Page 31 of Out of Bounds

"Are we?"

"Yes."

Her lips parted. "Now?"

"Now."

"I hate to break this to you, ball dribbler." Kassie shrugged, all inhibitions stripped away. "But I’m pretty sure I’m too drunk to get off this counter."

Light flashed behind me.

I should’ve expected the cameras. I should’ve been counting them and taking stock of the situation for Cleo. That would've been the rational thing to do, but I wasn't feeling exceptionally rational. I had to resist the urge to shield her from prying eyes. Every camera flash was a win I could’ve measured, and I’d forgotten that.

The party didn't matter. Just what we could earn from it.

"I’ll help you down," I decided. "Lean on my shoulder."

"Use your muscles for the greater good. Carry me."

My lips twitched. "Carryyou?"

"Yep. Princess style across the threshold." Kassie snapped her fingers and held out her arms. Her eyes were glassy. "Come on, Igor. Give me the full treatment."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you fucking with me?"

"A little. Yeah."

"You’re wearing myfriend’sjersey and expectmeto carry you?"

"Absolutely."

It was a good thing she had her eyes closed. I grinned hard.

"I’ll carry you, art girl. You want to start a conversation?"

"All the conversations," she sighed. "All the dialogues. All the TEDTalks—"

"Alright. Fine. Fuck it. Let’s start a conversation."

Dipping down to Kassie made her eyes flutter open. I cut the distance between us and there she was, her thick eyelashes, the curve of her lips, and the scent of her that made my mouth water. At first, the surprise was evident. She’d been kidding. But that expression vanished the moment I looped my arm around her waist. It took her too long to figure out what I was doing.

With a swift pull, I slung her over my shoulder. Those swimsuit edition legs kicked against chest, but they didn’t stop me from pushing back to take my exit.

"Ryan!"

"Don’t throw up," I grunted, taking another knee to the chest.

"RYAN!"

"Seriously, don’t throw up. People are taking pictures."

"You’re going to drop me!"

"That's funny, art girl," I said, patting her thigh.

"RYAN!"

We could’ve had a spotlight shone on us and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The crowd parted as much as they could, and everybody laughed while Kassie struggled to right herself.I made my way towards the lone bush that Zariah staggered around.

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