After Tonight

My head was pounding and my stomach rumbled. I hadn’t been this sick since high school and that was the year I had Mono. And no, I did not get it from kissing anyone.
“Tom just called, love.” Rob sat on the edge of our bed, setting a glass of water on the bedside table. “What do you want me to do?”
One of Rob’s best friends from back home had come into town for a few days. They were going to meet up somewhere with a few of their other friends.
“Rob, go!” I waved my arm in the air. “Really, I’ll be fine. I’ll just take something and I’ll be knocked out for the night.” He stared at me apprehensively. “Trust me. I’ll be alright.”
“Let me call someone for you. Maybe Allie—still on honeymoon, never mind. What about Grace?”
“I’ve had my Grace quota for the month.”
“You know Jo and Keith are busy.” Rob kept his distance from me, only pressing his palm to my forehead. “You’re getting really hot.”
“Why thank you.” He smiled. “Rob, really. I’ll be fine. Just go have fun with Tom—how often do you get to see him?”
Rob left the room, making sure to turn out all the lights. Lights only made my head spin more. After taking a tablespoon of something orange that I found in the medicine cabinet, I tucked myself back into bed. I dozed off for a while, going in and out of sleep to different voices coming from the living room.
Then I heard the high-pitched laughter that belonged to my sister, Grace. What a stupid bastard. I groggily rolled out of bed, clutching the oversized sweatshirt I had on.
“Well look who’s up!” Grace greeted loudly from where she stood in the kitchen. “How are you feeling?”
I trudged up to her, rubbing my eyes. My hair was in a messy bun, sticking out at every angle imaginable. I was in a pair of sweats I’d had since playing intramural volleyball in college and I had a giant sweatshirt that my dad used to wear in Chicago. I could feel my eyes burn red from lack of sleep and the room would not stop whirling.
“How does it look like I’m feeling?” I walked past her and hit Rob in the stomach.
“Ouch!” He winced but continued drinking his beer.
I went to the fridge to grab a water bottle and noticed a strange man sitting on my countertop.
“What are you doing in my house?” I looked at him, clearly baffled. Then I staggered back against the sink. Oh, I did not feel well at all.
“Love, this is Tom.” He steered me in the direction of the fridge again and turned to Tom. “She’s not usually this friendly.”
I stopped in my tracks and held my stomach. Instead of throwing up all over Rob’s friend, I left them in the kitchen in search of one of the two bathrooms. Thankfully I found a toilet before my lunch came up.

Rob’s P.O.V.
“I’ll be right back.” I nodded to Tom and left him with Grace. They’d hit it off quite well, though she wasn’t the Jones girl I was worried about him liking.
“Abbey?” I walked to the bathroom and stood by the door. “Love, what do you need?” I knelt down beside her and reached to move some stray strands of hair back from her face.
“I need you to go out with your friends and get drunk. I promise I won’t hold it against you when you come home and need me to take care of you. Really.” She lifted her head up at the sound of the front door opening. A few more voices carried through the rooms. “Just get everyone out of here, I hate when people see me like this.”
“Even me?” I laughed lightly, pulling her back into my chest. She sighed, smiling, and closed her eyes.
“Oh, especially you.” She patted my cheek. “You’d better get out of here before Grace has a date scheduled with all of your friends—for your own sake.” I kissed her forehead. I hated leaving her like this but I knew she just wanted to get some rest.
“Come on, I’ll tuck you in.” I winked—yes, I winked—and helped her up. I waited while she splashed her face with water and then led her back to the bed.
“Just get some rest, alright?”
“Ai iy, Captain.” Abbey saluted me weakly, a soft laughter escaping her lips.
“That’s my girl.” I kissed her forehead once more and left, closing the door tightly behind me.
A few of the guys made catcalls, grinning wickedly.
“She’s sick, you stupid blokes.” I shook my head, unable to keep a smile off of my face.
“Jesus, from the way I’ve heard you talk about her I’d be willing to bet you’d take her regardless.”
True.
I walked past the kitchen to get my jacket. Tom and Grace were still sitting on top of the counters drinking their beers.
“So I’ll give you a call before I leave, then?” I overheard Tom whisper.
“Yeah, that’d be great.” Grace answered, equally as quiet. Wouldn't Abbey get a kick out of this?
“Have fun guys. Rob, don’t worry—I’ll take care of her.” Grace winked, finishing her beer. I rolled my eyes and closed the door.
…
“So Grace, huh?” I looked askance at Tom, who sat beside me at the bar. The other wankers, Sam and Brian, had taken to talking the owner of the place into setting up and open-mike night.
“She’s cute.” Tom didn’t look at me. “Don’t say anything to her sister—Grace said she’d blow a gasket.” I chuckled.
“Nah.”
“Abbey’s quite a little spitfire, eh?” Tom laughed, watching our friends plead with the manager.
“Yeah, but really—you should come over tomorrow. I know she won’t be so bad. She’s just a little under the weather—”
“Man, I get it. It’s alright. You act as if just because I saw her wild-eyed and nauseous for fifteen minutes that I’m going to write to your mum and say ‘Why yes, that Abbey is a dreadful American’—it’s me, Rob.”
“I know, I know.”
“You haven’t asked her yet, have you?” Tom looked at me now, setting down his beer.
“No.” I inhaled deeply. “I don’t know how.”
“That’s the best way to ask ‘em.”
“Oh, and you know this how?” I looked at him.
“No, but I’ve heard it. How memorable can it be if you’ve gone through hoops to make it cheesy? The only thing you’re going to remember is searching high and low for a thousand stupid candles. And if there’s one thing I can tell about your Abbey, it’s that she’d sock you a good one if you asked her on one knee in a bed of rose petals.”

Abbey’s P.O.V.
I hadn’t been able to sleep at all. So instead of trying harder, I wandered out in the living room. Grace was stretched out on our sofa watching Sex & the City.
“Hey.” I muttered, taking one of the plush chairs that I’d found in a little shop down the street. It was lemony-yellow and roughly the size of a Smart Car. Or a cow…I wasn’t sure which one was bigger. Regardless, it was my favorite place to sit—whenever Rob wasn’t pre-occupied.
“Feeling better?” Grace took a sip from the Coke can beside her head.
“Nah. Just couldn’t sleep.” Grace looked at me, setting the can back down.
“Let me get you a blanket.”
She stood over me, draping me with a blanket. I didn’t protest to the sudden selflessness that had possessed my selfish sister. I did, however, protest the smell of beer on her breath.
“You had a beer?” I looked up her accusingly. “You give me shit all the time for drinking beer.”
“Tom offered me one.” Grace looked surprisingly sincere. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Rob’s friend, Tom?” I watched her reaction.
“Er, yeah. He’s nice.”
“I see.” I saw it all too well. Grace had a thing for Tom. What had I told Rob?
She sat back down on the couch, locking eyes on the television. Quietly, she nursed her Coke, a serene look across her face.
“Rob said we’re having him over tomorrow.” I prodded a little more.
“Who?” Ah ha, I’d hit the jackpot.
“Tom. Rob’s friend.”
“Oh yeah, tomorrow?” She tried to look uninterested.
“You wouldn’t want to come would you?” I glanced at Grace through the corner of my eye. She still hadn’t taken her eyes off Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big. “You know, ‘cause I’m sure he’ll get bored with just Rob and I…”
I had no idea what Tom was like. I’d been around the guy for fifteen minutes. “Really?” Grace looked up at me, attempting to mask her excitement. “You don’t mind?” I shook my head. “So what time should I be here?”
…
“She likes him, Rob.” I watched as he got ready for bed. “I invited her tomorrow—I hope that’s alright.” Rob grinned at me as he climbed underneath the covers.
“Well then, you should know, love, they’ve already exchanged numbers.” He kissed my neck. I groaned—my stomach swirled again.
I got up and went into the bathroom. After another wave of vomit, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
“So now I’m nauseating?” I shushed him and thought about what he’d said before I had to throw up.
“They already have one another’s numbers?” I pulled the covers up to my neck and closed my eyes.
“You weren’t supposed to know…so pretend I didn’t tell you.”
I laughed at how odd this was. My usually loud, expressive sister had been uncharacteristically quiet and poised about the dinner invitation. And to find out they’d already been planning to meet for lunch was mind-boggling.
To me anyway.
…
“Feeling better?” Tom slipped his coat off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. He smiled.
“Yes. A lot actually.” I leaned against Rob, whose arm was wrapped around my shoulders. “Sorry about last night…I think it was the 24-hour bug.”
“Nasty little bugger, eh?” Tom laughed and followed Rob into the kitchen.
Grace was next to arrive. She eagerly slipped out of her pink jacket and fluffed her hair.
“Do I look alright?” Her brown eyes were big and shining. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, new. Her caramel-colored hair was straight and hung past her shoulders. I couldn’t lie to her.
“You look gorgeous.” I smiled and rubbed her shoulder, leading her into the kitchen.
Rob and I stole glances at one another throughout the entire meal. Tom and Grace would not shut up. It was beginning to get to me until Rob started tracing shapes on my thigh underneath the table.
“Just let them go.” He rubbed my thigh encouragingly and took another swig from his glass.
So I did. Afterwards, we decided to go out. Instead of protest about not going to some fancy club, Grace excitedly accepted the fact that we were going to get coffee.
“How long are you in town?” I blew on my coffee and looked at Tom. He sat beside Rob at the small table, watching Grace as she selected sometime from the jukebox in the corner.
“Till tomorrow.” He sounded disappointed. “I think I leave some time around twelve in the afternoon. Rob says his folks are coming for Christmas—that’ll be fun, eh?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait!” I mashed my hands together out of excitement. “I’ve got to start getting things ready.”
“Abbey, it’s the middle of November.” Rob drank his coffee.

Rob’s P.O.V.
“She’s excited, mate.” Tom hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Grace since she’d walked through the door. Telling me that I was doing Abbey wrong by not telling her about my mum’s “concerns” was no exception to that.
“I know.” I watched Abbey walk over to Grace. I had to admit, I was glad that they were getting along enough for Tom to get to know Grace. Abbey was being a real sport about inviting her baby sister to hang out with us. “But I can’t tell her. It will ruin everything. I just have to let it play out.”
“Suit yourself.”