[h2]Esme[/h2]
When Esme stepped around to the side of Duke and grabbed his arm, she could feel his excitement take over, but didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking it was mostly coming from the others around them. His reply to her request for a drink caused another laugh to leave her lips. As they made their way to the bar, she didn’t pay much attention to the women asking Duke to dance, it was as if they weren’t even there. She wanted a drink so she could relax a little more and completely forget about those handsy assholes, and momentarily forget about all the metal down the front of her dress. Mere feet from the bar, she gasped in surprise as Duke pulled his arm from her and scooped her up into his arms, carrying the rest of the way. “What are you…” Duke placed her gently on the barstool before she could finish her sentence. Any problem she might have had with the action faded when she saw his proud smile and heard his comment. “Yes, you did.” she replied with a light laugh. Esme’s attention was drawn behind the bar when the bartender approached them. She left the ordering of the drinks to Duke. 

Of course, he’d order whiskey. He wanted to make sure she forgot all about the handsy assholes and wanted to get her drunk. Whiskey was definitely the perfect choice if he wanted to get her good and sloshed. Her attention went back to Duke as he sat on the barstool, moved it closer to hers, and then leaned on his elbow, turning to her and speaking. A grin came to her lips. “Ha, you don’t say. I remember that night as well. And knowing you, I don’t think it’ll matter how fancy a place it is, you’ll always get into trouble.” she teased back, giving him a playful shove. Esme’s gaze shifted to the bartender as they set down their drinks. Her eyes then went to the glass as Duke slid it over to her. After picking it up, she held it up and smiled with a light laugh. “To trouble!”


[h2]A little while later[/h2]
Esme sat at the bar with Duke, listening as he spoke about all sorts of things in his drunken state, all while being somewhat oblivious to him drawing circles on the back of her neck with his finger. She was drunk herself, but nowhere near as drunk as Duke. She knew better than to let herself get completely plastered when she was alone with Duke. The two of them, drunk together and alone, was a recipe for disaster. She knew that. Esme also knew that Dean wouldn't be too happy about it either. She was well aware of how much Dean disliked how close she and Duke had gotten and how Duke was always clinging to her and Dean. She had also become more aware of how much Duke's feelings were changing towards her. It was times like these that she wished she could be oblivious to the feelings of others who were around her. It made things quite awkward, but she also couldn't deny to herself that she enjoyed having Duke around. There was just something about his carefree nature that she felt she needed around her, even knowing that if his feelings for her became stronger, it could make things difficult and even strained between the three of them.

Esme was so engrossed in what Duke was talking about and avoiding eye contact with the hovering men, that she didn't even notice Dean until he stepped up beside her. As he kissed her cheek, she leaned into it with a warm smile. “Of course, I missed you.” she responded softly and warmly before Duke spoke. She shot Duke a look before speaking quickly before Dean responded. “Hey, don't be like that. There's….” Esme sighed heavily as the bickering started between the two boys. If she weren't wearing a mask, she would have leaned against the bar and pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't need or want this tonight. She already had enough on her plate with fighting off all of the men and avoiding eye contact with most of them in the room. What she needed was for Dean and Duke to be on the same page, but she guessed that was a little too much to ask for with Duke already being drunk. Esme could already feel things escalating and knew if this bickering went on much longer, Duke would feel the need to bolt. Before she could speak up and stop the bickering, Duke announced he had to go to the bathroom, got up, and walked off. 

Esme sighed heavily through her nose as she picked up her glass and took a drink as Dean did the same. She knew exactly what Duke was feeling even before Dean spoke up about Duke. “I know.” she said softly as she set her glass down. Turning to Dean, she looked up into his eyes as he spoke. “Me go after him? What makes you think I'll get through to him this time? He's a little worse off tonight than he normally is.” she told Dean. She sighed yet again and nodded, knowing that out of her and Dean, she was the best option to send after Duke. “You put too much faith in me to keep bringing him back, but alright, I'll go after him and try to keep him from bolting, but you're also going to have to do something for me. You're going to have to keep all these hovering men from jumping me as soon as I stand up and leave the bar,” she told him, a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips. “Duke has been holding them at bay after what happened earlier while we were waiting for you. Which I'll tell you about later, if you want to hear.” 

Picking up her glass, she downed the last of what was in it, then placed it back on the bar with a sigh. Taking to her feet, she stepped around the stool and then stepped up to Dean and kissed his cheek. “Don't go anywhere, I'll be back soon.” she told him warmly. Giving him a sweet kiss on his lips, she pulled away and went after Duke, dodging men with grabby hands and asking her to dance as she went. Esme pushed her way through the crowd of people that had accumulated in the ballroom until she was finally in the main open area of the mansion. There she saw Duke, looking for a way to get away from everyone. She quickly made her way over to him. ‘Hopefully, I can keep him from bolting tonight.’ she thought to herself. ‘He doesn't need to be going anywhere in the state he's in now.’ After catching up with him, she stopped and took a deep breath to collect herself and catch her breath. “Duke!” she called out to him. “Please don't go. We were having such a good time, don't ruin it by leaving” Esme spoke softly but loud enough for only him to hear her.