I Woke up in Bed with the Man I Would Most Hate to Be With – Story of the Day

Abby wakes up on the morning of her best friend's wedding with a hangover and discovers John in bed with her. As if being charmed into bed by a playboy isn't bad enough, John's mother walks in and delivers catastrophic news: the groom has gone missing, and it's up to them to find him.

Waking up with sunlight piercing my eyes, I felt the aftermath of last night's party pounding in my head. As I tried to untangle myself from the sheets, my hand brushed against warm skin. Panic set in when I realized someone was beside me. I turned, and John's smirking face was staring right at me.

"What the hell? Why are you in my bed?" I rasped, my throat dry.

"You're actually in my bed," John corrected, mentioning something about last night, about me teaching him the Gangnam Style and tequila shots. I couldn't believe we had ended up together; it was unthinkable.

"You and I… all night?" I couldn't wrap my head around it, the thought alone sending my heart racing. "I was drunk. Why would you bring me to your bed? God, John, I told you there could never be anything romantic between us!"

Despite the attraction I'd fought against, the idea of being just another conquest of his made me sick.

"I know you once said it would ruin our friendship," John replied. "But that wasn't what you told me when you kissed me last night. Maybe a ruined friendship is worth it to gain something more."

"It wasn't about ruining our friendship," I said, tears threatening to spill. "I didn't want to be just another notch in your belt."

John's hurt expression made me want to take back my words, but I couldn't. "Get out, John," I demanded. We started dressing, but a knock on the door interrupted us.

His mother, Mrs. Harrington, entered with news that John's brother, Colin, who was supposed to marry my best friend, Kitty, that day, was missing. She didn't even blink at our state of nakedness.

"I told you kids it was a bad idea to have a wild party the night before the wedding, but what do I know, right? Now, this entire wedding is your fault, John. You're the reason your brother and that girl are getting married. So you better get out there and find your brother, who's suddenly gone missing!" his mother snapped, leaving us alone.

The weight of the situation hit me; I should have been with Kitty, the bride, instead of dealing with last night's mistake.

"We'd better get going. The sooner we find Colin, the sooner we can never see each other again," John said, throwing the rest of my clothes at my face. His remark echoed my own sentiments, but they still stung.

We couldn't linger on misunderstandings, though; finding Colin was urgent. Despite the awkwardness between John and me, we knew we had to work together to salvage the wedding day.

"How are we going to find him?" I asked, finally dressed again.

John's plan was to start at the bar across the street, the last place he saw Colin. As he left the room, I couldn't help but feel anxious over what would happen the rest of the day.

The bar, even in the morning, was a hive of activity. Stumbling through, I collided with a child in knee-high socks and then into John's steady arms, sparking a flash of last night's forgotten warmth and laughter.

Memories of our unexpected fun surfaced, making me question if there could have been more to our night than regret. John mentioned he needed coffee, snapping me back to reality. Then, I remembered the comment his mother made earlier.

"It's been bugging me… why did your mom say you're the reason Kitty and Colin are getting married?" I wondered.

John promptly looked away. "She doesn't get it," he said over his shoulder. "Colin's twenty-one. She thinks it's too soon for him to get married. But I believe in love, Abby. True love. Colin and Kitty love each other truly. Nothing should hinder that."

His subsequent admission of wanting a family and the life he envisioned showed a side of him I hadn't seen.

"Come on, John," I scoffed. "Don't play games with me. You, a family man? It'd be like seeing a flamingo in a penguin colony."

He flinched once again, pausing my teasing.

"Is that what you think of me, Abby? That I'm some guy who's only interested in flings and conquests?"

I hesitated before responding, my voice tinged with doubt. "Maybe I have. You haven't exactly given me a reason to think otherwise." But I didn't want to dwell on it too much.

Finding Colin was more important. I suggested searching around the bar where Colin had been the previous night. A muffled and guttural groan reached us as we approached the dumpster behind the bar. There, crumpled like a discarded rag doll, lay the groom.

"Let's get him back to my room. We need to clean and sober him up. We can handle it," John commanded, picking up his brother from the floor. I rushed in to help because we needed to get him to the hotel and ready for the wedding ASAP.

But we spotted Kitty in the lobby and stopped. We couldn't let her see him. John said, "You go and distract her. I'll get Colin up to my room."

Rushing to Kitty, I blurted out, "Kitty! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Where the heck have you been, Abby? I needed you!" she whined.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Well, it doesn't really matter at this point. Colin's clearly decided not to go through with the wedding," Kitty sniffed as tears gathered in her eyes.

I had to confess then. "John and I found Colin; he's here, and John's helping him get ready now."

Her relief, mingled with humor over Colin's mishap, eased some of my guilt. I also told her about my night with John. Her surprise quickly led to enthusiasm, suggesting we'd make a great pair, an opinion that left me reeling.

"Let's be honest. You two are both hopeless romantics, always waiting for your 'something real," she paused, then added, almost conspiratorially, "John's not really a player, you know. He just hasn't been lucky in love."

Her view of John forced me to reconsider everything I thought I knew about him.

After leaving Kitty with a promise to ensure Colin was aisle-ready, I went to help John. Inside his room, the chaos of getting Colin presentable mirrored the turmoil in my thoughts. Oblivious and hungover, Colin barely grasped the urgency of his situation, leaving John and me in a silent, shared struggle.

"John," I started, awkwardly trying to navigate our earlier confrontation, "I remember more about last night. I'm sorry for how I reacted this morning."

"No, I'm sorry." He reached for my hand. "We were both so drunk, and when you told me how you felt about me, how you really felt, I…"

"I shouldn't have said those things to you, John, I—"

"It doesn't matter now." John averted his gaze, his eyes narrowed. "We're never going to see each other again after the wedding, right? So, let's just forget all about it."

"I judged you without even trying to get to know you better," I admitted, feeling a pang of regret. "I'm sorry."

I wanted to say more, and I think John was going to, too, but Colin came out of the bathroom, panicking about the wedding rings. He had lost them.

Our search for the wedding rings took us back to the bar. We scoured every corner. A moment of unexpected closeness broke through, our faces inches apart, reigniting the spark from the night before. But reality intruded, shattering the moment and leaving us to resume our search.

But it was unsuccessful. We returned to the hotel, almost dragging our feet. But once we reached John's room again, Colin had a confession to make.

"I have them," he said, his voice barely a whisper. Before we could bark in anger, Colin continued, talking about his fears about marriage and making Kitty happy.

"Love isn't enough, John. Not when you have nothing else to offer," he finished, hanging his head.

"It is. Because as long as you love each other, you can build something together," John fought back, poking his brother's chest with one finger.

I wanted to intervene, but John's fierce eyes scored me with one look. "Out, this is family business," he barked, making me flinch.

I walked out, and alone in the hallway, I wrestled with my thoughts, realizing how much John and this day had changed me. I leaned my back against the wall and waited. John came out a few minutes later, shaking his head.

"We're calling it off. Colin won't budge," he said.

"Let me try. Give me five minutes," I begged, and John simply nodded, defeated.

Inside, Colin's self-doubts and anxieties still permeated his thoughts. My heart reached out to him as I shared my own fear of love and the pain of holding back.

"I almost lost someone once... I let fear dictate my choices," I expressed and continued, trying to make him see the light.

After a long moment of silence, he nodded. "Alright," he whispered, a shaky breath escaping his lips. "Let's do this."

I nodded and left the room, meeting John's expectant expression. But instead of simply explaining, I walked up to him, pulling his face closer and kissing him, echoing what had happened last night.

"The wedding is on," I whispered after separating from his lips.

"How?"

"I know what it's like to be afraid to risk your heart," I confessed. "But now, I also know that love is the only compass you need sometimes. You showed me that."

We kissed again, and a few hours later, we had a repeat of the previous night after witnessing two of the most important people in our lives get married. But this time was much better because we weren't drunk or in any hurry.

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