“You’ve no idea.”
I blushed, looking away and biting my lip to hide my smile. Then my face fell as my thoughts drifted.
“What’s wrong?” he asked with a concerned frown.
I sighed, taking another sip and grimacing. “I wish you wouldn’t spend money on me,” I mumbled.
“Not this again,” he murmured, kissing the top of my head. “Why?”
“Because…I cannot return the favor.”
“You return the favor every minute you spend with me.”
I turned to face him, and he smiled into his cup as he drank.
“You are really equating time with me to gold?”
He smiled softly. “I am.”
I tried and failed to hold in a smile, looking away to the ongoing festivities. My face eventually fell again. Quill laced his hand in mine, and when I looked at him, he examined me with worry.
“What if you grow to resent me?” I asked.
“Do you know nothing of my feelings for you?” He squeezed my hand. “I buy you things because Iwantto. Because you deserve nice things. Why would I resent you for that?”
I just shrugged and took a large gulp of the wine.
“It’s not getting better yet,” I grimaced.
It got better.
By the time I finished my first glass, I had asked for another. Quill got us both one more drink, and the woman was more than excited to see us arrive again.
We walked over to a performance of acrobats on a stage. They had performers the past few years, and I was always enthralled by the ways they could move their bodies. Four of them stood, each on the other’s shoulders, and raised their arms in unison.
The crowd cheered, and I couldn’t control my giggling.
“Oh dear, what have I done.” Quill shook his head, unable to conceal his amusement.
I sipped down the remainder of my second drink.
“You know, my mother would kill me if—” I hiccupped, “—she saw me like this. You, too.” I pointed a finger at him.
“We’d better keep avoiding her, then,” he laughed. I hadn’t seen Mother, but it wasn’t odd with all the people here. His second glass was barely sipped on, and I frowned, then tapped the bottom of it.
“Are you pressuring me, Lena?” he smirked.
I groaned. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to get this stu—” Another embarrassing hiccup. “S-sorry,” I flustered.
He chuckled, his laugh sending waves through my body.
“You know, I do not think I have laughed this much in my life,” he said.
“Happy I can entertain you,” I murmured as I inched closer, kissing him on the cheek, then the mouth. He looked at me with smoky amusement. “Another one?” I asked with my bottom lip protruding.
“Trust me, as much as I’d love to see you wildly drunk, I don’t want you feeling terrible tomorrow. That is enough for tonight.”
I frowned, and he kissed the top of my head.
