Penelope's eyes narrowed at the cards and...

She won! By a large margin, too.

She flashed Cian a wide, cheeky grin.

"Drink up."

On and on their exchange went, with each one of them shotting more than either one had expected from a casual game of blackjack.

Before the start of the upcoming round, Penelope's loose gaze had begun to steal more and more glimpses of her sit-in date. Starting from messy golden hair, to his lightly tequila-wet lips, to his strong jawline. She could feel a pool of blood rush to her cheeks, and yet, she couldn't help but keep coming back.

When he looked back up at her, her eyes immediately widened, then scrambled back onto her own hand.

"Yeah, best of luck," She laughed, a veil of nervousness laced around her words. Something about tequila always did this to her: she was so utterly unaware of how close she was, of how loud she was, but at the same time, she WAS aware. It was if the collective sobriety left in her head was attempting to take the reins back, but could only do so for a split second, every other second.

"Double or nothing on my hand?" She suggested, though, she knew it wasn't the best idea. She could MAYBE get away with one shot, but two? That's when things will start to get hazy. But still, she smiled, cheekily, at the man and her right brow crawled upward.

"...fuck."

The curse came out a second after Cian, hers softer and more pronounced. A five and an eight, busted wide open by a shitty king.

Despite the wave of shudders that ran over her body, Penelope followed her date's movements, leaning in close enough for their shoulders to lightly touch.

"One for one?" Her suggestion came with a light chuckle. With a quick raise of the tequila bottle, she took one large gulp worth of the stinging liquid, then another. Finishing off her shots with a disgusted look, she offered the rest of the glass bottle to her date, her hand swaying it from left to right. "Finish up."

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Heart racing, eyes widening, a flood of blood rushed to her cheeks as his warm, tequlia-heavy breath tickled the back of her ear. Slowly, she turned to face him, her lips wrangled up into a half-smile. It took every bit of strength to keep her eyes steady on his -- strength Penelope evidently didn't have, because, despite the rate of her heart and blush infecting her face, her eyes wandered just as loosely as they had before. If not more.

"Yea?" She gulped. Stabs of excitement were assaulting her stomach, clashing against the churns of anxiety that had also captivated her internal organs.

It'd been a while since she felt like this, especially towards a stranger.

But that's what ending a long-term relationship does to you-- it makes you unexpectedly weak in certain situations.

She liked it, though.

"Lead the way, then."

When his hand found hers, so did rush of exhilaration that jolted her out of the seat. The flashing, bright colors of casino floor mashed and blended with each other as the couple made their way to the nearby elevator, enveloping their every movement with a cloud of smoke and a buzz of noise.

The closing of elevator door came with the curt silencing of chatter, drinking, and fun. Now it was just them, alone and unbothered.

Penelope was immediate with her actions: her legs and arms were kept closely tied together while her head was strung up as high as possible, allowing her traveling eyes to stay pinned to the shifting digital floor indicator.

That is, until her date's low, alluring voice slithered into her ear.

"You're a horrible gambler."

Arceus, was he hot. Slowly, she turned her head towards him, eyes veiled in false confidence.

"I don't know," she smiled, her hand gingerly reaching up to his face, pushing back a strangling piece of hair that had been dangling over his eye. "I think I won the jackpot,"

It was growing harder and harder to breathe, as the air around them stilled and solidified into a block of intense pressure.

Her lips were now less than an inch from his, hovering just close enough to feel the heat of his breath and see the hunger in his eyes. Though, she didn't dare string herself any closer. Rather, she allowed them to stand there, still, in a blanket of their own emotions, as their eyes stared back at one another, unwavering in every way.

The ding came as a shock-- Penelope was too consumed with the moment that, for a split second, she had forgotten where they were.

"So it is," she echoed back, a hinge of disappointment clear in her tone. Alas, the night wasn't over just yet.
CIAN MAHER

Her hand tightened around his -- a result of the alcohol and her nerves, no doubt.

Within a couple of twists and turns, they made it to their destination: an empty, secluded hotel room, far from the peering eyes of the public. When Cian paused, a slight panic rose up Penelope's throat. Was he reconsidering things? Was this mistake? Maybe sh--

Before these doubtful thoughts could continue to fester, he had already turned around and closed the daunting space between them.

Wordlessly, her lips collided with his, a rush of relief and desire laced between each individual kiss. One of Penelope's arms found themselves instinctively curling up around his neck, while the other tangling itself into his messy hair.

Her chest slowly pressured him backward into the agape doorway.