Something about the question seemed to amuse him, a protracted effort required to wrest his facial expression back under control. “That’s a story for another day. One where I’m not so drunk.” He ran a hand through his hair. “How much have we drunk, anyway?”
I held the bottle up so he could see the level of the liquid, less than half of it remaining. “A lot.”
He stared at it for a long moment and then smiled. “Might as well keep going, then.” He snagged his glass off the floor, losing the straw now it wasn’t required, and leaning forward to clink it against mine. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Interesting question, which I recognized despite my drunken state, pissed on my assumption that he’d asked me to stay in order to seduce me. Unless he was just playing games. “No girlfriend.” A long pause. “Aren’t you going to ask me if I have a boyfriend?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
He nodded. “Is it easier with men?”
“Easier?”
His frown said he wasn’t sure what he meant. “Like… more straightforward. Less bullshit. Less having to work out what they really mean. You know, like the whole, if they say they’re fine, it doesn’t mean they’re really fine. You need to listen tohowthey’ve said it. Katrina used to do that all the time. Although… she’s not the best example.”
“Depends on the man.”
“Right. I guess that makes sense.”
While he contemplated my words, I studied him, relieved beyond belief that I hadn’t acted on my impulse to make a pass at him. How embarrassing would that have been if I’d thrown myself at a straight man? A straight man who was too young, and who also happened to be Cillian’s baby brother. What the fuck had I been thinking to even contemplate going there? That was easy enough to answer and had me placing my still half full glass back on the table without drinking any more of it. “I think I should probably get some sleep.”
“Yeah?” Cormac sounded surprised. After a protracted pause, he shrugged. “Sure.” He jerked his head toward the guest bedroom. “I’m going to stay up, so you take the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.” He grinned. “Either that or I’ll pluck up the courage to sleep in my brother’s bed.”
“I’d change the sheets first,” I commented as I rose unsteadily to my feet, that last vodka seeming to have pushed me over theedge, and the room swimming slightly. “He and Finn have what you might call an active sex life.”
“Ugh! Don’t tell me that. I do not want to think about my brother being a sexual being.”
“Because he’s gay?” I had to ask, leaning on the back of the sofa for support while I waited for the answer.
Cormac shot me a dirty look from his position still on the floor. “Because he’s my brother. I can tell you don’t have siblings. Would you want to think about your dad getting it on with someone?”
If it stopped him from drinking, then yes.“No.”
“There you go, then.”
“Bed,” I announced. I pushed myself away from the sofa and immediately stumbled.
Cormac snorted out a laugh. “Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He laughed all the harder. “You’re right. There’s no distinction between men and women and them saying they’re fine when they’re not. You do it, too.”
Ignoring him, I made my way to the bedroom, tipping fully clothed onto a bed that smelled faintly of an unfamiliar cologne and falling asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. Although passing out might have been a better description.
Chapter Five
The banging headache I woke up with the next morning came as no surprise. Neither did Cormac’s no-show while I showered, dressed, and forced myself to eat a slice of toast that would either make me feel better or make me vomit.
The sofa was empty, so I assumed he’d gone for his brother’s bed, after all. Once I’d fed Quasimodo—and hadn’t vomited—I pondered the etiquette for new acquaintances who you’d gotten horribly drunk with. Make them some breakfast? Leave them a note?
In the end, I did neither, the need for my own bed winning out, and settled on just letting myself quietly out of the flat and leaving him to it. No doubt Cormac would appreciate the solitude to nurse his own hangover when he finally dragged himself out of bed.
