Carbon: Devil's Rose #8

Chapter 28: Roman Grant

"Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots!" the men around me chant.

"Roman, take a shot!"

I wave them off, sipping my rum and Coke.

I have already taken one, and I don't want to get too plastered in case Gabby needs me. Besides, I'm not really that in the mood for a drinking night. 

Luckily, Julian, Felix, and all of our buddies don't care about my decision to not get shitfaced, but I also know that they can't help but tease me about that. That's what makes the teasing fun, it's because they actually don't give a shit. 

Patrick, a childhood best friend of Julian, slides into the booth next to me, slamming his shoulder against mine, taking another shot of tequila that he doesn't need. I know exactly what he's about to talk to me about.

"I cannot wait to meet this Gabby that everyone keeps talking about," Pat taunts me, definitely using his fuckboy energy to get me all riled up. I'll play along.

"She's mine, Patrick."

"You're so funny, Roman. I'm not trying to take her from you."

"Hmm, I'm sure. I'm excited for the day that you meet a girl who knocks you on your ass."

He chuckles but doesn't another word. He slides back out of the booth but right when he stands a girl runs into his shoulder, literally knocking him on his ass. He turns to me winking before practically chasing after her. 

I observe the two of them to make sure that nothing seems off, but after flirting for a minute, they disappear into a not-so-well-lit hallway. A few of the other guys come around, and we all chat about nothing interesting. Julian knows these guys much better than I do, which makes sense because there are his groomsmen, so he should know them well. 

I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, and I panic when I see that it's Gabby. I know I said she could call me, but I didn't want her to have to.

"What's wrong, Gabriella?"

"I'm funck."

"You're what?"

"Funck, man, I'm funck."

Oh drunk, she's very very drunk.

"I said I wasn't gonna do this anymore, babe, and I did. I'm gonna throw up in the toilet tomorrow."

"Thank for you the heads up," I say, chuckling.

"No problemo. Also, pick me up, please?"

"Sure. Where are you?"

"Wine tasting, brudda."

She's such a weird drunk. I mean, she's a weird person in general but even weirder when she's drunk. She also has to give me more information than that. 

We're in fucking Napa. There are about five to six hundred places she could be wine tasting right now, so that doesn't narrow down the search at all. 

I could track her down, but that seems like an invasion of her privacy. She's not in trouble, she's only drunk, so it would be a different situation if she's in harm's way, but this isn't a bad situation, she's tired and overwhelmed.

"You're going to have to give me more detail than that."

I feel a hand on my shoulder and swivel my head to see Julian standing there.

"They're at Black Stallion Winery," he explains to me.

I hear Gabby slurring on the other end of the phone, and my heart clenches. I need to be with her. I need to make sure that she's okay.