“Ah, I see,” Duely said the words in a way that held inflection only I understood. He was calling me out on my mood. He thought this was all about Rathe being on a date. He had no idea the mountain of crap that had caused this need to drink. I felt like shoving a sock in his mouth. I could shut his mouth easily enough, and he knew it. I’d done it before with the brilliant addition of a zipper to replace his lips. Sure, it was childish, but then I was thirteen at the time.

I didn’t look at Duely. I took another drink of my wine instead. It was definitely smooth, and there was a fruity aftertaste that I should be enjoying and not gulping down like water.

“Easy, Snow White,” Duely warned, and I continued to ignore him. His nickname for me, to remind me of my naivety, was annoying. I turned my attention to The Office to see it was on the next episode. I tried to focus on the antics that normally made me laugh. Even with the wine, I still wasn’t finding it funny.

“Ignore him,” Margo said, walking back into the room carrying a new bottle of wine. “Looks like we need to break open another one.” She walked toward me. “You never drink. Enjoy it. We all need it tonight.” I let her fill my glass back up, and I felt the relaxing warmth that was starting to flow through my body. Taking another drink, I sat back and sighed from the slight numbness it was creating. She was right; I needed this. I was thankful for the yummy liquid.

I watched as Heath retrieved the cover that had fallen from my lap to the floor when I’d sat up so abruptly earlier. He covered my legs back up and that was nice. He was always nice. I smiled at him without worry that he felt other things. I was sure that I had been overthinking that. It was easier to relax now and not make things up in my head to stress about that weren’t even there. “Thank you,” I told him. “This wine is good.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, Cat, it is,” he agreed.

“I wonder how much it cost. The bottle that is, like, the whole bottle of wine,” I clarified.

“Oh shit,” I heard Duely mutter, and I wondered what was wrong with him. I didn’t glance at him though. He was getting on my nerves, and I was trying to enjoy my buzz.