Free Romance: Military Romance: Protected by the SEAL (Contemporary Hero Bad Boy Navy SEAL Romance) (New Adult BBW Alpha Male Virgin Protector Short Stories) by Carla Parker Page B

guess,” she grumbled.
    We walked back towards the bar, arm in arm as she helped keep me upright. A headache was making its way across the right side of my brain and I just wanted to rinse my mouth out, drink a gallon of water and go to sleep. I could already foresee the hangover I’d have the next day.
    “So what happened to your guy?” Jess asked me and I wanted to tell her that I thought he was just eaten by a wolf. Or turned into one.
    “He left too…let’s go home I drank too much,” I mumbled to Jess and as we stepped into the lit parking lot of the bar she saw that I didn’t look too well.
    “You’re such a lightweight. You’re gonna have a killer headache tomorrow.” I simply groaned as she packed me into the passenger seat of her car, and then got into the driver’s seat to drive us to my place. Before I passed out all I could see were moonlight-colored eyes, and that giant white wolf.
    *****
    Waking up was immensely difficult, mostly because my entire skull felt like it had been jackhammered. My eyes could not open because facing the light would be ridiculously painful. I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face into the pillows. I’ll just stay in bed today , I thought. It was a Saturday after all and I didn’t have to work until Monday.
    Memories of the night before flashed through my mind and I sat straight up in bed. Tarik…in the woods—and the wolf…? Had it all really happened? I rubbed my throbbing temples and laughed at myself. What was I thinking? Of course Tarik hadn’t really turned into a giant white wolf and ran off into the woods. That was ludicrous and anyway, I had been drunk. I could’ve seen anything.
    I forced my eyes to open and squinted against the afternoon light pouring into my bedroom. I wondered where Jess had gone, if she was still here or had driven back to her house. I pulled back the sheets and scooted to the edge of the bed to stand up and stretch. Jess waltzed into the room then, holding a bag from our favorite diner in Keene Valley.
    “I think the drive was worth the hangover food. You can thank me later,” Jess said with a wink as she walked over to the window bench that we often sat at to talk and eat. Smelling the delicious greasy goodness coming from that take-out bag I could have just kissed Jess.
    “You’re perfect, I love you,” I said, and she laughed while beckoning me over.
    “Come on, before it get’s cold.” I glanced towards my bathroom door and winced while I imagined what a mess I looked like.
    “I need to freshen up a bit, I feel like Frankenstein’s wife,” I said before hurrying into the bathroom, which was a bad idea as my head took a moment to catch up with my body. When it did, it pounded at me to move slowly from then on. I quickly freshened up and changed out of last night’s clothes that I was still in. I wore something comfortable; sweat pants and a tank top. I wasn’t leaving the house that day, so no need to look too presentable.
    “You look better already, what do you have in there, magic toothpaste?” Jess asked and I laughed, but then cringed, as my head didn’t appreciate the loud sound at all.
    “No, but my head is killing me,” I groaned and walked around the bed to join Jess on the long window seat. There were pancakes, hash browns, eggs, and bacon spread out. It all smelled delicious. I grabbed a fork and dug in, Jess and I ate in comfortable silence for a few moments.
    *****
    “So, do you remember much about last night?” Jess asked me, I looked up at her and saw it in her eyes that she was laughing at me.
    “So I haven’t had a drink in a while, whatever, I remember everything fine.” I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed out loud.
    “So what happened with your guy then? I thought you went with him for a walk?” Jess asked curiously, her expression eager for details.
    “I…um, we walked,” I answered vaguely. I really wanted to move on from this line of conversation because I didn’t