it to shove the memory out, or to jar some more loose. And hey, there was her other shoe just outside the bedroom door. Scooping it up as she crept towards the bathroom, she carefully closed the door behind her.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she whispered to her rumpled reflection in the bathroom mirror as she quickly dressed. And seriously, Rachel almost felt weak where she stood just thinking about how differently last night could have gone. She had been reckless and, well, stupid. Even if Tate hadn't shown up, she probably would have had just as many shots. And she wasn't this person, not really. She liked to have some drinks with her friends, and yes, that one time she had too many at the bar and Tate had to ride in on his fricken horse and save them, but if a cheating a-hole boyfriend isn't reason to drink a lot, then what is?
Still. She had to be just a little grateful that Tate was smart enough to call them a cab and that neither of them had been insane enough to attempt to drive. Her cell phone had about eight percent battery left, since plugging it into a charger was incredibly low on her priority list last night. She quickly looked up a cab company and dialed the number.
"Great Lakes Cab." His voice was gruff and loud and for some reason she was afraid Tate could hear it down the hall.
She cleared her throat. "Hi, I need a cab as soon as possible please."
"Address?"
Well shit. "Uhh, hang on." The man sighed on the other end of the phone, and she had to fight not to feel judged. C'mon, he worked for a cab company, like they weren't used to stuff like this. She didn't find anything on his ridiculously clean kitchen counters, and knowing that he had the second bedroom set up as an office, she treaded carefully down the hall. Hallelujah, a pile of mail sat on the corner. She picked up one envelope and quietly read off the address to the guy on the other end of the phone.
She heard a few clicks of a keyboard while she hurried back down the hallway.
"Okay, he'll be there as soon as he can."
"Wait, how long is soon?"
Another sigh. "Well, my closest guy is dropping someone off at the airport right now, should be there in about fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes?" she whispered as angrily as she could, then cringed at how loud even that sounded in the empty room. "You don't have anyone closer than that?"
"Sorry, sweetheart. That's the best I can do right now."
Rachel chomped down on her tongue to keep from responding to the condescending nickname. "Fine, I'll be waiting."
She relayed her credit card information to him since she didn't have cash. The guy clicked off the phone and she slumped against the counter, pushing one hand against her throbbing temple.
Even though she'd shut the bedroom door, she walked around the kitchen as quietly as possible and searched through his fridge until she found a full pitcher of water. She poured herself a large glass, and was lucky enough to find a bottle of ibuprofen in the first cupboard she opened. Tossing back three pills with the water, she decided that since they'd slept together, she would be forgiven for eating one of his bananas. Feeling a little bit better after draining two more glasses of water, Rachel couldn't help but think that it was a little cold to leave without even a note. But what was she supposed to say?
Thanks for the great time. I think. I don't really remember. I'm sure you were great though. Obviously you were since my hoohah feels like I was in a rodeo yesterday. Please don't tell your sister. Or I'll kill you.
She laughed, but really, it wasn't even slightly funny. She had never kept a secret like this from Casey or Liz. And she rubbed at her sternum thinking about doing it now. They'd been friends for so long, and been through so much together, that it killed her to do this. But the fact was that Liz would have her and Tate as good as married if she heard about it, and Casey would probably excommunicate her for the sheer fact that she'd seen Tate naked. On purpose. And kinda sorta would love to do it again, but sober.
She sank into his couch to wait for her ride to show up. The large window in his family room faced the