Resist Me Not

10

Barbara and Harry led us down the stairs of their winery to the underground cellar. The walls, ceilings, and floors were made of large stones and bricks. It was chilly in there, even though I had a shawl with me, per Barbara's recommendation. When Eric saw me shiver even the slightest bit, he wrapped his arm across my shoulder and rubbed my arm to keep me warm.

I couldn't help but continue to beat myself up internally every time Eric did something very "Eric-Like." There he was, being the perfect gentleman and fiance, while here I was, the perfect hussy. Every time Ryan would say something, thankfully, never to me, I'd get irritated and have to control the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Harry, this place looks better than I remembered," Eric complimented.

"Yes, we remodeled it a few years back. The feedback from some of the customers was that the room felt too dark and depressing. Wine tastings now need to be a full body experience, to be successful," he explained.

Barbara requested that we all take a seat on the stools that were placed around a large, rectangular wood table. It could have comfortably sat twelve people. I sat at the head of the table, and Eric and Adam flanked my sides. Barbara and Harry moved around the cellar as if they were bees, inspecting, and collecting different bottles of wine, glasses, and menu cards.

Once they set everything down on the table in front of us, Barbara took the available seat next to Adam, and Harry sat beside Ryan.

They poured us wine after wine and explained the smells, looks, and of course, the flavors we should feel. I was not a wine connoisseur in the slightest, and I had a terrible time detecting what they were suggesting. Though I still thought they tasted good, I couldn't tell the difference between this one or that one.

After sampling several, even though we were spitting out the tastings into the steal spit bucket provided, I was starting to feel a little tipsy. Probably because I didn't eat much of my lunch. Thanks, Ryan. I didn't want to be rude and tell Mr. Upton I couldn't take anymore, so the rest of the time, I would bring the glass to my lips and keep them tight against the rim, so the wine just touched them, but didn't pass through to my mouth.

I was in no desire to get too drunk and end up telling Eric everything that happened between Ryan and I. Though, I had a feeling that was what Ryan was hoping I'd do. Unless he planned to tell Eric himself? I couldn't quite figure him out. Though, I had no desire to anymore.

I noticed Ryan was drinking the entire glass, sample after sample. I wasn't the only one who noticed either. Adam kept glaring across at his brother for appearing unsophisticated. Eric, who sat next to Ryan, didn't seem to care, but he too was consuming more than he should when he tasted the samples. If I had to guess, I would have thought they were competing to see who could get drunk the fastest.

Thankfully Mr. and Mrs. Upton didn't seem to mind, or if they did, they didn't show it. They just continued giving us more samples. I was grateful when we were finally done after our eighth tasting. Or was it our tenth? I had lost count after the fourth sample.

The Upton's wanted to treat us to dinner in their winery's restaurant. They headed up, ahead of us, to have the servers prepare a table, since it was heading into the dinner rush for the restaurant.

"I think you may want to head back to the mansion instead of joining us for dinner," Adam demanded to Ryan, more than suggested.

"Why? I could eat a horse right about now," he responded, patting his hand against his stomach.

Adam analyzed his brother and saw him swaying and almost stumbling off the stool from losing his balance. "You're clearly wasted, Ryan! What were you thinking drinking so much? This was a tasting. Not an 'All-You-Can-Drink' buffet."