| |
Adam Maguire never needed to justify a night out with his mates, but at least his birthday provided a legitimate excuse. The shots may have been too much though, which was probably why Cade had bailed on him. Typical. The man ordered the sambuca, then he piked out.
But the night was still young, in the literal sense of the wee hours, when he and his new friends left the Royal Hotel.
‘To the park!’ the foreign guy called. Adam couldn’t remember his name. He’d just met the bloke and there were many overseas workers who passed through Elizadale. ‘Nothing better than partying in nature!’
Adam swigged from the rum bottle as they walked, the warm liquid filling his belly to battle the cold evening. Or morning. Whatever. Adam didn’t particularly care as he stumbled into Elizadale Memorial Park.
The pretty girl beneath his arm pressed her hand to his chest. ‘Steady there. If you fall over, there’ll be no picking you up.’
‘I’m good.’ He pulled her to his side and pressed his mouth to her temple, inhaling her sweet scent of shampoo and roses. ‘You sure you don’t want rum?’
She shook her head, her dark hair swishing. ‘You know I don’t like rum.’
‘Dunno why.’ He took another swig. ‘Rum’s gooood.’
Laughing, she squeezed him around the waist. Adam hadn’t planned on hooking up tonight, and if he hadn’t already started on the shots when he’d met her at the pub, he may have taken the woman home. But it was too late for that and he wanted to dance.
‘Anyone got music?’ the foreigner asked. ‘Should get some Trollfest playing around here. They’re good for drinkin’.’
‘Nah, mate, this is ‘straya.’ The other man laid his hand on the foreigner’s shoulder. ‘We sing Slim.’
‘Yes!’ Adam cheered and thrust the rum into the other bloke’s hand. ‘Drink up, bud. We’ll teach this Euro bloke about good music.’
His mate lifted the rum, but the other woman in their group quickly snatched it away.
‘What do you think you’re doing? Don’t share your rum. It’s your special birthday present.’
‘Aww, come on,’ Adam said, grasping the bottle as she thrust it back at his chest. ‘I’m just being friendly.’
She smiled widely and shimmied closer. ‘If you want to be friendly, we can ditch this lot and go back to my place.’
She pressed her mouth to his and forced his lips apart as her arms snaked up around his neck. Adam blinked, his hands tightening around the bottle between them. He drew away and stumbled backwards. ‘No. I told you, I want to party.’ He took another gulp of rum. ‘And we’re not ... I don’t want ...’
‘Leave him alone.’ The warm, kind woman wrapped her arm back around his waist. ‘We’re having fun here and Adam’s not going anywhere with you.’
‘Stay out of this. What’s between Adam and I—’
‘There’s nothing between you and Adam. And he’s not leaving.’
Adam shook his head. ‘No. I’m not.’
‘We wanna dance!’ The foreigner spun around on the grass holding his vodka bottle in the air. ‘Come on!’
A familiar guitar riff sounded from the other bloke’s phone and Adam grinned. ‘Hell yeah! Line ‘em up!’
‘Fine.’ The woman threw her hands in the air. ‘Be like that.’
Adam wrapped his arm around the guy’s shoulders, forgetting about the woman as he sang Aussie classics at the top of his lungs and shared his bottle of rum. The music didn’t stop. Nor did the drinks. There was laughter. More kissing.
Next thing Adam knew, light speared into his consciousness. He squinted, his throat dry and head pounding as the grass itched at his back. Groaning, he rolled over and glanced around.
The park? What was he doing in the park?
Adam winced. Fuck, he felt like shit. His head, his guts. Had he drunk the whole bottle of rum?
He shivered, his bare skin cold against the grass. Where was his shirt? He curled his toes. No shoes. Pants? Yes, he was wearing pants. Thank fuck.
Gritting his teeth, Adam forced himself to sit, blinking until the dizziness eased. There was no sign of his shirt. Nobody else around. He’d slept there. Alone?
Bile rose in his throat, and he dropped his head into his hands. What the fuck had happened last night?
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. It was mid-morning and he had missed calls from his brother. Groaning, Adam called him back.
‘Hey,’ Jack said, sounding rightfully pissed. ‘Where are you?’
‘The park.’
‘Why?’
‘Dunno. Can you come get me?’
Jack made a sound Adam had heard many times before, a mix of a grunt and a sigh, likely accompanied by an eye roll. ‘You had a big night, then?’
‘Must have.’ Exhaling, Adam ran his hand down his face. ‘Can’t remember, though. Where were you?’
‘I left after dinner when you and Cade went to Smithy’s.’
Adam scratched his head. That made sense. He’d had dinner with Jack and their friends at the Royal Hotel, then he and Cade had moved on to the other pub, Smithy’s. But after that ... he couldn’t recall a single thing.
‘You ’right, mate?’ Jack asked.
‘Dunno. Feel like shit.’ Adam’s gut tightened and he forced out a breath. ‘You coming?’
‘I’m on my way.’
They hung up. Adam pushed to his feet and his vision blurred. Rubbing his eyes, he scrolled through his phone and called Cade. His mate answered after a few rings, yawning. ‘How’d you pull up?’
‘Where are you?’
‘Home. Why?’
‘Did you come to the park?’
‘Why would I go to the park?’
Adam frowned. ‘Well, I did. You weren’t here?’
‘No, I left you at Smithy’s with a bunch of farmers. You were talking about going back to the Royal. Don’t you remember?’
‘No. I don’t even know how I got here. Head’s all fuzzy and—’
‘Shit, mate.’ Alarm filled Cade’s voice. ‘What the fuck did you drink?’