Raymond swaggered to the bar and held onto a stool to maintain his balance.  He was somewhat drunk he knew.  That would explain why the room seemed to be spinning every now and then.  He shook his head slightly to clear his vision and satisfied with the results continued his way behind the bar.  He scanned the shelves of bottles and found what he was looking for.  After several attempts he was finally able to grasp the neck of the bottle in his hand.  With a smile he slowly made his way from behind the counter towards a lounge chair.  He sat back against the lushness of the chair and unscrewed the bottle.  A vision of Charmaine floated through his mind and he growled.  She had rejected his advances time and time again and yet he kept going back for more.  Despite all her words of denial, he knew deep down she yearned for him just as he was yearning for her now.  Her proclamation of love for Steven was a big joke.  Laughing bitterly he brought the bottle to his mouth.  He drank thirstily from it and didn’t stop until his thirst was quenched.  A noise broke through his fuzzy state and he pushed himself up from the chair.  With half opened eyes he slowly made his way towards the source of the sound.  It was coming from a room in the back.  That was odd he thought with a frown.  He was sure everyone had left.  As quiet as possible he walked unsteadily towards it and heard the muffled noise again.  This time he was able to make out that the noise came from his office.  He reached the door and giving his head a firm shake to focus he threw the door open.

Kenneth looked up from the desk with nervous surprise, “R-Ray…  I thought you left.”

Raymond swayed into the room and slammed the bottle onto the desk.  He looked warily at Kenneth, “What are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be at Passions?”

“Y-Yes but I came to get s-something,” Kenneth answered avoiding Raymond’s piercing gaze.

Raymond stumbled around the desk until he was standing beside Kenneth.  “In my desk?” he asked with suspicion then stretched an arm out to open a draw.

Kenneth grabbed his arm and said anxiously, “T-There’s nothing in there.”

Even through his woozy condition Raymond was still fully aware of Kenneth’s odd behavior.  “Move over,” he said forcefully.

Kenneth stood firmly in place blocking the draw from Raymond’s reach.  “Ray, I think you should leave right now.  Pretend you didn’t see me tonight.”

Raymond’s hand froze in mid air.  He looked up at Kenneth and asked, “What is going on?”

Kenneth chuckled nervously, “N-Nothing is going on.  You look tired.  Go home and get some rest.”

Sensing the agitation in Kenneth, Raymond demanded, “What are you hiding?  Tell me!”

Kenneth wrung his hands nervously then clutched Raymond’s shoulders, “Ray, I don’t want you hurt.  Listen to me, turn around and leave right now.”

Raymond pushed Kenneth’s hands away and reached for the draw again but he never touched it.  A heavy object crashed against the back of his head and he fell forward across the desk with a heavy thud.

“Ray?” Kenneth nudged Raymond’s arm.  “Ray?”  He stared at Raymond’s unconscious form for a few more seconds then looked up with worry.

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Charmaine reached blindly towards her nightstand for her cellphone.  She caught a glimpse of the time and hope whoever was calling at this hour better have a good excuse.  “Hello?” she murmured.

“Charmaine, this is Frankie Lam.”

Charmaine bolted up in bed.  Her heart began to thump rapidly and a feeling of uneasiness swept through her.  “How did you get my number?” she asked hoarsely then came to the conclusion that something must have happened to Raymond for Frankie to call her.  Although on the several occasion that she saw Frankie and he was cordial to her, Charmaine had a feeling that he knew what transpired between her and Raymond.  “Did something happen to Raymond?” she asked directly.

Frankie’s voice on the other end was raw with emotion, “Raymond’s been hurt and bad.  He’s in the hospital.  It doesn’t look good.  I think you should come see him.”

Charmaine’s heart shattered at the news and it took every effort to pull herself together and ask, “How?  What happened?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here.  I’m at the St. Mary’s Hospital.  Come now,” Frankie ordered then hung up.

Charmaine jumped out of bed and quickly dressed stopping every now and then to wipe at a tear that slid down her face.  Please let him be okay she prayed.  She never realized how deep her feelings were for him until this moment.  The thought of never ever being able to see his smile or to hear his deep silky voice tore at her and a fresh wave of tears spilled forward.  Within minutes she was out the door and along her way to the hospital.

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Frankie bought in a pitcher of water and placed it on the stand beside Raymond’s bed.  He gave Raymond a reproachful look and said, “I can’t believe you made me lie to her.”

Raymond shrugged and smiled sheepishly at Frankie.  “You didn’t lie.  I did get hurt.”

Frankie rolled his eyes upward and said, “But you’re not hurt bad.  All you got is a small bump on your head.”

Raymond turned and fluffed his pillows, “Nevertheless I am still hurt.”

Frankie brought his hands to his hips and stared at Raymond with aggravation, “When are you going to stop these childish games of yours?  No wonder Charmaine refuses to accept you.”

Raymond’s eyes turned serious and he quietly said, “This is the only way I can see what her true feelings are for me.”

“Yes and when the truth comes out she would probably hate you for lying to her,” Frankie reasoned.

“I’m willing to take that chance,” Raymond replied.