Kim woke up the next morning with her head pounding. She cracked open her eyes to darkness. Whoever tucked her in the night before knew exactly how she’d be feeling. Her muscles in her body ached and she could feel a bruise growing on her calf. She waited a few moments until the room stopped spinning to really try and stand up.

Once she did, she realized she was still in her blue gown. Another reason to respect her roommate. She held onto the walls as she walked down the stairs, and smelled the scent of freshly made breakfast.

“Good morning!” Gerald said in a chirpy attitude.

“Shhhhh!” Kim spat, sitting down on the couch and resting her head on the arm rest. “Not so loud, my head feels like it keeps on growing and will pop soon.” She groaned. “I don’t even remember the last time I had a hangover. It’s horrible, remind me to never drink again.”

He laughed at her fragility. “I told you stop drinking. You didn’t want to listen,” he walked to her with his palm opened. “Here, take this.”

Kim squinted at his palm. “What is it?”

“Two advils, a bottle of water and a beer.” He put the items on the table in front of her. “It’s every hangover’s cure.” He also placed a pair of sunglasses on her lap.

Kim let Gerald open her bottle before she took a huge gulp of it. “I remember champagne,” she said putting the shades on. “I was drinking my champagne, and I think I drank your champagne.”

Gerald laughed, “You drank everyone’s champagne…right from the bottle. And you did. You did tell me to stop,” she shivered at the taste and swallowed the pills whole with another gulp of water.

 “I also remember dancing.” Her head shot up, and her hand found it fast as it started to pound again. “We danced.”

“And you lied. You said you wouldn’t remember so I danced with you.” He said, eating an apple and sitting on the opposite chair’s armrest.

Kim smiled, “I was laughing…a lot.” She said.

“Yeah, you were laughing. It was good for you.”

Her smile faltered and she combed her hair back with her fingers. Her eyes welling up in tears, and throat growing with a lump. “I forgot my baby and I laughed.” She covered her face and let out a quiet sob, voice cracking. “Gerald, how could I have done that?”

“Hey, Kim, you didn’t forget. You’ve been through so much, and it’s still a long road. It’s okay if you took a break and just laughed for a little while. You know the best gift you could give to your daughter is to live you life to the fullest and the best you could.”

“I don’t know how.”

“We’ll figure it out. A little at a time. And to start…” A knock was on the door.

Kim wiped her eyes and sighed.

Gerald opened the door and let his sister in. “And we got a stow-a-way bride.” He joked.

“Ha ha,” she mimicked laughter. “Kevin couldn’t get this week off, so we’re having our honeymoon pushed back ‘til next month. It doesn’t mean we didn’t have a honeymoon night.”

“Ew!” Gerald groaned. “TMI, little sis. I don’t need to hear what you and your husband did last night. I can still beat the crap outta him,” he said handing his half eaten apple to Kim.

She took a bite to finish it off. “What are you doing here?”

“I was planning on stealing you away for brunch. Unless you already had it?” she raised her eyebrows at the fact that Kim was still in her dress and hair bed-messy and Gerald had a smile on his face.

“Kim has a hangover,” Gerald corrected her gaze.

“A really bad one,” Kim groaned face in hands, “But I think brunch is exactly what I need. Give me ten minutes to take a shower and change.” She got up and stumbled on her feet. Gerald was in front of her within seconds and caught her in his arms.

“I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to kiss you,” she remembered. Kim looked up at his face and he was smiling at her. She blinked again and she was back at the night before. “But I’m drunk. And I don’t know if this counts.” She shook her head and looked at Gerald once again. “Thanks,” she said.

“Anytime,” he said.

She stared at him blankly, not knowing if he meant it as in ‘I’ll help you anytime,’ or an ‘I can kiss you anytime.’ Of course it was the first one, they probably hadn’t kiss. She didn’t remember, she was wasted. If they did, wouldn’t they have talked about it? Or maybe she dreamed it, as in dreaming of Gerald kissing her. It was true that she had thought about it. Thought of his lips moving in unison with hers, his breath whispering across her body, his hands exploring every contour and curve she possessed.

“Kim? Are you finished staring at my brother?” Darling asked. She held her hand out.

Kim’s eyes darted from Gerald to Darling and back again. “Yeah,” she chuckled. “Sorry, I’m just trying to remember what else happened last night.” She let go of Gerald’s hand and walked passed him slowly, pulling the sunglasses down her head.

“Okay then, I’ll have her back in a couple of hours. Maybe she’ll help me pick something else out for tonight.” Darling laughed.

“Again, baby sister, too much information,” Gerald groaned. “Hey Kim!” He called.

Kim turned to face him, “Shouldn’t you get out of your gown?”

She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks and laughed to herself. “Right. Darling…can you help me up there?” She asked.

Darling nodded and went to her. When Kim walked passed Gerald, she got smashed into another flashback of the night before.

Gerald’s hands splayed on her stomach as she worked on his tie. His lips traveling down from her luscious, swollen red lips, to her soft silky skin of her neck, and the exposed area of her collarbone. Kim moaned aloud, letting him know she may be willing, but he damn well knew she wasn’t aware, and a part of him didn’t even care.

His lips found hers again, and he slid his tongue into , taking control and possession. He ran his tongue through the damp recesses, soaking up the moisture it held, reveling her sweetness. Hid body burned and throbbed more from this one awaiting kiss than any other ual experience in his lifetime.

She found herself melting and molding against him. Kim opened wider and tilted her face, giving him more access. She moved her hands all the way up from his strong, hard abs to the thin strands of his thick hair. Kim trailed down his jaw with short, sweet kisses and kissed the hollow center of his throat…

Darling locked the door behind her and snapped her fingers three times to catch her attention. “Hello?! What the hell are you thinking about? I know that look, you are thinking about something y.”

She smiled and shook her head, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh God, you’re thinking about my brother, aren’t you?” She said, going into her closet and choosing her outfit without any permission.

“Give me five minutes to take a quick shower,” Kim said. “I’ll be out and ready for brunch, I promise.” When she opened the door again, she covered her face in her hands and couldn’t believe what happened just hours before. It could’ve been a dream, but her memory was too vivid, too real. She looked down at her arms and could still feel the imprint he left.

After her shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and opened the bathroom door to let out the steam. She flipped her hair over her head and wrapped another towel around it, sandwiching her hair, and flipped her hair back up. “Oh my gosh, you scared me!” Kim exclaimed when she saw Gerald staring at her.

“So that’s where all the hot water goes,” he said, waving at all the steam around him.

Being in only a towel in front of him made her nervous. She chuckled, “I should go get ready.”

Gerald grabbed her arm, and Kim looked up entranced by his lips just inches from hers. “Don’t go out until your hair dries. You’ll get sick.” He let go of her, but not until he got another whiff of her strawberry vanilla shampoo and conditioner, making her that much edible.

When Kim and Darling made it to the restaurant, she took a seat and dived into her plate of crepes and waffles.

“Wow, slow down. I knew there was something bothering you. A woman doesn’t chow down on crepes and ice cream in less than two minutes unless it’s serious comfort food. What’s up?”

Kim looked up and downed her glass of orange juice before looking at Darling. “How long do you think I should wait before dating again?” She directed.

Darling leaned back at her chair suddenly regretting that question. “Well, all specifics aside, anytime. I mean, there’s no difference between grieving for five weeks and grieving for five years. Whenever you’re ready, you’re ready. But honey,” she leaned forward and took Kim’s hand. “Maybe you should think those of us who are with you, for a lack of a better of saying it, those of us alive.”

“Who are you talking about?” She asked.

“Gerald. I mean, he likes you. Everyone’s seen it.” Kim nodded. “I mean, of course your daughter’s legacy is way more important, but before you go out with anyone, at least think of Gerald too.”

Kim closed her eyes and couldn’t believe she was about to say it aloud. She liked the thought of it in her head only. Once she said it, it happened and it was out there. No going back. “We kissed.” Darling choked on whatever was in and dropped her fork. “At least I think we did. I was really drunk last night.”

Darling swallowed and coughed, hitting her chest. “You kissed my brother?” Kim nodded. “How? How did it…how?”

“Like I said, I was drunk,” she dropped her elbows on the table and her head fell onto her hands. “I think I told him I wanted to. Let’s just say a lot of it is still fuzzy,” except the whole kissing part.

Darling raised her empty glass to a waiter. “And we are going to need something stronger than orange juice and water.”

“No, no, no. I am not drinking until at least another six months. Not after last night.”

“Wow, I didn’t think my brother was bad at kissing. Maybe because I’m a good one,” she laughed.

Kim chuckled. “I just don’t want to start anything too soon.”

“It won’t be too soon if the both of you are on the same track. Do you like my brother?”

Kim smiled at the thought of liking him and laughed. “I like him. I like him a lot.”

When she got home, Gerald was at the pool table shooting some balls. “Hey,” she said, hanging her jacket in the closet. “How was your day?”

He laughed, shooting his cue and the ball falling into the hole. “Not really productive. You?”

“Your sister has a lot of fashion sense, but can’t make up her mind,” she laughed taking another cue off the wall, and resting her chin on it. “So I was thinking about last night,” she blurted out, watching him pause at the table and miss the shot. “You weren’t half as drunk as me, so I wanted to know what else you remember.”

Gerald chuckled, “Nothing much, just a lot of laughing and dancing. You were drinking a lot and I caught the garter because you pushed me to it.” He motioned with his arm to let her shoot the balls.

Kim bent over and nodded, shooting a solid ball into a pocket.

He watched her bend over as her lean body encompassed a small portion of the table. She took control and knew how to play without any regret. “We got home and you forced me into dancing with you and then…”

She walked passed him, chest brushing against chest. “And then what?” She said, pausing just enough to look up at his face.

Gerald cleared his throat. Did he remember last night? Hell yes he remembered last night. Remembered the way her body fit in his embrace, her chest pushing against his own. He remembered her eagerness in each kiss she made making him want her pleasure more than his own. He remembered each and every kiss she placed on his body, the way her lips moved and how her hips swayed against his. He also remembered the damn ache in his chest when he stopped her and told her they couldn’t do this when she was drunk and how he carefully laid her on the bed and turned off anything that would “egg” on her hangover. He returned to reality when he caught her eyes. “Nothing.”

“So we didn’t kiss?” She asked, pushing passed him and sinking another solid ball. “It was a dream. I didn’t really tell you I wanted to kiss you? It wasn’t real?” Gerald didn’t look at her. “I was telling the truth. I really did want to kiss you the entire I’ve been living here. Too bad it didn’t happen.” She shrugged, knowing he was lying. With another shot, she sunk the last solid ball and smiled. “It looks I won,” she said.

And she did. She won a lot more than just a game a pool. “We should do this again some time…” she leaned into him. “When I’m not drunk.” And she didn’t mean the game of pool.

Sorry guys for the lack of an update. I'm super busy and couldn't update sooner. But here it is, hope you guys like it. Stay tuned for more! :D Good night