A Little Bit Married

Toast to the Present

A knock came on the door, and I turned, my brows furrowed. Could Samantha be crazy enough to come back knocking after she literally had to be thrown out by security? Would they even let her in?

I bit down on my lips and looked around. I was all alone, and Gray had gone to get dinner. He had been gone for close to an hour, and even though I was beginning to get worried, I didn't think it would be him. I mean, he could simply walk in. Why would he knock and then wait outside?

I turned, grabbing a scissors someone must have forgotten, then slowly walked to the door. I took slow steps to the door, and I could hear movement outside and slightly muffled groan. I turned the door knob and slowly opened it, my scissors ready.

Gray was on the other side of the door, holding far too many brown takeout bags and a tiny cup between his lips.

I broke into a laugh, lowering the scissors. He gave me a look and walked past, then slowly dropped the bags on the couch. He grabbed the cup from between his teeth and turned to me, his eyes darting between me and the scissors I was still holding.

"What are you doing with scissors?"

I shrugged. "Getting ready to gorge your crazy ex's eyes out."

He laughed, then leaned to search through one of the bags as I closed the door behind me.

"You bought the entire shop?"

He gave me another weird look, and I was beginning to think that was his real face. Not the stoic billionaire, the angry one, or the playful one. This look that made me know that he thought I was babbling was probably his original face, and that would be the highlight of the comically funny stony that he and I were somehow the main characters of.

"Here," he said finally, handing me an ice cream. It was the expensive type that I could simply never let myself indulge in, and in my favourite flavour, mint chocolate.

I bit down on my lips and slowly collected it. He took the bag and walked to the mini freezer in the hospital room. I watched him lean to it and stock it up with the ice cream. They were all sealed anyway, and while some were popsicle shaped like the one he handed to me, some were in cups and large rubbers.

"You bought so much ice cream."

He sighed as he closed the freezer and stood up. "Please don't cry. It's just ice cream."

I broke into a laugh, but the tears did spill, and I sniffed and slowly wiped them away. "Thank you."

He nodded. "I bought dinner too."

I nodded, turning to the remaining bags. "Thank you."

He didn't reply as he walked back to the couch and brought out everything. There were a lot of packs, and he had bought even dessert like tirmisu and three main courses.

"We are never finishing this."

He shrugged. "That's what the fridge is for."

I immediately nodded, and he started to look around for something. "How are we going to eat?" He asked finally, looking up to me.

There were only two options. The couch and the bed. The couch was big enough for two people and an extra space, and I immediately thought of something.

I handed him the ice cream back. "Hold this."

He took it, and I removed the sheets from the bed and turned to him. "Could you help me with the shirt you wore down here?"

He didn't ask why and simply handed it to me. I spread it on the bed, opening up the buttons to spread it over, then arranged the food on the bed.

"I don't think that will..." He trailed off then sighed. "I got plates too."

"Perfect," I said, laughing, then opened the drapes as he pulled the couch closer to the bed. He brought out all the disposable cutlery he bought, and I walked back to him, my eyes taking the spread in.

"Which do you want on your dessert plate?"

I looked through the spread of desserts and picked three, and he served them to me.

"Your main course?"

I immediately pointed to the roast.

"Anything else?"

I pointed to two other dishes that I had never seen before, and he helped me to them. I had three plates on, and I arranged them on the couch, then sat on the right, my legs crossed under me as I waited for him.

He came back with two plates, then settled opposite me too, his legs crossed instead.

"Bon appetitè," I said, and he smiled as he grabbed a small bottle of wine from the last bag.

"They wouldn't give me any glasses for sale, so I bought these."

They were two slushy drunks, and he opened them up.

"Interested?"

I shook my head. "My food won't go well with a slushy."

He chuckled. "You have elite taste. Excuse me."

He stood up and got rid of the drinks before coming back and pouring us both a cup of wine. I collected mine, then kept it back and focused on my food.

We ate in silence as we started from the appetisers we had picked, then naturally moved to the main courses.

I picked up my cup and raised it to him. He looked up, his brows furrowed.

"What do you want to toast to?"

He gave a small shrug. "What do you want to toast to?" He grabbed his own cup, his eyes watching me keenly.

"To no crazy exes," I said, pushing my cup. "What do you think?"

He laughed, then slowly nodded. "To no crazy exes."

We put the cups together, then slowly drank everything it.

"That was.." He said, laughing. "Oddly satisfying."

"Let's toast again, then."

He grabbed the wine and filled our cups, and we brought it together.

"To no crazy exes," I said, laughing, and he laughed, shaking his head as he chugged his wine down.

"Refill!" I said, and he didn't argue and grabbed the wine.

We chugged it down again, and even though I was feeling pretty lightheaded, I didn't care.

"To no crazy..."

"How about we toast to the present?" He suddenly asked, and I opened my eyes to meet his.

"The present?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes saturated with something that I couldn't read.

He slowly brought his cup to where my hand was hanging and gently touched the tip of my cup with the tip of his.

"To Evangeline... and Gray."

My lips parted, and I swallowed. "You really want to toast to that?"

He nodded. "Why not? Let's leave the past behind. Let's toast to us."

I felt myself immediately sober up, and I nodded, then touched the tip of his cup with the tip of mine, too.

"To Gray... and Evangeline."

He smiled, then slowly brought his cups to his lips and took a slow sip, all the while watching me, his eyes dark.

I took a long sip too, my tipsiness suddenly gone, but I couldn't blame it. Gray was a form of intoxication himself and the strongest kind.