"Selena made the fish," Alexander said when Liam stuck his fork into it. Liam put it into his mouth and gave a nod of approval. Selena beamed and mouthed a "thank you" to Alexander.
After that, Alexander set about to do the laundry, leaving them both to talk. As he put in the detergent to wash the oil off Selena's dress, his mind drifted off to the accident, the way she had tried to unsuccessfully flip the fish, and when he had roughly plaited her hair to keep it out of the way. His fingers had touched the spot on her neck he had kissed before, and he had felt her stiffen, as if uncomfortable at the memory.
He pushed the thought away, and his ringing phone saved him. He went to the kitchen to pick it up, waved an apology to Selena and Liam, and stepped into his bedroom to answer it.
"Hello Armani," he greeted.
"Alex," her voice was breathy. "Alex, where are you?"
"I'm at home. What's wrong?"
"I want to come over! I'm coming over right now!" Armani said in that same breathy voice. "Alex, aren't you happy?"
Alexander checked his time. It was a few minutes to eight.
"Armani, are you drunk?"
"I'm drunk on the world, baby!" Armani giggled, confirming his suspicions. "I need to talk to you!"
A car horn blasted through his phone, followed by a string of curses from Armani. Another horn blasted, this time loud enough for Alexander to pull the phone away from his ear.
"Armani, are you driving?" He asked
"I'm cruising!" She sang out in an off-key tone. "Cruising through the highway! Living life like a fairytale!"
Another string of giggles followed. Alexander's panic began to build.
"Armani, I need you to park your car and tell me where you are," he said as calmly as he could. "I need you to do that now."
"Where am I?" There was the screeching noise of tires, and Armani screamed. Alexander rushed toward his bedroom door but stopped short when he heard the giggles that followed through.
"I know where I am!" Armani said. "Alex, I…"
The line went off. With a weary hand running through his hair, Alexander redialled the number, but it went to voicemail each time. He came out of the room, slowed his steps when he was about to reach the living room, and gave Liam a thumbs up when looked at him questionly as he was about to leave the house.
"I just have something to handle, will be back shortly." He said.
When the elevator reached the ground floor, Alexander was met with the sight of the security guard, Otis, holding onto a heavily drunk Armani. Relief flooded through Alexander, and he rushed over to the guard.
"She kept saying she had to see you," Otis looked disturbed. "I wanted to inform you first, since you have guests, but she kept hitting me with her purse to let her go."
Alexander took the drunk Armani from his security's hands. She threw her hands around Alexander like an octopus.
"Thanks, Otis, you can go," Alexander said.
An aged couple was just coming out of the elevator, and curious eyes were stuck on Armani. Armani's face was messed up with her makeup, and she pried her lids open, chin resting on Alexander's chest as she raised her head to look at him.
"Oh, I found you," she grinned. "Or you found me. Either way, we always find each other."
Alexander tried to stabilize her to stand straight. "Why did you drink so much?" Armani had always been a lightweight and avoided drinking as much as she could. But this was a whole new level he didn't understand.
"What happened, Armani?" He asked.
She pouted. "Must something happen? Can't I have fun?!" She yelled out loud.
"Okay, okay, where are your car keys?" Alexander asked her.
Armani blinked sleepily and looked around her. She frowned when her eyes landed on Otis as if noticing his presence there for the first time.
"In my car," Armani straightened out of Alexander's hold and wobbled a bit. "Oopsies," she giggled. She bent down to remove her heels, and Alexander stood behind her so her short gown would not reveal what was underneath. She took off her heels and held them in one hand.
"Let's go upstairs," Armani said, wobbling to the elevator.
Alexander caught hold of her before she moved further. "I'm taking you home."
Armani tried to snatch her hand away from him. "It won't hurt for me to spend one night here Alex!" She seethed and glared at Otis. "I know what's going on. There's someone else up there, right? It's Tamika, isn't it? I heard him say it earlier! So she can stay and I can't? Is that it, Alex?"
Alexander knew at that point that Armani was beyond drunk. He took out his phone and messaged Liam, because if he as much as moved back up the elevator, Armani was going to raise hell.
"Come with me," he told her, pocketing his phone.
"I want to go up…"
Alexander bent and lifted her in his arms. She tried to fight against him but relaxed as he moved to her car. The door of her Bentley was wide open, and if it had been a different neighborhood, it wouldn't have lasted a minute before someone would have run off with it. The engine was still running, and Alexander dumped her into the passenger's seat.
He took the wheels and drove her back to her place, which was about twenty minutes drive since the roads were free of cars. Armani slept soundly next to him. When he pulled up by her house, her mother, June, was at the door, her hands covering her mouth as she ran up to the car.
"Oh my," her mother touched Armani's cheek. Her hand was trembling when she pulled back. "Is she okay? I couldn't reach any of you. I was so worried!"