[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme looked up at Duke, seeing the frown on his face from her words before he shook his head. She looked into his bright blue eyes behind his gunmetal colored mask and took in his words, and her mind began to wander slightly. Could she possibly be overthinking the whole situation with the handsy assholes? Was he really not bothered by the way she took control of the situation? If it were Dean standing there with her, it would be a completely different story. Esme brought herself back and focused on Duke’s words and how he was doing everything he could to lighten her mood and bring her back to where she was earlier. Seeing him smile down at her made it hard for her not to smile back. It was so easy to match his energy and let him influence her into doing things she normally would have thought twice about doing, depending on who the person was. At that moment, she could only assume this was a couple of the many reasons Dean never wanted her to get too close to Duke. But it had been hard not to get wrapped up in who Duke was since they had met.

His last few questions almost broke her into smiling, especially when he moved his hand from the back of her neck and brought it up to pinch her nose, causing her nearly to cross her eyes as she watched his hand. Looking back at his face, she saw the mischief from earlier had returned to his eyes. Placing a hand on his chest, she lightly pushed against him to put a little distance between them, then dropped her head to look at their feet, and sighed dramatically to hide the smile that came to her lips and the laugh that threatened to show itself. She was easily getting swept up in his sweet and mischievous nature again. She shook her head softly as she collected herself and put on a straight and serious face again. “Bandit stuff, huh?” Esme’s tone was calm and serious, it didn’t hold any sign of laughter or teasing. “Something tells me there’s more behind that.” Lifting her head, she looked up into Duke’s face, her eyes narrowed, and no smile. “I think you’re trying to get me drunk. That way I’ll forget about what happened and them, and be fun again, right? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that.” 

She turned her face to the bar momentarily and sighed heavily. “Also, if you get me drunk, you could help me unload these 'trinkets' without complaining too much, too, right?” she asked, looking up at him. “Hmm.” she added thoughtfully. “I wonder what kind of scene that would cause, or what Dean would think. I don’t think he’d take seeing you fishing things out of the front of my dress too well.” Although she was teasing him, the thought of getting tipsy didn’t sound like a bad idea at that moment. They were at a party after all, but she didn’t want to get so drunk she couldn’t walk straight or hold her own. The images playing in her mind became too much for her to handle, and her serious look melted into a grin that was followed by a laugh. Stepping to his side, she linked her arm with his and gave a little tug. “Come on, Mister Oil Tycoon. Let’s go get that drink. I’ll even let you decide what I get….. If you want to, that is.”