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A half an hour later they were both showered (separately, to Hawk's disappointment) and were sitting at the breakfast table. Hawk had fried some bacon and eggs, trying to persuade Sky into eating something - it would make her feel better, he had said - but Sky had only shaken her head, her face still pale as snow. She had said she felt a bit better, though, that she had taken something for the headache, but that food would still have to wait if he didn't want to see her puking over the kitchen table.

So Hawk ate the bacon and the eggs himself - he had no problem with that because he was fucking starving. He didn't even remember when was the last time he ate something if you didn't count some snacks at the party. While he happily munched his food, he kept glancing at Sky who sat across the table, the morning sun painting her hair with all the shades of gold.

She had said she loved him, and it felt like an explosion of sunshine in his chest.

It was the only thing Hawk could think about.

That, and of course the things they had done last night, the feeling of her fingers gripping his erection—

Those fingers were gripping a phone now, as Sky was browsing through her messages.

"Aisha has sent me like 20 texts—" she said. "—asking if I'm okay."

"Oh," Hawk replied, feeling a sting of guilt in his chest. "Well, she was a bit worried about you 'cause you were kinda drunk when we left."

"Yeah," Sky shrugged. "Hey, you heard that Sam dumped Miguel?"

"What?" Hawk said. His phone had died during the night, so this was news to him. "Really? Why?"

"I don't know. Aisha is saying something about some other guy, and about Miguel starting a fight so that he accidentally punched Sam."

"Shit!"

"Well yeah," Sky gave a sigh. "I'll call Sam later. Maybe you should call Miguel too and ask what the fuck happened. They are such a cute couple, I would hate it if they broke up."

"Yeah," Hawk said, even if he had never thought that highly of Sam. She was a spoiled little princess and she always would be - not that he was ever going to say that to Miguel or to Sky, who both seemed to genuinely like her.

Just as he was pondering on this and stuffing an exceptionally large portion of bacon into his mouth, he heard footsteps nearing. He swallowed, panicking, and almost choked on his food.

Mr. O'Brian - wearing slippers, pajama shorts, and a worn T-shirt that said 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do' - emerged in the doorway, took one glance at the scene in front of him, and froze on his feet.

"Well, this is a surprise - or not," he said, glancing at Hawk with narrowing eyes. "Just let me put some pants on before I start yelling at you."

Sky swirled around to face her dad, her cheeks flushing.

"Dad, this isn't what you think—" she started, but Mr. O'Brian had already walked out of the kitchen, and only shouted one angry word from the hallway: "Pants!"

Hawk laid down his fork, and gave Sky a nervous look. "Shit! I'm in trouble now—"

"Don't worry, I'll handle him," Sky said with a sigh. She put down her phone, stood up and poured coffee into a giant cup, added some milk, and placed the cup on the table. Then she piled bacon and toast on a plate (even if handling them clearly made her nauseous) and set the plate down just in time, for her dad was already walking down the stairs and soon stepped back into the kitchen.

The pajama shorts and the funny T-shirt were gone - replaced by jeans and a plain, white sweater, but no matter the casual outfit - Mr. O'Brian still looked seriously pissed. It was clear that even the coffee and the breakfast that was waiting for him weren't gonna soften his heart.

"Start explaining, daughter mine." He said sternly, leaning on the doorframe. "Why is your boyfriend here for breakfast?"

"It really isn't like that." Sky replied, her cheeks blushing. "I promise, nothing happened."

At that, Hawk's cheeks heated too. Even if they hadn't fucked, quite many things had happened before Sky had passed out. Things that now flashed through his mind in fast forward, and he feared that his emotion was written on his face for all to see.

"Oh, so he just decided to spend the night here?"

"Mr. O'Brian—" Hawk tried, but one death glare from the older man and Hawk's mouth snapped shut.

"Dad, please, the truth is—" Sky tried, but got interrupted by her dad.

"Oh, the truth?" He said and finally took a seat at the table, glancing at his breakfast with a frown. "Please, enlighten me then."

"We were at this party, at the canyon." Sky said and glanced at Hawk. "I got a bit too drunk—"

"Sky—" Mr. O'Brian said. "Again?"

Again?

Hawk's brows arched even without his will. He hadn't seen Sky drink like that before but the way Mr. O'Brian said it made him think there was still a lot Hawk didn't know about her.

"Yeah, I know, I didn't mean to." Sky replied and looked very regretful. "But I'm fine, nothing bad happened and Hawk got me home. He only stayed to make sure that I was okay. I swear, dad - it wasn't like that."

Sky's father gave a sigh and glanced at Hawk over the table.

"She's telling the truth, Mr. O'Brian." Hawk replied. He held the older man's stare for a couple of heartbeats without faltering.

"Fine," Sky's dad finally replied. "Maybe I choose to believe this, if only because of my own sanity." He picked up the cup of coffee and sipped on it. "But I swear, Sky, you are the reason my hair is turning gray. And I only just turned 40."

"Dad, it's okay. Yeah, I got a bit drunk, but Hawk took care of me." She turned to look at Hawk, and their eyes met. "It's not like he would let anything bad happen to me."

Mr.O'Brian tilted his head and leaned his elbows on the table.

"You are telling me this story where Eli here is the knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, bringing you home through the perils of the night. But the real question is, why didn't he just call me to ask for help? I have given him my number, for emergencies. And this does sound like an emergency to me. Isn't that right, Eli?"

The bacon was suddenly difficult to swallow, and Hawk needed to flush it down with some coffee. He had a feeling that Mr. O'Brian knew all too well what had been the reason he had brought Sky home, the real reason that had nothing to do with getting her safe, and everything to do with getting into her pants.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he replied, his eyes nervously glancing from Sky to her dad and back. "I wasn't thinking straight."

Mr. O'Brian raised a brow. "Is that because you too were drunk?"

"No! I mean, not much—"

"Dad, please. None of this is Hawk's fault," Sky interrupted. "He helped me home! He stayed to keep an eye on me—"

"Sky, just stop it," Mr. O'Brian said, now clearly annoyed. "I have no doubt you're telling me the truth - but I also know that is not the whole truth. And that's why you're grounded. For two weeks."

"What!" Sky cried, and then winced as if that cry had made her head ache, which probably was exactly what had happened. "But Dad, that's totally unfair! If I hadn't told you, you wouldn't have even known I was drunk!"

"Please. You reek of cheap tequila," Mr. O'Brian replied calmly. "I smelled you from the next room."

Hawk couldn't help a surprised laugh, it escaped from his lips before he could stop it.

"Hawk!" Sky glared at him, furious. "Whose side are you on?"

"Shit! Sorry! I just—"

"I know, I am hilarious." Mr. O'Brian stated rather calmly and took a bite of his bacon and toast. "Now, eat up, kid."

Hawk decided it was best to do as he was told. He picked up his fork and started shoveling the eggs and bacon into his mouth.

"Besides, Sky," Her dad continued. "This punishment isn't so much for being drunk, as it is for handling this situation poorly. I have told you that I don't want your boyfriend staying overnight. I know you're probably having sex—"

Hawk almost choked on his bacon. He coughed so that tears started running down his face.

"Dad!" Sky exclaimed her face red as a tomato.

"— and I understand," Mr. O'Brian continued, paying no attention to Hawk who was still trying to catch a breath. "But - thinking that's going on under my roof just makes me very uncomfortable." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. So you will accept your punishment and there will be no sleepovers from now on. Do I make myself clear?"

Sky gave him an annoyed glance. "Fine, no sleepovers, I get it. But dad - I can't stop karate for two weeks. Let me have that at least."

"Alright," He said. "School and Karate, but nothing else. You can walk Eli home now, though. I suggest you do it since you look like you need some fresh air. Besides, you'll be seeing him a lot less for the next couple of weeks."

Sky stood up with one, angry motion, and slammed her palm against the table with force, spilling her orange juice. "Agh! I hate you!"

"I know you do," Mr. O'Brian replied calmly. "That's the natural order of things."

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