than usual.
Meggie
laughed, shaking her head at the two of them. “Alright, well, I
don't want to be... ah... late...” she said, picking up on the
tension between them. “So... yeah, I am going.”
Emily
refused to turn around, standing facing the sink, ignoring that he
even existed. The fucker had branded her and he thought he was going
to get some kind of light, playful conversation in the kitchen? Yeah,
no. That wasn't happening.
There
was an awkward silence for a moment before James chuckled and she
heard his feet moving toward the exit. “Spoons work on love
bites you know,” he said and then there was the swinging sound
of the door.
Emily
narrowed her eyes, grabbing a spoon and working it in firm circles
over the marks. Knowing it was hopeless. All the more angry with him
for pissing her off again just minutes before the dance. She was
going to need ten of Maude's Widow Makers to get through the night.
Seven
James
breathed in the crisp autumnal air as he walked slowly toward the
school, following the mobs of townspeople doing the same. From his
understanding, the school was broken up into three different rooms. A
room for the small children, ten and under. Not scary. Full of movies
and endless heaps of sugar. Then the older kids, everyone between
eleven and eighteen, had another room, completely decked out in dark
and gore. There would be a DJ there, playing thumping shock rock
while the teens did... whatever teens did when they were together.
Lastly, there was the gym. For the adults. Which would be set up with
tables and a dance floor.
And
there would, thankfully, be alcohol.
He
needed to drink until he stopped thinking about Emily so much. He was
a mess of interest and sexual frustration. The little episode in the
haunted maze had just sent him over the edge. He knew he was
attracted to her, but he hadn't anticipated how strongly he would
respond to her. It was unnerving. And he still didn't even see what
that Jessica Rabbit getup looked like from the front. Hopefully he
would be three drinks in before he had to deal with that.
What
a choice for outfits.
There
would be jaws scraping the floor all night.
Hell,
he would be lucky if he didn't drool all over his damn self.
Everyone
filed in the building in a long line, stopping at the desk. Parents
signed in their kids and watched as they got led away by the
volunteer chaperons. Adults got carded at the desk, everyone
twenty-one and under getting a waterproof stamp on their hands.
“I'm
afraid I am going to need to see some identification,” Maude
drawled, looking him up and down.
James
smiled, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. As Maude looked over
his license and wrote his name down, he emptied all his cash into a
collection bowl shaped like a pumpkin with a sign that said
“decorations and booze”. If there was ever a good cause
to give to, it was party liquor.
Maude
handed him back his license, pointed the way to the gym, and told him
to stop by later and pick up a drink called a Widow Maker.
The
gym had been completely transformed. There wasn't a hint of the
typical padded walls, bleachers, or shiny light wood floors.
Everything was black. The walls had been lined with thin black tissue
paper. The floor was painted black with a huge white webbed pattern.
There were round tables around the center of the room. Each table had
a black tablecloth over an orange tablecloth. A pumpkin sat in the
center of each, a towering black tree sticking out of it with orange
lanterns hanging off the bare branches.
The
stage was lined in front with long rectangular tables, overflowing
with various foods for everyone to pick at. On top of the stage was a
DJ dressed as a pirate.
He
had been to more than his fair share of parties in his day. College
had demanded costumed parties several times a month. Hell, he had
even been to a highbrow masquerade ball... in an actual ballroom. But
nothing had come close to even comparing to the epic dedication
Meggie
laughed, shaking her head at the two of them. “Alright, well, I
don't want to be... ah... late...” she said, picking up on the
tension between them. “So... yeah, I am going.”
Emily
refused to turn around, standing facing the sink, ignoring that he
even existed. The fucker had branded her and he thought he was going
to get some kind of light, playful conversation in the kitchen? Yeah,
no. That wasn't happening.
There
was an awkward silence for a moment before James chuckled and she
heard his feet moving toward the exit. “Spoons work on love
bites you know,” he said and then there was the swinging sound
of the door.
Emily
narrowed her eyes, grabbing a spoon and working it in firm circles
over the marks. Knowing it was hopeless. All the more angry with him
for pissing her off again just minutes before the dance. She was
going to need ten of Maude's Widow Makers to get through the night.
Seven
James
breathed in the crisp autumnal air as he walked slowly toward the
school, following the mobs of townspeople doing the same. From his
understanding, the school was broken up into three different rooms. A
room for the small children, ten and under. Not scary. Full of movies
and endless heaps of sugar. Then the older kids, everyone between
eleven and eighteen, had another room, completely decked out in dark
and gore. There would be a DJ there, playing thumping shock rock
while the teens did... whatever teens did when they were together.
Lastly, there was the gym. For the adults. Which would be set up with
tables and a dance floor.
And
there would, thankfully, be alcohol.
He
needed to drink until he stopped thinking about Emily so much. He was
a mess of interest and sexual frustration. The little episode in the
haunted maze had just sent him over the edge. He knew he was
attracted to her, but he hadn't anticipated how strongly he would
respond to her. It was unnerving. And he still didn't even see what
that Jessica Rabbit getup looked like from the front. Hopefully he
would be three drinks in before he had to deal with that.
What
a choice for outfits.
There
would be jaws scraping the floor all night.
Hell,
he would be lucky if he didn't drool all over his damn self.
Everyone
filed in the building in a long line, stopping at the desk. Parents
signed in their kids and watched as they got led away by the
volunteer chaperons. Adults got carded at the desk, everyone
twenty-one and under getting a waterproof stamp on their hands.
“I'm
afraid I am going to need to see some identification,” Maude
drawled, looking him up and down.
James
smiled, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. As Maude looked over
his license and wrote his name down, he emptied all his cash into a
collection bowl shaped like a pumpkin with a sign that said
“decorations and booze”. If there was ever a good cause
to give to, it was party liquor.
Maude
handed him back his license, pointed the way to the gym, and told him
to stop by later and pick up a drink called a Widow Maker.
The
gym had been completely transformed. There wasn't a hint of the
typical padded walls, bleachers, or shiny light wood floors.
Everything was black. The walls had been lined with thin black tissue
paper. The floor was painted black with a huge white webbed pattern.
There were round tables around the center of the room. Each table had
a black tablecloth over an orange tablecloth. A pumpkin sat in the
center of each, a towering black tree sticking out of it with orange
lanterns hanging off the bare branches.
The
stage was lined in front with long rectangular tables, overflowing
with various foods for everyone to pick at. On top of the stage was a
DJ dressed as a pirate.
He
had been to more than his fair share of parties in his day. College
had demanded costumed parties several times a month. Hell, he had
even been to a highbrow masquerade ball... in an actual ballroom. But
nothing had come close to even comparing to the epic dedication
Similar Books
