Chapter One

The clock struck midnight.

Finally.

Time dragged far more tortuously than I could have ever imagined. I have no idea what possessed me to attend a New Year’s party stag. Adding to the emptiness of no one to kiss when the television showed the ball dropping in Times Square as the clock struck midnight, was the sting of not knowing a soul in the room. I felt completely out of place. My promise to myself to do something new on New Year’s Eve never failed me, until now. This party crowd was a cliquish and unfriendly lot.

I didn’t belong here.

I should never have come.

I’m not bad looking. Although, this particular night I felt like an unattractive wallflower, standing alone and unnoticed. I suddenly understood the meaning of being lonely in a crowd.

Well, the clock struck midnight. I’d brought in the New Year doing something new. I was surrounded by the new people I’d been sure I needed in order to bring new experiences into my life for the year to come.

Whoopee! The wallflower could now leave.

With an exaggerated sigh, I carefully tipped the cheap plastic, exceedingly precarious, poor excuse of a wine glass to my lips. I shuddered as the sourness of the equally cheap yellowish liquid forced its way down my throat. I’m sure my host was under the illusion he was successfully passing it off to his array of eclectic guests as champagne. I was on my fifth or sixth glass of the abhorrently vile stuff. One would have thought its pathetic taste would have grown on me a bit by now.

Nope.

My stomach threatened rebellion.

Doing my best to hide the embarrassment of attending a predominantly couples party solo, I inched as far into the wall as possible. I hoped to be even more invisible than I already felt while I watched couple after couple lock lips in celebration of the year to come.

The party’s stench assaulted my sensibilities. I eagerly downed the questionable beverage someone shoved in my hand in hopes it would dull my smeller enough to tolerate the blend of overly heated humans mixed with expensive perfume, cheap cologne, cigarette smoke and pot.

My couples envy was short-lived as my attention jerked toward my own physical condition. I could feel the pressure of saliva building up under my tongue. This was a major warning. My stomach would tolerate no more abuse.

Great. Not only was I stag amidst groping couples on New Year’s Eve, but I was about to barf.

That would certainly attract attention. I did my best to focus on breathing steadily while I frantically searched past the sea of drunkenness for a bathroom. My brain flashed a fuzzy memory of passing a door with a hand-written sign indicating it was the designated party potty. I squeezed my way through the herd of drunken bodies. I didn’t know how I would ever make it through the mob with my stomach threatening acute rebellion. I needed to reach that door as soon as possible.

A middle-aged couple bumped against me. They were so lost in performing tonsillectomies on each other with their tongues, I doubt they even noticed. In fact, I doubt they had a clue where they were at this point. I’d never witnessed a kiss of such intense nature in real life before.

Fascinating.

I would have inspected it more in depth if the jolt to my body hadn’t been all the opening my stomach needed to coerce purging of the horrendous hors d’oeuvres and swill I’d pummeled it with for the last few hours.

I clamped my hand over my mouth and pushed my way through the crowd. I ignored the outraged gasps following me as party-goers witnessed sludge oozing its way between my freshly paraffin waxed and manicured fingers.

So much for being the anonymous wallflower.

If people hadn’t noticed me before, I’m sure my trek to the bathroom made me the talk of the party, and not in a good way.

I wanted to crawl under the thick Persian carpet that looked like it’d been abused far more than my stomach by the party’s fare.

It took tremendous strength and perseverance to push my way past an overly large woman as she crammed her way out of the door the crowd had not left room to fully open. I desperately yearned to disappear. I could hear the woman’s utter of disgust while she slapped her hand over her wrinkled nose for emphasis. If I hadn’t been on what felt like death’s door, I would have laughed in disbelief. Surely the stench of my vomit could not have exceeded the stench of the room.

Of course, I’d eaten some pretty dicey looking hors d’oeuvres consisting of an unidentifiable gray stuff spread upon whole wheat and rye cocktail toast, salted peanuts and deviled eggs. Of course, let’s not forget the cheap champagne.

Maybe the woman had a point.

Locks of my long strawberry-blond hair scattered around the outside of the toilet bowl as I flung to my knees. I cradled the cool porcelain like it was my new best friend and savior. At this moment, it was. Sweat pebbled on my brow and down my back while I violently purged my stomach of an amazing amount of contents. Had I eaten that much? It looked like it was enough to equal my food intake for the last three days.

Was there corn in the bowl? I don’t recall eating corn. Had I eaten corn?

My muddled mind couldn’t think strait. I’d always been a nervous and absent-minded eater. Tonight, was obviously no exception.

I stared, mesmerized by the sight in the toilet bowl—or perhaps I was just more affected by the alcohol than I realized. Whatever the reason, it took some time before I came to my senses enough to coax my body into cooperating enough to flush the toilet and get up off the floor.

I clung to the edge of the yellowed ivory antique pedestal sink and splashed water into my mouth. The water was cool, sweet, and refreshing.

One look into the gilded antique mirror mounted over the sink brought a gasp of horror. All the grueling labor of wrestling with my curling iron to produce a beautifully coiffed head of hair was for naught. My naturally curly—and barely tamable—hair was all over the place. I looked like Mufasa from The Lion King! My mascara smeared down my cheeks from the tears caused by heaving up what felt like my entire insides.

I was a sight.

Grateful that I thought to tuck a small comb, an eyeliner pencil, and a tube of lipstick in my evening bag; I did my best to rectify my appearance. I was almost satisfied when yet another horror met my eyes. All I could do was stare dumbly at pert and perky nipples that stared right back at me. My cocktail dress was a flimsy teal and cream-colored satin with an incredibly poor excuse of a built-in bra. Had I looked like this all night? I should have known it was a bad choice in dresses. My sister, who enjoyed antagonizing me, gave it to me. I’m sure she had a good laugh when I accepted it like some idiot. The tags were still on it when she presented it to me, which showed she had the smarts enough to know not to wear it herself.

I should have thought twice about wearing anything gifted to me by her. I should have immediately passed it on to the local charity thrift store. I’m a bit superstitious about making sure I wear new things and do new things when bringing in the New Year. It was the only new dress in my closet. Since the invite to the party was so last minute and I had no time to go shopping, I’d ignored the voice in the recesses of my head shouting, ‘Don’t do it!’

To add insult to injury, tiny bits of vomit clung to the side of my left breast. There was no way of removing it without wetting down the fabric. I was sure such and act would only accentuate my highly visible nipples even more. Of course, it would…

Oh, happy freakin’ New Year.

It wasn’t off to a very good start.

I sucked air into my lungs—only then realizing I’d forgotten to breathe. Grabbing a paper towel, I wet it and carefully wiped at the vomit. As expected, the flimsy, dry clean only whetted fabric left nothing to the imagination. I might as well have stripped the dress completely off for all the covering it provided.

I was mortified.

With such a large party and only one bathroom to accommodate both genders, it wasn’t long before fists pounded, impatiently, on the door. I frantically searched the cupboards in hopes of finding a hair dryer to dry my cursed dress or, at least, warm my nipples enough to stop them from dramatically beaming at the world.

No such luck.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door reverberated from the impact of a drunken fist. I wondered if the offender on the other side realized how heavy fisted he was. I was sure it was a male by the sheer impact of the pounding. I knew of few women could pound like that. The door shuddered precariously with each impact of fist to wood. There was nothing to do but accept the fact I had to relinquish the bathroom before the door splintered into pieces.

I ran my fingers through my ridiculous looking hair and smoothed my wild curls as best I could. There was no help for it. At least my face looked halfway decent again. I squared my shoulders and then thought better of it since it only served to jut my nipples toward the world even more. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders forward and squeezed my way through the door and out into the crowd.

I was so concerned about my perky nipples and crazy hair that I completely forgot about the fact that my vomit putrefied the air in the compact bathroom. The howls of a baritone as he gagged and bellowed for an air freshener quickly reminded me.

I willed my feet to move through the crowd as quickly as possible and made my way toward the door. To hell with saying good-bye. I’d call in the morning and thank my host for inviting me to this garishly ornate and ancient estate home. The truth of the matter was that I didn’t even know who was hosting this party. A friend had invited me. It could have been anyone in the room—even the bellowing drunk who’d almost broken down the bathroom door.

My invite was last minute. I knew this, but I didn’t care. It was an opportunity to go somewhere new for New Year’s Eve. Tradition stated it was supposed to bring good luck. I now questioned tradition.

I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to be in the company of my house mate, Frank, even though we’d both been invited. I actually lied about it. I figured karma was sure to come back and bite me in the ass, but I hadn’t expected it to be immediately at the party.

Either Frank hadn’t realized my lie or he’d chosen not to acknowledge it. Maybe he’d known more about this horrendous party than I did. He probably knew he’d been invited. Whatever the reason…he sent me off to the party with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and a ‘have a good time’ before settling down in front of the television set with a sandwich and a beer.

I almost succeeded in elbowing my way through the dense crowd to the exit before I felt a hand in my crotch. It happened so quickly it took me unawares. By the time I regained myself, I was unable to catch the identity of the culprit. My head spun from side to side. I couldn’t tell if the brazen act had been performed by a man or a woman. Well, I guess I couldn’t blame whomever. After all, it seemed the theme of the party.

The fact that I understood the inability of a drunk to resist such a temptation did little to reduce my humiliation. I lowered my head and forged my way through the remainder of the crowd to the safety of the abandoned parking area. My cup runneth over with emotions flying about in all directions. Part of me was outraged and felt violated, while the other part was understanding and forgiving.

I immediately forgot my dilemma when the crisp January night slapped my inebriated butt sober. With the faint sounds of celebration behind me, I shivered my way to my car and crawled in behind the steering wheel.

It was then I remembered I needed gas.

Just great.

I turned the ignition and listened to my engine groan as it shimmied and shook for an easy thirty seconds before settling down to run like a normal engine should. This was a regular occurrence in the bitter cold with my old, almost worn out Mazda. I often joked it belonged in the south where it was warm year-round. Under any other circumstance I would have been a little embarrassed about my car’s winter start up routine, but there was absolutely no one at this party I cared the least bit about impressing.

I focused my attention on my empty gas tank instead.

There weren’t many gas stations in the quaint little New England community where the party was being held. I racked my brain to remember if I’d seen any en-route there. I recalled passing a gas station/convenience store while maneuvering my way through a myriad of secondary roads. The pathetic map my friend drew on a thin paper napkin that afternoon served as my guide. I decided to take a chance the station would be open. If not, I was in big trouble. My tank was registering empty. I counted on the reserve in the bottom of the tank being sufficient to get me there. but since I’d already tapped into the reserve, I questioned my wisdom in trying to go further.

What were my options?

I could go back into the party and see if someone amongst the inebriated strangers would be willing to take me home. What if someone said yes? Should I risk it?

Calling Frank was another option. He was normally a heavy sleeper. This was New Year’s Eve. He was drinking a beer when I left him. He was probably comatose by now. I doubted he’d hear the phone ringing.

Another option was to risk having enough gas to make it to the gas station.

I opted to try for the gas station.

I prayed my memory of its location served me right and my gas held out. Now was not the time to be guessing about distances or direction.

A crusty layer of snow coated the gravel of the long, tree lined driveway leading from the estate house—that must have been a beauty in its day—to the secondary county road echoed in the night as it crunched and gave way under the weight of my car. I pulled out onto the snow-free macadam road and shuddered at the desolate January morning. The branches of the baron—yet majestic—trees sported residue of snow that had melted from the day’s sunny rays—only to freeze in the bitter darkness that followed. The occasional pine tree wedged amongst the forlorn looking wooded perennials softened the eeriness.

I hovered closer to the steering wheel. I felt the need to camouflage myself from any bogeyman lurking about. You never knew who or what might be waiting for some unsuspecting lone driver foolishly make her way down a desolate county road on a cold winter’s night.

I’d never taken the time to wonder about how much of life happened as a result of a person’s actions or if fate predestined much of life until New Year’s Eve when my luck held true. I was able to see the illumined sign belonging to the little convenience store/gas station.

Oh, thank you, thank you, and thank you.

I’m sure my car glided up to the pump on vaporous gas fumes, but it made it and was all that mattered. This part of the state was big on having motorists pump their own gas. I didn’t even wait to see if it offered full service. I hitched my collar up around my neck, secured my hat, and adjusted my gloves as far up under my sleeves as they would go before I hopped out of the car. I searched the face of the pump for a place to swipe my credit card. No such luck. I had to schlep inside to pay the attendant when I finished pumping. After emitting a long groan, I reminded myself it could have been worse. I wasn’t forced to go into the heat of the store to pay first and then have to stand in the freezing cold to pump. At least this way I could hop into my car right after I paid and would not have to suffer such an exaggerated temperature drop as I would have, had I been in the heat of the store first. I always kept my car just warm enough to keep the chill away, but never actually hot. I hated the onslaught of cold when I left it. This kept the temperature transition minimal.

New Year’s Eve superstitions—to which I was no stranger—must have been running rampant. I found myself standing in a long line at the cash register waiting for those ahead of me to buy scratch-off tickets. There was a cut off time for the lotto—something I never played. The fact that they were allowing customers to buy only scratch-off tickets and not the lottery numbers didn’t seem to matter. Apparently, the fact that it was New Year’s Eve made it an especially auspicious time to gamble no matter the game.

I stood in line long enough to be infected by the fever that consumed the inhabitants in the checkout line of the immaculate, well stocked little store. When it was my turn to step up to the cash register, I couldn’t resist the temptation of purchasing at least one scratch-off ticket.

Maybe I’d have beginner’s as well as New Year’s Eve luck.

After taking my money—which included the payment for the gas—the heavy set and exceedingly homely girl behind the counter robotically pulled my ticket off a rather large roll and unceremoniously shoved it toward me. She dismissed my presence completely and looked arrogantly over my shoulder to indicate her desire for the next customer in line to step forward. Normally I would have made a point of her rudeness, but my night had been so hellish, a little rudeness was the least of my troubles. In fact, it actually seemed to fit right in to the theme of the evening.

I’d always loved the thrill of gambling. I could easily understand why some people found it addictive, which was why I’d never allowed myself to play the lottery. I had a hard-enough time staying away from Atlantic City and its money gulping slot machines. My only saving grace was the fact Atlantic City was a three-hour drive and not just around the corner. I promised myself this would be the first and last time I purchased a lottery ticket of any kind. The last thing I needed was to get addicted to handing dollar bills over to lottery sellers every time I bought gas or groceries.

I stepped to the far end of the counter so I wouldn’t be between Miss Congeniality behind the counter and the next poor frozen soul standing in line behind me. Savoring the suspense, I carefully scratched at the silver on the ticket. I knew there was a way to just scratch-off the bottom of the ticket to discover if you were a winner or not, but that deflated the thrill.

I was so engrossed in the moment it took a little time for me to realize someone was standing behind the counter opposite me. It wasn’t Miss Congeniality. In fact, it wasn’t a girl at all.

It was a man.

A beautiful man.

A beautiful, tall man.

A beautiful, tall man with skin kissed by the sun.

He had to be the epitome of the old cliché ‘tall, dark, and handsome’.

My heart leapt from my body when our eyes met. I could feel myself sinking into those deep, dark orbs, lined with thick black lashes. They were the kind of lashes any girl would kill for and mascara companies would pay millions to use them in an advertisement. They drew me in. I felt as if they were speaking to me in a silent language I could not understand, but was somehow familiar. I suddenly had the sensation of being where I belonged—yet where I should not be. It felt comfortable, yet dangerous.

Very weird.

Very unsettling.

Very gorgeous man.

“Do you want to share a ticket?” The words reverberated past his Adam’s apple in a smooth, rich, sexy tone as it sent shivers down my spine. If this guy wasn’t already doing voice over or radio, he should be.

“Huh?” was my unintelligent, unwitty, and unsexy reply.

His broad smile displayed perfectly straight, brilliant white teeth.

Of course, it did!

I found myself embarrassed and self-conscious of my own, slightly crooked, off-white set. I pursed my lips together in the hopes he hadn’t noticed them.

“Would you like to split a ticket with me? If we win, we go fifty-fifty. Sound good?”

He was oblivious to my tooth situation.

I’m not the most gorgeous woman to walk the planet, but people consider me attractive. Sure, I’m a little tall and a little fluffy—my friend’s polite way of stating someone was slightly overweight—but I managed to maintain a flat stomach and an hourglass figure and could pull off wearing most styles of the day. My hair had tamed down over the years, but it was still a little too frizzy for my taste and required a lot of attention to keep it presentable. Even so, I managed to secure a boyfriend now and then.

At best, these boyfriends came from the “B” crowd. Never, in my twenty-four years of being on this Earth, had a quintessential “A” crowd man paid attention to me… until then. This man was the quintessential hunk. I was sure he belonged at the top of the “A” group list.

I couldn’t believe it. He was flirting!

The overwhelming fact that an “A” list hunk had actually noticed me, combined with the fact my body was still half pickled from cheap champagne, left me stuck on stupid. All I could do was nod.

A chill traveled all over my body and I shivered involuntarily as he moved away to procure a few more scratch-off tickets. The faintest scent of his cologne trailed behind him.

Oh yeah, Fahrenheit, my favorite scent.

Questioning my good fortune, I wondered if I should look for hidden cameras or something. It would be just my luck if someone hired this person for a New Year’s Eve gag. That would be something my sister, Lisa, would do.

Being in the company of this god-like man emphasized the memory of what I had waiting for me at my cozy little historic home. Frumpy Frank was definitely from the “C” list, but then—I consoled myself—Frumpy Frank and I weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. We were simply house mates and good friends. Not that we hadn’t thought about it. We’d even gone as far as making out. He’d wanted to go all the way—or at least do a tad exploring—but I just couldn’t go that route.

First and foremost, I wasn’t attracted to Frank. Sure, he was a nice guy and all, but his plain and forgettable looks did nothing for me in a way a man should attract a woman. His mannerisms were nothing to brag about either. Don Juan, he wasn’t. On a scale of one to ten, my attraction for him was a two…maybe two and a half. My sleeping with him would have been out of sheer desperation and loneliness. Most importantly, I was still a virgin.

I know being a virgin at my age and in today’s times isn’t the norm. Nevertheless, I was and I had no intention of giving it up to a guy I had only a slight attraction for—which was pretty much every guy I’d dated so far. Frank fit right into that category.

We managed to remain friends in the end. When he needed a place to stay, I was happy to rent him a room in the little historic cottage I’d inherited. I enjoyed the company and the extra money his rent provided. The arrangement worked out great.

I was certain that my tall, dark, and succulent hunk was a set up.   Hell…New Year’s Eve gag or not, I intended on enjoying every second of it.   After all, it wasn’t every day I was paid attention to by a man such as this.

I watched as he sauntered back to me with his beautiful fist loaded with scratch-off tickets.

“I did not know what game you liked to play, so I have one of each. Okay?” he asked smoothly.

It was then I noticed the slight trace of accent and realized he was foreign. My eyes finally looked past my hormones to see him for the first time. He was lightly bronzed, like the rich tan you’d find on someone in Florida who never seemed to leave the sun. He had immaculate and stylishly cut thick, pitch black hair that etched itself over the top of his ears and barely grazed his collar. Although his shoulders were suitably broad, he looked to be medium boned. He had to be at least six-feet-two. The faint accent when he spoke hinted of island heritage, but I couldn’t even begin to fathom what island.

He leaned over the counter so we could both look at the scratch-off tickets he’d spread out. I hadn’t a clue what the names of those scratch-offs were. Who cared? With him so close to me, I was lucky to be able to breathe, let alone look at a stupid scratch-off ticket. My entire body quivered in the most delightful sort of way. The sensation was glorious.

It wasn’t just that he was gorgeous and smelled great. It was something more. He felt… powerful …different. That’s the only way to describe it.

I don’t believe it was his accent, height, or build that gave him this sense. He was an imposing figure, true, but it was something more. Something I just couldn’t seem to put my finger on.

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate, but nothing came.

It figures. My stupid ability never works when I want it to.

I was born with a type of psychic ability my friends called a “gift.” They were forever grinding at me to get help honing and developing it. I, on the other hand, found it to be a disturbing annoyance. I certainly didn’t look at it as a gift and I tried my best to ignore it as much as possible.

Because I hadn’t done much to develop my ability, it just happened when it happened. It seemed the only time I got useful information was when an unpleasant occurrence was imminent. Good stuff never stood out.

Heaven forbid if I’d have been able to pick lotto numbers or something wonderful like that!

I was the only one out of three children who was born with the “gift”. In fact, to my knowledge, I was the only person in my family lineage with it. Now that I think about it, it’s a strange thing since the consensus is you inherit abilities. For some time, I contemplated the idea that my parents adopted me. It felt like it was a strong possibility. After studying my looks against that of my siblings and parents, I determined that I looked too much like them, so I abandoned the theory.

Where my psychic ability came from remained a mystery.

He leaned so close to me that I could feel the heat of his breath against my cheek. A faint scent of a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and… What was that? Ginger, perhaps? … circulated the air. I would have thought the scent of spiced breath mixed with Fahrenheit body would be offensive. It was just the opposite. I found it to be heady.

“My name is Nevi, Nevi Sharpe,” he said with a deep, sultry accent. “May I ask with whom I have the pleasure of sharing scratch-off tickets?”

I wanted to answer him, but I was still stuck on stupid. I opened my mouth to speak and absolutely nothing came out.

How embarrassing.

How ridiculous.

How mortifying.

He was just a man, after all. What was my issue?

I just couldn’t move past the sense of magnificence that permeated the air around him. It was both electrifying and nerve wracking.

“You have a phone call,” blurted the bland voice of Miss Congeniality as she approached my newly discovered god-man with a cordless phone.

“Please excuse me,” he murmured in my direction as he snapped the phone from the clerk’s hand, obviously unhappy to be disturbed.

“Lizzy. Lizzy Ewing,” I forced past my lips as he stood up. “My name’s Lizzy Ewing.”

I could feel flames consume my cheeks when I realized how desperate my voice must have sounded. He studied me with dancing eyes—momentarily forgetting his annoyance about the phone call.

“Nice to meet you, Lizzy Ewing,” he said, warmly. “Please excuse me.”

With that, he lifted the phone unceremoniously to his ear and disappeared through a doorway behind the counter. I assumed it led to his office. At the faint sound of another door shutting behind that door, I felt I assumed right.

The clerk shuffled through the array of lotto tickets spread out on the counter in front of me with a notable smirk on her broad, acne infested face before looking up at me. “That’ll be twenty-five dollars,” she stated smugly.

I stood there looking at her for a brief moment while it registered with me… I was getting stuck with the entire bill of my not so private scratch-off tryst! Had I just been a victim of some sort of scheme to sell scratch-off tickets? Did someone plant this hot guy to seduce unsuspecting women into falling for the ‘let’s share a ticket’ scenario? Did they have a woman planted for the men as well? I looked around, but saw no one. Surely, Miss Congeniality would never qualify for such a task, even if she could have cleaned up enough for it. Not with her attitude.

Oh yeah, this New Year was starting just great.

I was tempted to tell her about my little arrangement with the man who I assumed was her boss to see her response—or possibly just settle for slapping the smirk off her incredibly homely face—but thought better of both ideas. I unceremoniously reached into my wallet and produced the money her outstretched hand so blatantly demanded.

As I slapped two tens and five ones into her palm, I couldn’t help emitting a soft note of indignation when she grabbed them briskly and walked away without so much as a “thank you.” After sneaking—or at least I thought I was sneaking—a fleeting look in the direction my god-man had gone, I slipped the scratch-off tickets I’d been forced to purchase into my purse. Securing my coat, gloves, and hat against the bitter cold that awaited, I hurried out to my car.

I’d been inside the convenience store just long enough for the little bit of heat that managed to build up in my car while getting there to dissipate. It was freezing! My breath billowed like smoke from a smokestack. I held my breath while I turned the key in the ignition of my pitifully worn out Mazda. Fortunately, the car’s engine hadn’t cooled down enough to bring it the point where it would spat and sputter like it had when leaving the not so wonderful New Year’s Eve party. Of course, at the party there was no one I wanted to impress. Now, it was a different story. I heaved a sigh of gratitude for this little bit of luck when I spotted Nevi looking out  of his office window in my direction. He was still talking on the phone. Although he did not acknowledge me, I felt pretty certain he saw me. I didn’t want to make a more pathetic an impression than the one I’d already managed to make with him.

After an uneventful thirty-minute ride back to my little cottage on the lake, I dropped my keys into the basket on the top of the hall table near my back door. I smiled as I listened to Frank’s snores rumble through the dimly lit interior. His snoring was one of the reasons he’d had such a difficult time rooming with people. It drove them crazy. Not me. I actually found the rumblings of a good snore soothing. They acted like a sound machine to sleep by.

I scooted to my bathroom and checked my hair for bits of vomit. It looked relatively clean so I decided it was safe to just brush my teeth, scrub my face, and pull on my slightly worn—yet still cuddly—pink flannel nightgown. I’d barely settled beneath my thick down comforter before I was consumed by blissful darkness.