My first impression was that the drunk friend was a wingman. Even considering how it worked out that still could have been the case.
I always hated rejection so I always looked for signs that a woman was interested in me before approaching her. And because of my insecurity I often missed such signs (which I can see now remembering some situations) or suspected I was just flattering myself.
I almost missed out on one particular very wonderful love affair because of that. We were at a pagan festival where many women were going topless and she was literally waving them at me. After we hooked up I mentioned that I thought I was flattering myself and she was like, "I wondered what was taking you so long!"