4: Drunken Kiss

CITRINE remained silent before smiling, causing the muscles around her lips to twitch from the effort of suppressing her own laughter.

“Then I’ll comply,” she shrugged, and the look on Revan’s face was priceless as he tried to control his expression in an attempt to retain a serious countenance. 

“Are you serious?” Revan moved away from Citrine and continued drinking from his glass before setting it down again to look back at her with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t do jokes when making a deal.” Citrine leaned forward to make herself more comfortable, resting her elbows on the counter table and drinking straight from her own glass. Revan chuckled, clearly amused by her answer.

He realized Citrine was really a grown-up woman now, one that should not be treated so recklessly anymore. It was time for him to stop treating her like a child; she was an adult now. Nonetheless, it was nice to see her after all these years.

“All right, then, what’s the other proposition you’re going to make?” he asked, turning his chair and leaning back against the counter.

“I want you to reject the business proposal I was supposed to present yesterday.”

“Why? I read it, it was good though?” Revan asked, confused. 

“Well, I was the one who did it. Of course, it will be.” Citrine proudly said before sipping her drink. “But I want you to reject it in exchange for something far better proposal that would benefit your company.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Revan, which made him raise a brow. He then called the attention of the bartender and ordered himself another drink.

“Hmm.”

Revan hummed, thinking about what was going on inside her head but Citrine beat him to it and continued speaking without giving him time to figure out a conclusion. 

“My father will kick me out of the family and company after I marry Gael.”

Revan remained perplexed. As far as he recalls, Fabian has a good relationship with her daughter, but what he doesn’t realize is that it was all an act to maintain his fatherly image. He had no idea how Fabian treated his eldest daughter, and Citrine refused to tell anyone how unhappy her life was. Even Gael had no idea.

“I know you have a lot of questions, but I’m not ready to tell you what happened; all I can tell you now is my proposition.”

“All right, let’s hear what you’ve got up your sleeve,” he said as he took the glass from the bartender, he sipped it slowly and looked at Citrine, who looked more determined than ever. 

“As I previously stated, my father will kick me out of the company, and while this may appear shameless, I want you to hire me when that happens.”

“And why should I do that?”

“Your newly built cosmetic company isn’t doing well, are they?” she answered bluntly, and Revan was a bit taken aback by this. He wanted to ask her but instead chose to remain silent and listen to what she had to say.

“I know a way to make it grow and make people pay attention to it; I will make a proposal about it, when I’m done I will show it to you and you can decide whether you will hire me or not.” She finished her second drink and ordered again.

“You sound so confident about all this, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s how much I trust my skill. I am capable of making anything work if I put enough effort into it.” Citrine quirk one side of her mouth in an amused grin and Revan couldn’t help but did the same.

“All right, I will look forward to your proposal then.” Revan easily agreed. After all, he was well aware that Citrine was capable of completing any task she set her mind to. When he was abroad, he learned that she was the one who saved the Lustrio Hotel’s reputation and prestige. Citrine’s confidence didn’t come from anywhere in his opinion.

The rest of their conversation went by without any awkward encounters, but Citrine was already getting drunk with each sip of her alcohol.

“Hey, let’s call it a night here; you look like you’re falling asleep,” Revan said as he took her glass and set it on the table.

“Nooo, I don’t want to go home,” Citrine whined as she clutched his sleeve. “They’ll hurt me.”

Revan frowned.

“Who will hurt you?” he asked, but he didn’t get an answer because her head was lolling over as she fell against his shoulder. She was breathing heavily now, her eyelids getting heavier with each passing second. Revan sighed and decided to take her to his place instead.

He drove silently to his house and helped Citrine get out of his car, carrying her up the stairs. Once they got inside his room, he carefully placed her down on the bed and took off her heels.

“You’re so defenseless,” Revan muttered as he pulled the blanket to cover her up. Just as he was about to leave, she mumbled a sentence inaudibly.

“Am I really that difficult to love…”

Her eyes were already closed when she said those words, and Revan could only stare at her sleeping face. Her skin was soft, her cheeks were flushed with drunkenness, and her lips were plump and inviting, which made Revan shut his eyes and open the air conditioner before taking a hot shower to wash some of the smell of liquor off his body.

Citrine was still asleep when he came out of the bathroom. Revan sighed and reached for some clothes. When he was finished changing, he went downstairs to drink water but almost choked when she saw Citrine walking like a dead woman toward him.

“Shit, you scared the hell out of me,” he said, gripping the counter tightly. The sound of his heart thumping inside his chest and the dark surrounding weren’t helping his nerves. 

‘How can someone walk like that?!’

“Hey, are you sleepwalking—” he couldn’t finish his sentence when Citrine grabbed his shirt collar and pulled herself close enough to practically breathe each other’s breaths. She looked him in the eyes, her breath heavy and shallow and smelling like alcohol.

“Why did you cheat?” she cried, and Revan realized she had mistaken him for Gael. He sighed, set the glass of water down, and held her wrists to remove her hands from his shirt.

“I’m not Gael,” he said, “And don’t do anything you’ll regret tomorrow.”

Citrine blinked one after the other, realizing it wasn’t Gael but Revan; was she dreaming? Why was that jerk in front of her?

“Revenge,” she muttered, and Revan couldn’t help but frown; he was about to drag her back to his room when Citrine pushed him to the countertop. She looked around before placing both of her hands against the surface, leaning forward, and cornering him.

“Let’s kiss,”

“What?” Revan’s brow furrowed. “No, we’re not kissing, you’re drunk, let go of me.”

“Why not?” She grumbled as she leaned closer to his neck, her hands slipping under his shirt and resting on his abs, making Revan flinched.

“Hey, I told you not to do anything you’ll regret tomorrow,” he said as he stopped her hands from moving any further, but he winced as Citrine bit his neck. Her teeth didn’t break the skin, but he could feel how hard she was pressing on his flesh.

“This little!” he exclaimed. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away from him before clenching his jaw. “Don’t test my patience.”

“Let’s kiss! Let’s make Gael jealous!” Revan frowned deeply, a rush of blood coursing through his head. He didn’t know how to react.

“Stop joking around, Gael wasn’t even here,” he tried to reason, but Citrine just laughed and took his hand before pulling him close. She wrapped her arms around his neck before putting her lips over his. The second their lips touched, Revan froze. He tried his best to resist, but it was difficult when she kept rubbing her body against him and making him want to give in even more.

He groaned as his hands tightened around her hips and pushed her up against the counter. He doesn’t want to do this with a drunk woman but it’s been ages since he last kissed anyone.

“Nghh…” Citrine moaned between kisses, and Revan gently pulled her hair with his fingers as if she were the most delicate thing on the planet. Her hands went back underneath his shirt, touching the muscles in his back. Their tongues entwined as Revan shivered at every touch. It was getting dangerous.

He immediately pulled away and sighed before turning to face Citrine, who was completely intoxicated.

“Satisfied?” he asked and she just nodded while smiling. He sighed again and shook his head. “Good.”

He carried her again in bridal style and gently placed her on his bed. She was already fast asleep when he wrapped the blanket around her.

“You’re still a pain in the ass,” he muttered before finally leaving and sleeping in the guest room.

“UGH!” Citrine groaned as she woke up, her head pounding from the alcohol she had consumed last night.  She attempted to sit up but was unable to move.

“You sure sleep like a log,” The voice startled her. She looked around to see Revan sitting on a chair near the glass wall. Citrine turned pale and checked her body under the blanket to see if she was naked. But no, she wasn’t. She breathes a sigh of relief and returns her gaze to Revan.

“What happened?” she wondered aloud. Revan looked back at her, not saying anything and just staring at her. It seemed like he was looking into her soul. She gulped and averted her gaze before forcing herself to sit up straight.

“Did you have a good time last night?” he inquired casually. Citrine didn’t reply straight away, thinking about what answer would be appropriate because she doesn’t remember much of it.

“Did I cause trouble?” she asked, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

“Not really,” Revan replied nonchalantly. Because it appears that she doesn’t remember what she did last night, he chose to forget and never bring it up again to avoid further awkwardness between them.

“You passed out drunk, so I drove you to my house; I left your car at the bar,” he explained before reading the documents in his hand. Citrine kept an eye on him as he flipped through them. Her gaze shifted from one side of the room to the other, observing everything she could see. The room was simply but elegantly decorated. Everything is black or gray, with minimal patterns—

“Shouldn’t you leave now?” She flinched when Revan glanced at her from behind the files in his hands before closing them. 

“Right, I’m sorry if I caused any trouble. I’ll get going now,” she wanted to get mad at him for being rude but his behavior wasn’t anything new. She was simply relieved that nothing had happened between them, so she didn’t feel too bad.

“I’ll draft our contract, so just send me the things you want me to add to the terms and conditions later,’ Citrine said calmly as she straightened her clothes and fixed her hair. She then looks for her heels, which she finds under the bed.

When she was finally ready to leave, she turned to Revan and said goodbye, but he just nodded, his gaze fixed on his work. Citrine simply shrugged and decided not to bother him any longer than necessary.

She took a cab and then went to the bar to get her car before driving home. But as soon as she walked through the front door, she was greeted with a hard slap on the face, causing her head to turn back reflexively.

“You fucking useless!” Her father yelled at her, his eyes venomous with rage, as he threw a newspaper at her.