"You're drunk." Will glared from his seat next to her. She smiled and nodded, grasping his hand beneath the tablecloth.
"I never understood why I used to drink so much, but I think I figured out why." She leaned closer to his ear and began to whisper. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. "These people are boring, honey."
"You didn't just used to drink a lot, Kare, you were an alcoholic." She scoffed and finished off the rest of her glass of wine, before he took it from her hand. They had arrived at the charity dinner and been handed glasses of wine as soon as they entered the dining room. She quickly dipped back into her old routine, they way she talked to people with such distaste and her drinking habits. He knew who she used to be before they got together, before she stopped harming herself with alcohol and pills, and he wasn't so sure he liked her going back to her old ways. He loved her for who she really was, not who she pretended to be.
"You want to go home." It was more of a statement than a question, but he agreed just the same. Their eyes met and he shrugged. "I know you're not much of a social person, honey, but I promised Stan I'd represent the company."
"I know you did, but you don't have to get wasted to do so." She tried to keep her voice down as she spoke.
"I only had a few glasses. Why are you being so persistent?"
"It wasn't a few, it was eight. That's too much for one person."
"Are you seriously counting?"
"Who in their right mind would just pound eight glasses of wine in such a short amount of time?"
"Are you suggesting that I'm not in my right mind?"
"Maybe I am." She looked away from his eyes and stared at her manicured nails, unmarked from her appointment that morning. She began to feel strange. It was as if she didn't know herself anymore. When she was an active socialite, her nails were always perfect, her clothes were always pressed and designer labeled, and she drank more than anyone she knew. It was as if she had suddenly seen what everyone else saw when they looked at her, and she didn't like it at all. She sniffled to keep her emotions inside, not wanting to look unhappy to the sadistic people at the event.
"Let's go." She stood from the table and walked to the coatroom, leaving Will behind at the table. He watched after her for a moment before quickly following. She stood at the window, waiting for her purse and their coats when she began to feel lightheaded. Her legs wobbled and she began to lose her balance, only to be caught by Will. He held her from behind, his arms around her waist, as the man at the window passed their belongings to them.
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Kare." He didn't speak until they were seated in the back of the limo, the doors closed. She met his eyes and he could tell that her inebriated state was causing her mind to feel deeper about what he said. If it was a normal day and she hadn't been drinking, she probably would've just waved a hand in dismissal and made a joke. But she felt differently at the moment. In her mind it was becoming impossible for her to hide any sort of feeling or emotion from him, and she didn't like that.
"Will, I used to be one of those women, the clothes and shoes and manicures, everything. And now I'm lucky if I find a pair of pants that don't make my ass look huge. How bad is it when I start hating myself, just for being me?"
"Did one of those women say something to you?"
"I just don't get the respect I used to get, that's all. It feels wrong."
"They never used to respect you, they feared you. You're mouth has always gotten you into trouble." He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her head to his chest. "But now, you have the ability to be yourself, and I like that."
"But I don't fit in anymore."
"You fit in with the people who matter. So, the socialite scene isn't yours anymore, who cares? Is all the gossiping and putting people down really something you're going to miss?" She smiled at his words, knowing how foolish her thoughts were before; her brain had only been momentarily scattered.
"I guess not."
"And, look at it this way, you're respected by people who have loved you through everything, and none of us judge you. Isn't that enough?" He allowed his words time to sink in before he looked down to her face. He smiled when he saw that her eyes were closed, and her face was relaxed. She wouldn't remember her sadness the next morning.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She sighed one last time and collapsed upon his chest, breathing heavily. Her orgasm had been so heavily intense that she was lightheaded, seeing stars in the corners of her eyes. Her body felt so limp and useless, heavy, as she lazily placed a kiss on his chest. He ran his hands over her back, feeling her shivering skin beneath them.
"Kiss me." His words were soft, still partially rocked by the passion of the previous activities. Their eyes met and she pressed her lips against his, quickly finding his tongue. Her hands caressed his face as she pulled away. "You're eyes are sparkling." She smiled, his comment being unexpected.
"That's because I'm seeing stars, honey." He chuckled and held her closer, running a thumb over the flesh of her hip. "I can't move."
"We should stay like this forever." His suggestion would have been fine with her, if she had to be honest. If the rest of the world melted away, she would only need their love to be happy.
"We could, though we would have some explaining to do." She pecked his lips and allowed him to pull out, rolling over to lie next to him. He wasn't quite as ready to break the closeness of their bodies, so he pulled her close to rest her head on his chest. "Honey, is this what happiness feels like?"
"I suppose it is." He was taken aback by her thoughts, her words. It was always shocking to him that she could come so quickly back to reality after they made love. And her words were surprising. He wasn't exactly sure what happiness was, but he knew that he felt fine at the moment.
"I don't want it to go away." She held him closer and kissed his collarbone. He ran his fingers through her dark hair.
"But if it didn't go away sometimes, we wouldn't want it as badly, right?"
"Is that how you define happiness?"
"Maybe." He rolled over on top of her and pinned her to the mattress beneath them. She smiled until his lips descended upon hers. "All I know is that I'm happy, and I'm in love with you." She smiled before deciding to voice something that she had been thinking about for a while, hoping he felt the same.
"Marry me." He returned her smile.
The End
