Tamed

Chapter 4.

LUCAS

Right now, I am at a party and the funny thing is that I don't want to be here but the formalities involved in running the family's business requires my presence here. I would really kill to be anywhere else but this event.

Who fixes a party on a Thursday? The greatest relief is when the party comes to an end. I don't want to exhaust all the jolly spirit in me because Fabian's annual ball is coming up and I really look forward to it. Fabian sure knows how to do these things with grandeur.

My hand reaches out to my suit button and I unfasten it, taking it off and placing it on my arm, leaving my waist-coat on.

Upon arrival at the parking lot, the valet brings my car to me and I pay him a tip for watching over it while I was in there, before I collect the keys from him. After placing the suit jacket on the back seat, I get into the car and proceed to my house.

"Lucas." She says, almost in a whisper. Her presence is what welcomes me to my pad the moment I open the door. Yeah, I like to keep it simple. I am not like André and Nick who own extravagant houses, even though they live alone. Nikolas is worse, his is bigger. For me, A simple bachelor pad painted gray and black, just like I like it, would suffice perfectly. What is the essence of a waste of space? For the furnishing, I did a great job at it. I ensured to make use of the best ones money could afford.

Enough about my apartment, because what does not settle well with me right now is why Marie is here, drunk and a mess. This has never happened before as she always monitors her alcohol level but now, she is not just tipsy but completely wasted.

"Hey." I take her in my arms, preventing her from taking further steps before she falls down. It won't be good.

"I hate myself, Lucas." She says in a very broken voice.

"Shhhh..." I say to her in a bid to comfort her. What could have happened to make her this way?

"It is time to get you to bed." I scoop her body and take her to my room, placing her on the king-sized bed. Cautiously, I proceed to taking off her shoes, one at a time, carefully dropping her slender feet when I do so. Don't tell her but she has got one of the most beautiful feet I have seen.

"My life is a mess. At this age, I have accomplished nothing." She keeps talking, no doubt under the influence of alcohol. All I can do is to help her stay calm, even though it is almost impossible.

Dealing with drunk people can be so difficult sometimes. It requires a great deal of patience. I won't do this for any woman but it is Marie, my best friend and there are no boundaries to what sacrifices I can make for her, as long as she is happy. Her happiness means alot to me, judging by what she went through, growing up.

I attempt to help her take off her dress but she does not allow me. Instead she starts taking it off herself, very fast and unsteady. You could tell from how her fingers are trembling.

"Don't I look attractive, Lucas?" She sobs, taking them off. Of course, she is an attractive women. What makes her think she isn't?

"Don't I? What is funny?" I hold in the chuckle I let out earlier. Drunk Marie is really a handful.

"I have feelings for you, why can't you just see that?" Tears stream down her eyes as she speaks. Hold up, pause, rewind, play. Where did this come from? I am definitely sure that she is joking.

Giving me one last look, she crawls under the sheets and gives in to sleep, almost immediately.

That was quite a show. I am sure she does not mean what she said. It must be as a result of being intoxicated. People cry, wail, blab out things and do all sorts of actions that they don't mean when they are drunk. We will have a discussion on what she said tomorrow.

I head back to my sitting room to clear the wine bottles and the cup she made use of. Discarding the now empty bottles into the bin, I make my way to the sink and wrinse the cup.

After that, I go back to the room to be met by her light snores. She will definitely wish she did not drink this much tomorrow because it being a work day, it would be hellish for her. The hangover and all the unease that follows suit.

Her sleeping form is funny because her head is facing right, one hand on her sides and the other curved above her head. Her legs are in an intertwined cross position with one of them bending backwards around the knee. The bedsheets are no longer draped over her sleeping figure. I quickly take out my phone to take a snap shot of this moment, I won't miss this opportunity to tease and embarass her for anything in the world.

Click. Click. Satisfied by the number of shots I have taken, I finish my other businesses which involved brushing my teeth and having my bath, before finally retiring for the day.

•••••

"Good morning." Marie's voice sounds in the room, followed by a yawn. I watch in amusement as she struggles to keep her eyes open as she squints them, also using her thumbs to massage the sides of her head, letting out low hisses.

"Don't stand there, give me pain killers." She says, wearing a pout and a little frown.

"Good morning to you too. Take it. I knew you would need it." I stretch out my palm which contains a tablet to ease her pain.

She hisses slowly at me before snatching it off my hands. Talk about a bad way to wake up, I hope she learns from this.

After downing the drug and handing the glass cup back to me, she wears a half smile before speaking.

"Thank you." Her voice is still low but audible enough for me to pick up.

"You are not welcome, drunk ass." Her hand reaches for a pen on my locker and she throws it at me.

Taking the sheets off her body, she manages to lift herself up. I am used to seeing her in her underwears so it is not a big deal and no need for her to feel shy.

"Was it that bad?" A scowl forms on her face as she asks.

"Tell me about it. I have a surprise for you but let us eat first. I prepared breakfast." She skips behind me in happiness. She does not know what is coming, insert evil laugh in my head.

After breakfast which consisted of toast, sausages, eggs, jam, bread and tea, I let out the element of my surprise.

"This is not me." She whines, stomping her feet in a bid to prove her point. The sight before me is funny and I could not even help it. Laughter erupts from me, echoing around the place.

"It is not." She insists.

"I am in trouble." She raises her hand and places them above her head, dramatically. I keep laughing at her.

"Come on, it is a harmless photograph." I say.

"Harmless indeed, nitwit." She smiles sweetly before attempting to snatch the phone from my hands.

"You are not that smart to do that, I sniffed your move before you did it and even if you get the phone and delete it which I know you want to do, I took multiple shots and backed them up in different places." I say to her. I lied about the last part, though but she does not have to know. Right?

"Evil." She says, snorting.

"By the way, you said alot of things last night but there is a particular one that piqued my interest."

"Wow, hope I did not speak out of context. What was it, anyway?" She asks. Bringing myself to reiterate it is funny but I will say it because I am sure that it was just the drink talking.

"I won't really say it is out of context but yesterday, you said you have feelings for me." I voice out her last night utterance. I watch as she freezes, before opening her mouth to speak.