[Chapter 186: Drunk]
"It's hard to figure out what kind of person he really is. Gentle, domineering, cautious, frivolous, indulgent, fickle, aggressive, cynical, incredibly talented, with a wicked sense of humor... In short, he possessed so many qualities. After spending some time with him, I realized no matter what I did, it was nearly impossible to find any confidence from him. When I first debuted, I thought, 'Ah, I made it! I'm a Hollywood star! I really succeeded, didn't I, Liz...'" Julia squinted her eyes, looking at the woman next to her with a hint of uncertainty.
"Of course, Julia, you definitely succeeded," Elisabeth responded, seamlessly taking the glass from Julia's hand while subtly signaling a passing waiter to replace it with a glass of juice, which she then placed in Julia's hands.
Even though Julia's true identity had just been revealed by Eric, Elisabeth sincerely apologized to her. Any tension that had developed between them quickly melted away. Julia was feeling quite unhappy due to Eric's words, so she unconsciously drank a bit more, resulting in her tipsy state. Perhaps it was the alcohol; Julia's defenses weakened, and she began to chatter away to Elisabeth about her various past experiences with Eric.
Drowsily accepting the glass Elisabeth handed her, Julia took a hearty sip of the liquid, seeming unaware that it was juice instead of wine. With her semi-drunken slur, she continued, "I... I thought I succeeded, you know. Then I started getting all these offers for films, each one worth millions. Millions, Liz! I couldn't even dream of that before. But then that... that awful jerk canceled them all without even talking to me about it. I stormed over to confront him. And he immediately scolded me harshly, until... until I cried in front of him before he finally stopped. Ugh, I always wanted to act a bit prouder in front of him, act a little more... confident, but he has this way of saying just one line... Even just one look from him can leave you completely unable to hold your head up. Now he's making it so that I can't even date anymore. Whenever I think about going out with a boy, he just jumps into my mind, pointing at the boy and knocking him down, finding fault with everything."
Julia took another swig of juice with hazy eyes, suddenly bursting into self-mocking laughter. "But then, he actually said, 'What does this have to do with Julia?' Hah, what a jerk! What does it have to do with me? What does it have to do with me..."
"Alright, Julia, you're drunk. Maybe I should take you home," Elisabeth gently urged, noting the signs of Julia's drunkenness. Generally, it was best to act accommodating with someone who had been drinking so that they would listen.
"Yeah, home. I want to go home; I don't ever want to see that jerk again." Julia jumped up suddenly, only to feel dizzy and flop back onto the sofa. Elisabeth quickly supported her until Julia regained her composure before helping her stand again.
...
Allen found Eric chatting with Herbert Ross and whispered a few words in his ear. Eric glanced toward the entrance of the banquet hall, apologized to Herbert, and moved in that direction.
"What happened, Julia? Why did you drink so much?" Eric looked disapprovingly at the comatose Julia that Elisabeth was supporting and surveyed the area. "Where's Allison?"
Allison was Julia's petite assistant, who sported a sprinkling of freckles across her face.
"Y-you don't need to worry about it. I can drink as much as I want!" Julia exclaimed dramatically, waving her arms in exaggeration as she raised her voice, "Why do you think you can tell me what to do?"
"Shut up. Do you want the news spreading tomorrow that you got smashed and made a scene?" Eric shot a glare at Julia, aware that their conversation had drawn attention. He quickly gestured to Elisabeth to help Julia out of the banquet hall. They breathed easier once they were in an empty corridor.
"Where's Allison? I'll have her take you home," Eric asked again.
Julia lowered her head, pouting out her lips. Right after Eric's scolding stare had startled her, or perhaps she was regaining some rationality, she replied, "Allison is on vacation. She stayed with me in a small town down south for a few months and... And she got sick from the climate."
Eric sighed and turned to his assistant, saying, "Allen, can you take Julia home?"
Allen was about to respond when Elisabeth interjected, "Let me handle it. This gentleman is a man, and it's a bit inconvenient. Julia's had too much to drink. She'll need someone to take care of her."
Eric looked at Elisabeth in puzzlement, then glanced at Julia.
"I want... I want Liz to take me. Not him... Stinky man! You all are stinky men!" Julia seemed to drift further off, tightly hugging Elisabeth's arm as she leaned against her.
Allen shrugged awkwardly, and since Eric saw Julia in such a state, he had no choice but to say, "Alright, then. Sorry about this, Liz. Do you know Julia's apartment address?"
"I know, I know. It's at 11070 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills," Julia, leaning against Elisabeth, reflexively raised a hand, speaking as if she were an eager student wanting to answer a question, her voice infused with a hint of childishness.
Eric shrugged and smiled at Elisabeth. "Alright, now you know. I'll send you two down."
As the elevator descended slowly, Eric kept glancing at the two women next to him, feeling a bit odd. Though their contact had been brief, he sensed an interesting 'tomboy' vibe from Elisabeth. Could she be a lesbian? If so, would Julia end up...
Eric's thoughts twisted into something sinister, and a mischievous grin crept onto his face.
Fortunately, Elisabeth remained focused on helping Julia, not noticing Eric's strange expression. If she knew what was on Eric's mind, she probably would have kicked him straight in the shins.
"My car's over there. Hey, can't you be a gentleman and help me out a bit?" Elisabeth said, stepping out of the elevator and pointing toward a red sports car in the parking lot. Noticing Julia's wavering stance, she added, annoyed at Eric, "It's clear Julia's had a little too much, and she'll need someone to look after her."
"Oh, sorry, I thought you'd be fine," Eric laughed as he stepped up to offer his other arm to Julia, joining Elisabeth in supporting her as they led her to the car. After propping Julia against him, Elisabeth had the chance to dig out her car keys and unlock the door.
As she opened the back door of the sports car, Elisabeth turned to indicate to Eric that he should help Julia inside. Instead, she found Julia entangled around Eric like a soft vine, her eyes glazed as she nuzzled her face against Eric's cheek, murmuring incoherently, "Eric, um... I dreamt about you again. Are you going to hit me? You always spank me, it hurts, you know. And I always wake up with my underwear messed up. So embarrassing. Can't you be a little nicer to me? Please give me a kiss..."
Seeing Elisabeth's stunned expression, Eric innocently raised his hands, letting Julia cling to him while she playfully licked his cheek, weakly defending himself, "Um... you know how it is, she's drunk."
Elisabeth quickly snapped back to herself, silently pulling Julia off Eric and stuffing her into the back seat of the car. With a loud slam of the door, she hopped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and as she began to pull away, she couldn't resist poking her head out the window, shouting at Eric, who had raised a hand to say goodbye, "Mr. Williams, Julia's right; you really are a jerk!"
As Eric watched the sports car drive away with the raised middle finger, he could only chuckle to himself.
I didn't actually hit her, right?
Did I hit her?
No, I didn't, right?
Could it be that I'm getting old, and my memory is slipping?
...
Awakening from a hazy dream, Julia felt like her head had been stuffed with a giant stone. She reflexively raised her hand to her temple and looked around.
Thankfully, it was her own bedroom.
She felt a mix of relief and disappointment; it seemed she had overindulged last night and dreamt about that guy again, rambling on incoherently. Thank goodness it was just a dream. Otherwise, that would be so embarrassing.
Propping herself up, the thin blanket slipped away, exposing her pale, soft legs to the air. The cool breeze from the air conditioning made her instinctively cover her chest. Suddenly, she remembered something and quickly threw back the blanket.
Oh my God, did that guy do something to me again?
The sound of the bedroom door unlocking made Julia scramble to pull up the blanket to cover herself, her eyes widening as she stared at the entrance.
A girl appeared at the door, wearing only an oversized button-down shirt and revealing her two long, pale legs. Seeing Julia sitting up, the girl smiled and said, "Hi, Julia! You finally woke up! I was about to have to interrupt your beauty sleep."
"You..." Julia gradually recalled some events from last night, remembering the girl's identity, and managed to force a smile, "Liz, good morning! Did you... did you take me home?"
"Sure did! You were quite a handful last night, throwing up a couple of times and getting both of us wet, so I had to borrow a shirt from your closet. I hope you don't mind?" Elisabeth tugged at the shirt she was wearing, inadvertently revealing the white edges of her panties.
"Of course, I don't mind! I should thank you!" Julia quickly recognized the shirt as one she had secretly kept from Eric long ago. But Elisabeth didn't seem to realize it was a man's shirt, and Julia had no intention of pointing it out.
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