Delirium

Chapter 65 - Soirée

~ part III of quadruple update ~

CW// Underage drinking. Sensitive conversation about alcohol & non-verbal hinting of alcoholism.

please mind your triggers and don't read anything you think might distress you! To avoid, start at: 'Staring at him, she angled her head...'

~*~

Jolie sat with Cassius alone at a small outdoor dining table the stewards had set up for them on the top deck of the Valorous Queen.

The splitting headache and roiling nausea from her raging hangover abated a bit when she eyed the array of foods Lola and Samarah had served before them; fresh cut fruit, pan fried eggs and potatoes with a traditional bravas sauce, crostinis with tomatoes, an herb infused olive oil, and jamon, and a few other dishes she didn't recognise.

What she appreciated the most, however, was the mango mimosas Samarah served up.

In fact, Jolie had a feeling the mimosa she was sipping on had the most to do with her rapidly deteriorating hangover.

It was a little past ten in the morning, a much later breakfast than she was used to.

But Jolie, Madeline, and Daphne hadn't actually gone to sleep until nearly four in the morning, finishing off a second (or third) bottle of wine between the three girls as they all giggled and chatted about their first partial day in Spain.

The ship had arrived in Ibiza the day before, sometime in the early afternoon.

Once anchored, everyone had immediately opted to be taken to shore on the dinghy, giving them all a chance to explore the new town, shops, and beaches.

After meeting and befriending several locals their age—some that spoke some English, some not at all—and discovering the vast culture of nightlife and endless parties and clubs and music, Jolie had quickly decided that Ibiza was her favourite destination thus far.

Last night, none of them had even come back to the ship until hours past midnight.

Now, according to Lola, the only passengers that had gotten up and around so far this morning had been Calliope, Venetia, and Adrian.

Everyone else was still in bed, either too hungover to rise, or just still asleep.

So despite it being late morning, Jolie and Cassius seemed to be doing just fine compared to the others.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked, his voice raspy and quiet as he passed the platter of fruit over to her.

She gathered a spoonful of the variation of cut fruits—pineapple, oranges, mango, and banana.

"Quite well," she sighed, reaching over and picking up one of the crostinis. "How about you?"

He shrugged, sipping from his cup of tea. "Can't complain."

Jolie hummed a noncommittal noise as she speared a few chunks of potato on her fork and popped them into her mouth.

She knew Cassius had not been anywhere near as inebriated as she had been the night before. But she also knew he had still been drunk enough to retire to bed earlier than the rest of them.

She'd been glad for it—not needing a reason to deny him of joining him for the night.

She had not stayed in his room since that night in Palermo.