Bam!

I was valiantly attempting to defend baseball as an entertaining sport to Dr. Castillo when Sarah Jean approached me. I was leaning upon the mantle, gesturing with my right hand and, when it returned to me, it did so with a Sarah Jean attached. She slid into me, leaning deeply into me. It was one of those hugs that was very casual, not so much a hug as a using me to prop her up, with her personage trying the meld with my own. Loosely she grinned up at me. “Hi.”

Sarah Jean is a trained professional. She does not use her abilities for personal gain or just for show. She has 'switches' of a fashion in her mind to prevent her subconscious mind from roaming in an unfocused manner when she is asleep or unconscious or medicated.

I'm not completely sure what happened at this point. Everything was fine, I felt good, the last of the wine's effects leaving me. Then Sarah Jean leaned into me and I felt very good indeed. My brain fuzzed over immediately. Don't get me wrong, I do feel that Sarah Jean's presence is intoxicating and especially so her physical form, but this was ridiculous. In retrospect, I think our physical contract opened up one of those 'switches', allowing her fogged mental condition to affect me. My response to her was intelligent. “Hi.”

Dr. Castillo's grin grew mightier, shining like the crescent moon in the sky. “My friends, I sense I am no longer needed here.” He wandered off.

The suddenness of this drunk made it difficult for me to react. I recall trying to turn in order to better hold her but this movement almost proved disastrous. There was weebling as well as wobbling but no falling down. Before I could attempt another ill conceived physical movement, I was assisted. Dr. Castillo grabbed Sarah Jean's free arm, helping lift us from the mantle. Ms. Romero grabbed my free arm. We were surrounded. Suddenly we were walking.

I don't know exactly what occurred during that process. I know I focused most of my mental energies towards the picking up of one foot in order to successfully put it in front of the other. I was also aware of Ms. Romero's hot breath in my ear. I've the impression that she was speaking but none of the words were comprehensible to me. I do know what happened at the end of the process. Sarah Jean and I were guided to a bed and deposited there as gently as possible. As I fought to regain some clarity, our hosts departed the room. After the door clicked closed, it clicked again. We were locked in.

Add Wine and Stir

After this concerning start, the remainder of dinner passed by without incident. There was good food, good conversation, good friends. We were relaxed. At least I was. This was due to good wine.

I may not drink it often but I do like wine. I know precious little about it. I know people that know vintages and how long to let it breathe and all that sort of thing. I am not that guy. I have an idea of what I like and I drink that. I am not fancy about it at all.

Part of the reason I don't drink wine often is that it tends to relax me more than I'm comfortable with when I'm out and about. With most other alcoholic beverages, I'm familiar with how I react to them and have known limits. The impact of wine is harder for me to accurately judge. It seems to be more variable than other alcoholic beverages. I blame the grapes. Wine has the highest possibility of sending me from zero to drunk.

Under normal operating situations, this was something to be concerned about. Given that I would be driving later this evening, it was something to be extra concerned about. Given that Ms. Romero is difficult to resist when sober, well, you can see my problem. I reasoned that, if for reason I were to take Ms. Romero up on her offer, I wouldn't want to do it when drunk. If that was going to happen, I felt it would be something I would want to remember, not be told about after returning from a blackout. I was talked into a second glass during dinner and I resolved within myself that was going to be my limit.

This was all well and good, a fine decision to make. However, I had not considered all the factors at play. Mostly, I'd not considered Sarah Jean.

Honestly, this should come as no surprise. It has been what feels like forever since I was last seriously accompanied anywhere by a young lady. I know she's smart and I trust her. What I had not considered was that I didn't really know her tolerance levels, especially for something like wine, and know that would affect me.

I had paced out my intake of the wine and its effects on me, while pleasurable, had been minimal. I was still in control of myself. The combination of factors had hit Sarah Jean enough to dent her sense. When Ms. Romero offered her an after dinner drink in the living room, she readily agreed.

This is when the evening got complicated.