UNDER MY SKIN

three. hangover

Sam had been hungover before, many times. So many times that she had lost count over the last couple of years.

But that morning didn't seem so bad.

Her head ached, the light peeking in through the slit in the curtains made her eyes burn even if she hadn't opened them yet. She could feel the sore muscles from her ride throbbing just a little.

She had even felt the slightest bit nauseous, but none of that was a match for the strong arms that were wrapped around her. They were firm and solid and warm, pulling her into a perfect, solid, chest.

Her head was a little fuzzy, but she remembered. She remembered laughing as they stumbled through the gravel parking lot, across the highway, and towards the dinky motel.

It was a mess really, a hazard – as Sam had joked. Neither cared too much as they gripped at each other, more concerned about keeping their lips connected then they did about air. Or the lady they had nearly ran over when Tyler pushed the blonde against the wall of the motel, only then did he pull back to ask where her room was.

She remembered dragging him up the stairs, her hand wrapped around the front of his shirt – from the outside it may have looked like a kidnapping. But the smile on his face was the furthest thing scared.

She even remembered pinning him to the bed, her lips molding to his as she unbuttoned his shirt – his hands working at the buttons on her shirt.

And she remembered everything after she finally rid him of his clothes.

She snuggled into his chest, smiling but refusing to open her eyes. She wanted to stay there, wrapped in his arms, safe and warm, and for the first time in a while, not feeling like she was completely empty.

Tyler groaned a little, his arms tightening around her as he pressed a kiss to her blonde mess of curls, “mornin’, Sweetheart.”

Oh God. She thought his voice sounded so sexy in the morning, deep and so very drenched with sleep.

“Shhhh, go back to sleep.” She snuggled more into him, getting a chuckle from the man that was just as hungover as she was. He also shared the weird amount of joy that came with waking up next to each other.

“Breakfast.”

Her brows creased a little, “burrito.”

“What?” He chuckled.

“We're not playing a word association game?”

He laughed, the sound rough and gravelly, “no, baby, I meant we should get breakfast. Before the hangover gets worse.”

“Let it,” she mumbled, her cheek squished against his chest as she tangled her legs with his, hoping that the more of her body – that was only clad in his flannel – was pressed firmly against him, the more willing he'd be to stay right where he was. “Wanna stay.”

He chuckled, kissing the side of her head. She let out a sigh at the action, before it turned into giggles as he did it over and over and over again until her entire face was covered in little pecks.

And just as he brushed his lips against hers there was a knock on the door and they both groaned.

“T, you in there? Please be in there. If you ain't Ty, then I’m sorry for interruptin’...” Boone rambled on about having knocked on nearly ten other doors and Tyler sighed a little as he rested his forehead against Sam's.

“Yeah, Boone!” Tyler called out, and they both laughed at the relieved breath that left the man on the other side of the door.

“Sorry, to interrupt…” Boone spoke, his voice raised as he leaned against the door.

“Go let him in,” Sam sighed and Tyler mimicked the action, before he leaned in and softly brushed his lips against hers.

“...I was gonna call, but I thought that'd be…” Boone continued, not bothered as he got weird looks from the people roaming around the hotel – it was mostly rodeo types.

Tyler pushed himself up, tugged his jeans on as he made his way towards the door, and with a glance in Sam’s direction to see her laying down with the cover tucked under her chin, he pulled the door open and Boone fell backwards.

His words trailed off, his eyes going wide, his arms flailing in hopes of stopping him from hitting the ground. But it was Tyler that had caught him by his shoulders and righted him, “get in here.”

Boone smiled, patting his best friend's shoulder as he made his way into the room, “mornin’ Sammy.”

The response he got came in the form of a raised middle finger, he just hummed as Tyler pushed the door closed.

“What, Boone?” Tyler asked, plucking his white t-shirt off the floor and pulling it over his head.

“I know y'all were…um… busy. But, uh, we got that meetin’ with Dani, said we be there bright eyed and bushy tailed.”

Tyler groaned, sitting on the edge of the bed Sam still occupied, and she shifted closer to him.

“Right, I forgot.” He mumbled, reaching for his socks and his boots.

Boone just shrugged, his lips titled up on the right, making his grin the slightest bit crooked, “you were busy. But, uh, would’a been nice to have a room number. Knocked on this one door and this huge dude stepped out, had a lazy eye. Thought he was gonna crush me.”

“Lewie,” Sam mumbled. “Gotta say hey to him.” She kept her eyes closed and didn't make a move to get out of bed, even as Tyler reached back and tucked her hair behind her ear. The action brought a smile to her lips.

Boone smiled at the two as he sat in one of the chairs by the table. He'd gotten to see them become friends, he'd documented it all, and he had captured some moments where they looked at each other like they were more than friends.

He always knew they'd end up like this, and he hoped it continued past one night in a dingy motel room. Because he knew the truth, how could he not? He spent nearly every day with Tyler. And it was all the more obvious as the cowboy smiled at the blonde, who finally opened her eyes to meet his.

“I gotta go, Sweetheart.”

Sam didn't want him to leave, but she smiled up at him, “I know.”

“You gonna be in town for a while? Maybe we could meet up later?”

Her smile grew, making his grow, “yeah, I'd like that.”

Tyler leaned down, brushing his lips against hers, “I'll call you. Now, go back to sleep.”

He moved to get up, but she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to her lips, her fist tight around the soft fabric as she wrapped her other arm around his neck.

Boone turned, giving the two a little privacy then he pulled out his phone to busy himself.

Sam pulled back, softly pecking Tyler's lips, “you better call me.”

He grinned, “you know I will, baby.” He kissed her cheek, then pushed himself up. He pulled the covers up over her, and after leaving a quick kiss on her forehead – right where the pink bandaid resided – he and Boone left.

Boone wore a teasing smirk as he looked up at Tyler, who brushed a hand through his messy bed head before placing his hat on his head.

“Shut up.” Tyler shoved his shoulder and rolled his eyes, making the shorter boy laugh.

“I ain't said nothin’,” Boone merely raised his hands as if to prove his innocence and Tyler just shook his head, though he knew his best friend would never, ever, drop it.

>>>>> • <<<<<

Sam wasn't waiting around for her phone to ring. Her stomach didn't twist nervously every time it went off, and it definitely didn't sink every time it ended up being someone other than Tyler…

Only, it had.

She had never been that girl before, just waiting for her phone to ring, begging for it, but she couldn't help it.

She was nervous, and a little scared that maybe he regretted ever crossing that line.

They were friends, had been since the moment they met, and she was so scared that she had ruined it.

So, to get her mind off it, she showered and decided to drive into town with a few of her rodeo buddies.

Sam loved small towns, they had the cutest little  shops and all within walking distance of each other. And the prices weren't half bad either.

“Do you really need another pair of boots?” Greg asked, his eyebrow raised at the blonde as she showed off the boots she found at a little Western Boutique.

“Leave the girl be,” Charlie waved the man off before she settled her eyes on the other blonde woman. “Get the boots. You deserve ‘em.”

“Besides,” Abby interjected, -”a girl can never have too many boots.”

“Amen.” Aspen agreed, walking over to them her two bags of clothes she had bought.

Greg chuckled, rolling his eyes a little, “okay, Sam, get the boots. Then can we do something other than shopping? I was promised we'd hit the bar.”

“It's barely five o’clock,” Charlie told him as Sam sat down, pulling off the boots she had tried on.

“We’ll go to the bar later, we should probably eat first.” Sam told them as she pulled her old boots back on.  “Last time you went out drinking without eatin’, you were actin’ like you were gonna die. Ain’t puttin’ up with that shit again.”

The three girls laughed, especially when Greg narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms before leaving, the three girls followed after him all making jokes at his expense. Sam laughed as she watched them go before she put the boots back into the box, then she made her way up to the register.

As she leaned against the counter, smiling at the cashier, her mind wandered. She couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her gut… maybe he regretted it. He didn’t seem to regret it that morning, he actually seemed inclined to do it all over again right then and there. The bulge in his tight boxers had been proof enough of that. And he had said he wanted to, he had said so… but Sam knew, all too well, that someone could say something and not mean it.

She just never expected it from Tyler.

“Thank you,” she smiled at the lady after she paid, taking the bag she handed over. Then she left, smiling as she heard her friends laughing just a few feet in front of her.

She hated it, she really did, but she couldn’t stop the ache as it settled in her chest… Tyler had li- her phone rang, cutting off her internal despair. She pulled it from her pocket, not an ounce of hope left until she saw the name on the screen… Casanova - his doing, not hers.

"Casanova,” she greeted, a bit of a smirk playing on her lips.

“Hey, baby,” he smiled wide, which she could hear in his voice. God, when he called her baby, her heart thumped. But she knew better, so she kept herself in check. “Missed you today.”

“Yeah?” She asked, slowing her steps as she neared her friends.

“”Course.” He nodded, though she couldn’t see it. “So, you got any plans for tonight? Boone and I are gonna hit up a bar in town.”

“Just dinner with a couple of friends,” she told him, looking up to see all four of her friends now looking at her.

“Who’s that?” Greg asked, his deep voice carrying through the phone.

“A friend,” she answered.

“This friend got a name?”

“Is that Greg Mckinley?” Tyler asked, his brows creased – he recognized that voice.

“The one and only.” Sam hummed. “You know, since you left, he’s gotten a little too big for his britches.”

Tyler laughed, though he couldn’t help the rush of jealousy he felt.

“You talkin’ about me?” Greg’s brows pinched and she nodded, a small smirk playing on her lips.

“Oh, is that Owens?” Abby asked.

“As in Tyler Owens?” Charlie’s eyes went wide, making Sam laugh as she nodded.

“You still got a fan club,” Sam mumbled into the device, amused at the way Abby and Charlie gushed about how hot he was and how sad they were when he had left the rodeo.

“You still the president?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough.”

“Well, baby, you seemed to be a big fan last night.”

Her cheeks flamed, which went unnoticed as they all started down the sidewalk. Charlie and Abby were filling Aspen in on who Tyler was – she was relatively new on the circuit. And Greg was trying to get them to talk about anything else, because while he and Tyler had been friends, ever since he left, Greg had risen in the standings.

“Alcohol,” she shrugged, hoping to sound nonchalant. “I drank a lot last night, cannot be held accountable for my actions.”

“We both know you weren’t that drunk.”

“Besides, the way I remember it, you were the one begging.”

He took a breath, and she chuckled at the silence… then he spoke again, his voice a little lower, “please meet me at the bar tonight, please, baby? I wanna see you.”

She took a small breath, a smile tugging at her lips, “I wanna see you, too.”

“Is that a yes?”

“See you around nine.”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” he hummed and after a few tension filled breaths, they bid the other goodbye and Sam hung up.

“So, what are we havin’ for dinner?”

NOVA SPEAKS

i adore this story! i love sam and tyler so much!!

also, i've added faceclaims for greg, charlie, aspen, and as abby as they were an addition after ie had already published the book!!