[h3] Dean [/h3]

Dean was so thankful to see Esme smile, considering the tension that had just left the lot and disappeared into the RV. He was a bit afraid that between Duke being drunk and Rachel showing up, Esme’s mood would have soured further. But it didn’t seem so, as she stayed close to him. The dynamic did seem at least civil, he had to agree with her. It was all he could ask for, after Duke had run off and come back in such an odd mood.

“Well I’m glad.” Dean barely breathed, nuzzling her nose with his. When she thanked him, he raised his eyebrows in a bit of surprise, but her lips on his shut up any witty remark he was planning to say. He breathed out softly through his nose, bringing his free hand up to brush her hair back from the side of her face as he smiled into the soft kiss.

“So, I know you just woke up from a nap but um…” Dean pecked her lips a few times and his smile turned mischievous, “But I think I could potentially give you a good reason to walk back up those stairs with me. I can think of a few reasons, actually…”

Dean smiled brightly, and he kissed her passionately for a moment, before standing and dragging her with him toward the stairs.

——————-------------

[h3] Duke [/h3]

[b] The Next Morning [/b]

Duke shook awake with a small shudder, realizing that the source was a tuft of hair blowing in the wind from his small fan, right against his bare collarbone. He groaned, moving his hand down from above his head to brush the hair away. His head was pounding, and he had no idea who was in bed with him but as he opened his eyes, he let out another groan.

He had avoided Rachel for a reason. He didn’t know how to leave her, but he didn’t know how to stay with her either. She was a sweet girl, and she deserved better than anything he could offer, but she was crazy about him. She nuzzled into his chest, as he mulled over an exit strategy and Duke sighed, carefully lifting her arm from him.

“I’ll be right back.” He whispered against the side of her face, pressing a soft kiss there as he carefully scooted out from under her, and then rolled off the bed. He quickly picked up his pants, slipping them over his legs and buttoned them, snatching his phone from the small table he had apparently thrown everything onto the night before. He exited the RV in a fog, his head hazy from a hangover as he stumbled down the stairs barefoot and closed the distance to the kitchen door. As he opened it, he didn’t look up, simply walked over to the kitchen counter, bending over it and sent Dean a text.

[I] SOS. I need you to come get Rachel. I don’t want to tell her to leave. Please. I owe you one.[/I]

[h3] Two Weeks Later [/h3]

Duke placed the ‘friends and family’ phone back on the wall, and he tore the piece of paper he had been writing on from the pad on Bobby’s desk. With a loud cackle, he stood quickly from the chair and practically danced across the living room floor to where Esme was sitting on the couch. 

“You’ll never believe who I just got off the phone with.” Duke beamed, his smile bright and his blue eyes twinkling in the dim lighting of the living room. He flopped down on the couch beside her, and draped his legs over hers, tilting his hat onto the back of his head as he waved the paper in her face. “So, one of Bobby’s swanky friends needs us to pick up something for her. She said she’s sending a picture over. She didn’t say why she needs it, but I don’t care because guess where it is?!”

Dean stepped into the living room, and he just stood against the wall with his eyebrows raised in suspicion, “What’s got you so keyed up?”

“We’re going to a party, brother! Rich people everywhere. Money. Like real money. Tuxedos. Dresses. Jewels. Champagne and those little finger foods you love? Don’t that sound amazing?! I can steam the black hat. We can get all dolled up and all we gotta do is steal one tiny…little…necklace.” Duke practically screamed at Duke, his wide smile causing Dean’s lips to turn up in a smile of his own as he rolled his eyes.

“And what’s so special about the necklace?” Dean asked, popping a piece of candy in his mouth as he frowned curiously at Duke. Duke shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t know. Didn’t ask. We get the necklace and we get to party. That’s all I got.”

“When?”

“Tonight.” Duke beamed again, looking back over at Esme. “You up for a party?”