He was braver than she was, Rachel thought.

They found the limo parked half a block away and Jake held her hand as he helped her into the car. He slid in after, not across this time, but next to her. They couldn’t stop talking about the game, reliving every goal. Jake poured more liquor and they drank it as the limo idled in traffic. The fifteen minute ride in to the arena was going to take them an hour to get out but neither of them noticed the time.

What Rachel did notice was the lightheaded feeling the alcohol was giving her, although she wasn’t sure it was just the scotch. It might have been the way Jake’s jean-clad thigh flexed against hers every time he reached for the bottle, or the way his hand brushed hers when he took her glass. She felt too warm, confined.

“You have really lovely hair.”

The comment made her breath catch and Rachel touched her wig, suddenly self-conscious. “Thank you.”

She felt his hand moving, brushing the hair over her shoulder, and glanced at him. He wasn’t looking at her face. His gaze followed the line of her jaw, her throat. She knew it was an opening-she could have said something, told him about her illness, but she didn’t. What she really wanted to do was to erase the thought entirely from her mind and she could only think of one way to do it.

“Hey there…” He accepted the weight of her, surprised, when she turned and put her arms around his neck.

“Do you want to kiss me?” She could smell her own breath, thick with alcohol, her mouth so close to his. The liquor had given her courage, a boldness she didn’t normally possess, but it had opened up something else too, an empty space inside of her, a fierce hunger, a need demanding to be filled.

“Desperately,” he admitted. “Haven’t thought about anything else all night.” She pressed her mouth to his, trying to recall…was this how you did it? It didn’t take long for her body to remember and Jake helped her along, his tongue parting her lips, exploring the soft recesses of her mouth, the taste of scotch and brandy together making her heady.