Rountree gently knocked on Fatima's bedroom door. Her parents liked him enough to let him in, but they were still formal with each other. Fatima opened the door and smiled. She rested her head against the door.
"You okay?" Rountree asked worriedly. Fatima closed her eyes.
"Stressed and tired, and I want a drink so bad," she groaned. She opened the door more, allowing him to come in. He slipped in and closed the door behind him, knowing Fatima wouldn't want her parents to see what he was about to pull out if his bag.
"Why didn't you go to Deeks's bar after work?" he asked, pulling her into his lap.
"I had a headache. And I didn't have a ride. You were still in San Diego when I left," she replied.
"You don't have anything here?" he asked.
"My parents don't drink. And they don't let me have alcohol at home," she whined.
"That's pretty dumb, I guess it's a good thing I love you," he whispered in her ear. Fatima looked up and raised an eyebrow. Rountree opened his gym bag and pulled out a bottle of her favorite red wine. Fatima's eyes lit up as he revealed two glasses. He set the bottle and glasses on the desk and started pouring. He passed one to Fatima and kept the other for himself. They clinked glasses and began sipping.
"How did you know this was my favorite?" she asked softly as she settled into her massive pile of pillows. Rountree settled in next to her and smiled.
"Let's just say, Nell thinks we would be a cute couple, so it was pretty easy to convince her," he replied as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. Fatima tried to pretend that the feeling didn't give her butterflies. She turned her head and kissed his chin. Rountree smiled and pressed his lips to hers. They shared light pecks for a few minutes before resting their foreheads together. "I love you so much," he murmured.
"I love you too," Fatima mumbled sleepily. Rountree gave her another quick kiss, then got up and put a cork in the bottle of wine.
"Better?" he asked softly. He put the bottle in the minifridge in her closet. Fatima was occasionally able to sneak in alcohol, then keep it hidden away.
They curled up in each others' arms and smiled.
