As Eva cheered on Claire, a few people across the room did too.
"You know what?" Eva asked with a mischievous grin. "Drinks on us! Let's get this bad boy going!" Eva exclaimed grabbing the card out of Claire's hand. Everyone cheered for the drinks. Claire froze momentarily, remembering that the card was hers and that she now was going to pay for everyone's drinks, which was worth several months of her work, at the very least, plus some of her savings. She hoped that Gabriel was going to be okay with her repaying him in instalments.
It was hard to tell how it happened, or when, but the drinks kept coming, and coming, and they laughed, joked, and encouraged each other until it started to become a blur.
There they were, standing on the three adjacent tables near the bar, pouring drinks to any cup in sight, to any man or woman, to anyone really, causing havoc by the bar, with support from the waiting staff that were already given several tips that were beyond generous, encouraging them further, selling them the most expensive liquor they had. Claire didn't care about the cost anymore, too drunk to be fully aware of the situation. Gina was sleeping with her head buried in her jacket on the table nearby, whilst Zoe, Claire and Eva continued the chaos.
Now, one may think it to be the universe's miracle work, but Gabriel met his friends that evening, and Alex recommended that they go for a drink at the very same club, having booked a private room upstairs, away from the bar and chaos, but rather a quieter area with access to few common games, such as pool tables and darts.
They've walked in, occupied by their conversation, ignoring the chaos by the bar at first.
"Is that Claire?" Jacque asked with his eyes wide open. The three men turned around to a bizarre scene unfolding before them.
"Is that your sister?" Matthew asked Gabriel.
"Well, I'm glad she's your problem now," Alex stated.
Eva, Zoe and Claire stood on the tables, pouring drinks to men and women by the bar. Very drunk, soaked in alcohol, including their hair and clothes.
The crowd was cheering for more drinks, and Claire got yet another bottle of champagne, spraying it all over herself before pouring it into glasses, and then finishing it directly from the bottle. Zoe and Eva doing the very same thing.
Gabriel was trying to comprehend what he was seeing as his three friends watched with terror and amusement.
"Miss Thompson, any comments on the news?" Someone shouted at Claire from the crowd.
"It's Mrs fucking Moore, you peasant!" Claire shouted back with a burst of maniac laughter.
Gabriel was still frozen trying to work out what to do.
"Holy fuck." Alex uttered. "Did she lose her mind?"
"Gabriel?" Jacque looked at him puzzled.
Gabriel took his jacket off and passed it to Jacque, knowing that there is a chance that he'll have to wrestle Claire out of this place, especially if she were to be backed up by Zoe and Eva, who obviously encouraged her further.
"Eva, get off!" He roared at his sister as he cut through the crowd.
"There he is!" Claire pointed at him from the table. "The amazing Mr Moore who is paying for all those great drinks tonight! Three cheers for him! Hip hip Hurray!"
"HURRAY!!!" Echoed through the room. Gabriel was genuinely impressed with the uproar that Claire was causing, now convinced that she will start a riot one day.
"Oh shit!" Zoe panicked jumping off the table quickly as if that was going to conceal what she was just doing.
Eva stuck out her tongue at Gabriel who just managed to push himself in front of the crowd and right in front of the table that Claire stood on.
"Claire, please come off the table." Gabriel said sternly but still calmly.
"So, you're going to yell at me, but it's all 'please' for Claire?" Eva said with irritation. Gabriel scowled at her.
"Claire, for goodness sake, please come down." Gabriel said trying to remain cool.
"Absolutely not!" Claire protested. "There's already a scandal involving me, I might as well give everyone something to talk about!" Claire yelled back with a dangerous spark in her eye.
Claire remained standing, not buckling under Gabriel's stern gaze, as Eva tried to balance enough to come down.
"And what are you planning to do?" Gabriel asked climbing up to the table clumsily, and as he did, Eva pulled on Claire's top as she wobbled on her way down, ripping it in one swift motion, revealing Claire's bra-less chest. The men cheered, as Gabriel instinctively moved forward and hugged her to cover her up. Zoe's and Eva's mouths gaped open from beside the table.
"Wow! Show off those gorgeous girls!" Eva shouted drunkenly. "You go, girl!"
Gabriel held Claire tightly, feeling her bare chest pressed against him, feeling every curve through his surprisingly thin shirt. Before he even got to move and get Claire down, the table tilted and they both fell to the ground. Gabriel stopped himself from falling onto Claire with his hand, which bent awkwardly. He winced at a sudden pain, but he still managed to hold Claire with his other hand, stopping her from hitting her head on the floor.
Jacque run up to them, offering Gabriel his jacket back, which he used to cover up Claire.
Jacque and Alex helped them up, ensuring that the jacket stayed on Claire.
"Sir…" the staff member hurried towards them.
"I need a private room, an ice pack, and some cold water." Gabriel ordered. The manager of the bar nodded, leading them straight to the nearest private room, and a waiter soon appeared with a glass of cold water and an ice pack.
Gabriel made Claire sit down on the chair, checking over her to make sure that she wasn't harmed. Checking her head, arms and legs by bending each limb and looking her over for any scratches and cuts. Whilst doing so, Gabriel bit his tongue, irritated with her recklessness but trying his hardest not to say a word.
"Not quite the entertainment I expected tonight." Alex spoke first with laughter. Gabriel scowled at him, before grabbing a chair and sitting down facing Claire. He passed her a glass of icy water and watched her in silence. The tension in the room was becoming unbearable.
Eva sat down next to Gina who was dragged along by her and Zoe, blacking out within moments, earning another scowl from Gabriel, as her snoring resonated through the room.
"So… you're a 'Mrs fucking Moore'?" Gabriel asked before letting out a sneer. Claire turned beetroot red.
"I'm sorry." Claire uttered in embarrassment.
"Not the way I hoped to hear it, but hey…" Gabriel burst into laughter. "Jesus Christ, Claire. How much did you drink tonight?"
"A bit?" Claire said as she pinched the air, severely underestimating the bit that she drank. "A little bit?"
"I see." Gabriel nodded, he looked around to find Jacque and Matthew still in shock, Alex finding the entire situation hilarious, and Zoe being completely quiet and looking down, feeling responsible for the occurrence, with Eva and Gina now both passed out drunk. "Are you hurt?" He asked as he turned his gaze back to Claire.
"No." Claire shook her head.
"That's good." Gabriel nodded taking a deep breath in. "I'll get Mark for Zoe and Eva." He turned to Zoe who nodded in silent agreement. "And I'll suppress any leaks of tonight, so don't worry about it." He spoke calmly to Claire as he leaned back. "And then I'll get you home, okay?" He let out a long sigh, unsure how to tackle the situation.
"Thank you." Claire uttered looking down at her hands.
There was a knock on the door and Mark came in, trying to gauge the situation in the room with a quizzical look written all over his face.
"What happened?" Mark asked as he looked around before his eyes fixated on Gabriel's arm that he held stiffly across his abdomen, and which started to swell up around his wrist. "What happened to you?"
"I fell off the table." Gabriel answered shortly.
"How does this explain anything?" Mark grumbled.
"Well…" Gabriel laughed. "I don't even know what happened myself. But I need you to keep an eye on any news from tonight. I want everything erased."
"Understood." Mark nodded.
"Now, get Zoe out of here, please. Actually, get Eva too and get her checked into the Royal Hotel. I think she should be alright. And Gina…" Gabriel sighed as he looked at a head of curls underneath Eva. "You can try contacting Joe first, and if not, get her into the hotel with Eva."
"Sure." Mark agreed. Joe was already on the way to pick up Gina so Mark ended up leaving with Zoe who helped him drag Eva out.
"Well, I'm sure you couldn't be any more discreet." Gabriel said sarcastically to Claire once they were left with his friends alone. "Matthew, Jacque, please meet my beloved wife." Gabriel said to his friends. "An amazing Mrs fucking Moore." Gabriel rubbed the bridge of his nose whilst laughing. Jacque and Matthew haven't said anything, still too stunned by the events of the night. "God, Claire…" he mumbled her name in disbelief, still unsure whether what he just witnessed really happened. He picked up the ice pack and placed it on his wrist, reminded of the pain as he shifted. "I know that we've argued over this in the past few days, but I didn't expect you to be so stubborn as to flash a room full of men to get your way."
"I didn't flash a room full of men to get my way." Claire said sternly.
"You were on the table, drunk out of your mind, pouring drinks everywhere instead." Gabriel smiled at her.
"I'm Mrs fucking Moore, so get off my case." Claire mumbled which made Gabriel burst into laughter.
"Did you become invincible?"
"Obviously." Claire said with confidence. "My husband is infamous Gabriel Moore. I can do whatever fuck I want." She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair.
"I see." Gabriel nodded. "Good for you." Gabriel turned to Matthew and Jacque who didn't seem to have any comprehension of the evening yet, and Alex who was snickering. "Now, excuse me, gentlemen. I think I need to take my very drunk wife home before she gets any more bad ideas." Gabriel said as he stood up. He offered Claire his hand but she pushed it away with a scoff. She stood up with a pretty bad wobble and walked out of the room. "May God help me." Gabriel said as he looked up at the ceiling praying for more patience, before following Claire out.
Gabriel caught up with her, opened the door to his car and waited for her to be seated in it, before getting into the driver's seat.
"I don't want a lecture." Claire said sternly.
"I wasn't going to give you a lecture." Gabriel said rather gently.
"No?" Claire looked at him in surprise.
"No, Claire. It isn't my job to tell you that what you did was irresponsible. Besides, I have a feeling that your embarrassment tomorrow will be a sufficient punishment."
"Really?" Claire furrowed her brows.
"I didn't like it." Gabriel admitted. "But what am I supposed to do? What even is the appropriate reaction in this instant?" He asked, unsure whether he should be lecturing Claire.
"I-… don't know." Claire admitted.
"By the way, nice girls." Gabriel said with a chuckle. Claire blushed as she pulled his suit jacket more tightly around herself. She slid down in the seat making herself look smaller, her cheeks turning beetroot red. She remained silent for the rest of the ride, hiding her face in the collar of Gabriel's suit jacket.
Gabriel hid the pain of his wrist well, showing full composure and calmness on the outside. He put some music on, one of their favourites, which seemed to help Claire relax a bit. She rested her face against the window, looking out at the passing lights. She was grateful that Gabriel wasn't lashing out. His patience and calmness, made her feel peaceful, even if she slowly started to realise just how many bad choices she has made that evening. Yet, the smell from the jacket, the smell of Gabriel, made her feel like everything was going to be okay anyways. After all, she was Mrs Moore, an invincible wife of all-powerful Mr Gabriel Moore.
She was Mrs, fucking, Moore.