Chapter Forty-Seven

The alarm on Darcy’s phone blared at 4:00 AM.

“Make it stop,” Natalie muttered.

Oh god. Darcy spent the night in Natalie’s room. Did they talk about this? Did they both pass out after...? Holy shit. Darcy blinked and looked over at Natalie, who was still completely naked.

Natalie rolled toward her and opened her eyes. From the look on her face, she was having the same panic Darcy was having.

“Good morning,” Darcy said, trying to give the appearance of being cool and calm.

Natalie sat up, yanking the blanket up over half of her torso. “Oh my god, did I pass out?”

Darcy smiled sleepily up at her. “It’s okay. I take it as a compliment that I wore you out so thoroughly. Although, I would have thought you had a bit more stamina, Carpenter. Is this why you never back-checked in college?”

Natalie blushed. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

Darcy smiled, warmed by the sleepy look on Natalie’s face. She was so cute. There was none of her usual bluster, only her hair falling softly around her face, the crease from the pillow across one cheek, and that deepening blush on her skin. Darcy checked the clock. “I’ll hold you to that, but not now or we’ll be late and Raquel will kill us.”

Natalie leaned forward, letting the sheet fall off her chest. She smiled before kissing Darcy gently. “Not to sound clingy or weird, but this is kind of nice.”

Darcy pressed her lips against Natalie’s before getting up. “It is, but if I don’t get out of here and into some work clothes soon, we’re going to be late.” She looked around the room, trying to decipher which of the various items on the floor, desk, and chair were hers and which were Natalie’s.

Darcy picked up her bra and looked around for her pants. From the bed, she heard a muffled laugh. She turned and found Natalie staring at her back. “If you are laughing at my ass I will kill you.”

Natalie shook her head. “Your ass is incredible. I’m laughing because you cannot leave this room in the clothes you wore to the event last night. I don’t care if your room is only a few doors down, you can’t get caught doing that particular walk of shame.”

Darcy put her hand on her hip before feeling self-conscious about being naked. “I do not feel any shame about what happened last night. I’m not the one who fell asleep in the middle of round two.”

Natalie stared at her, mouth agape. She threw off the covers and vaulted herself out of the bed with impressive skill. “Let’s go, right now.” Her hands rested on the sides of Darcy’s waist.

Darcy laughed. “‘Let’s go, right now?’ You really know how to talk to a girl, don’t you?” She kissed the end of Natalie’s nose. “We don’t have time to do anything before work other than get our asses out the door. Unless you would prefer to get fired?”

Natalie scowled. “Fine. But you can’t leave the room in those clothes.” She rifled around in her bag for a minute before extracting a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “Put these on. If anyone sees you in the hall they’ll think you were at the gym.”

Darcy looked around the room and found her shoes by the door. “Oh yes, gym shorts and heels. That will fool literally no one.”

Natalie rolled her eyes and muttered, “Such a princess.” She walked to her closet and pulled out a pair of sneakers. “You can wear these, Your Highness.”

Darcy took the shoes, checked the size, and laughed. “I wore this size in like sixth grade.”

Natalie’s mouth hardened into a thin line. “Fine. Go out there in your bra. I hope you run into Raquel or the camera crew. In fact, I’ll open the door so I can hear how you try to explain to them why you’re wearing your clothes from last night and walking out of my room. It’ll be just like college.”

Mentioning college was like sucking all the air out of the room. Both women froze, eyes locked on each other. Darcy felt like she’d been punched in the gut. She’d messed up all those years ago, in a hotel room not so different from this one. She’d made the biggest mistake of her entire life and here Natalie was, reminding her of it the first chance she got.

The worst part, even worse than hearing Natalie bring it up, was knowing that she deserved it.

“Natalie, I’m sorry.” Darcy’s voice came out in a strangled whisper, her voice vibrating with emotion.

Natalie shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. I was making a joke about the time we found you sneaking out of Hinch’s room after working on the team skit.”

Darcy’s heart stopped hammering her chest. Natalie was teasing. A sweet, gentle tease. She wasn’t throwing Darcy’s worst moment in her face, she was just reminiscing about college. Darcy wrapped her arms around Natalie and hugged her. Natalie’s skin was freezing.

“You need to put some clothes on,” Darcy scolded, pressing a kiss to Natalie’s cheek. “I meant what I said. I’m sorry for what I did. I’ve regretted it since the second it happened.”

“It’s okay. But you need to put this on and get back to your room for real.” She handed Darcy her shirt, holding the end until Darcy tugged it out of her hand.

“Your shoes will never fit.”

Natalie shrugged. “You only have to make it to your room, not run a marathon, Princess.”

Darcy grinned. As much as it used to infuriate her, she now loved the way it sounded when Natalie called her princess. She slipped the shirt over her head and stepped into the shorts and sneakers.

“I’ll bring my garment bag when I come by to get you for the car, okay? No one needs to know its contents are on your floor.” She gave a shy smile.

Natalie walked her to the door. “See you in a few minutes.”

Darcy kissed her before opening the door to leave. “Can’t wait.”