Bound by law

Chapter 52: Out of Hand

Estelle wasn't sure how many shots she and Mia had taken by the time they stumbled out of the bar, but it was definitely too many. The world swayed around her, and every word from Mia seemed hilarious, sending them both into fits of giggles as they clung to each other for balance.

"Okay, okay," Mia slurred, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "I swear, Estelle, if you say one more thing about Celeste and how she 'looked at you today,' I'm gonna—"

"I didn't even say anything!" Estelle interrupted, laughing uncontrollably as she tripped over her own feet, grabbing Mia's arm to steady herself. "You're just jealous 'cause you don't have a super hot professor-slash-boss staring at you all day!"

Mia laughed so hard she had to stop walking, bending over as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh my god, you're such a mess!"

Estelle stumbled forward, grinning like a fool. "I am not a mess! You're the mess!" She paused, frowning slightly as she realized how wobbly her legs felt. "Okay, maybe I am a little..."

Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Fumbling with it, Estelle squinted at the screen. Celeste.

"Oh noooo," Estelle muttered under her breath, showing the phone to Mia. "It's her."

Mia's eyes widened, still laughing. "Ohhh, you're in trouble."

Estelle giggled as she hit the answer button, holding the phone up to her ear. "Hello, Professor Thorne," she said in a mock-serious tone, trying to keep her voice steady but failing miserably.

"Where are you, Estelle?" came Celeste's voice, sharp and controlled, though there was an edge of irritation underneath.

Estelle blinked, trying to remember where they were. "Uh... somewhere... with Mia." She burst into laughter again, unable to hold it together. "We're having so much fun!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Estelle could almost feel Celeste's anger through the phone. "You're drunk," Celeste said flatly. "Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

Estelle frowned, looking around at the unfamiliar street. "I don't know! Somewhere with... buildings?" She giggled again, knowing how ridiculous she sounded.

Mia took the phone from her, still laughing. "Don't worry, Professor, we're fiiine! Just having a little fun!" Then she rattled off the bar's name and location before handing the phone back to Estelle.

"Stay there," Celeste said, her voice sharp with warning. "I'm on my way. Don't move."

Estelle hung up, still laughing, and turned to Mia. "Guess who's coming to rescue us?"

"Oh, this should be good," Mia said, shaking her head. "She's probably going to lecture you the whole way home."

Estelle grinned, but before she could say anything else, the world started spinning again. It wasn't long before the sleek black car pulled up to the curb. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Celeste's icy glare from the driver's seat.

"Get in," Celeste ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument.

Estelle and Mia exchanged a look before they both dissolved into another fit of giggles, but they clumsily made their way into the car. Estelle slid into the passenger seat while Mia flopped into the back, laughing under her breath.

As soon as the door closed, Celeste's cold eyes cut over to Estelle. "Do you have any idea how irresponsible this is? Getting drunk like this?"

Estelle pouted, leaning her head back against the seat. "But we were just having fun," she mumbled, her voice slurred.

Celeste said nothing, her jaw clenched as she started driving. The tension in the car was thick, and Estelle could feel Celeste's irritation radiating off her. But in her drunken state, it only made her want to push more.

"Why are you so angry, Professor Thorne?" Estelle teased, her words slurred as she turned to face her. "You're always so serious. You should... loosen up." She giggled, reaching out to poke Celeste's arm. "You'd be more fun if you weren't so uptight all the time."

Celeste's hands tightened on the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road. "I'm not going to entertain this, Estelle. You're drunk."

Estelle giggled again, her mind too foggy to register the warning in Celeste's voice. "You're no fun," she said, leaning back in her seat. "And you're always looking at me like... like you're mad at me. But I think you're just pretending."

Mia, barely able to contain her laughter in the backseat, piped up. "She's got a point, Celeste. You could use some fun!"

Celeste shot a glare at Mia through the rearview mirror. "Both of you are going to regret this tomorrow."

By the time they pulled up in front of Estelle and Mia's apartment, the mood in the car was tense. Celeste put the car in park and turned to face them. "Mia, you're home. Go inside and sleep this off."

Mia laughed, nearly falling out of the car as she opened the door. "Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Professor Thorne. Don't be too hard on Estelle. She's harmless... mostly." With a final giggle, Mia disappeared into the building, leaving Celeste alone with Estelle.

The silence in the car stretched as Estelle slumped back in her seat, giggling to herself. Celeste let out a frustrated sigh. "You're in no condition to be left alone tonight," she muttered. "You're coming with me."

Estelle's eyes fluttered open, confused. "Wait, what? Where?"

"My place," Celeste said, her voice firm. "I'm not letting you wander around like this."

Estelle, too drunk to argue, just shrugged and leaned her head against the window, her mind drifting in and out of hazy thoughts as Celeste drove in silence. The tension between them was thick, but in her drunken state, Estelle couldn't quite grasp the weight of it.

When they arrived at Celeste's house, Estelle stumbled out of the car, still giggling. Celeste guided her inside, her grip firm as she led her to the sleek, modern living room.

"Sit," Celeste ordered, her patience clearly wearing thin.

Estelle flopped onto the couch, her head spinning as she laughed again. "Your house is so fancy," she slurred, kicking off her shoes. "It's... hot in here."

Celeste frowned, crossing her arms. "Estelle, you need to lie down and rest."

But Estelle, in her drunken haze, was already pulling off her jacket, tossing it onto the floor. "It's too hot!" she complained, laughing as she struggled with her blouse. "Why is your house so hot?"

Celeste's eyes widened as Estelle continued to undress, clearly too far gone to realize what she was doing. "Estelle—stop."

But Estelle wasn't listening. She pulled her blouse over her head, tossing it aside before leaning back on the couch in just her bra, giggling like a child. "There. Much better."

Celeste stood frozen for a moment, her jaw clenched, clearly fighting to maintain control of the situation. "You're drunk and you don't know what you're doing," she said sharply, moving closer to grab a blanket from a nearby chair.

Estelle grinned up at her, her mind too foggy to understand the tension in the room. "You're always so serious, Celeste," she teased, kicking her feet up on the couch. "Maybe you should take off your clothes too. Then we can be... cool together."

Celeste shot her a look that could have frozen fire. "Estelle, enough."

But Estelle only giggled again, oblivious to the mounting frustration in Celeste's voice. "You're no fun," she mumbled, leaning back into the cushions, her eyelids drooping. "I'm... so tired..."

Before she could finish, exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she passed out on the couch, still smiling.

Celeste let out a long, exasperated sigh, draping the blanket over Estelle's nearly naked form. She stood there for a moment, watching the rise and fall of Estelle's breathing, the tension in her own body slowly unwinding.

"You're going to regret this tomorrow," Celeste muttered softly, shaking her head as she turned off the lights and left the room, leaving Estelle to sleep off her wild night.