Sixteen

** Sixteen **

** Jc's POV **

The show ended at exactly 10 p.m. Because I asked Boss Warren to let me finish early because I was going to get drunk. Boss also left the keys with me because when I get drunk, I sleep in the guest room. It's hard to go home drunk because you might end up in trouble on the road.

Little by little, the people inside are becoming fewer and the others are disappointed.

I was approaching the minibar where Rhea was sitting when suddenly a group of women blocked my way.

"Idol, can I take a picture?" one asked excitedly.

"Sure."

I was in the middle of the girls while one of them held a cell phone and took a picture.

This is not new to me. This kind of scene is becoming more frequent after my show. I didn't think that many people would be struck by my handsomeness.

After they took pictures, they said goodbye excitedly and kept talking while leaving.

I smiled as I approached Rhea. She was also smiling as she looked at me. If I wasn't really heartbroken, I would probably be struck by her very beautiful and attractive smile, like the smile of a loving fairy.

Fairy??

Crista is the fairy, and Rhea is an angel who came down from heaven to be my support.

It's my imagination.

I haven't even had a drink yet and I'm already drunk. It's just an effect of my broken heart. I am attracted to almost all beautiful women.

"You're really handsome..." she said, smiling, as I stood in front of her.

Is that a compliment? Well, I'll take it as a compliment.

"Is it my fault that I was born as handsome as Daniel Padilla?" I laughed out loud.

He was about to answer when he suddenly became deaf to the screams of the women passing by, and she covered her ears with her hands while looking at the screamers. I even turned to look at them.

"Goodbye, handsome." The other one is still cute while waving at me flirtatiously.

I smiled, nodded at them, and waved, then they completely left while screaming.

"Get an ambulance on standby here. Maybe the others will have a heart attack." Rhea was still looking at the women who had passed earlier as they walked away from us.

"Not my fault. I was born handsome," I replied with a smile and went to the counter.

"What shall we drink?" she asked, then looked back at me, who was walking toward the whisky shelves.

"Irish whisky." And I took the whisky I was referring to from the shelf and also took two shot glasses, then returned to where she was sitting.

"Can it be Riesling?" she said, focusing on the whisky that I placed in front of her. "I don't like whisky."

I briefly stared at the whisky while thinking.

"Riesling?" I hesitated. "It's possible, but I'm not in the mood for light drinks. I want something stronger."

She raised her gaze and looked at me. "Strong. But he took whisky."

I smirked unexpectedly and looked Rhea in the eye. "Alright. What strong drink do you want?"

A crooked smile played on her face as she answered, sounding uncertain, "Brandy?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Bourbon."

She suddenly frowned with a pout. "Gin."

Suddenly my smile widened. "Vodka."

"Sherry. Manzanilla style." She said with cute puppy eyes.

"Wine?" I laughed for a moment. "Scotch. That's final." Then I took the whisky that was in front of her and returned it to the shelf where I had taken it from.

"Eh, it's just like bourbon," she complained as I headed to the Scotch shelf and grabbed one.

"Don't worry, you can refuse when you can't. My tolerance is high," I said, walking toward her and placing the Scotch in front of her.

"You said that," she said with a smile.

I just smiled at her, sat next to her, and opened the Scotch. First I poured my shot glass, then I poured hers.

"Do you have anything else to ask?" I asked her when I noticed that she was staring at me.

I also looked her in the eye after I exchanged our shot glasses. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to say something, even though her face was calm, but she seemed to be having second thoughts. I also felt that she didn't seem comfortable having a drink with me.

Rhea is known as talkative and naughty in the clan, so she has a lot of close friends, but now she seemed different. Maybe because it was the first time she had gotten drunk with me, so she was uncomfortable.

I sincerely smiled at her to make her feel comfortable.

She also smiled at me, showing her white teeth, and took her eyes off me. She stared at her shot glass for a moment, then took a deep breath and drank what was in her glass.

I frowned when I saw that there was not a single drop left in her glass, and there was no reaction on her face.

It appears that she is used to drinking hard drinks. Well, that's great. This will be challenging.

She looked directly into my eyes again. "Why me?"

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"It could be Boss Uno, Doss, Juviler, Jhunz, Abet, or other members of the clan. Why did you choose me?" she asked.

Indeed. Why Rhea? With so many friends in the clan, why her? I've been in the clan longer than her. Boss Uno, Doss, Tres, Fifth, Sais, Seven, Otso, Almira, and I are the oldest and first batch in the clan. Boss Uno is the founder, and his ex, Otso, is the co-founder. Then, one year later, Almira let Rhea join.

Maybe... I just wanted someone to flirt with after I got drunk. Of course, it's just a joke.

Rhea and I stared at each other as she waited for my answer.

I really can't think of a sensible answer. It's just nonsense running through my mind.

"That's a good question, but I don't know the answer." I then took my glass and drank. "Why? You don't want to be here? I'll give you a ride home."

"Not like that," she answered in a serious tone, then turned her gaze to her glass. "I was just wondering."

"Me too," I answered, then looked at her seriously even though she was still looking at her glass. "I also wonder why I invited you. I have a lot of friends in the clan." She automatically looked at me as I paused, and I avoided her gaze and looked at my glass. "Maybe... it's that... you're the first thing that came to my mind."

Your joke is funny, Jc.

She just gave a half-smile, and I poured our shot glasses again. I immediately thought of another topic before the situation became awkward.

"I just noticed, Rhea. You know a lot about drinks." My curiosity.

"Because I used to have a DJ friend who loved drinks. He even went to university to become a bartender. But he stopped to focus on being a DJ," she explained.

My eyebrows met as I looked at her in surprise.

Is she referring to me? I love drinks, so I went to study at a university. But I stopped because I focused more on being a DJ.

Impossible....

Apart from Almira, Crista is the only one who knows that I wanted to be a bartender. I never once mentioned that to Rhea. Maybe Almira is babbling again... Or is she just referring to someone else?

"How did you know that I studied bartending?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

Her eyes widened slightly, and her face became tense. Her eyes wandered left and right as she tried to stay calm.

Her reaction was weird.

"Be-Because...." she almost stuttered in answering.

She swallowed first and then answered, "Because K-Ken Suarez became my ex." And she was forced to smile.

I said it, someone else. But it doesn't seem convincing?

"Ah. It's Ken," I answered. "Did he become your boyfriend?"

"Yes. We broke up just six months ago." Then she took her glass again and drank.

"He stopped being a DJ now. I heard he got involved in a mafia war." My statement.

She just nodded and looked in another direction as she calmed herself down. I observed the reaction on her face as I took my glass and drank.

Are you lying, Rhea? Because your explanation is not convincing, according to the reaction on your face. There's a part of my mind that says you have something to hide.

I just blew away whatever was on my mind and poured our glasses again. Whatever it is, my imagination is just playing with me.

"Jc, your partner is beautiful! Your new girlfriend?"

I heard a joking voice from behind me, so I turned slightly.

"Hey, Dex. You haven't gone home yet?" I said when I recognized him and handed my glass to him. "Shots?"

Shit! Disturbance. I thought this alien had long gone.

He took the shot glass I handed him and drank straight away. "Are you drinking Scotch? It's kind of embarrassing to the hot lady over there."

"She's used to hard drinks," I jokingly replied.

"Anyway. Just give her lady drinks," he replied, then placed the glass in front of me. "Maybe you have a plan to creep her out when she passes out." He added it with a teasing smile.

"Moron!" I even looked at him with a bad look.

"Girls like that are definitely curvy. They shouldn't be released," this idiot whispered while massaging both of my shoulders and looking at Rhea, who was frowning and looking in another direction.

"Are you really stupid, Dex? Just go home if you don't have anything sensible to say," I answered, annoyed, while removing his hand from my shoulder.

He laughed out loud as he hit the back of my head. "You take care of it, Jc. Just let me know when you score," he said with a grin and walked toward the entrance.

I'm really disgusted by the stupidity of that man. It's pure nonsense.

"Rhea, sorry about Dexter." While I was pouring another shot in my glass and she turned to me, obviously annoyed. "That man's head is really messed up."

"It's okay," she replied with a smile. "I thought of something to do because we drink Scotch."

"What?"

"First get some paper, a ballpoint pen, and a glass."

"What are we going to do?"

"Just do it."