Page 43 of The Brave and the Reckless

“Can we go now?” I asked.

“No. If you want me to go homewith you, you have to pull an Ace Ryder and, like, abduct me because you are boor-ring and I’m having fun and so I’m not leaving with you.”

“Have it your way, princess.” I didn’t give her another chance to blow me off. I ducked, wrapped my hands around her waist like I’d done countless times before, and hoisted her over my shoulder.

Esra squealed and wriggled, her fist drumming into my shoulder twice, before she went slack and started giggling. Behind me, the squeaker and a bottle of beer dropped to the ground. Fully aware that I was causing a scene– and I didn’t cause scenes– I maneuvered us out of the room and out of the house without giving anyone another glance.

The second we hit fresh air, Esra started writhing again, but this time she broke into song. She bellowed out ‘We Are the Champions’, off-key and off-beat, whipping her arms around and shimmying her hips. Her bike shorts were made from a slippery, shiny fabric, so I wrapped my hands tighter around her thighs to keep her balanced.

“Will you hold still, before I drop you?”

“S’this your first kidnapping, cowboy?” she asked and added an extra wriggle to her hips, pushing them against my face.

“I’m not kidnapping you,” I grunted as I carried her up the few steps to our house.

She laughed and tugged on the backside of my shirt. “I feel kidnapped. And a li’l dizzy. Ew.”

“Don’t throw up.” I lowered her down until her feetwere firmly planted on even ground and kept my hands on her waist just in case.

Esra blinked, eyes glassy and cheeks pink, clutching the doorframe. “I’m good.”

“Sure?”

“Water. I need lots of water. And aspirin. And…” She glanced down and wiggled her toes. “Might need help upstairs without tripping.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

Esra’s room was a mess, with only one clear path across the floor from the door to the bed. I had to walk her in front of me, both hands around her middle for support, to get her safely to the mattress. She grabbed the bottle of water from her nightstand and somehow managed to tip it back with enough swing to give herself a shower.

“Damn,” she muttered and patted at the spill on her tank top. I left her alone so she could change, while I grabbed a bottle of aspirin from the bathroom for her. When I came back, however, she was sitting in the exact same spot where I’d left her, still prodding her shirt.

“Are you wearing underwear?” I asked.

She pulled at the neck of her shirt and glanced down at herself. “Yep.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, swallowing the urge to ask what kind of person had to check to see if they were wearing underwear. Instead, I grabbed the large, tangled T-shirt from the corner of her bed and draped it out. “Okay, nothing I haven’t seen yet. Arms up.”

She followed my command without much protest and allowed me to peel her out of her top. I pointedly kept my eyes on the purple cotton of her nightshirt as I pulled herarms through it, then carefully fit it over her head. Her dark hair bounced out like loose springs. She fished her trivia medal from the collar and smoothed a hand over it against her chest.

“Okay. You have water. You have aspirin. Anything else before you go to bed?”

“Pizza?” She fluttered her lashes at me, those big doe eyes growing to the size of saucers.

“Do you have any pizza?”

“No, but we can order some.”

“It’s past midnight on a Tuesday, princess, and this isn’t New York. Nobody’s delivering pizza anymore tonight.”

“Oh man,” she sighed, deflating, disappointment written all over her face.

“We’ll get you pizza tomorrow. Go to bed.”

“Ugh, fine.” She bent down to take her boots off. Despite the rest of her outfit having changed, she was still in her costume boots. They were comfortable, sure, because Renee knew we wouldn’t be able to do the show in ill-fitting shoes, but Esra didn’t strike me as a Western boot kind of girl. Then again, she was a cowgirl now. Yeehaw.

“Good night,” I said on my way out the door.

Just before it closed, I heard her mumble, “Yeah, whatever, buzzkill sun.”

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