Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(9)

"I have to fight!"

"Why?" I ask.

"Because they insulted… my friends…." Her voice goes small. "Friend."

She sways from side to side and starts to look a little green.

"Okay, Xena. Just calm down." I turn to Dee. "Get her something to eat. I think she's had too much."

"I think I need your help with that," Dee says, her voice wavering. "I think I've been drinking."

Dee takes two steps into the living room and flops on the floor.

Sighing, I grab Princess Ana under the shoulders and lift her into a chair at the kitchen table.

"You're really strong," she says, staring at me.

Those mismatched eyes of hers could drown a man. Good God, she's gorgeous. She smiles at me.

Then she heaves forward and pukes on my shoes.

"Dee, get up," I shout. "Help me here."

I manage to get ahold of the princess's hair and hold it back to save it from the torrent of nachos, chili dog, and what appears to be some form of fermented fish, which is now in a puddle on the kitchen floor.

Also, my feet.

"I feel not so good," the princess moans.

"Help her up,” I sigh.

"Aww man, she barfed on my hoodie," Dee moans.

"Fuck your hoodie, she puked all over my legs." I shout, trying not to jump back and drop her.

"Take your pants off." Dee slurs out.

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Are you serious?"

"You're going to track puke all over the house, man."

In the world of vodka, it makes perfect sense, so I shove my pants down and kick out of my shoes, and step gingerly over the barf puddle.

Anastasia sits there with a dull look on her face as Dee wipes her down, then pulls her ruined hoodie over her head, gently to make sure she doesn't throw up again, I lift the princess in my arms, step over the wet spot on the floor, and carry her up the stairs.

"Where?" I say.

"Your bedroom," Dee says.

I give her a look.

"Just do it."

I turn to get the princess through the door, then lay her on my bed.

"She puked on her pants too. I have to get them off."

"You made me bring her in my room and now we're taking her pants off. You realize that an hour ago you were trying to prevent this."

"Shut up, Jason," Dee snaps.

I step to the closet and grab my jacket. "Get them off her before she soils my bed. Here, put this on her, she's shivering. And get her covered with something. I'll be back in five minutes. We might need to take her to the hospital."

Dee nods, grateful.

I slip out of the room and pull the door shut, then walk down to join the rest of my team in the living room.

Most of us scattered. Akele and Aheahe stand in the middle of the room, huge arms folded. Izzy Duquesne and Curtis Linkletter followed us from the bar, probably for no particular reason.

"That went well," Akele declares.

"Went well?" Curtis shouts. "Are you crazy? We got our asses kicked and we'll probably all get booted off the team for this."

Curtis is our wide receiver, and he's a little twitchy. One of the lightest players on the team, he's more of a sprinter than anything. He gets up and circles the room, walking behind the ring of couches.

"This is bad," he mutters, "bad, bad, bad, bad…."

"Curtis, go home," I tell him. "You too, Izzy. Go with him."

"He's had a little much," Izzy agrees, leading Curtis out by the arm.

"Run, run, run, gotta run," Curtis mumbles.

I look at Akele and Aheahe.

They shrug. The motion makes the floor shake under my feet. We're probably going to lose our security deposit.

"The girls okay?" Akele asks.

"I'll check," I sigh.

I trudge up the stairs, knock, and then swing open the door to my room. Dee is sitting up—barely—and swaying as she tucks the princess into my bed like a little kid after a rough day at school.

Princess Anastasia lifts her head and looks at me.

"You are having the nice legs," she says.

Then her head falls on the pillow and she spaces out, her eyes drifting shut.

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"She just needs to sleep it off," Dee says.

"Yeah. You two stay in here. I'll be downstairs."

"You might want to put on some pants."

I glance down, remember that I stripped them off, and grab a pair of sweats from the closet.

"Let me know if you need anything, Dee."

When I get back to the kitchen, I find the brothers cleaning up the mess and join in. We're no stranger to people tossing their cookies on our floor. With the three of us working on it, it takes about ten minutes. Aheahe carries the garbage can outside for the night. We'll need to hose it off.

That fish she ate stinks.

"I'm sleeping down here," I announce.

"Right, cousin. Who takes first watch?" Aheahe asks.

"Just go to bed," I snap.

I flop down on the longest couch, the one that faces the television, and take a deep breath. I hate sleeping down here. The light cuts in through the curtains. After futzing with them for a bit, it gets dark enough for me to sleep.