Staring at me the whole time, she lowered herself into a squat and held the panties out in front of me to step into. I did, almost losing my balance but refusing to use her for stability, and she slid them up my legs, which took forever because she was hammered and barely able to balance herself. When she got to my knees, I let my irritation get the best of me and reached down to yank them up the rest of the way. In doing so, I accidentally (maybe) knocked Kat’s knees on the way back up and she toppled backward onto her ass. A few people laughed, but mostly, a simultaneous and emphatic “Ohhhhhh” spread across the bar, followed by silence except for the music and a few clinking glasses.

Kat propped herself up on her elbows and looked at me from the floor, her face a mixture of disbelief and maybe even a little respect? I knew I should say sorry, even if I wasn’t, but the word parked itself at the back of my throat. Kat glanced sideways at the rest of the team and grinned. Her next words were, “Whoa, rook—if you wanted to get me on my back, all you had to do was wear those panties and ask.”

Everyone else roared with approval, and Kat laughed.

Looking down at the porn panties snug around my crotch, I felt ridiculous. The laughter didn’t help. But I had to play along—make sure they all knew I could handle myself. I forced my lips into a smirk.

Kat got up and said, “Turn around, rook.”

I turned, barely masking an eye roll.

“Arms out in front!” she barked.

I brought my arms up with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, egged on by the hoots and hollers. Still behind me, Kat edged close enough that I could feel her chin over my right shoulder and her breath at my cheek—a little too close for my comfort. A vein in my neck pulsed. I shifted a bit to the left and stared straight ahead.

Steel.

One of the other Honeys yelled, “Wait! That’s my bra!” and I was surprised to turn and see that the voice belonged to Shanti. “So I should get to do the honors, shouldn’t I?” She’d made her way from the bar to Kat and me. I wasn’t sure if she was drunk too or what, because this seemed like a bold move for her. And also, there was no way this was her bra. Or anyone’s bra. Except maybe Madonna’s.

Kat looked a little irritated, but the rest of the team loved this development, so she surrendered the bra to Shanti.