Marriage by Law

Of course. I should have known that a businessman as successful as him can't even do a proper tie. I looped the tie across as I felt him stare at me. I could hear Adrian in the background saying something as I pulled the tie across the other way.

Darius was wearing a black fitted suit that made him look sinful. It fitted perfectly across his shoulders. He wore a crisp white shirt that was tucked underneath and the white tie that seemed like it had velvet patterns on it.

"Done," I said, looking up.

"Your hair is up."

"Yep," I said, tightening the tie and fixing his collar. He raised a finger, pushing a stand of my hair away, and Adrian chose that moment to clear his throat, loudly.

"If you two are done making babies, can we go? We'll be late."

I looked over my shoulder and gave him a dirty look. Way to ruin the moment. No one even asked you in, you little piece of – I shook my head. No, calm down.

"Whatever," I muttered, grabbing my jacket off the bed. "I'm bringing it." I showed it to Darius who laughed.

"You don't need it. Leave it," he said.

I pulled it on, ignoring him. "And then freeze to death and listen to you say, 'should have brought a jacket’?” Not a chance," I said, buttoning it up. Rather be safe than sorry.

The three of us made our way downstairs where Jesse was waiting with the limousine. I smiled at him as he got in with us, talking to Darius, and I looked out the window while Adrian did whatever he was doing on his phone.

The ride to the pier was short and I was glad I brought a jacket. It was freezing by the time we got out and walked toward the massive white ship that was decorated with lights. It looked spectacular.

"You guys have fun. I'll be back soon"

I waved a hand as Darius walked off toward the other side of the boat where more men dressed in suits were standing around. I followed Adrian to the music.

"Whoa," I said as I looked around. It was like this was a whole new area from where Darius went off to. That one looked all business while this one looked like I stepped into some high school graduation party.

"Ever been to a party before?"

I looked at Adrian, offended. "Are you kidding? I got suspended five times because of it. I am the definition of party." I felt like seventeen again. He raised his eyebrow and nodded toward a table and I looked over. Jenga? Game on.

"You lie."

"No. I fly," said Adrian, pushing another glass toward me. I groaned, placing my forehead on the table. Who knew drunk jenga was this hard. The whole game was the same as jenga, but every time it fell, you took a shot. And I had lost how many shots I've taken.

"I thought you were quite the party girl. Drunk already?"

I scoffed, waving a hand but nearly falling backward. I was out of practice. I grabbed the plastic cup, refusing to lose, and took the cranberry vodka shot, shuddering. I hated vodka. Give me cocktails and I would down them. Vodka? Let me throw them down on you.

"Y –" I coughed, hiccupping. "Your turn." I was already feeling cold. Where was my jacket? I squinted and looked around. Wait, there was a crowd? Was that money being bet on us? The only thing I could focus on was Adrian's checkered suit. It looked sober compared to everyone else and myself here.

"I got this," he declared as he leaned over the table. The jenga tower was getting big and out of hand fast. It was ‘let the best engineer win’. But neither of us did engineering, so it was ‘the best luck wins’.

"Ta-da," Adrian announced, with his arms outstretched.

I sighed. Damn, he was good. He was drunk and good.

"Your turn, Silver."

"I am Aluminium," I corrected him while looking at the tower.

"But silver is more expensive. Are you calling yourself cheap?"

I glared at Adrian across the table. "Well, my metal has chemical components that allow me to bend the easiest, unlike silver which is a large chunk. I am very good at conducting electricity."

"What?" Adrian looked absolutely confused. I shrugged. I was sure I just made up everything I just told him. I looked at the tower and randomly picked a block, pulling it and wincing as the tower fell. There were boos and screams from the crowd before another shot was pushed toward me and people started going back to the dance floor.

I was feeling sick. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. This is the last one. Darius is going to kill me if he finds us drunk."

I grabbed the blue shot and closed my eyes as I swallowed it. I pulled a face, chucking the glass back on the table.

"Well, we're not technically drunk. Let's hide," I said, grabbing Adrian’s hand and turning around only to smack straight into the pole. He burst out laughing and I walked around it toward the bright lights. Such light, much blind, so bright. It’s a saying so I’d like to keep that saying, if that’s okay.

"Aluminium!"

I stopped, suddenly feeling my head sway. I turned around looking at Adrian. "Yes, Adrenaline?" I called as he caught up, laughing.

"I think we had too much."

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