"Oh...You're back," Bruce said to Adriana with pleasant surprise. "In...a robe."
"Yeah.." Adriana walked into his penthouse, brushing past him.
"It's uh..." he spoke, distracted by the fact that she didn't appear to be wearing anything underneath the satin material. "Very nice. Any particular reason you're wearing a robe and wet hair out in the middle of winter?"
"I just.." she said as Bruce noticed how badly she was slurring her words. "Hadda scrub my fucking hair for an hour..."
"Alright..." he said in a daze, staring at her chest through the thin fabric. Bruce watched the fabric clinging to her skin as she turned and walked away from him.
The doorbell ringing broke his focus on the satin clinging to her skin, and he walked out of the den to see who was at the door.
"Hi, can I help you?" Bruce asked the man standing there, who looked like he was in a rush. One of the hotel's security guards was with him.
"Mr. Wayne," the guard said. "I apologize for interrupting your evening. This man is a cab driver and claims that his fare mentioned something about coming here to see you-"
"It could be a misunderstanding," the cab driver interrupted. "The blonde chick she owes me $24, she just got out of the cab, didn't pay-"
"Not a problem," Bruce said and opened a small wooden box on the table by the door, with cash for tips for service workers. "Here you go."
"Oh...thank you," the taxi driver said looking at the six twenty dollar bills Bruce handed him.
"Have a good night," Bruce said.
"Oh and she left this," the driver handed Bruce and empty tequila bottle. "Good night."
Bruce closed the door and looked down at the bottle in his hand. Adriana was nowhere in sight. Bruce walked through his penthouse until she found her at the bar cart in his den. She had poured herself a shot of whiskey.
"Is this yours?" Bruce asked.
She turned her head and looked at the bottle.
"Oh...oh yeah," she said and picked up the shot glass.
"Did you uh.." he held up the glass bottle. "Drink all of this?"
"Mmm.." she said and sipped the whiskey. "No..I definitely spilled half in that cab.."
"Oh," Bruce said, having a bit of trouble understanding the slurred words. "You feeling okay?"
"Great," she said and walked over to the couch to sit. "Oh shit...i forgodda pay the..cabbie."
"I took care of it," he told her.
"I'll pyaib...back." she said sincerely.
"Pardon?" Bruce said, not able to understand what she had just said.
"The money," she said slowly, trying to enunciate. "I'll give it back-"
"No, no, no," he said. "Don't worry about that at all."
"I...gotta sit down," she said and walked over to the couch.
He walked over and sat beside her, still holding the empty tequila bottle. He watched her swallow the whiskey and sat the tequila bottle on the table in front of his couch. He was not sure what to say to her. His suspicions about her having a drinking problem seemed to be confirmed.
"The human body...so much blood...did you know.." she said, looking at him. "Like...even in one finger...so much blood..like a fountain...I mean I've seen so many people lose a lot of blood...in people's mind...like...memories... but...in person it was like...too much..."
Bruce was confused but listened patiently.
"I mean...like one finger," she said and showed him her index finger. "So much blood can like..squirt out like...pulse...pulse...fucking...insane..."
"Adriana," Bruce gently took the empty shot glass. "I think that's enough booze for the night. I'll get you some water."
"Yeah...good idea..good.." she said and leaned back when he went to get the water.
When he came back he saw that she looked like she was asleep. Gently he touched her cheek to wake her.
"Here, just have a bit," he said and held the cup to her lips.
She tried taking a few sips.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.
"I gotta go.." she said. "I can't...lemmy...leave...my phone it's home...I gotta always have my...phone and...:
She placed a hand on her forehead.
"Looks like that tequila is hitting," he noticed. "I think you should stay. You've had a lot to drink."
"I shouldn't even be here...I'm not even supposed to be around you..." she slurred. "Whe did I come here. I said I wouldn't...be around you."
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
"Oh...right..." she placed her hand over her eyes. "Not you...I mean..you know..."
She touched his cheek.
"I wanted to see you but..." she said. "It's bad...I shouldn't do this...how could I..."
"You should stay. That way I can make sure you haven't poisoned yourself," Bruce said, her words making less and less sense.
"I'm fine..." she said. "I can..sleep. Go home and sleep.."
"Adriana," Bruce touched her hand. "Please. Let me look after you. Sleep here."
She smiled and blinked one eye and then the other.
"You're so nice to me..." she said. "Okay...I'll sleep with you."
Bruce raised his eyebrows.
"I uh..." he said. "I was thinking you could stay in the guest room closest to mine so that I can check on you through the night. That would be the gentlemanly thing to do after all."
"Mmm..." she groaned and moved to try to get up. "Ok...a .."
"You don't have to walk. I'll carry you," he said.
"Okay.." she said and sat up a bit.
He lifted her easily and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Your hair smells nice," he whispered. She didn't reply and he assumed she had fallen asleep as he walked down a hall.
"No.." she said as he walked and approached the guest room door. "No guest room...your room.."
"Are you sure?" he asked her.
"Sure.." she said.
"Alright," Bruce said and made his way to his bedroom.
After placing her on the bed with her upper back on the pillows, he sat beside her legs. She looked at him, blinking incredibly slowly.
"Do you think you'll need a bucket?" he asked her.
"No..." she said. "Wait...maybe."
He went into his bathroom and picked up the small empty trashcan beside the sink and grabbed at towel from the pyramid of rolled towels on the table by the shower. When he entered his room again and shut off the bathroom light he noticed she was disrobing. She had opened the robe and was pulling it off of her arms.
"It's hot..," she said.
Bruce gazed at her.
"Do you want more water?" he asked, unable to stop looking at her body. She laid back and closed her eyes and didn't answer. He placed the bucket on the table beside her along with the towel and placed a few bottles of water from the mini fridge in his bedroom behind them. After gazing at her for a few more seconds he opened the bottles, leaving the lids sitting loosely on the tops.
"It's cold.." she murmured to herself, eyes still closed.
"I'll get another blanket," he said.
"No...this one.." she rolled over onto her stomach with some difficulty and began pulling the edge of the comforter from under the pillows.
"I got it..." he said after her watching her backside for a moment, after realizing he needed a distraction from his growing arousal. He reached over her and pulled comforter down and she got onto her hands and knees to crawl under.
"Come here..." she said, once she was sitting under the blanket. "Please...I am cold."
It only covered her hips and legs. She reached towards him with one arm. He crawled in beside her after removing his shoes and socks. He looked into her eyes and let her make the move to begin kissing him.
"I taste like booze donn I?" she asked with her eyes half open. "Thasswa you're thinking."
"Well..It's not so much the taste," he said honestly. "As the smell."
"Sorry.." she said. "I think I ...I think I need the bucket."
Immediately he reached behind him, grabbing the bucket from the table and placing it in front of her. She heaved once with her head inside, releasing burning fluids. She spit a few times with her eyes closed and opened them with wet eyelashes since her eyes started to run. When she looked into the bucket, she was a bit horrified to see the deep blue colored liquid in the white marble colored trash can. That day she hadn't even had any of the potion..yet her vomit was still blue. Thick..deep blue like ink.
"What else did you drink?" he asked observing the strange colored refuse.
"Blue..blue stuff..." she murmured as he reached for a towel and water. She swished her mouth and spit into the bucket again after he handed her the water.
"What's it called?" he asked, wondering what type of alcoholic drink she had taken in this color.
"I forget.." she lied as he took the bucket away.
He handed her the towel and she pressed it against her lips. She laid on her side facing him, and pulled a pillow under her neck.
"So I'm..." she said, while looking up at him as he laid on his side propped up on his elbow. "Really...embarrassed."
"Don't be," he smiled. "Happens to the best of us."
"I'mmess...I'm terrible...I donn even know why you like me... I'm so fucking awful..." she said.
"No.." he said, surprised at the things she was saying. "You're perfect."
"I puked..." she said. "And I'm..soofo...liaran...weak.."
"Okay..." he said, having a bit of trouble again with understanding what she was saying. "I don't mind."
"You're thinking..." Adriana said, unable to control her mouth. "You..want sex."
Bruce was quiet.
"We should...right now..." she said and touched his arm. "If you want.."
"You have no clue how much I would love to but..." he said regrettably. "You're quite intoxicated."
"So..." she laughed to herself. "So what. It's not like you never had sex with a drunk girl before.."
"Okay," he said, feeling a bit more awkward. "This is different. I am sober and...I like you very much Adriana. So I would like you to be sober the first time we have sex. I want you to be present and remember it."
"Yeah but.." she said. "What about Sabrina.."
"Who is Sabrina?"
"Sabrina...Kingston," Adriana remembered.
"I don't know who that is," he said.
"Maybe you forgot..you slept with her. She was drunk..you weren't. She doesn't even remember it. Not consciously anyway," Adriana said. "You liked her too."
Bruce looked down and then around the room. He had no recollection of this Sabrina, but he had no doubt that what Adriana was saying was true. Adriana noticed his facial expression. He felt called out.
"Ohmyga.." Adriana said. "I don...I'm so soryy...It's the tequila..I'm so-"
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Liquor makes some people speak very honestly. And with your abilities...I suppose you will be honest for the both of us."
"This is why it never works our for me...relationships...I'm a mess," she said. "How can I be...somes...messed up-"
"Stop saying that-" Bruce said.
"No, I am...that's why you kissed Shade," she said. "Shade's perfect...she's..everything I'm not. She...strongnn..confidence...andsShe helps people..she does good...she helps them...I mutilate them...and...so much..blood..."
"I don't understand," Bruce said.
"Me either..." she said and closed her eyes.
"I didn't kiss Shade because there's something wrong with you," Bruce said. "You are an amazing woman Adriana. Truly."
He waited for her to reply.
She had fallen asleep.