"You wait here." Vex pats his knee as she stands. It's a retreat, and she knows it. A moment to clear her head and remind herself that there's nothing there. Wishful thinking, perhaps. The easy chemistry she's mistaken for attraction on his part in the past.

Standing, she shuffles back to the kitchen for another bottle.

As she makes her way, she keeps a light patter up.

"Perhaps we should make this something of a habit. Build your tolerance back up—once a week, you drop in for a bottle or two. Vax could join us, if he wants. We can all catch up on gossip."