Chapter 286Going Home
<Chapter> Chapter 286Going Home</Chapter>
After a while, when they were tired from dancing and returned to their seats, a few guys came over to have drinks with Douglas, offering Diana drinks as well. When she declined, Douglas took the drinks for her.
Watching how Douglas looked after Diana, even though no one said it aloud, everyone began to treat her like his girlfriend, prompting them to ply him with more drinks.
Sitting to the side, Diana felt like an outsider, not getting involved in the dealings between Douglas and his friends. But seeing Douglas getting increasingly inebriated with each drink, she quickly went over to stop him, blocking him from having any more.
"Diana, I'm not drunk," slurred Douglas, collapsing into her arms and gazing at her with hazy eyes.
"No more drinking," Diana said, swatting away his hands. "It's getting late. I have work tomorrow. Let's go."
"All right, I'll listen to you—no more drinking. Let's head out," Douglas agreed, wrapping an arm around her with a compliant nod. After bidding farewell to his buddies with a wave, they stood to leave.
Diana noticed Douglas's unsteady steps as she supported him. Most of his weight leaned heavily upon her as they exited.
"Where do you live? I can drive you home."
Douglas, evidently drunk, made it to the parking garage only to rush to a trash can to vomit. Having relieved himself, he slumped onto Diana's shoulder again.
She guided him to her car, opened the back door, and got him seated before gently patting his face and asking, "Got your ID on you?"
Slouched in the back seat with half-closed eyes, Douglas shook his head without uttering a word.
"All right, I'll take you to a hotel then," Diana said, looking at him but to no avail. Douglas had already fallen into a deep sleep without any further response.
With a sigh of resignation, Diana searched his pockets for an ID but found nothing. Even a look through his car's glove compartment turned up empty.
Glancing at the time, she noted it was nearing midnight. If she kept at this, she figured she wouldn't get any rest tonight, and tomorrow, she was supposed to accompany Liam to an important event.
Gazing at the young man, now sound asleep in the backseat, Diana took a deep breath and decided to drive home to her apartment.
She'd let Douglas crash on her sofa for the night. The bar wasn't far from her place – just a short fifteen-minute drive.
After parking the car, getting Douglas out of the backseat took considerable effort. Thankfully, he was somewhat cooperative, allowing her to get him into the elevator with less struggle. She pressed the button for her floor, and the elevator ascended swiftly.
During the ride up, Douglas leaned onto her, his arms around her, his breath heavy with the scent of alcohol, warm against her neck.
Peering at his closed eyes and thick lashes, Diana felt her heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.
It dawned on her then – she wasn't bringing home a boy but a man. A man over six feet tall, good-looking and radiant, respectfully addressed as "boss" in the bar—this man, who had also enveloped her in his arms for a dance.
The more she looked at him, the faster her heart raced uncontrollably.
Was it too late to regret bringing him here? Could she still send him away?
The elevator chimed its arrival.
The doors slid open quietly just as the elevator emitted a soft chime, indicating arrival at Diana’s apartment floor.
Diana stared down at Douglas, who was passed out on her, his inebriation evident. She hesitated, biting her lip for a few seconds, then decided to help him out of the elevator and toward her apartment.
Once inside, she managed to get Douglas onto the couch and let out a sigh of relief before heading to grab a drink of water.
"Water, Diana, water..." came a mumbled request.
Diana had just taken a sip when she heard Douglas's voice from the couch. She paused mid-sip and looked over to find him awake, his eyes now squinting at her, though they were still glazed over with drunkenness.
She couldn't help but smile, walking over with a glass of water and offering it to him.
Douglas flashed a goofy grin before closing his eyes again, slipping back into slumber.
Diana sighed in resignation and helped him sit up to drink the water. Thankfully, he wasn't entirely out of it. After assisting him in sipping half a glass, she let him lie back down again and gently patted his face, "Hey, Douglas, you all right? Need more water?"
There was no response. Douglas was sound asleep.
Seeing he was genuinely asleep, Diana fetched a thin blanket to cover him, then went about her nightly routine and got ready for bed.
The following day, at 6:30 a.m., Diana’s alarm clock went off unerringly. She groggily turned it off and shuffled out of bed, yawning as she made her way out of the bedroom toward the bathroom of her one-bedroom apartment.
Last night's late hours took their toll. Her mind was in a fog, leaving no recollection of the previous evening's events, including the fact that a young man should have been sleeping on her living room sofa.
But now, the couch was empty, not a sign of Douglas anywhere.
Still in a daze, Diana entered the bathroom, shut the door behind her, and approached the toilet.
It was only after relieving herself and readying to flush that she sensed something was off—the sound of running water persisted as if a shower was still going.
Abruptly, her eyes snapped open, sleepiness vanishing instantly.
She turned toward the sound, and she could see steam rising vigorously behind the shower curtain.
Almost reflexively, she reached out and yanked the curtain aside.
