Joey discovered his personal favorite wine, boone's farm strawberry hill, in my very small liquor cabinet and so we decided to just make the best out of what was probably going to be a sleepless night.

"I wish I had a sleep as deep as Dee Dee's. Ya could blow up fireworks next to him and he'd just keep sleeping." Joey said with a sigh.

I took a sip of the wine and laughed "Man I wish... You could breathe next to me and I'd wake up in a heartbeat. It's annoying."

"And ya sure that I really didn't wake you up?" he asked, for what was probably the 50th time.

"Yes Joey. I am 100% positive that I was never actually asleep and you had no chance to wake me up. Don't worry. I'm fine with pulling an all nighter. But are you 100% positive that you want to join me? After all you have a show tomorrow..." I tried to remind him.

The last thing I'd want to be responsible for is the lead singer falling asleep on stage.

His eyes were glued on his glass and he seemed to inspect the wine, "Positive. 100% positive."

I had to admit that I really enjoyed Joeys company. He was really nice to be around. He was sweet, considerate and a good listener. It was a really great night so far and my desire for sleep was long gone. I'd rather stay awake and talk to him all night. He had that gift.

While I was so lost in my thoughts, staring at the liquor in my glass, I saw Joey looking at me through the corner of my eyes.

Was he about to say something?

I looked up to him, just to find him looking away as quick as possible.

"Uh how's... how's Kentucky?" he asked, quickly changing the topic.

"Huh?" I asked, a little taken aback by the sudden question.

"Well didya not say you're from Kentucky?" he specified.

"Uh yes... yes. Kentucky is fine. It's pretty and all that but it's just not New York City. My small village in Kentucky was way too quiet for my taste. Nothing really happened. No concerts, no... just nothing. The only exciting thing that happened was the weekly farmers market. I loved that one a lot. But that's about it."

He just looked at me and nodded, he looked... almost confused?

"Ah... I understand. Well New York City was the right choice. A lot of stuff happens here.", he added.

"Definitely!" I said, taking a big sip of my wine, as Joey did the same.

It was a really good wine. I never opened that wine before because it was a present from one of my friends. You know those presents with which you're like "Oh fun I'm gonna drink that later." and soon later can be translated to an eternity. Or to a time when a guy walks up to the liquor cabinet and says "Oh sweet that's my favorite wine! Can we crack it open?" Well yes, we can.

He sat across me on the other half of the couch and kept tapping his hands on his lap. He seemed nervous.

"Everything alright?" I asked and gave him a warm smile, trying to assure him that everything is alright.

"You're very pretty, Ellie." he just blurted out.

I would usually have a bright red face at that point but that sudden confession threw me off a little. I did not expect that. It was not weird though, not at all. Somehow it was incredibly sweet.

I smiled at him, "Thank you. You're very handsome, Joey." I returned the compliment. He really was handsome. Very handsome. I noticed that from the first moment when I'd met him. I never knew that I would casually confess my thought to him though. Not like that.

A bright smile spread across his face. "Thanks." he said, quietly. He was probably still a little surprised by him blurting that out so randomly. Probably not what he had planned. I didn't mind. It flattered me.

"Would ya mind if I poured myself some more wine?" he pointed at his empty glass.

"Go ahead." I said and smiled at him. He poured himself some more wine and myself too. Not that I asked for it, it was inevitable.

_______________

Per usual, I could not handle my alcohol and having 5 glasses of wine in my system resulted in me being a giggling mess. I kept cracking up at whatever Joey said, no matter how deep the conversation was getting.

Joey however, seemed to handle it all way better. I suspected that he was a little tipsy though because he just kept talking and talking and talking. But for drunk people, everybody around you always seems incredibly drunk so who am I to judge.

"Ellie I'm glad I got to know ya, really... I haven't had that much fun in far too long. I appreciate it." he gushed.

I just waved it off with a giggle "Ahhh stahp it. I'm glad to have you around you're really special and nice."

Special and nice? What kind of compliment was that? My drunk self needed to work on that.

This made him laugh. "Thanks. You are really pretty and patient and just amazing."

"Hmmm you said some of it already..." I said, trying to remember which exactly he had said. My head was blank though.

"Meant it too." he added and smiled at me with the absolute warmest smile possible.

God, did I appreciate that smile at that moment. You know when you're drunk and just feel so much appreciation towards a person or a situation? Way more intense and strong than you would when you're not drunk. That was it. That smile was just... not from this world. It was so welcoming and genuine and warm. It made me feel all sorts of appreciation towards Joey and towards that moment. I barely knew that man but that smile somehow told a thousand stories that I wanted to hear everything of. No matter how cheesy it sounded, it was what it was. It was how I felt. I couldn't really tell if it was purely the alcohol talking or it was just the alcohol intensifying everything. Probably the latter? However, I realised that I kept staring at his smile.

I was so focused and fixated on his smile that I didn't even notice him moving closer to me and brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. All of that happened so quick but also so... slowly and smooth at the same time? The next thing I knew was that his smile faded and his lips were attached to mine.

May I just add, that kiss was absolutely magical.