Move My Heart (Lev Haiba x Reader)

Chapter 23: Drunk and In Love

The next day, you woke up to the smell of food being cooked. You immediately perked up, quickly getting up and gathering your things to take a quick shower. After putting on a fresh set of clothes, you left your room and headed towards the kitchen, following the scent.
"Alisa, that smells delicious," you commented, turning the corner.
"Well, I'm not Alisa, but thank you." You stopped, surprised to see a tall man, with distinct features and styled black hair, smiling at you from near the stove top. You frowned, and then realization set in.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! You must be Alisa's fiancé? Haruto, right?" you asked.
"That's me, but everyone calls me Haru. I'm guessing you're y/n, and not just a random girl in my house, right?" he said jokingly. You had completely forgotten that Alisa had told you that since you last visited, he had moved into the penthouse with her. You laughed, appreciating his easy going attitude.
"That's me." You eyed him, and the food, from the other end of the kitchen. He was a model, like Alisa, and she had told you that they met together at a modeling job. In her words, "it was love at first sight." He definitely had the stature of a model, not as tall as Lev, but still up there, with a clean face and charming smile. They had been dating for a while now, but with his busy schedule and overseas jobs, you had never actually met him.
"Nice to finally meet you."
"Likewise," he said, stirring the pot, the aroma of cooked food circling through the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"
"Definitely," you responded, peering over at what he was cooking. "That's a pretty impressive breakfast." He laughed, pointing with a spatula towards a clock on the wall.
"Actually, it's lunch. You slept through half the day already." You checked your phone, surprised.
"Jet lag," you said, embarrassed.
"So, how was your-"
"I'm back!" You turned to see Alisa sauntering into the kitchen, holding up shopping bags. "Oh, y/n, finally you're up!"
"You could have woken me up..." you said, rubbing your eyes. Alisa headed over to the kitchen island, dumping the bags on top.
"Looks like you two finally met," Alisa said, winking at you as she ruffled through the bags. Haru put down the spatula he was using, and walked towards Alisa, kissing her gently on the cheek.
"What'd you buy?" he asked, peering over her shoulder and into the bags.
"Stuff for tonight," she said, pushing a bag towards you.
"What's tonight?" you asked, reaching over to grab the bag. You reached in, wondering what she had bought.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. We're going wine tasting!" Alisa answered excitedly.
"Wine... tasting?" you said, and Haru laughed.
"For the wedding."
"Ohh... this isn't a plan to get me drunk on my first night back, is it?" you asked playfully.
"Of course not. We have so much to do, that I didn't want to waste a single day," Alisa explained, smiling.

Another perk to add to the list of being friends with the Haibas: wine tasting. Alisa had rented out a private room in an upscale, prestigious restaurant, and you did your fair share of oohing and aahing as you entered the building. She had even insisted on buying you a new black cocktail dress to wear for the evening, because in her own words, "no offense, y/n, but your clothes most likely aren't suitable for the restaurant we'll be going to." Hard not to take offense to that, but you decided it was a matter of good intentions, poor wording. Choosing to ignore her jab at your inability to afford the high end clothes she wore, you happily accepted the dress. Another perk to add to the list: free clothes. You were excited to be able to relax and get to know Alisa and Haru as a couple better, all while sipping fancy wine you didn't need to pay for. In your mind, it was a win win situation for you in any case.
Following the hostess into the private room, you were surprised to see someone was already sitting at one of the four spots. They looked up at you, waving.
"Lev?!" you exclaimed, caught off guard.
"Long time no see," he replied, smiling shyly.
You looked at Alisa, and she had an amused look plastered on her face. You gave her an "I'm going to kill you" look, and she returned it with a "what did I do?" look.
"Um...Good to see you, Lev," you replied awkwardly. "Alisa, before we sit, could you quickly show me to the bathroom?"
"Huh? But we just-"
"Now," you hissed, and she finally got the message.
"Right. We'll be right back, boys." Haru and Lev looked confused, and you grabbed her hand, dragging her into the hallway.
"What's wrong?" she asked, and you crossed your arms.
"Why didn't you tell me that Lev would be here?" you whisper - yelled, not wanting anyone to hear you.
"I figured you already knew," she replied innocently.
"No, I did not! I thought it would be just the three of us..."
"Does it matter?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you're my maid of honor, and he's Haru's best man, so..."
Right. Lev was Haru's best man, so if you were there, it made sense for him to be there too.
"I just wasn't expecting to see him," you said accusingly, lowering your voice.
"Oh, c'mon, don't look so defeated. It'll be good for you two to see each other again."
"Alisa, I needed some mental preprepation for this," you said sarcastically, and she laughed.
"Stop overreacting! You guys need to start talking at some point, if the both of you plan to help with the preparations." You bit your lower lip, knowing she was right.
"Fine, but only because I'm doing this for you," you said, wagging a finger at her. "... and the free wine and food."
Back in the room, you excused yourself for leaving so abruptly, and took a seat next to Lev. As Alisa and Haru buried their noses in the wine menu, picking out an array of drinks to sample, Lev leaned in to you.
"You look good," he said, and his indifference towards you got under your skin.
"Thanks... you don't look bad yourself." You refused to admit how striking Lev looked, wearing a suit that was visibly custom made, and his ashy hair slicked back neatly. His whole demeanor had changed since you were in highschool, from a dorky but sweet teenage boy, to a man who looked like he drove sports cars and stayed in five star hotels.
"How was your flight?"
"Good." the awkward tension between you two was thickening with each word, and you shifted in your seat.
"Ever been wine tasting before?" he asked, and you shook your head.
"No, you?"
"Yeah, once or twice. You'll see, it's fun. Word of advice, never finish the whole glass. The amount they give you is meant to get you a little... tipsy," he whispered.
"I can handle myself," you said, sounding more hostile than you intended too. Lev frowned, leaning back in his seat. Crap. Part of you wanted to hug him, catch up on lost time, and joke about how much you missed him, but the other part of you wanted to push him and yell at him, finally being able to get everything off your chest. Soon, the waiters started to bring the first round of samples and appetizers out, and you all dug in. The drinks were great, and the food was out of this world.
Alisa and Haru carried the conversation, chatting about how stressful the wedding planning was going, and begging you and Lev to give your opinion on the wine.
"Which one is your favorite so far?" Alisa asked, motioning towards the glasses.
"They're all good, honestly," you replied. Wine was just wine to you, and it didn't really make a difference which one she picked. You were far more interested in trying the different platters of food that  were being brought out. You reached over to pick up a piece of sautéed lotus root, which had easily become your favorite dish, but Alisa swatted your hand away.
"Focus! You have to pick, I need your opinions," she said, and you heard Lev snicker. You shot him a look, putting down your chopsticks.
"Fine...," you said, looking around at the bottles near the end of the table. "I liked that one." You pointed to a bottle on the far end, having chosen it at random.
"Really? That was my least favorite," Lev commented. "Way too sweet."
"Well I liked it..."
"Pick another," Alisa instructed, pointing to the remaining bottles.
"Um... maybe that one?" You pointed to another bottle, solely picking it because you liked the floral design on the label.
"That one was a little too tangy for me," Lev said, and you narrowed your eyes at him. What was his problem?
"Fine," you snipped at Lev, annoyed. "What about the one you're drinking now, that one's not that bad, right?" Lev took a slow sip of his drink, pondering for a second.
"Not my favorite," he commented, and you felt extremely inclined to roll your eyes. I guess becoming rich meant adopting all of the snobbish personality traits that come along with the money, you thought to yourself.
"I liked that one," Alisa said, pointing to the bottle on the far right of the table.
"That was my favorite too," Lev said, giving his sister a smile. Seriously? You grabbed your glass, downing the rest of the wine to keep yourself from trying to strangle him. For the rest of the meal, you refused to look at Lev, still holding a grudge about his condescending comments about your wine choice. You sipped your drink, letting Alisa speak for you for the majority of the conversation. The wine and food kept coming, and to keep yourself occupied, you kept drinking and eating.
"Maybe slow down," Lev whispered to you, as the waiter poured you another glass. "Remember, we still have a lot to get through."
"I'm fine," you hissed at him, sipping your drink. Truthfully, you were not, and you knew you were digging an even bigger hole for yourself. Luckily, Alisa seemed to be doing the same, and soon enough, the both of you began giggling and gossiping together, completely ignoring the guys.
"This wine... is making me want to talk more," you said giddily, playing with the sleeve of Alisa's dress.
"Right? Why choose, when I can just buy all of these for the wedding," she said, giggling.
"We can do that, right Haru?" she leaned onto him, nuzzling her head on his arm.
"Right... maybe you should slow down a little on the drinks, Alisa, I think the wine might be a little stronger than we thought."
"You too, y/n," Lev said, gently squeezing your shoulder. "You're not looking good."
"I don't look good?" you said, fake pouting at Lev. Gosh, could the drunk you get any more cringey?
"No... not like that... you just look a little... drunk? I don't think you should have any more wine tonight."
"You need to stop telling me what to do, Levvvv...," you whined, playfully punching his arm. "I'm an adult, I know my limits."
"Yeah, we've only had, one, two, three...," Alisa began, counting on her fingers. "...four... I don't even know after that..." she leaned her head on the table, groaning.
"Maybe you guys are right... I'm not feeling too good." she hiccupped, and Haru patted her on the back.
"Alright, let's get you to the bathroom and splash some water on your face to wake you up," he said gently, pulling her up. Alisa groaned again, staggering slightly.
"There we go, nice and slow," Haru said, helping her out the room. "...didn't you promise you weren't going to drink too much tonight?"