" Phone went missing. " Levi sounded restless and Irish felt apologetic. He should have made it known to them when they took off earlier but it escaped him. He had a lot going on then.
" Sorry for not calling you earlier~she's with me" His words became a comfort and Levi heaved a sigh of relive.
" Thank goodness."
" I'll make sure to take her back as soon as possible " He assured and he understood. Their call shortly ended thereafter with a few pleasantries.
Irish immediately returned to their table only to find her in total waste~ she seemed to have taken in a lot in just a short period of 10 minutes. " Phone...?" He marveled, scrutinizing the empty tequila bottle. 
His eyes settled on her~ her head rested on the table. She wasn't in control of her body at this point and he noticed. That was technically too much for a first-timer. He looked worried.
" Oh, you're here" She sniffled a laugh like a clown, as she caught a glimpse of him. "~ get me more of this." Her hand weakly held up the bottle which almost fell off her hand.
" Careful there~" He instantly reached for it, catching it in mid-air before it hit the floor. " You might get hurt. One is enough for...now" His words softly ended as their eyes locked in each other. His heart thumped unreasonably and Phoenix seemed to have come to her senses in a flash second but then, she scoffed with a bright soft smile as she struggled to hold herself up.
" Ah..." She giggled.  "For a moment I thought you were sincere."
" Huh?" Her accusation shot him back into reality. Before he could utter a word, Phoenix was already up on her feet, she struggled to maintain her balance but failed. Keeping her up straight, Irish held onto her. 
He towered over her and he felt her rush breath. She gazed up at him and leaned in closer~ her eyes were suddenly stern which made Irish saunter back.
" I can trust you, right... No, I want to trust you. " She fumbled on her words which caught him off guard. She was this close to his face but Irish was too tense to answer~ her eyes looked like they had more left to say.  
But then, she fell into a peaceful slumber in his arms. Her head rested on his chest and his heart skipped. For the next second, he remained stiff but then his impulsive scoff soon broke it off.
He had never seen this side of her before. Irish actually found her cute and funny. He smiled. Her innocence always took over whenever she was quiet like now. He thought.
As best as he could, he managed to get her on his back and headed out to his car. A ring kept interrupting from his cell but he was too occupied to attend it~ he knew who the caller might be. 
It was his father. The time of their meeting was up with 20 minutes gone. He was supposed to have joined him at INFINITY RESTAURANT around 8 but he lost track of it.
Carefully, he fitted her into her seat and adjusted it to her comfort as they got to the car. Since the said restaurant was closer to his apartment,  he decided to drop Phoenix at his apartment and head over to his father. 
He could take her over to the hospital later in the morning since the next day was a Saturday– Irish thought. Just like that, he got into his seat and veered the car, seizing it into the main street as he sped off.
As he drove through the less busy streets, Phoenix's earlier question kept ringing in his mind. He couldn't get it out of thought. To settle everything, he first had to find out the person behind his blackmail and Givonna's death.
.
.
.
It was a mild night and the sky was clear. The door opened onto utter darkness which lasted briefly~ the lights instinctively illuminated the room as Irish stepped in with Phoneix in his arms.
He headed straight to the bedroom and gently, he laid her into the softness of the mattress. He settled right beside her, taking in her beauty.  His fingers carefully cleared the strain of hair that covered her face and she grumbled in sleep, tossing a little with her head faced up.
He sighed. " I don't know how tough of a life you've lived being deceived all this while but I promise to make you trust me no matter how long it takes." He said in a near whisper. 
Just then, the call came again. It's really time to go now– he said in thought, jerking to his full length. He was about to trod off when her tender hand held onto his wrist, redrawing his gaze back to the bed.
She seemed to be stuck in a nightmare,  her forehead broke in sweat. " No, don't go...please. " The words loosed in a faint whisper but were clear enough for him to hear. " Please...don't~" it faded and he noticed the strain of tears on her face.
He couldn't leave her like that. She seemed to be in so much pain, the event seemed to have traumatized her. Her grip got tighter with each sob. Irish held hers with a comforting and assuring squeeze.
 " Hey... It's okay. I'm right here " He mumbled, returning to his initial position. " I'm not going anywhere~ I'll be here by your side ".
Her eyes flickered open and silence engulfed them. Before he could know, her tender lips sealed his, and he felt her warmth.
Irish was taken aback for a moment but then, his eyes slowly slipped closed, and he found himself urging in for more. 
For once, he knew beyond any shadow of doubt how head over hail and obsessed he was with her– he sure couldn't let go of her any longer. This felt like a confirmation saying, hold onto her no matter what.
She kissed him hard and he matched her intensity, gripping handfuls of her hair. His lips were hot and wet, lubricating gracefully with passion. She yanks his coat and hers off simultaneously, their lips locked in each other and not letting go soon. 
In an impulse, Irish broke it off, scanning her face. He can't do this~ he can't just take advantage of a drunk person. The thought rushed in. " Are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked but her answer came more daring.
And he equally matched it up. Leaning into her. His body pressed against her– allowing her to set the pace, light, obliterating, and exploring. 
Phoenix felt his lips start to kiss the side of her mouth, then the bottom of her chin, and then the base of her neck. They were almost naked at this point. Her fingers in his hair tugged, never wanting him to stop.