“I didn’t realise how loud it was in there!” Beth shouts from behind as Caleb pulls her through the crowd.
Isabelle is laughing uncontrollably as she lets me lead her. Her soft, warm hands are firmly encased in mine as I try to see the floor as straight instead of nauseatingly crooked.
Fuck, I haven’t been drunk like this since my early twenties. Back when I didn’t care about what happened, I just wanted to have fun with my best mate.
The ringing of game machines feels as though it’s blaring directly in my ears as we pass row upon row of people gambling and cheering.
“We should probably head back to the hotel!” Caleb yells.
“That’s what you said ten minutes ago!” I say, cringing as my own voice beats against my skull. “That’s why we’re walking to the door.”
“Oh, good idea.” Caleb nods.
I would roll my eyes, but it hurts. I need to lie down. I feel Isabelle stumble behind me and fall into my back. Whipping around and quickly regretting it as my head spins, I keep one of Isabelle’s hands in mine while the other lands on her bicep.
“You okay, Buttercup?” She looks up at me with a beaming smile and unfocused eyes. Or maybe it’s my eyes that aren’t focused.
“I’m so good,” she says with a laugh.
I tuck a curl that hangs in her face behind her ear, then turn back around to lead us out, silently reaching back for her other hand again.
Without pause, she holds onto me, sending a pulsing energy through my arm. I just want to pull her in closer and wrap her all around me. It feels so nice. So good. I want to soak up all her sunshine. That’s what she is—beaming, bright, and delicate. Like the buttercups I’d plant in my garden.
“Oh, look, showgirls!”
I’m still stumbling along an unsteady route to the doors that I’m sure are around here somewhere, when I see Beth running up ahead.
“Elizabeth! We need to stay together!” I shout after her, but it’s too late. She’s reached a pair of women with peacock feathers on their heads and so many sequins, I’m blinded.
“I never realised how attractive redheads are,” Caleb muses beside me as we deviate to catch up with Beth.
“I didn’t think you had a type,” I say, watching in horror as Beth starts posing with the scantily clad dancers. “Oh shit. Quick, we need to stop her before someone gets a photo.”
“I didn’t think I did either,” Caleb continues, lost to his own thoughts. “I don’t think it’s a general thing, though. It might just be one in particular.”
“That’s fascinating, Cale, but can you tell it to me after we stop our sister from making herself a headline? She’s fucking unbuttoning her shirt right now.”
I make it to Beth right before she reveals her underwear to the lobby of the High Rollers Casino. “Beth, keep your shirt on.”
“But look at these beautiful women with their bedazzled bras, Henry.” Beth is giggling and looking at the dancers, who do, in fact, have bedazzled bras.
“Yes, very nice. Now, please, let’s get out of here.” My hands are still locked around Isabelle’s, and I’m adamantly against theidea of letting them go. I look around for Caleb, expecting him to be right beside me, but he’s a few metres back, scrolling on his phone.
“Caleb, help!” I call to him, and he looks up in the complete opposite direction of my voice. “Over here, you idiot.”
The look on my brother’s face when he finally spots me is one of surprise, like he forgot we were here. He jogs over to us, smiling big when he sees Isabelle, then throws an arm around her shoulders. “Hi, Iz.”
I can’t be sure if the look on my face matches the riot of emotions I’m feeling from the sight of my brother’s arms around Isabelle. But for whatever reason, it’s enough for him to lean down to her.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asks.
Isabelle unleashes the sweetest burst of laughter, her cheeks turning pink when she looks up at me, then back at Caleb. “Wait. What was your question?”
“What question?” Caleb asks, and I want to smack myself in the face. Instead, I drop my head back and instantly feel bile rise in my throat. I’m sure I haven’t drunk that much tonight, but given I rarely drink, whatever I have consumed has definitely gone straight to my head.
“You’re on Beth duty, Cale,” I say. With a deep inhale, I close my eyes and try to breathe away the dizziness.
“I need to lie down,” Isabelle says, right before I feel a weight press against my back. Looking over my shoulder, I see Isabelle resting her head against me, eyes closed peacefully. Tingles dance up my legs, and my belly flips, but it feels like a good flip, not a sick one. It feels like something I want to keep feeling over and over again.
