, the way she shivered when I touched her; the taste of her sweet lips; the scent of her perfume... I stood there for a long time, wondering what would have happened if I hadn't gone to her room; if I had just let things fall into place on their own. I was sure she was just as into me as I was into her - she had pretty much implied we'd be having sex again, promising we'd have "plenty of time to finish" when she left me on the beach - so why didn't I just wait?

"SIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDD!" Jordan yelled from downstairs, breaking my flashback.

I dragged myself out of bed, knowing I would never get back to sleep with these guys in the house. I figured I'd play along for the question-and-answer period and then feign sickness or something, depending on where they wanted to go. I was not in the mood to run into Vanessa today.

"It's about fucking time... long night, bro?"

I shrugged, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"What the hell is that? We're waiting for details," Marc-Andre piped up.

"Or maybe there are no juicy details. Hey Sid - bet you two stayed up all night and talked, didn't you?" Max laughed, reaching over to high-five the rest of the guys who laughed along with him.

"No one resists the Captain," I lied, putting my feet up on the table.

"I thought you said she didn't know who you were?"

"She doesn't, I'm just irresistible."

A newspaper was whacked over my head as Brooks strolled into the kitchen with his mug of coffee.

"Get your stank feet off the table, we eat on that thing!"

"So, what was she like? Big tits? Nice ass?" Max made a big round gesture with both hands.

"Nice everything," I replied, setting my feet on the ground. "She was perfect, man."

"Was?" my old friend Mario laughed. "What, you got rid of the evidence or something? Introduce us tonight."

"Beach. Now," Geno interrupted, dumping his plate into the sink. "Girls waiting."

"La Russe est vraiment," Max said, rising from his seat. "Sid, you lead the way. I'm sure Yasmine has friends she can hook us up with."

"Nah, gonna lay low for a bit...don't want her getting all clingy and shit."

"That's why you have to make the terms clear from the start!" Max shook his head. "So young, so much to learn."

I rolled my eyes. "You only get ass because you know me."

"Touche, my friend, touche."

"You guys go ahead without me...I have some more sleeping to do."

Max shrugged. "Suit yourself. Allons-y, boys!"

And with that, my friends cleared the villa and I went back to bed. It was going to be a long day.