“Are you and Jo on some kind of mission of getting me and Ben blackout drunk? I saw her handing Ben tequila shots earlier tonight, and I could see the physical pain in his face as he drank them,” Thomas said, grinning as he poured Riley a glass of the expensive brandy.
“Well, I can’t speak for Josephine,” Riley admitted, holding the glass of liquor in her hand. “But I’m trying to find that perfect balance of you incredibly wasted but still sober enough to have your way with me later.” The brunette winked as she brought the glass up to her lips, attempting to hide her annoyance at the fact that anyone would spend a million dollars on booze. Growing up in poverty had made the brunette entirely responsible when it came to her finances. She made quite a bit of money as an anesthesiologist, but Riley really never spent more than she had to. She allowed herself small extravagances, like her rainbow dress that she had purchased for the Rosewood Prom, but later she had donated it to a young woman unable to afford her own prom gown. Most of her money was spent making sure her brother, Tristain, was able to keep a roof over his head, and she donated quite a bit of it back to the community she had grown up in.
Riley took a small sip of the brandy, knowing that if she drank all it in one swallow, she wouldn’t be enjoying the taste of it. Of course, it took all of her willpower to do just that. As she let the alcohol sit on her tongue, she watched as Thomas poured himself a shot of the cheapest vodka in the stocked-in bar. A slight grin turned the corner of her lips as she once again took in his outfit for the night: tight black slacks, a long-sleeved cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up enough for her to see his surprisingly toned forearms. The shirt was unbuttoned just enough for Riley to see a bit of his chest hair, and it took everything in her not to sit down the glass of brandy and bury her face into that hair.
Thomas knocked back his first shot like a pro, though as he shook his head, unable to hide the disgust, Riley began to laugh.
“Yeah, I still don’t get how you guys do it,” Thomas said as he prepared himself another drink.
“Practice makes perfect,” Riley quipped, taking another sip of brandy.
“So, what do you think? What does a million-dollar brandy taste like? Don’t spit it out; you’ll waste thousands of dollars in that one sip.”
“Coconut,” Riley said with a laugh, “It tastes like coconut. And…” the brunette tilted her head as she reached out for her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck. “And pretentiousness….” A large grinned split her lips, showing off her pearly white teeth. “But it’s not bad. I mean…for a coconut brandy.” Riley winked at Thomas before snuggling into his chest, her arms dropping down by his waist.
“Do you want to hear the tea?” Riley said as she pulled back, finishing off the glass of brandy. “But it’s secret tea, so you can’t tell anyone.” Turning her face to the side, she watched as Ben led Josephine off the dance floor and toward the beach. Earlier, she had watched as Phillip Nash and Esmeralda Whitlock had escaped back to the resort. “Ben is proposing to Josephine tonight, which is why he isn’t going to get blackout drunk. So…we’ll have a wedding to attend. Also, Phillip Nash and Esmeralda are back in their hotel room. Hopefully, they’re admitting their feelings, or honestly, I’m locking them in there until they do. Even I’m getting tired of watching them play hard-to-get.”
“Coconut,” Riley said with a assertive tone before she let one of her delightful laughs, making him laugh along with her before she gave more details about what she thought of the obscenely expensive coconut brandy that Sterling Ides had brought to the party. “It tastes like coconut. And… And pretentiousness….” She said with a grin wide enough that showed off that precious smile of hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck, immediately one of his hands moved to her waist feeling himself get lost in warm chocolate eyes that looked back at his with nothing but pure contentment, “But it’s not bad. I mean…for a coconut brandy.” She added.
“I mean, you’re not wrong. It’s not bad but then again…” He said with a slight shrug of his shoulders before smiling, “However, the man did go through a shit ton of trouble to get this probably. So I hope we all finish it.” He said looking towards the dancefloor spotting Sterling dancing with Luna Delgado, “Well, I guess he’s not going to care either way.” He said softly before letting out a light laugh and finally turning his attention back to his girlfriend as she dropped her hands down to his waist and then spoke again.
“Do you want to hear the tea?” She asked and he couldn’t help but grin at the sound of that phrase. Often at night or at some point of the evening, the couple would be getting ready for bed or making dinner, moving around the kitchen as they worked together before Riley started talking to him about all the news and rumors, she had heard going around Rosewood General; even when the man was quite reserved to anyone but his friends and girlfriend, he couldn’t help but enjoy that little routine of theirs that they had developed the more Riley stayed over at his home.
“Yup, spill.” He said, leaning down to press his lips against the top of her head before taking a glass, some ice and serving Riley a drink before getting himself some whiskey. Just as she began to speak, Thomas looked back at her handing her the glass before his eyes followed the direction she was looking at and there he spotted their friends walking towards the beach, his eyes widened a bit as he immediately knew what was happening.
“Is he-“ He started to ask but the anesthesiologist beat him to it as she confirmed his suspicions that, finally, Ben was proposing to Josephine. He couldn’t help but smile a bit more as he looked back at them but only saw their shadow disappearing as they walked further away. And then, Riley moved on to a topic that had everyone talking and trying to guess what was happening ever since the shooting happening: Esmeralda and Phillip.
“Hopefully, they’re admitting their feelings, or honestly, I’m locking them in there until they do. Even I’m getting tired of watching them play hard-to-get.” She said, again Thomas laughed and shook his head a bit.
“I know it’s a bit… well, we all know or at least have a good idea of what happening with them. I mean, it’s a bit too obvious for the way they look at each other and how Ezzy avoid the topic at all costs. But… I think… I don’t know, love. Maybe something happened to them and now they are terrified of relationships and that’s what’s happening. They’ll get there… if he proves he deserves it and Esmeralda actually realizes how he looks at her but… we just have to be patient.” He said taking a sip of his drink before setting the drink down. “You’ll be proud of me; I have tea of my own.” He said with a small grin before letting out a laugh. “Apparently, Sterling is going to die this week because he’s just walking off with Luna Delgado and Dr. Sarmiento looks like he’s going to murder him soon.” He said with a small laugh as he looked towards their direction.
“I think we’ll get more of this as the week goes on. I have a feeling we’ll get a lot of… hook ups, new friendships and funny stories to talk about.” He said laughing. “Now I saw you dancing with Jo and Esmeralda even the girls from the other Villa but not me… you owe me a dance, Doctor Cross.” He said with a grin.