Chapter 7
The young man got up and reached for the bag of wine that Kate had reluctantly shared. He pulled out one of the bottles, saw the label, and chuckled, showing his pearly-white teeth. "Heh, what a strong wine you've got here. You really want to get blackout drunk, huh?"
He then opened two bottles of wine with practiced ease and handed Kate one bottle like a gentleman. "Here's yours, I'm guessing you have a lot of reasons to drink right now. You must be exhausted from everything weighing on your mind. Get drunk with me and forget about all of it, alright?"
Kate hesitated for a second. After all, getting drunk with a stranger was not the safest thing in the world. But the man's gaze was reassuring, as if wordlessly telling her that everything would be fine. At least for tonight.
Kate bravely grabbed the bottle and took one big gulp without even thinking twice. She winced when she felt the burn as the alcohol hit her throat. But that quickly faded and she was soon relaxed enough to continue drinking.
This time, she savored the sweet and tangy flavors of the wine as it spread through her mouth before finally swallowing it.
The mysterious man had been carefully watching Kate. As she started to slump into the sofa, he said softly, "There you go. We're here to chill and talk about our problems after we get drunk enough."
Taking his cue from Kate, he also leaned back against his seat before downing half his bottle in one smooth motion. "Ahh... that hits the spot, nice."
Kate's eyes instinctively wandered over him , admiring how inviting his stretched neck looked had it been planted with a few hickeys. Luckily she caught herself before he noticed. She determinedly warded off the erotic thoughts that had entered her mind—she was here to get drunk and vent about her problems. Nothing more, nothing less. She took another huge gulp of wine.
This was her plan from the beginning, anyway. There was no difference whether this man was here or not.