Missed Connections

Chapter 59 - Punch up

Louis

It takes forever to get back to shore.  I'm rather a  shit swimmer to begin with, but the lead feeling in my stomach seems to  be weighing down my mediocre abilities.  Not to mention the fact that I  have to support Evynn, who has so many sheets to the wind that I'm  surprised she isn't sailing home on her own.

Fuck.  How did she get like this?    I know Ev is a grown woman, but  honestly, I hate seeing people I care about acting like bloody tossers.   And Evynn is definitely not herself.  Dammit!  I should have been  watching her more closely. But then the little Tipsy Tipserson was  hoarding her extra cans, and I was blocked from checking up on her by  the vision of her lithe body squirming in front of me.  Damn todger  getting in the way again!

Eventually we make it back to shore with little incident.  I drop the  cooler on the deck and find the towels where we left them.  I have a  strange feeling in my tum, and it has little to do with the sun and the  beer.  I've definitely been arseholed before and been around people who have been too.  For fuck's sakes, the boys and I have been downright incapacitated after some of the benders we did on  tour.  Harry can't quite hold his liquor. But this situation is different. Something is tugging at me guts  and making them feel downright queer.

Silently I wrap Evynn in  her towel, making sure that she is warm and standing steady on her  feet.  She looks so adorable as she casually wipes drips of water off  her face that are spreading down from her sodden hair.  I want to kiss  her on the nose, but something stops me.  Instead, I rub some of the  water off my hair and don't make eye contact.  Eynn doesn't say anything  either.  She just chews on the edge of her towel and stares up at me  with innocent, albeit glassy, doe eyes.  I ignore her look.  I know if I  look deep into those blue-green pools I will want to get lost in them.   I'll want to wrap her in my arms and kiss her beautiful lips.  But I  can't.

Fuck.  What is wrong with me?

Wrapping my own towel around my cossie, I slip my feet into my slip  slops and grab the cooler.  I look over and see Evynn is struggling to  get the thong of her own sandals between the correct toes.  I sigh loudly  and bend down to fix them.  Evynn grips my shoulder and struggles to  maintain her balance.  I sigh once more.

"Thanks, babe," Evynn says quietly. 

"Always," I say.  I take another deep breath.  My chest feels tight  and a lump has placed itself at the back of my throat.  I smile wanly,  wanting to shake off any annoyance I am feeling, but it doesn't shift.

Evynn turns about and heads towards the cottage.  As she turns, she  loses her balance and has to place her hands on the ground.  She  giggles, and says "Oopsie!" bringing forth yet another sigh from my  chest.

"Let's go!" I hold her shoulders to steady and direct her towards the  stairs.  Luckily, Evynn manages adequately and I don't need to hold on  to her quite as tightly as I did in the water.  We eventually reach the  stairs and I purposefully place each of Evynn's hands on the railings so  she can walk up.

"Focus, please," I command. 

Evynn lets go of one side and sinks back on her legs, swinging as her  other arms holds on to the railing.  Swerving a little, she uses her  free hand to salute me.

"Yessir!"

Taking another big swing, Evynn grabs a hold of each banister and  starts to climb the stairs, of course missing the first step.  She barks  her shin but doesn't seem to notice, oblivious in her haze  of drink.  If I can just get her up the stairs, she can kip and I can  have a moment to think. 

I once again lift Evynn and get her moving.  She nearly goes arse over teakettle and I  catch her right before her face hits the next tread.  Ev managed to right  herself and giggles like a shitfaced teenager who was caught by her  parents sending me flashes of memories to certain sisters who got a  little too carried away.