Claire woke up in a daze. Her body was absolutely soaked, her head hurt so bad she could barely see, and her mouth tasted like stale crap. She tried to sit up, but her muscles were so stiff she could barely move. She squinted out at her surroundings and recognized Alicia's back porch. She also realized that she was totally naked, Russell was gone, and it was pouring. Claire wrapped the wet blanket around her body and shuffled inside. The kitchen was empty, but Claire didn't think Alicia would mind if she fixed a pot of coffee. She really wanted to find some clothes, but was nervous of what else she might find in Alicia's bedroom. So she tucked the blanket tightly around her, shivering slightly as she searched the cupboards for coffee. Of course, the coffee was Italian made, probably almost 40 dollars an ounce, and the coffee machine was so high-tech that it took Claire nearly 15 minutes to figure it out.
"Need help?" Claire jumped around, nearly losing her blanket, to find Russell's friend looking amused.
"Yes, please," she replied quietly, blushing. He easily maneuvered the coffee machine so that it was spurting out caffeine in minutes. The aroma grew intoxicating as it filled the kitchen.
"I'm Eli," he spoke finally, getting two coffee cups out. "You're Claire, correct?"
"Yeah," she said wearily. "Is it safe for me to go get clothes from Alicia?"
"She's passed out, probably for the rest of the day," said Eli, his tone a little annoyed. "I'll grab you something." Claire sighed, and sat down at the mahogany dining table. She couldn't believe everything that had happened the night before. Never, in a million years, would she have pictured herself passing out drunk and naked next to a stranger on a hammock. She felt tears spring to her eyes as the humiliation set in.
"Claire?" Eli stood before her, holding out a pair of black leggings and a red tank top. "I didn't think Alicia's jeans would really suit you." Claire knew he really meant fit her, and the tears fell faster. She tried to hide her eyes as she took the clothes, but was pretty sure Eli saw her crying. She was grateful when he directed her to the bathroom without mentioning it.
Once in the bathroom, she dropped the blanket and dried her hair with a towel and put on the clothes that Eli had found. Luckily, they were pretty reserved, just way too tight, like the rest of Alicia's clothes. Claire wished she knew where her underwear were, and hoped she didn't look too erotic in the skin-tight outfit. She wiped her eyes and put on a brave face before going back into the kitchen.
"How do you like your coffee?" Eli asked without looking at her. She hoped she hadn't made him too uncomfortable.
"Black," she said, sitting down. Eli turned to her with a dubious smile, but handed her the coffee, before loading his own with sugar. Alicia took a sip of the rich blende and sighed contentedly.
"Good?" Eli smiled. "I can't believe you drink this shit black. Must be a southern thing." He grinned.
"How do you know I'm a southerner?" Claire asked incredulously.
"Your accent," he explained.
"I barely have an accent," she said, impressed. "Most people don't even notice it." Eli shrugged, but looked smug.
"Why'd you move to New York?" he asked.
"Change of scenery, I guess," she admitted. "Everyone says that your dreams come true in New York."
"Yeah, in the city," laughed Eli. "Not around here. Usually this is the part of New York people only want to leave."
"So why are you here?" Claire challenged.
Eli looked at her defiantly, his brown eyes so light, they almost looked golden. He was about to answer when Alicia stumbled into the kitchen in just her underwear, looking distraught.
"Hey, guys," she mumbled. "E, can you get me one of those?" she gestured to the mugs of coffee. Eli tore his eyes from Claire, and began to mix Alicia's coffee in an expert way that made it clear he'd done it before.
"Where's Russell?" Alicia wondered aloud, making Claire blush.
"He had to work," Eli answered, "He'll be back around 3."
Claire glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was already 1:30. She rarely slept past 8. Then again, she had done a lot of unusual things in the last 24 hours.
Once everyone had woken up a little bit, Eli began to make a very late breakfast of French toast, tater tots, and Sunny D, since that was all Alicia had in her kitchen.
"Where does Russell work?" Claire asked shyly, not wanting to seem nosy.
"On a cow farm," Eli answered.
"In this town?" Claire asked incredulously.
"Claire, honey, you really need to get out more often," chuckled Alicia. "Drive 15 minutes north and there's all farm land." Claire nodded, feeling dumb. Luckily, nobody could tease her anymore before Tanya pranced into the room, a glass of wine in her hand, wearing a tiny denim skirt and a skin tight t-shirt. She had her cell phone pressed to one ear, and she was purring naughty things to someone on the other end. Claire wrinkled her nose at Tanya, wondering how someone as cool as Alicia could even like her.
