Chapter 99: Drunk
James Brown felt utterly dejected, really dejected. Who would have thought that simply saving Joan a couple of times—he just happened to be there, and it was all in fun—would lead to her taking it seriously.
The sound of a cup falling to the floor didn’t even awaken Joan, who continued to slowly sip her drink, lost in thoughts of the extraordinary person she admired.
James kicked the broken pieces of the cup aside, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. Was he really that cool? With his ordinary appearance, one that would get lost in a crowd, he had somehow captured Joan’s fancy. What sort of taste did Joan have?
Luckily, the person Joan fancied was not him, at least not the person he was now. As long as Joan didn’t find out he was that person, all should be well.
If Joan knew what James was thinking at that moment, who knows what expression she would wear?
As Joan mulled over her secretive yearnings, she went from one drink to the next, until James realized she was already drunk.
"Hey, can you still handle it?" James nudged Joan, who was slumped over the table, and was speechless. Why drink so much when you don’t have the tolerance?
Joan muttered something incomprehensible and then went back to sleep.
James, out of options, had to drag and carry her up. It was supposed to be Joan treating him to a meal, and now he had to foot the bill. Luckily, there hadn’t been any major expenses recently, and he had some money on hand, so paying the bill wasn’t an issue.
Joan was truly drunk by this time. When James carried her, she didn’t react at all, her body limp. James decided to carry her horizontally, which made things somewhat easier.
Once inside the taxi, James nudged Joan, who was leaning on his shoulder, and said, "Officer Monaghan, where is your home? I’ll take you back."