A/N from Freedom909: So thank you all so much for taking the time to read the next chapter of our collab! It's been such an honor to work with an amazing writer, MaryEvH. Sorry to leave this chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the next chapter, you will totally be in for a nice treat.
Warnings: The end of this chapter contains the beginnings of some smut that will totally make your heart beat a little faster. Reader discretion is advised, as it is for the next chapter.
With that, please enjoy!
Nine...ten...eleven...or was that twelve? Enjolras was starting to loose count of the shots, the tips of his fingers tingling as they slowly went numb, his vision blurring a little as he looked at Éponine again. She was still grinning like she was winning, but he was going to show her...right...?
"What's the matter, Gabriel?" she slurred loudly, jolting him back to reality for a brief moment. "Twelve shots too much for you to handle?"
So it was twelve. "Nah…this is child's play," he mused, holding the next shot in his hand. His face contorted as he stared down at it. Trying not to think about his churning stomach, Enjolras brought the glass closer to his lips. Éponine eyed him curiously holding her next shot. Man, how was she so good at this? She barely looked like she was hammered.
"Good, then ready...one..."
"Well, hello there beautiful," a liquid voice purred from behind Éponine, interrupting her. His hand graced the back of her shoulders, moving her hair over her shoulder to the front, and then tracing down her arm. He slid into the bar stool next to her never taking his eyes off of Enjolras. Enjolras knew him the second he made eye contact. It was the man whose girl he flirted with earlier that night at the pool table.
Éponine raised a drunken lip to the man. "Hi," she said shortly before turning her attention back to Enjolras.
"Name's Jay." But Éponine didn't turn to him again; she looked incredibly irritated that he had interrupted their competition. "You know, I've never seen a girl who can hold her liquor so well."
Amused, she looked back at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Girls can have just as good a tolerance as guys, if not better, when it comes to alcohol." Her head dipped a little as she spoke, fighting against the effects of the shots.
Jay only smirked at her. "I didn't mean it like that at all. You see…" his fingers found hers and began tracing each groove and crevice, "I think it's hot."
Through his blurry vision, Enjolras couldn't help but stare. He gritted his teeth knowing exactly what Jay was doing. He was getting back at Enjolras for flirting with his girl. And as far as Enjolras could tell, she was nowhere in sight. He chuckled to himself. Damn, I must've made an impression on her if she didn't even want to spend the rest of her night with this guy.
Éponine gave him a smile when she saw him chuckling. Jay continued speaking, "Maybe after you whip this guy's ass," he inched himself closer to Éponine so that he was practically in her lap, "you can meet me in the back. I can even show you a good time."
She eyed him like she was sizing him up. "Nice try. But Gabriel here is gonna be taking me on a date. Wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea, ya see," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Enjolras fell a little more sober at the sound of his name, making sure to listen more intently. "Well, Gabriel here…" Jay's tone was laced with venom as he spit his name; his hand found her knee, slowing climbing up, "he probably takes lots of girls on dates. At least, I can…" his hand squeezed her upper thigh, drifting closer, "make it special for you."
Éponine almost gasped but she held back her reaction to him. Placing her shot glass down on the counter, she took her hand and firmly removed his from her thigh. "Not tonight," she quipped with a forced smirk.
Jay stood up with a huff, clearly embarrassed by the rejection. He floated around Éponine and stood between the pair, looking directly at Enjolras. "I hope you wash off your boots when you come in. Wouldn't want her doormat dirtied by someone else's dust." Enjolras could only blush a little in embarrassment and he hoped to God Éponine didn't know what he meant by that.
"Alright, pretty boy, you ready? That was long enough of a break." She said as she picked her shot glass up again.
The thought of swallowing the next shot made Enjolras want to gag. But luckily, he was a quick thinker and he knew how to stall. "So, I'm thinking about this bet we made – "
"Oh, no way you're backing out now! What, scared you're gonna lose?" Éponine nearly yelled at him.
"No, not that. I'm just thinking you're not gonna have enough money to pay for all the drinks I'm gonna buy next week."
"Well, I hope you've got enough money for me. I expect some place fancy for dinner."
"In your dreams."
"Enough talking," she said swirling the contents of her glass, "We have more shots to do. One…two…three."
They knocked back their glasses simultaneously. Éponine let out a sharp breath as she swallowed it hard. "That makes thirteen! You up for the next one?" He tried to open his mouth to say something, but a much less eloquent stream of vomit came out, all over the floor in front of the bar. "HA! I win!" she shouted loudly, thrusting her arms over her head in the traditional victory salute, prompting loud cheers – and even some applause – from the sizable crowd of spectators they'd drawn.
Damn.
"Well, Enjolras, that's the first drinking contest I've seen you lose since you were about sixteen," the bartender laughed. "What got into ya?"
Enjolras could only groan. "Thirteen never was my lucky number," he slurred under his breath. His head was spinning furiously and his thoughts kept reminding him that he now needed to take Éponine on a date next week. God, maybe he was finally going soft. Well, soft or not, he needed to reclaim his manhood somehow. Suddenly an idea struck him.
"Hey, Éponine…" his voice drawled out, "Sorry about your jeans."
She looked down to see half of her pant leg covered in his vomit. "Ah! Yuck!" She started grabbing the little drink napkins trying to wipe off it off.
"Yeah, that's gonna work," he said with a smirk.
"Looks like I didn't whip your ass hard enough if you can still make jokes." There was a hint of amusement in her voice but it was buried beneath her disgust of his vomit on her pants.
"Why don't you just come back with me? I can help you clean up." Éponine froze eyeing him skeptically. "C'mon, it's the least I can do. I didn't mean to throw up on you," he insisted.
Her eyes narrowed as her lips curved up showing a hint of her dimples. "It's the least you can do for now. Next week, I still expect somewhere classy…that will be the least you can do." She slipped herself off the bar stool as a wobbly Enjolras got to his feet as well. But by sheer force of will he sobered up, snaking his arm around the small of her back and guiding her out of the bar. "Now where the hell did you park?" she asked.
Enjolras chuckled. "My bike's over here," he said, carefully steering her towards the curb where his motorcycle was parked. "You're gonna want to hold on tight; I like to go fast," he winked. His inhibitions were even lower than usual, he noticed. Must be that damn tequila talking.
"I like fast," she laughed, straddling the bike behind him and pulling on the other helmet, wrapping an arm none too loosely around his waist. The ride back to Enjolras' apartment was very quick, even though he lived on the other side of town. He does like to go fast, Éponine decided as he finally parked. The two of them slowly went up the stairs to his door, and he fumbled with the keys for a moment before unlocking it.
His apartment was mostly bare, but relatively clean. A TV was mounted to one wall as they walked in, opposite a couch and coffee table. The kitchen was to the left, and a hall to their right led to the rest of the rooms. Éponine let her gaze wander around the place, taking everything in.
Enjolras was suddenly unsure of what to do. "Um…"
"Cat got your tongue, hotshot?" she grinned.
As hard as he tried to keep it down, his cheeks flushed red. "Bathroom's this way," he grumbled, leading her down the hall. "Since I still gotta haul your drunk ass around…"
"Hey, this was your idea, idiot," she said, closing the door behind her.
Enjolras couldn't help but chuckle and roll his eyes. That woman was something else, to be certain. He walked back out to the front of his apartment, already seeing a little clearer. I guess the vomit was just purging the excess…which means it's time to start again.
He crouched down by his dishwasher and pulled out his key ring, flipping through them as he waited for Éponine to finish up in the bathroom. "Ah," he murmured to himself with a smile as he found the key he wanted. The liquor cabinet opened up, and his smile grew. "Hello, beautiful," he murmured as he pulled out a bottle of wine. "Yes, you'll do nicely."
To his surprise, she came out only a few minutes later, just as he finished pouring the wine. "Already?" she laughed. "I'm surprised you can handle another."
"Before you came along and bested me tonight, I was the best drinker on this side of town," he grinned, handing her a glass.
Éponine had to admit, she was impressed by how suave he was, even after all they'd had to drink. She'd expected him to lose some quality of his charm under the influence, but he never did. And he wasn't even slick about it, which pissed her off only the slightest bit. But even still, she loved that domineering charm about him. Mainly, she wanted to get closer to him and find out how he did it. Something about him just continued to draw her in…
So she took the glass from his outstretched hand, and they sat down at his kitchen table.
She lost track of how long they sat there just talking and drinking wine. She loved listening to him speak so smoothly about any topic and the conversation just flowed so easily. But love has a way of making you forget you've been talking for hours. While they talked, Enjolras never failed to be so suavely charming and simultaneously snarky, as he had in the bar, and yet, he somehow managed to retain this vibe of smoldering sex appeal that made her ovaries quiver. How does he do it…?
"So anyway, my great-great-grandfather brought a vine over with him from France when he came over to California," she heard Enjolras say as she zoned back into the conversation. He'd been telling her about how his family had made wine back in France. "He mixed it with some American vines and made something completely new. Got himself out of a real shit hole that way."
Éponine smiled. "There's a story in my family that's almost more legend than truth, we think – when my ancestors lived in France, around 1832, they were innkeepers. Bad ones, from the records we found. My great-great-great-et cetera-grandfather watered the wine all the time. And actually, I think his name was also Auguste," she laughed. Enjolras laughed also, taking another sip of his wine. "Remind me again what we're drinking?" she asked.
He set the glass down. "It's a 2003 Merlot. My great-great-grandfather used to own the winery, and to this day, they still use his procedure to make and age the wine the way he did."
Éponine raised an eyebrow, scooting closer. "And what's that?"
"Well…" Enjolras found himself struggling to remember the process. She was so beautiful, sitting there looking at him like that…Oh for God's sake, Gabriel, get a grip on yourself! "After they make the wine, they age it in oak barrels…but for a little longer than the other wineries. After that they move it to…cedar, I think." Good God! What is going on with me?!
"I'd love to go see it sometime," she said, grinning. Why was his heart fluttering when she grinned like that? He didn't get attached to women. He never had. And he sure as hell wasn't planning to start now.
And yet, he found himself grinning back, taking another drink from his glass. "I'd love to take you there."
A pause, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips, and back.
Then she kissed him.
Needless to say, Enjolras was beyond taken aback. He found himself frozen in shock for a moment, before he closed his eyes. Immediately, it became any other kiss. He found his lips easily moving with hers, his arms gently curling around her tiny form, then gradually tightening around her. However, she pulled back before it got to be too much fun, and Enjolras was slightly disappointed, even though he didn't quite understand why. The girl did have quite the technique, though.
Éponine, on the other hand, seemed slightly flustered by her sudden boldness. "You, uh…" she stammered. "You had some wine on your lip, but uh…I got it for you."
Enjolras chuckled. "I appreciate it," he answered, mock toasting her.
Her cheeks flushed red, and he couldn't help but feel momentarily triumphant. For two reasons – it had been a good kiss, and it was payback for her embarrassing him when they arrived at the apartment. Enjolras knew this was his opportunity to finally reclaim his manhood, especially after losing to her, and by God, he was going to show her who was boss. Éponine quickly got up, hurrying into the kitchen. It seemed to Enjolras like she was looking for any excuse to change the subject. Then she saw the open liquor cabinet.
"Oooh, what have we here?" she purred, pulling out a bottle of tequila.
Enjolras chuckled, getting up from his chair enough to gently pry the bottle from her hand. "Remember what you said earlier about this bad boy?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, setting it down on his other side as she reached for it again. "Your one big weakness?"
"I don't care," she half-growled in his ear, suddenly kissing him again.
Enjolras knew she wasn't doing this on accident. She was trying to seduce him, he knew it…and dammit to hell, it was working. He kissed her back, pressing his hands flat against her back again. As quickly as it began, she popped back and flipped a stunned Enjolras against the counter, running off to the back of the apartment with the bottle. He grinned as he started following her. This was going to be so much fun.
She was already in the bedroom by the time he ran to the back. He was used to the dim lighting of the room, and he liked the picture he was seeing – she was standing in the middle of the room, tequila bottle in her hand, close to the foot of his tall bed, which was covered in all black except for one red decorative pillow. A nightstand sat next to one side, and a dresser was on one wall.
They were both laughing hard as she attempted to open the bottle, finally succeeding after about three tries. "Now, now," Enjolras pretended to scold in a purring tone, "am I going to have to tie you up, Ms. Thénardier?"
Éponine laughed again, swirling the tequila in the bottle. "That remains to be seen…" she purred back, before snagging a quick sip.
Immediately, Enjolras wrestled the bottle from her grip, making their way around the side of the bed, and placed it on the nightstand. Éponine attempted to reach for it, but he was too quick. He grabbed her wrists hard, pinning them against the wall over her head. She somehow managed not to moan, but let a quiet gasp of surprise escape. "Don't make me warn you twice," he growled in her ear.
They went for another kiss at the same time, his big hands slowly snaking down her bare arms and allowing hers to curl back around him. Enjolras' hands moved under her leather jacket to help her shrug it off, letting her long hair tumble down over her almost-bare shoulders. He allowed himself to run his hands back and forth over her arms and shoulders, marveling at the softness of her skin. Éponine's tiny hands started to reach under his white shirt, tugging and teasing it up. He obliged her, pulling it off to reveal a muscular chest and six-pack abs any man would kill to have. They were both breathing hard already, but Enjolras had no plans to stop. This was just getting fun.
As they kissed, Éponine lightly dragged one finger down his spine, making him shiver involuntarily. Despite the heat simmering between their bodies, the room seemed to be getting colder. Enjolras slid his hands under her tank top, teasing it up the way she had with his shirt. It was quickly over her head and on the floor, showing off her low-cut, lacy black bra.
"Well, well, well," Enjolras grinned, trailing one finger down her sternum between her breasts. "These look like they'll be fun to play with…"
She shivered a little also, grinning. Enjolras graced his fingers back up her stomach, applying even pressure on each fingertip. His hands gripped her ribcage tightly, right under the swell of her breasts, as he traced the line of her bra around to her back. He loved watching her writhe with each move of his fingers. It was enough for him to keep going slowly; just slowly enough to torture her. But then, love has a way of opening clasps, of letting the silky material slide from her arms, and of letting it dangle on his fingertips before it falls to the floor.
His fingers found her breasts again, gently kneading them in his palms while his thumbs pressed her nipples. His tongue glided over her collar bone, tasting the sheen of sweat that glistened from her skin. Her head fell back against the wall, her mouth open, while her hands clasped his hair for dear life, keeping his head close to her. Her hands pushed his head a little lower, begging him. She was loving this. Enjolras knew to take the hint as his tongue made it's way, ever so teasingly, to between her breasts. He started with the right, sucking and occasionally biting her hardened nipples.
He could feel one of her hands leave his head and out of the corner of his eye, Enjolras noticed her reaching for the tequila bottle again. Instantly, he grabbed her wrists and pinned them up over her head like he had before. "I told you not to make me warn you twice…" he growled again. "You leave me no choice, Ms. Thénardier."
Éponine was clearly breathing hard, but trying to keep playing it cool. "So what happens now?"
Enjolras grinned. "On the bed. I'll show you."
She didn't have to be told twice. Bracing back on the heels of her hands, she pushed herself up on top of the silky black duvet as Enjolras slowly pulled off his belt. Her heart nearly stopped for a second as he grinned almost devilishly at her, hopping with ease on top of the bed.
Well then...he wasn't kidding about tying me up.
A/N: MaryEvH here! Aaaaaaand, CLIFFIE! We'll be back soon with the rest. ;) Let us know what you think!
