#Chapter 134: Star-Crossed

We’re still standing in his kitchen as I cradle a bottle of champagne in my arms. I roll my eyes and blow the dust off the bottle. I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded as the effects from the beer-chugging slowly kick on. I twist the foil off the neck of it. “Was this for something special?” He sighs. “It doesn’t matter." “Then why does it look old?” I clumsily fumble with the wire bracket near the top of the bottle in an attempt to open it. He eyes me warily. "Ardal, darling," he says, "Just drink to our ill-fated romance and try not to aim that-" Before he can finish, I wrench the cork free from its home and it shoots across the room. Kadeem dodges it like he's in The Matrix, but it ricochets off the cabinet behind him and collides with the base of his skull as champagne bubbles out of the bottle and I dissolve into giggles. "What's one more head injury," he asks, rubbing his head, but then he's laughing with me, even as he's wincing from pain. I raise the bott