Love Game

Chap Nine: Confessions of an alcoholic.

Neal's POV

I knew I was behaving like a lunatic. I knew it when I had pressed her in the wall and had growled down at her. But when I had seen that moron slide his hands all over her, I wanted to rip his head off. Even though I had no right to, I still wanted to.

And I knew Summer thought I was a mean jerk but when I looked at her now, cuddled up in the seat beside me, her face softened with sleep, it was worth it.

"Hmmm." Summer sighed and snuggled into the sweater that I had draped over her. I smiled, she looked so cute with her mouth slightly open and sighing in her sleep.

"No mom." She mumbled.

Yep, she sleep-talked. Probably more than h\she talked when she was awake. I wonder how she would react when she knew that I knew she thought Edward was her boyfriend and she still drooled over some vampire called Damon AND she role-played with her friend April.

"Okay, Adam." She mumbled again. Now, that annoyed me, for the last hour she had kept on mumbling this .. man's name and every time she did, this sort of fond smile would cross her face and I would scowl.

Just who the heck was Adam? I was going to find out.

"Summer." I said and shook her a little.

"Lemme sleeeep." She mumbled and tried turning in the car-seat, her head fell on my shoulder and her hands wound around me arm.

"Cushy." She whispered and for the first time, I received that small fond-smile of hers. I grinned back in return. She looked adorable, the temptation to kiss and wake her up was really high at the moment and I did not know where it was coming from.

"Summer, wake up, baby. We're home." I said and shook her again, she just sighed and snuggled deeper. She smelled nice, I noticed, like vanilla, her hair were all over the place and then some and she looked messily sexy and totally boozed out. I gently placed her head against the window and then got out of the car to open her door.

"I wanna sleeeep!" She squealed when I opened her door and tried to wake her up.

"There's a bed inside, come on!" I said, shaking her again. Finally, she opened her eyes.

"You are irritating." She mumbled and started putting her head back to the seat.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, get out of the car." I said in her ear and she flinched away.

"God, you idiot." She snapped and then her tongue came out to say hello.

"I'm not coming!" She said and closed her eyes again.

"Summer, seriously! Get out." I snapped, what was wrong with her?

"Make me!" She said and then leaned back in her seat.

I knew it was the booze talking, but you never throw a challenge at my face .. I grinned down at her and when she gave me a you-can't-do-it-look, I leaned down by the car door so that my face was in level with hers. I heard her breath hitch and my smile widened.

"You really think I can't?" I asked in a low voice and Summer gulped. I looked her right in the eye and raised a brow.

"Y..es." She got out and tried averting her gaze.

Bingo.

As soon as she did that, my hand sneaked out under her knees and then I lifted her in my arms.

"NEAL!" She gasped and I laughed.

There are victories and then there's this. And this is SO much better.

"Neal! Put me down! My head's spinning!" She shouted almost damaging my ear-drums.

"You challenged me." I said and she started kicking her legs.

"NEAL! I'm gonna throw up all over you!" She shouted when I had almost reached the door.

Uh-oh.

As soon as I was in, I dropped her at the ground.

"Now, throw-up. And then you can sleep." I said and looked at her.

She looked messed-up, bug-time.

"My head is going to burst." She whimpered and I smiled.

"Oh what complications a vodka marathon can have." I sighed and she gave me a mean look.

"How was I supposed to know? This is the first-time." She said and I was almost amazed. This woman was an alien. Albeit a cute one, but an alien none the less.

She started getting up and then fell right back.

"Yao." She squeled and I laughed.

"Come on." I said and extended a hand to her, she took it and pulled her up.

"Hold onto me, I'll take you to your room." I said and she held on to my arm for support.

Once we were inside her room, she all but fell back on the bed.

"Oh, my God. What I wouldn't do for a cup of coffee." She sighed and then looked at me suggestively.

"Okay, talk to me. What else?" I demanded and she actually flinched.

"I donno. I'm drowsy and messy and gooey and I just wanna sleep but like I said, coffee would be blissfull." Ha, here we are.

"Cheeky. Is that a request?" I demanded and she gave me a small-smile.

"More like a plea." She said and pulled the bed-cover over herself.

"Neal Metaxis at your service, ma'am." I said in a clipped voice and made my way to her door.

Her whispering my name stopped me.

"Yeah?" I demanded and she actually blushed.

"I'm sorry about what happened at the club and thank you for rescuing me." She said hurriedly.

"No problemo! You owe me one, now." I said, playfully but her eyes widened.

"I owe you what?" She flipped and I smiled. Oh, how the devil awakens.

"I'm gonna take my reward in something like a kiss." I said with a hopeful devilish smile and I saw Summer go red.

"Heh. Your ego just hit me on the head and now, I'm out." She said and then supposedly went back to closing her eyes while I was left to make coffee for her even though I didn't know a damned thing about where she kept her things in her kitchen.

I took the steaming cup of coffee in front of her nose and let her smell the heavenly aroma.

"Oh, my man. You just stole my heart." She whispered and took hold of the cup. She inhaled the coffee and an almost sensous smile broke on her face.

Heh, if she smiled like that at someone, their reaction would shock her witless.

"I'm hold onto it." I said and I saw her eye widen.

"I .. just meant it figuratively." She snapped and gave me a look.

God, I loved riling her.

"Well, don't be too hasty." I whispered but she wasn't even listening to me, now. She was gulping (literally) down the coffee.

"Wow. Thank you!" She said and handed me back the cup.

"Your welcome. Now, it would be amazing if you would lie back and go to sleep." I said, she gave me a small smile.

"You can be quite cute when you wanna be." She mumbled.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that and put the blame on the vodka." I sighed and watched her go back to sleep with a smile on her face.

After seeing that smile, I oddly wanted to say mission accomplished. Which was so cheeky but heck, I would do anything for her to smile at me like that again. Miz Summer was definitely having her toll on me.

"Don't leave me." She mumbled in her sleep and snuggled deeper in her pillow.

"Anything for you, ma'am." I whispered lightly and tucked her hair behind her ears.