CeCe watched as the girl on the television screen tossed back a couple of shots and then determinedly approached the object of her affections. He, of course, smiled fondly at her, and put an arm protectively around her, taking care of her in her obviously intoxicated state.
It wasn't unlike the way Gunther slung an arm around her and the thought sent a pang through her. She stared longingly at the bottle of liquid courage sitting innocently on the table in front of the happy couple, who were now kissing, and wow, they were really, um, enthusiastic about it, that was kind of gross. And yet oddly mesmerizing. CeCe realized what she'd just thought and hurriedly looked away from them and back to the bottle. If only she could just...
But, no. And in any case, what if she turned out to be some other lame kind of drunk, a really embarrassing one, maybe, or worse, one that blurted out all her secrets to everyone, particularly raging crushes on certain awesome foreign guy that had lasted for, let's see, many years now.
It was too bad she couldn't get drunk but still be completely in control of her actions. That would be perfect. Or, really, she didn't need to be drunk, as long as everyone else (Gunther) thought she was, so she'd have an excuse for being forward.
CeCe froze suddenly.
Wait a minute...
What if... What if she pretended to be drunk? CeCe turned the idea over in her head musingly.
CeCe's 21st birthday was in 9 days, and she just knew that Gunther would consider it his duty as CeCe's best friend of legal age to try and get her drunk. What if she pretended to agree, since she was legal now and all, and somehow replaced her drinks with, um. Something else. That looked like alcohol, but wasn't. Or something.
And then! Then she could act as seductive as possible and blame it on the alcohol if it didn't work!
CeCe was starting to get excited. If she played her cards right, this really could work. She'd have to do research, of course, so she'd be a convincing drunk, but... she could totally do this. Maybe. Or maybe it was the craziest idea she'd ever had.
CeCe paused the TV and rewound so she could watch what the girl did more closely. Maybe she should take notes...
CeCe looked over her list. She'd watched several movies and dozens of Youtube videos and read several "How to Act Drunk" guides on the internet over the past 8 days. She'd also spent hours practicing being drunk in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to make her eyes look wide and dazed and dopey. At the same time, though, she wanted to look kind of seductive, so she'd also found some pictures of hot people and practiced making sexy faces in the mirror, but that usually resulted in her just, kind of. Leaving the bathroom in horror. Because really, her face just didn't do sexy, apparently.
Gunther's face, though. Gunther's face did sexy. Gunther's face did sexy all the time. Gunther's face's default was sexy. Gunther's face... CeCe could spend hours thinking about Gunther's face.
But anyways, CeCe didn't have much time left. Gunther was going to come pick her up to take her out to dinner in half an hour. She read over the list one more time.
How to Act Drunk:
1) Let your eyes glaze.
2) Be nonchalant. (Nonchalant means relaxed and cool.)
3) Curse randomly.
4) Deny being drunk.
5) Slump.
6) Lose your balance.
7) Lie down on steps. ?
8) Speak slowly.
9) Slur your speech.
10) Repeat things.
11) Be random and incoherent. (That one should be easy.)
12) Be cheerful and enthusiastic.
13) Laugh a lot.
14) Be touchy feely. (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE!)
15) Take off random articles of clothing. (Maybe.)
CeCe bit her lip, nodded once, and then turned the list over. On the back, she'd made another list.
How to Be Sexy Act Seductive Make Gunther like Me:
1) Make sure you look good. Appearance is key.
2) Use nice perfume, but not too much. Make sure you get close enough that he can smell it.
3) Make sure your breath smells nice.
4) Compliment him on personal things.
5) Maintain eye contact.
6) Bend to pick things up in front of him.
7) Get close.
8) Whisper in his ear.
9) Find any excuse to touch him, particularly on his shoulders, hair, face, or neck.
10) Give him a massage.
This list was much less annotated than the first, primarily because just looking at it made CeCe start to blush. She was never one to get physically close to guys she was with. But she was going to have to get over that, because tonight (oh my gosh) she was going to do those, those things. To Gunther.
Oh gosh.
CeCe checked the clock. Fifteen minutes left. She checked over her outfit nervously. She was dressed in black leggings and, go figure, a mint green button-down top with a thin line of lace around the bottom. She played with the hem a bit, resisting the urge to change it again. She'd already changed, like, ten times though. But maybe the red skinny jeans and white top would be better? She kind of remembered this one time that she'd thought she'd seen Gunther looking at her kind of appreciatively when she was wearing red. She'd probably imagined it though. Wishful thinking, or something like that. But... Okay, she was going to change.
She took the stairs three at a time, kind of panicking just a little, and threw open her closet. Luckily, the outfit was right where she'd left it the last time she'd taken it off (about half an hour ago.) She switched clothing quickly. She was examining herself critically in the mirror (maybe she should change into the black shirt shirt?) and nitpicking at her curly hair (the stupid bangs would not stop flipping inward randomly) when she heard the doorbell ring.
She freaked out for a moment and then took a deep breath. This was it. She double-checked her perfume, something new and fancy that she couldn't pronounce, fluffed her hair, and made sure she had some mints in her pocket. Then she grabbed her phone and headed downstairs.
She opened the front door, grinning automatically when he saw Gunther and trying not to look completely stupefied because he looked good, in an effortless sort of way. His hair was perfectly styled and he, oh gosh, was wearing a black shirt that looked really good on him (good thing CeCe hadn't worn the black one), and the top two buttons were unbuttoned. CeCe hurriedly dragged her eyes away from the patch of skin visible and looked Gunther in the eye. He grinned at her crookedly. CeCe tried really hard not to melt. She failed.
"Looking good, Jones."
Gunther engulfed her in a hug, and whispered, "Happy birthday, CeCe," into her ear, and her stomach flip-flopped and she barely managed to mumble her thanks. Get it together, CeCe, she scolded herself.
As they were walking to the car, Gunther glanced at her. "New perfume, huh? Very nice."
CeCe tried not to be too excited that he had noticed. Once they were in the car and driving to the restaurant, CeCe managed to relax a little. Gunther was awesome at putting him at ease, always had been. Well, maybe not always. In recent years they grew much closer than they were before.
The restaurant was really fancy and nice, and CeCe was already having a really good time. Gunther raised an eyebrow when she ordered ice tea, but didn't comment. CeCe worried briefly that he was going to be unpredictable and not try to get her drunk, and all her planning would be for nothing. But later, when she was poking suspiciously at her food (she hadn't recognized, like, anything on the menu, and she'd debated between a fancy chicken dish or a fancy hamburger-like dish or a fancy fish dish for a while, and asked Gunther what he thought. He had shrugged, just as mystified as she was, and she'd giggled and chosen something at random, and now she had no clue what she was eating), Gunther tilted his wine glass in CeCe's direction.
"Want some?"
She blushed slightly and shook her head, and Gunther sighed dramatically. "We're going to work on that, I hope you know."
The rest of the dinner passed without incident, and CeCe was not only relaxed but also mentally prepared for what she was going to do that evening. She could totally do this. (Maybe.)
As they were walking back to the car, Gunther said casually, "Your birthday present's in the trunk. And we still have to celebrate your 21st birthday properly."
CeCe made a face at Gunther, but secretly she was ecstatic that her plans were falling into place. Gunther wouldn't know what hit him. (Maybe.)
CeCe struggled to open the door without dropping the heavy case that Gunther had made her carry. She glanced suspiciously back at Gunther who was carrying her present, which was, like, ginormous, in his arms. She was already burning with curiosity about what it was.
When she finally managed to open the door, they made their way over to the living room. CeCe set the case aside, eyes on the present that Gunther was still holding. Smirking, he set the present down gently on the other side of the room and then plopped down on the sofa. Still looking longingly at the present (no, really, it was huge, and probably really awesome), CeCe sat down next to Gunther, who was grinning at her mischievously. He had that look in his eyes that always made CeCe nervous, and for good reason!
Gunther opened the case and, and oh my gosh, started to unpack bottles. Lots of bottles, and shot glasses too, and normal glasses, and oh my gosh, more bottles. CeCe counted seven different types of alcohol, plus some other random things, like juice and soda.
Clearly she wasn't the only one who'd been planning ahead for tonight.
CeCe wasn't completely faking the deer-in-headlights look that she directed at Gunther.
It was a good thing she was prepared. Part of her preparation had been to obtain lots of bottles of alcohol and fill them with liquids that looked like their normal contents but were really just colored water. Now all she had to do was switch one out.
Gunther laughed at her alarmed look and tossed an arm over her shoulders. "Alright, CeCe. Want to open your present?"
Momentarily distracted, CeCe beamed and nodded and started to get up, only to be pulled backwards by the back of her shirt with a "Not so fast". She stumbled and fell, mostly on top of Gunther (who was warm and solid underneath her, oh gosh), and, blushing furiously, said "Um?"
"You don't get to open your present until you're nice and drunk."
CeCe sputtered at Gunther, "But, um, I don't. That's. Um."
Gunther's face softened. "C'mon CeCe. It's your 21st birthday. You're legal now. You've got to try it at least once. And what better time than with the coolest guy you know, who just happens to have lots of experience?"
CeCe bit her lip, pretending to be unsure. "I'll just embarrass myself," she mumbled, avoiding Gunther's gaze.
"Hey," he said, "you've got nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?"
CeCe was silent for a long moment, and then she said quietly, "Okay. But only if you don't drink."
She was pretty sure that Gunther would be able to tell the difference between fake alcohol and real alcohol.
Gunther raised an eyebrow at her, clearly taken aback. After a moment, he shrugged. "You've got yourself a deal, Jones."
Gunther was reaching for a bottle when CeCe blurted, "Can I choose?"
He raised an eyebrow at her again (he should really stop doing that, his face could get stuck like that) (and also, it was really hot, and it kind of messed with CeCe's ability to think clearly), but nodded.
CeCe chose a bottle of vodka that she knew for a fact she had a replacement for, and then, to her horror, Gunther opened the bottle and began mixing her a drink. She hadn't had a chance to switch out the bottles yet! She watched mutely with wide eyes as he poured a bit of the vodka into a glass, followed by two different types of juice and then put the glass in front of her and looked at her expectantly.
"Um," she said helplessly. The fake vodka was hidden safely in the cabinet, and there was no way she could switch out the bottles with Gunther in the room.
"Go on."
CeCe eyed the drink in front of her like it was a bomb or something. Finally she reached out and picked it up. To stall, she sniffed at it and examined it closely from all angles.
Finally Gunther sighed. "Just drink it, CeCe."
CeCe raised the glass to her lips. And then lowered it again. And then, in desperation, she let the glass fall from her hand, watching it spill all over her carpet.
There was a beat of silence as both of them stared at the spilled drink. Then Gunther cracked up.
"Um. Oops?" CeCe attempted.
"Yeah, not even close." Gunther said, still laughing. "You did that on purpose, Jones."
"Quick, Gunther, go get paper towels from the kitchen on the other side of the house!"
Gunther shook his head, still laughing, and gave her a strange look, but nevertheless got up to do so. As he made his way out of the room, Gunther said, "Don't think you're off the hook. It won't be that easy."
As soon as he was out of sight, CeCe dashed to the cabinet and grabbed her fake bottle, hiding the real one away. After she was done positioning the new bottle, she examined her handiwork and then nodded to herself. Gunther would never know the difference. Then her gaze dropped to her spilled drink. Her carpet. Oh well. Sacrifices had to be made. And she could attack it with that new carpet cleaner tomorrow, and hopefully the stain would go away. Maybe she could steam it out...
Gunther returned with the paper towels and CeCe carefully soaked up as much of the liquid as she could while Gunther looked on amusedly. When she was satisfied, she threw the paper towels away and sat back down next to him. He shook his head at her while she reached for the bottle, and CeCe held her breath as Gunther poured a bit of it into a fresh glass. He didn't seem to notice anything off about it, and CeCe sighed with relief as he added the juice and handed her the drink.
Gunther must have interpreted her sigh as one of resignation because he clapped her on the shoulder and said, "Come on, CeCe, you can do it."
She pretended to be reluctant, and gave Gunther a pitiful look. He just smirked and inclined his head at the drink. She pouted at her drink, and then took a tiny sip. It tasted like... slightly watered down juice, kind of like punch, but CeCe knew the reaction that was expected of her, and she made a disgusted face.
Gunther laughed. "After a few more sips, you won't even taste it."
CeCe frowned and took another sip, and then bit by bit, she finished the whole glass, with Gunther watching her closely the whole time. When she was done, she set the glass down on the table with a loud thunk and looked at Gunther. He looked back at her. "Well?"
"It was gross," CeCe whined, and then, after a pause, "I feel the same."
Gunther grinned. "See? No big deal."
He poured her another drink, this time adding a bit more of the 'vodka'. CeCe decided when she was about halfway through it that it was time to start acting slightly tipsy. She set her unfinished drink down and groaned, "Boy, it's hot."
She rolled her sleeves up as much as possible and feeling herself flush, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt. Hey, if Gunther could do it, why couldn't she? And don't point out the obvious reason. She turned to Gunther, who was staring at her collarbone. He raised his eyes lazily to meet CeCe's, and she grinned at him, scooted just slightly closer, and picked up her drink. She drank the rest of it thirstily, and then set it down with another loud thunk. Then she started to giggle.
Gunther chuckled. "What are you laughing at?"
CeCe giggled harder. "It makes a funny noise."
Gunther shook his head. "You're already getting tipsy."
CeCe scrunched up her face. "No I'm not, I'm fine! Totally fine! One-hun-dred-per-cent-fine!"
"Okay, okay," he grinned. "Ready for another?"
CeCe nodded and Gunther poured her another drink, once again adding a bit more of the fake vodka. When she was finished with that drink, she casually unfastened another button of her shirt, smiling as Gunther's eyes lost their focus for a moment.
"It's hot!" she said loudly, and stood up quickly.
"Whoops!" she said cheerfully as she swayed backwards violently, and Gunther hurriedly stood up and caught her. "Where you going, CeCe?"
CeCe was silent for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't remember!"
Gunther laughed and sat back down, and CeCe sat down next to him, closer than before. After a moment, she started pulling on her shoes. "I. Can't. Get. Them. Off!" She whined, and Gunther laughed again.
"Here let me help." He pulled CeCe's boots off and tossed them aside.
"Socks too?" CeCe asked innocently, and Gunther sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright."
When CeCe was barefoot, she giggled, wiggling her pedicured toes happily. "I can help you!" she said brightly and slid to the floor clumsily.
"What? No, it's fine, CeCe. I'm okay! Haha, CeCe!"
She looked up at him from where she was pulling on his shoes. "I'm helping!"
Gunther rolled his eyes, a smile playing at his lips. "Okay, fine."
CeCe hummed to herself as she pulled Gunther's shoes and socks off and threw them to the side. Then she ran a hand through her hair, stood up unsteadily and fell on top of Gunther.
"Hi," she said into his shirt, her voice muffled.
"Hi," Gunther said, pushing CeCe back a bit, his voice slightly choked.
Instead of getting off of Gunther completely, CeCe stayed press close to him, resting her head on his shoulder so that he could feel her breath on his neck. This wasn't that hard, actually, CeCe decided. She was just letting herself do everything she'd always wanted to do. She stayed press close to Gunther as she nursed her fourth drink.
"You smell good," CeCe said breathily, grinning as Gunther hesitated. "Thanks."
"I like your shirt," CeCe continued, and she ran her hand along his chest. "It's soft."
Before he could respond, CeCe lifted her head from his shoulder and said, "Guess what, Gunther!"
"What?"
"I'm going to get a tattoo," she informed him solemnly.
Gunther cracked up. "Oh really? Since when do you like tattoos?"
CeCe pondered that for a moment. "Siiiiiiince right now. You have a tattoo! On your chest! Right there!" CeCe prodded the place where Gunther's tattoo was hidden by his shirt.
"Yeah, I do."
"Can I see it?"
Gunther smiled indulgently and unbuttoned his shirt a bit more, exposing the crown on his chest.
CeCe bent close to examine it so that he could feel her breath on his skin. She brushed her fingers against it gently and then harder, until she was massaging the skin. Gunther shifted a bit and bit back a moan. Abruptly, he lifted CeCe off of him and slid away a few inches, so that they were no longer in contact, buttoning his shirt back up all the way.
CeCe smiled innocently at him and scooted closer, putting her hand on his thigh. Gunther's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. CeCe suppressed a grin, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Fuck, I need a drink," Gunther said abruptly and reached for the bottle.
Oh no.
"No, you're not allowed!" CeCe said hurriedly, and grabbed the bottle away from him.
"C'mon CeCe, just one." He traced his eyes down CeCe's body, from her endearingly messy curls and flushed face to her unbuttoned shirt and bare feet. "I need it."
"Nope, nope!" CeCe said loudly and cheerily, pushing Gunther's hand away as he reached for a shot glass. He opened another bottle, and CeCe frowned. That one was real, but she didn't want him to have any reason to respond to her other than himself; she didn't want Gunther to reciprocate any of her advances just because he was an affectionate drunk. "None for you, all for me!"
Gunther was still trying to pour himself a drink, and there wasn't much CeCe could do to stop him, so, in desperation, she grabbed the shot that Gunther had just poured, chirped "Mine!" and tossed it back.
... Or tried to. It was so gross, and it was burning, and eww, why did people actually do this for fun? She choked and coughed harshly, spilling about half. The only good thing that came out of it was that Gunther was so busy laughing and pounding CeCe on the back that he seemed to forget that he had need a drink.
"That was gross," CeCe informed Gunther, and he started laughing again.
"Let me pour you a chaser."
He poured CeCe a glass of juice and watched her gulp it down thirstily, grinning fondly.
CeCe turned around to face Gunther and leaned close. "Your eyes are pretty," she said, keeping her eyes wide and dazed. Gunther stared back, unmoving, his mouth slightly open. CeCe touched his neck gently and then pulled back a bit and Gunther exhaled softly, still motionless.
"I'm going to the bathroom," she announced and stood up shakily. She was still clutching the empty shot glass and as she tottered unsteadily toward the bathroom, she dropped it. "Oops!"
She bent down to pick it up, lingering with her butt in the air (oh my gosh, she felt like such an idiot), and when she chanced a glance back at Gunther, she was gratified to see that he was still staring at her, looking rather stupefied. CeCe suppressed a grin and continued on her way.
"Ow!" she yelped, as she stumbled into the wall instead of going through the doorway, and the sound seemed to snap Gunther out of his reverie. He sprang up and put his arm around CeCe, steadying her.
"Let me help you."
CeCe leaned on him heavily as they walked to the bathroom. Once there, Gunther cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So, uh, I'll wait out here, okay?"
"Kay," CeCe mumbled and stepped inside, closing the door heavily behind her, and then relaxed. So far, things were going exceedingly well, and she was very excited. She went to the bathroom, making sure to bang into things and yell "Ouch!" every minute or so. She grinned when Gunther responded with a worried, "Are you okay?" every time.
She started to sing loudly to herself, giggling at her own daring, and when she emerged from the bathroom, Gunther was waiting with his arms crossed. CeCe walked straight into his chest, still giggling and humming alternatingly. Gunther sighed and half-carried her back to the living room.
CeCe cuddled up to him immediately, and, feeling brave, leaned in to whisper in his ear, "You have a nice mouth. I like it a lot. Um."
Then she flushed, because, um, that had come out a bit more uncensored than she'd originally planned. Luckily, Gunther just passed it off as drunkenness and gave her an unreadable look and muttered, "Thanks."
Still feeling brave, CeCe flopped down so that her head was in his lap, and grinned up at him. Gunther froze for a moment, before relaxing and even stroking her hair gently for a brief moment.
"That feels nice," CeCe said, closing her eyes. She smiled when Gunther continued to run his hand through her hair.
She opened her eyes, and turned her head, and oh. Oh my gosh, Gunther's crotch was like, right there. CeCe peeked at it, blushing, noting that it looked kind of, um. Bulge-y, maybe? CeCe debated whether rolling on top of it (oh my gosh, what was she thinking?) would be too much. She shifted her head slightly closer experimentally, and Gunther squawked and pushed her into a sitting position. She was facing away from Gunther now, and she scooted backwards until her butt was pressed to the side of his leg, and looked over her shoulder at Gunther, grinning.
"You're not going to remember this tomorrow," Gunther said with a tinge of desperation. "You're not going to remember this tomorrow." He looked again at CeCe's face, flushed from her daring rather than the alcohol as he had assumed. "There's no fucking way."
"'member what?" CeCe asked breathlessly, tilting her head up at Gunther.
He made a sort of strangled noise from deep within his throat, and then one slightly trembling hand was sliding into CeCe's hair, and the other was resting on her chin, warm against his skin, turning her head more in his direction. And then, Gunther was leaning forward and, and kissing her, oh... Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Gunther's mouth was warm too, and his eyes were closed, so CeCe closed hers too and leaned closer to him, who responded by groaning and pulling CeCe sideways into his lap. CeCe felt tingly all over, and her stomach was fluttering, and Gunther's hands on her face and back were big and warm, and when he tilted his head just so, oh.
And oh my gosh, that thing she'd just felt against her lips, that was Gunther's tongue. She opened her mouth automatically, and oh, oh, Gunther's tongue was, like, magic or something. It had to be, to make her feel like this. She had to get closer, she had to, so she swung a leg over Gunther's lap so that she was straddling his legs. He made a surprised noise, but when CeCe leaned up and looped her arms around his neck, he quickly adjusted and pulled her closer with an arm around her waist.
CeCe didn't really know what she was doing, but she definitely thought that unbuttoning Gunther's shirt was a good idea, so she started at the top. She was about halfway done when Gunther suddenly broke the kiss, saying, "Fuck, fuck, fuck," and grabbed CeCe's hand on his chest.
CeCe blinked at him, not entirely faking the dazed look on her face or the pout that made its way to her lips. She leaned in to kiss him again, and Gunther kissed her back for a few seconds before pulling away again. "But I want, um." CeCe protested, trying to follow Gunther's lips. He chuckled and then his face softened.
Gunther stroked her cheek softly and said fondly, "CeCe, you are so drunk."
Ha, no I'm not! CeCe wanted to say, but that would kind of ruin everything, so she didn't. Gunther continued, "We're not doing anything you might regret tomorrow, okay?" CeCe frowned slightly and thought about protesting, but it was kind of sweet of Gunther to be thinking of her, so instead she leaned forward and tucked her head under his chin, sighing contentedly. Gunther stayed perfectly still for a moment, and then his arms came up and wrapped tight around CeCe.
"Oh, CeCe. I hope you don't remember this tomorrow." It seemed like Gunther was talking more to himself than to CeCe, but she couldn't help responding.
"How come?" CeCe asked worriedly.
"Because I don't want you to hate me for taking advantage of you."
"I could never hate you, Gunther." she sighed, and CeCe could tell he didn't believe her. She pulled away enough to look him in the eye. "I like you."
Gunther met her gaze. "I like you too, CeCe."
"No, but I like you."
Gunther smiled wryly as comprehension dawned on him. "You're also drunk, CeCe."
She bit back a frustrated groan. It figured that this would come back to bite her. "I like you when I'm sober too, honest!"
Gunther leaned closer, "Yeah?"
CeCe pressed his forehead against Gunther's. "Yeah."
Gunther tilted her head up and kissed her again. CeCe sighed into his mouth, her eyes falling shut. Gunther clutched at her as if she was going to disappear and she pressed as close to him as she could. Finally, something like ten minutes later, they pulled apart, and Gunther kissed the side of her jaw, and then her cheekbone, and then her temple. CeCe laid her head on Gunther's shoulder, feeling nothing but pure happiness.
After a little while, CeCe yawned against Gunther's neck, and he chuckled.
"Come on CeCe, let's get you to bed."
CeCe tried to push aside the excitement that those words instilled in her; He totally didn't mean it like that, but, um. She kind of wished he did? Also, she didn't really want to move. So she didn't. When CeCe made no motion to get up, Gunther put his hands under her legs and lifted her. CeCe just burrowed her face into his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist and allowed herself to be carried to bed. When they entered CeCe's room, half in hopes of changing Gunther's mind, she threaded her hands into his hair and kissed him again.
Gunther made a noise that sounded like mmmmph? and kissed CeCe back, hard. He stumbled the remaining few feet to CeCe's bed and made to put her down, but she didn't let go of him, and he fell forward, just barely managing to avoid crushing her underneath him.
"You're staying the night, right?" CeCe asked, still clinging to his neck.
"I guess so," Gunther said, surreptitiously trying to extricate himself from CeCe's arms.
CeCe tightened her grip. "With me?"
Gunther paused. "CeCe..."
"Please, Gunther? Please?"
He sighed and crawled into the bed with CeCe. As soon as he was close enough, she reached out and kissed him. She couldn't get enough of kissing, it was awesome. He kissed her back gently, but when she started on his buttons again, he pulled away.
"Sleep now, CeCe."
"But I want-"
"Not today."
"But-"
Gunther cupped her face in his hands. "Please don't make this harder than it already is, CeCe."
CeCe frowned but assented and curled up in Gunther's arms.
"Night, Gunther."
"Goodnight."
Gunther kept very still as CeCe's breath evened out, stroking her back gently. When he was sure that she was asleep, he carefully slid out from underneath her. Before he left, he kissed her gently on the forehead, and stroked a hand through her hair. Then he went to go sleep in CeCe's guest bedroom.
The full events of the previous night came rushing back to CeCe the moment she opened her eyes, and she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. The dinner, the fake drinking, but most of all the kissing, oh my gosh! Gunther wasn't there, though, he must've gotten up already. CeCe bounced out of bed, still beaming. She was almost out the door when she had a thought and made a detour to the bathroom to brush her teeth, just in case. Then she bounded out of the room. She checked the kitchen first, but no one was there. The living room was also empty. Stumped, she peeked outside to make sure that his car was still there, which it was, much to her relief.
A moment later she heard a noise from her guest bedroom, and excited once again, she bounced off to investigate.
Gunther was making the bed (why was he in the guest bedroom?) and he looked surprised to see her, but CeCe didn't spare a moment to wonder why. She flew into the room and threw her arms around him tightly.
"Morning!" She beamed. Gunther hugged her back for a moment, before he said, "-the fuck?"
CeCe blinked as Gunther held her out at arms length by the shoulders and stared. CeCe looked up at him, confused.
Finally he said, "Holy shit, you're not hungover at all!"
Oh my heck. "Um."
"You must be one of those freaky people who doesn't ever get hung over!"
"Oh, um, yes. That must be it."
She giggled nervously and hugged Gunther again, hardly believing her luck.
Gunther shook his head. "Figures. And here I was preparing to nurse you back to health."
"Guess I'm just lucky!" She paused and asked curiously, "Why are you sleeping in here? Weren't you in my room?"
Gunther was silent for a moment, looking uncertainly at her and scratching the back of his head with one hand. "So, uh, how much of last night do you remember?"
CeCe smiled, and stepped closer to Gunther. "Enough."
"Yeah?" Gunther said hopefully, looking oddly vulnerable.
CeCe locked her arms around his neck. "Yeah," and then she kissed him.
"Now, can we, um." CeCe breathed into Gunther's ear, tugging on his collar with one hand as he kissed along her jaw something like twenty minutes later.
Gunther laughed at her, already turning her in the direction of the bed. He whispered in her ear, "Fuck, we can do whatever you want, CeCe."
CeCe shivered. She liked the sound of that. A lot.
3 years later
CeCe rolled over with a groan. Her head was killing her. And why was the room so bright? It was only... CeCe peered blearily at the clock and winced. 10 AM.
CeCe buried her face back in her pillow, trying to hide from the offending sunlight which was peeking through the window. Gunther snuffled a bit next to her and tossed an arm around her.
CeCe whimpered quietly into the pillow. She really should get up. Why had she slept so late? And why was her mouth so dry. And ouch, her head was throbbing. Maybe they had some aspirin in the medicine cabinet? She should probably make breakfast and oh, oh, oh no.
CeCe stumbled out of bed, almost fell over, and dashed to the bathroom where she proceeded to empty her stomach's contents into the toilet.
"Babe?"
She heard Gunther yawning as he walked into the bathroom, and then an "Oh, fuck."
A moment later, CeCe felt cool hands against the back of her neck and her forehead. CeCe whimpered, resting her forehead on the cool porcelain of the toilet seat.
"Head hurts."
She felt Gunther drop a kiss on the back of her head and then heard him say soothingly, "Just a sec, baby."
Then he flicked the light on. CeCe moaned, screwing her eyes shut. "Turn it off!"
There was a moment of silence and then Gunther flipped the light off. "Babe... Are you hung over?"
"Didn't drink. Don't drink," CeCe mumbled without lifting her head. At the moment, two word sentences were all she could manage.
"I know, baby. But, uh. I think I saw Ty adding something to the punch last night."
CeCe lifted her head way too fast and promptly groaned pitifully. Gunther chuckled a bit despite himself. "Why didn't you tell me?" CeCe demanded.
Gunther shrugged. "I thought maybe you could use the destresser. And anyway, you only had like two glasses. Plus as far as I knew, you don't get hangovers."
"Oh. Um. About that. Funny story."
There was a pause, and then Gunther said, "Okay, so let's get rid of this hangover and then we'll have a long talk, because I have a feeling you have some stuff to fill me in on."
"-and that's what happened, and please don't be mad!"
There was a beat of silence. Then, Gunther roared with laughter.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hahahaha, wait. Let me get this straight. Hahaha. You-haha, you. You pretended, to be drunk. That whole night. You were pretending. The entire night. Hahahaha. You.
"It's not that funny," CeCe huffed, but laughing was much preferable to yelling, so she was very relieved.
"So when you, hahaha, when you were all over my tattoo, you were sober?"
"Um." she hesitated, "Yes."
"Hahaha! And when you were trying to take off our shoes and socks?"
"Yes," CeCe flushed.
"Haha, and when you kept banging into walls?"
"Yeah."
"And when you fell down on top of me, like three times? Hahaha, and when you put your head in my lap?"
"Yes," CeCe said resignedly.
"And when you almost rolled over on my crotch?"
CeCe buried her face in her hands, but Gunther seemed to take that as enough of an answer because he cracked up again.
"And," CeCe could hear the smirk in his voice, "when you told me I smelled good, and my eyes were pretty, and you liked my mouth?"
CeCe raised her head from her hands indignantly. "Oh my gosh, do you remember every detail of that night?" she demanded, blushing furiously.
"Just the important ones," Gunther smirked, and suddenly climbed on top of CeCe, pushing her back down onto the sofa. "After all, it was the best night of my life."
CeCe blushed more as Gunther leaned down to nip at her earlobe. "So baybee," Gunther breathed into her ear after a moment. "Inquiring minds want to know... Do you like my mouth?"
"Oh my gosh!" CeCe huffed as Gunther cracked up again. "No, I think it's a very bad mouth, actually. Not, um, hot at all."
"I think you're lying," Gunther said softly against CeCe's lips.
"Am not," CeCe pouted, even as she raised her head to kiss him. Gunther pulled out of reach.
"I think," he continued as if she hadn't spoken, "that my mouth drives you crazy."
As if proving a point, he bent his head and kissed CeCe deeply. She made a pleased noise and kissed him back, but too soon, he was pulling away.
"You sneaky little-" he said, astonished as realization struck him. "You seduced me."
"Um," CeCe blushed.
"Oh my god. You- I can't even. Sweet, innocent CeCe Jones made an evil genius plan to seduce me."
"Um."
"And here I was thinking that I took advantage of you in your vulnerable drunken state."
"Um."
"I approve, Jones." He bent to suck on CeCe's neck. "I approve highly."
CeCe whimpered as Gunther slid his hands up her shirt.
"So I guess it's my turn, huh?" Gunther said in a low voice, punctuating his words with kisses.
"To what?" CeCe asked breathily, arching up under Gunther.
"To seduce you. I'm going to seduce you, CeCe Jones." He grinned. "With my sexy mouth."
CeCe smacked Gunther's shoulder, giggling slightly, and he covered her mouth with his own.
Later, when they'd both been divested of their clothing and Gunther had applied his very sexy mouth to various places on CeCe's body, reducing her to a whimpering, moaning wreck, Gunther whispered in CeCe's ear. "So is my seduction working?"
It totally was.