The scent of alcohol didn’t get any closer. I opened my eyes and immediately locked gazes with Raymond. I could see complex emotions in his eyes.

Eventually, Raymond sat back up straight, picked up a glass of wine from the table, and drank it in one gulp.

My heart sank.

As expected, Raymond didn’t feel that way about me.

He only saw me as a friend.

We played a few more rounds of games, but the atmosphere had clearly cooled ...