Three

Each day, we get a chance to write our life on a new page. Leave no regrets.....

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The first things Ellie noticed when she woke up was the sun aiming at her face and her head that was pounding incessantly. She let out a pained groan as she took a few seconds to acclimate to the light. The room smelt like coffee and cologne and it felt different. The position of the bed felt wrong and her bed had never been this soft and fluffy.

Her head flew off the pillows as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. The sun had never streamed into her eyes before not even when she had left the blinds open. She wondered if someone had changed the position of her bed, or worse if this wasn't her bed and belonged to a stranger.

Her gaze landed on a picture of her and her best friend Parker, then she groaned, immediately finding her bearing. Parker would definitely give her hell for getting drunk in the middle of work week, but it was better than the embarrassment of waking up in a stranger's bed, with little or no memory of how she got there. And she had been well on her way to a drunken one night stand when Parker found her.

She remembered a little bit of the night before. Chugging shots of tequila alone at the bar. Then dancing on a table, before being led to the center of the stage, where she proceeded to grind into every male crotch available. It was while on one of said crotches that Parker had cut in.

"Christ! It's too early to be thinking about crotches," she groaned.

She kicked off the blanket and wasn't surprised she was dressed in another one of Parker's shirt and her panties. She looked around for her purse and cell phone, then sighed when she couldn't find it.

Her breath reeked of alcohol, so she proceeded to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Coffee could wait, she didn't want to kill Parker with her morning, alcohol-infused breath. God knew he had helped her a lot. She used the toilet after brushing, flushed, then washed her face.

Her head was still pounding, but she felt a little better now that she was a little bit clean. Her stomach ached and she felt like she would throw up at any wrong movements.

Ellie slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where a shirtless Parker was making breakfast, and was answering a call at the same time. "Way to multi-task, asshole. I'm a few seconds away from curling into a ball and rocking," she muttered to herself.

Parker frowned at her as he muttered something on the phone, waited a seconds and then ended the call. He lifted her up, and placed her on the counter, not minding she was dressed only in his T-shirt. She winced as her stomach tightened at being lifted up. She relaxed only when he had set her up carefully on the counter. Parker would never drop her. She didn't know why she worried. There was a mug of steaming coffee beside her and she inhaled the smell.

"You have a hell of a lot explaining to do, Eleanor Parks," he scolded. Parker turned back to the stove where he was making breakfast.

Ellie reached for the coffee waiting beside her and sipped. It burned a little, but it felt too good. With the first hit of caffeine, the memories came rushing in. Throwing up on Parker's shoes, passing out, and then waking up in the middle of the night to the heavy hardness cradled by her ass. She had pushed into him, and Parker had groaned, rocking into her a little. She remembered him telling her to go back to sleep, and then she eventually did, but not without noticing that Parker didn't lose the erection.

She blushed so hard, and was grateful that Parker was currently focusing on the eggs in his fry pan. The thoughts and feeling of Parker's dick beside her ass promptly chased the embarrassing memory of puking on his shoes.

Parker turned and cocked his head, clearly waiting for an explanation to her weekday drinking. She had to blink furiously and swallow a mouthful of coffee before losing the blush and answering him.

"I know. I'm sorry I drank too much. Where's my cell phone? I need to call the office and let them know I might not come in today."

Parker set a plate of bacon and eggs on the table. "I called in sick for you. Why were you in a bar on a Tuesday night?" He lifted her from the counter so she could sit at the table. Her stomach tightened again, this time, she was sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol poisoning she was probably having. It was all Parker. Parker and his shirtless body; Parker's chest that had pressed against her, and his body that had warmed every bit of hers it came in contact with while lifting her from the counter and dropping her on the floor.

She shook her head to get back into best friend mode and not pervy, hot and bothered over this handsome man mode.

"A client threatened my life, my boss wants to fire me because I refused to go out to dinner with him, Denis dumped me, the list is long."

Parker frowned. "Wait. A client threatened your life? Are you sure?"

Ellie sipped on her coffee, then dug her fork into the eggs. "Yes. The guy is insane, he killed someone. We were pleading insanity for his case. His dad came to see me, then said he was going to kill me if his son ended up in a psychiatric hospital."

"Ellie, someone threatened your life and you went on a drinking spree? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you even so calm?" Parker was clearly angry, being the overprotective best friend he was, he didn't take kindly to Ellie being threatened.

Ellie herself was surprised at how calm she was. Only yesterday, she had been a big, crying mess of nerves, looking behind her shoulder every few seconds. Maybe it was the alcohol or because she was with Parker, Ellie wasn't sure, but she felt a sudden calm. "Well, I didn't know what else to do." She chewed on her bacon. "I couldn't even go to my stupid boss. The guy is out for my ass, literally and figuratively. He would demand something in return for helping out. I do not want to sleep with a married man and even if I do, it won't be Jimmy fucking Patterson."

"Jimmy is acting up again? He'll be hearing from me. Now who the hell is Denis?" Parker finally sat opposite her, his bare chest was glistening with sweat.

"Parker, don't do anything stupid. Jim is my boss," Ellie pleaded. She knew how Parker did things without reasoning when he was angry. He had gotten into numerous fights on her behalf all through their teenage years. Only recently, he had punched a guy for staring at her behind.

"Yeah, I won't touch his face. Who's Denis?"

Ellie shrugged. "The hockey player, he found someone younger. She's just nineteen." She said bitterly. "Thanks for breakfast." Thinking of Denis Stark still stung a lot. They had been together for only three months and while she hadn't been in love with him, she had invested a lot of time, money and effort in their relationship. Especially since she had to dress to fit in his circle. Thinking about the amount of money she spent on clothes alone made her mad.

Parker leaned forward, his hand held her chin. "Come on honey. You are far too pretty, you don't have to think about why he passed you up for someone younger. He's just a jerk who doesn't really know how to handle someone as awesome as you." His eyes left hers, lingering on her lips for a moment. "And he's not me." Parker whispered.

Her eyes widened. "Parks?"

Parker beamed. "Kidding, baby girl. Go get dressed, I'm going to see Joline. We'll stop by your house after I've had a chat with her."

Joline was Parker's girlfriend of almost a year. And Ellie absolutely disliked her. The woman was a nagging bitch, how Parker put up with her, she didn't know. "Why?" Ellie frowned.

"To let her know you'll be staying with me for now, and to discuss something personal. At least, till we figure something out about your client."

"No. I'll stay in my house, I don't want to put you out. Besides, Joline already thinks you have a thing for me. I don't want to give her any more ammunitions."

"You're staying here, I don't care what you or Joline have to say about it." Parker pushed his chair back, then stood up. "Get dressed, Ellie." He walked off towards the stairs.

Ellie's gaze followed his bare, tattooed back till he disappeared from sight. Parker was eye candy, but he was off limits. There was no part of him that she wasn't in love with. She loved his eyes, they were green with tiny specks of gold in it. If he tilted in the right direction and under the right light, his eyes reminded her of the woods they used to hike in as children. She also loved his hair, it always looked like someone had run a hand through his dark hair. It was longer at the top and some locks of it kept falling into his face, and he was always pushing it away.

It didn't help that he always teased her with the prospect of more. A huge part of her wanted him to be serious, but the other sensible part knew it wasn't possible. So, what she couldn't have, she made up for by drooling and fantasizing. She had so many Parker-filled thoughts while unwinding with her favorite bullet vibrator.

Ellie sighed, then gulped down her coffee. Staying with Parker would be hell on her nerves. It would be a test in self control. A part of her was excited to be spending time with her best friend. It had become harder to spend time together because of work and their various relationships. The other part was nervous. If only Parker felt a tiny bit of what she felt for him.