Chicago Love ✔️

Chapter 5: Back To Your Place

It was only supposed to be a 10 minute walk. But thanks to the drinks they had consumed, and the weeble wobbles they were partaking along the way, it had taken twice as long before they reached Hailey's complex.

Upon getting to the main entrance, she had insisted on heading up by herself, unsure if Alex could even make it up the steps. However, he was not going to leave until she was safe in her condo. So they made their way inside together, along with a quiet elevator ride to follow, before making their way to her front door.

"You didn't have to walk me all the way back," she comments as she takes the keys out of her pocket, fumbling them. She then giggles as she fights to find the right key to use for the front door. "Why is this so damn hard?" 

She finally finds the right key, turning the slot and opening the door to her place. No sooner than the door opened, she was darting inside and down the short hallway, diving into the bathroom with her head in the toilet as everything in her system began coming up right away.

She gets everything out of her system, wishing it would end sooner than later, having wanted to be more presentable and welcoming for her guest. However, instead, here she was with her head in a toilet. She then sits back, reaching for a bit of toilet paper to wipe the remains off of her face, not wanting to give off her look.

"I haven't gotten that drunk in a while," she admits, already regretting the morning when her alarm clock would go off and the trip into work. Thankfully it was just supposed to be a light day without a whole lot going on. She just hoped the words on all those pages did not swirl too much. "Why did I think this was a good idea again?" 

"Because you wanted to forget the day you had," she hears, catching her attention as she looks up to see the man standing in the doorway of her bathroom. He seemingly had just welcomed himself into her condo. Well, then again, she had left the door wide open when she darted inside. Who could blame him for following her? "Are you okay? Do I need to call someone for you? Do you need anything?" 

"I'm fine, thank you." She then slowly stands up and makes her way out of the bathroom. She goes into the fridge, tossing him a bottle of water before grabbing one for herself. "Are you sure you're okay? Wait - you weren't the one who just had her head in a toilet. I feel much better that's out of my system now." She then cracks the lid off of her bottle, taking a long sip. "Hopefully this helps sober my ass up. I don't even want to think about what Hank would say if I showed up to work hungover off my ass tomorrow. He almost had Jay's head that time he went out with Will to a game...." 

"Make sure you finish that bottle of water before bed, have a Gatorade or Powerade in the morning, as well as some toast, crackers, or potatoes. Other than that, you should be getting to bed so you can sleep off how you are feeling." She then looks over with a bit of surprise as she watches him sip on his bottle of water. She wondered just how well those lips of his cupping the top of the bottle would feel against her own. "I have experience, okay? I get pretty drunk a couple times a year with friends. You learn some tricks to the trade when you spend every year going to the Chili Bowl drinking every single night. You may have to come along sometime to learn those." 

"That's certainly a smooth way of trying to ask a girl out there, Mr. Bowman...." They both couldn't help but chuckle a little as she leaned back against the counter. "I will keep your tricks in mind, but I will have you know it that I am not a rookie at this either." 

"Suit yourself, but I wasn't the one who just had my head in the toilet. That's a rookie move right there." He finishes up the bottle of water, tossing it in the recycle bin by her sink. 

"A rookie move is also trying to go home alone at this crazy hour by yourself drunk. So why don't you stay the night here?" He looks at her with a bit of surprise, certainly not seeing that as being the next step of action to take. They had met before, but this was the first time they really had talked and such. Was it really right to welcome someone you barely knew into your home?

"Are you sure? I mean, I checked the app again and it says my ride would be here in like 10 minutes. I am quite fine to get from the car to the hotel room. You don't have to worry. I'd be fin-"

"Just accept the offer so I don't have to kick your ass, please." He then chuckles in response as he walks over to where she stood. Truthfully, he had only moved closer to her to get a better look at those eyes in feeling himself drawn to her a little more with each passing second.

"I'd like to see you try right now. You may think you're all tough and such, but you're drunk off your ass. Are you sure you'd be coordinated enough to kick mine?" She then goes to smack him, which he immediately ducks and laughs. "You better give up before you lose this fight, Ms. Upton. I guarantee you aren't succeeding tonight. Besides, you need to get feeling better before you have to see your boss in the morning. I almost want to come to work with you tomorrow to see his reaction." 

"Maybe I wouldn't mind spending more time with you...."