Mary downed the last of the champagne with a quick raise of her glass. The elegant taste of the expensive wine was lost on her.

She looked around the wedding suite. She still couldn’t believe she was here. Mary had never seen a room like this before.

First, there was the sheer size of the space. Apartment was a better description, actually. The suite was bigger than Mary’s basement flat back in NYC.

The fluffy couch Mary was sitting on stood in the middle of the living room. On the left, floor-to-ceiling windows provided her with a view of Washington DC.

The sun had set a few minutes ago and the orange glow behind the capital’s stately buildings would soon disappear. She could see the dome of the Capitol in the distance.

On any other day, Mary would have stared out of these windows for hours. Maybe even all night. But not today. Not in these circumstances.

She moved to the edge of her seat and lifted the bottle of champagne from its metal container. There was only about a third left.

She had already drunk more in the last hour than she usually did in a week. She was starting to feel it too. Her head wasn’t spinning yet, but she could feel it coming on.

Mary heard the door unlock with a click. Lex was back. She turned to face her, still holding the bottle in the air.

“Is there some left for me?” Lex joked as she stepped into the room.

She hadn’t bothered putting her zip-up hoodie back on after the workout, Mary noticed. Lex was wearing a sleeveless shirt that stuck to her body in just the right places.

The energy around her had changed. Lex had been visibly uncomfortable and shy earlier. Now, she was oozing confidence. She looked drop-dead gorgeous.

“Eh,“ Mary said, struggling to form sentences. “The champagne arrived after you left. There’s a note too.”

Lex strode across the room with an amused smile on her lips. She picked up the card that the hotel had sent along with the bottle.

Lex read out loud, “Our apologies for the inconvenience. Enjoy your stay in our …” Her eyebrows shot up.

Mary knew why. The card said ‘Our*romantic* wedding suite.” She guessed whatever hotel staffer had been given the task to apologize, had not been informed they were just co-workers.

Lex quickly placed the card back on the table. “Nice of them to apologize.”

Mary put down the bottle. “I didn’t know how long you would be. I already had a glass. Hope you don’t mind.“

Lex squinted at the champagne. “I see.”

Mary’s eyes ran down Lex’s long legs in the black tights. It was hard not to, now that Lex was standing right in front of her. God, she was so sexy.

“Sorry I was away for such a long time. I really got into the zone while running,” Lex said, adjusting the towel that hung around her neck.

“No problem at all,” Mary replied. She realized her words sounded slower than usual.

Lex frowned and started walking to her room, providing Mary with another great view.

Mary forced herself to look away. “It was nice to get some rest,” she sighed.

“And some champagne,“ Lex commented, leaning against the door frame. She pointed at the clean glass on the coffee table. “I’m gonna shower and then I’ll join you.”

Mary forced herself to smile and waited until Lex had disappeared into the small bedroom. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

She really didn’t want to drink champagne together. Being in a wedding suite with Lex was bad enough already. Everything about the suite breathed romance.

Not that they had been in here together long. Lex had left within minutes after arriving in their new room. Mary couldn’t blame her for wanting to get away.

She had thought some time alone would be good for her too. But long after Lex had left, a knock on the door had interrupted her moment of rest.

Mary had opened the door to find a chirpy, young guy with a room-service cart. She had been so stunned, she had just let him wheel the damn thing in.

Mary had only noticed the rose petals and card after he had left. Horrified, she had raced after him. She had wanted him to take his cart and champagne back.

But the hotel staffer had already disappeared into the elevator. And so Mary had gone back into their room, opened the bottle and started drinking.

It had made sense at the time. It was a statement, she had decided. There was nothing romantic about a bottle of champagne if you enjoyed it by yourself.

She hadn’t thought it through, of course. First of all, she wasn’t used to drinking this much. Secondly, Lex was back and there was still champagne left.

In a few minutes, they’d be sitting on this couch together. Mary simply couldn’t do it. She was done with participating in this stupid charade.

She had no idea what exactly she was going to do. So she lifted the bottle and poured herself yet another glass.