Page 27 of Bad Star

“Relax sweetie, I retired from that business a long time ago.”

“Thank heavens,” Rainn replied “So tell me the other reasons.”

“Well, I watched a very close friend of mine waste away on meth and decided not to go that way. Cocaine would make my head reel and heroin made me throw up a lot.” Jack explained

“From that, it sounds like you love yourself too much to let yourself waste away on drugs.”

“You could say that.” Jack answered.

He was now done chopping a few onions and Rainn could tell that he was turning on the stove and placing a frying pan on it. She listened as the cooking oil slid around the pan and sniffed as the smell of garlic and onions filled the room.

“So why do you think you are hooked on liquor?” she asked after a few seconds “I think you could always quit if you wanted, it sounds like you’re strong willed enough”.

Jack took a minute to respond, Rainn could hear him play around with the spatula and a few other kitchen utensils.

“Well,” he said before going silent again. He looked in Rainn’s direction and wondered what to say to her. Rainn could tell that he was struggling to tell her something and took a sip from her glass of wine.

“I am not that hooked on it” he said defensively.

“What was the longest time you went without indulging?” Rainn asked.

“Two years.” Jack replied “Not continuously though, I had a few occasional drinks”.

“Really?” Rainn was both impressed and shocked at this revelation.

“What triggered it?” she asked. Rainn was all of a sudden very interested in what Jack had to say and was overcome with curiosity.

“I don’t know precisely but I can guess,” he answered.

Rainn by now knew Jack well enough to know that he never liked being pushed, especially whenever he wanted to say was on his mind. She chose to remain silent and took another sip from her glass; she concluded that the contents of it were almost empty from its light weight.

“More wine?” Jack asked and was swiftly at her side refilling her glass.

“What intentions do you have with me today, Mr?” Rainn asked and let out a naughty smile.

“Only heavenly intentions my dear,” Jack answered before walking back to the kitchen. He placed the wine on the kitchen counter and went about the cooking.

“I don’t hear you having wine like me,” she commented after Jack placed down the bottle. Rainn was trying to get back to the liquor topic without sounding persistent.

“I know what you’re trying to do! Relax, I’m going to tell you the reason I drink a lot!” Jack snapped and immediately wished he hadn’t.

“Ok,” was all Rainn could say. She took another sip of her wine and was slowly beginning to feel light headed. She had taken an early lunch and the wine had started having effects on her. She thought of the night ahead with Jack and grew excited at the idea of it.

Jack was almost done making dinner and began setting plates for both of them. He threw a quick glance at the sofa and loved how beautiful Rainn looked. She was effortlessly beautiful in anything she wore. She had her legs propped up on the sofa and her hair fell back on her shoulders in a tangled mess. Jack guessed that she had not left the house that day from her comfortable lounge wear. The glass of wine that she kept swinging from her hand to mouth was the icing on the cake. She did it with such elegance that all Jack could think of was how he would draw her closer to him and make sweet love to her.

“I have a dark past,” he said out of the blue and loved how Rainn leaned in closer and more attentive to what he had just said. She did not respond to him and he did not expect her to.

“My parents abandoned me when I was a child and I find my solace in liquor,” Jack confessed.

“Have you ever tried going for therapy?”

“Gin is my therapy, Rainn” he said and walked over to where she was comfortably seated, carrying the two plates in his hands.

Rainn wondered and struggled with the right words to say and Jack noticed.

“Go right ahead, tell me what it is that you’re thinking,” Jack said and walked back to the kitchen to get cutlery.

“I think that you need therapy, gin won’t really work for you at the end of the day”, Rainn said and went on to sip from her wine glass. She could feel the whiff of food play on her nostrils and her stomach made a growling noise.