Page 154 of Hockey Halloween
I landed in Cedar Rapids last night, and before I even stepped out of the airport, one of the de la Peñas appeared in the arrivals hall to take me to my new apartment in the city.Come to our Halloween party to meet the team, she’d said.
I’m not really sure if it was a suggestion or a request, but from the firm set of her jaw, and the determination in her eyes, there was no saying no.
Twenty-four hours later, I’m standing in the freezing cold, scratching at the itchy, red wig pinned to my head, and trying not to bolt. Or to pluck the wedgie out from between my ass cheeks.
Although it covers most of my body, this is the most provocative and revealing costume I’ve ever worn for the holiday. Traditionally, I’m more like that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Willow wimps out of wearing a sexy costume and covers herself in a white sheet with eyes instead.
Why did I accept the Pennywise costume from Athena last nightbefore she left? Why didn’t I say, “Thank you for your kind invitation, but I need a few days to find my feet?” Why didn’t I simply say: No.
I ring the doorbell again, the shrill noise echoing around the cavernous space on the other side. There’s a low thump-thud, the bassline of whatever music would be making the glass rattle if the building wasn’t a fortress.
‘No’ is a complete sentence, Lilith. Mom ingrained that in me from a young age, and yet, I’m still standing on the de la Peñas’ front porch, dressed as a demented clown, with five bucks’ worth of my costume jammed up my ass.
Footsteps behind alert me to someone’s presence, but I don’t have long to react as I’m shunted forward when they collide with my shoulder. I reach out to save myself from eating pavement or getting a concussion from one of the fancy pillars outside this mansion, snapping my head toward the offending brute.
He doesn’t even look back before he turns the door handle and makes his way inside. The giant is at least six feet five, his broad shoulders stretch the blue dress jacket of his ‘Beast’ costume—of Beauty and the Beast fame. He’s wearing black dress shoes. I hope he slips on those fancy tiles he’s trudging over and goes on his ass.
Didn’t he see me?
Of course he didn’t. Invisible. Plain. Dull. Boring. Bland. Unremarkable—just a few of the adjectives my ex-boyfriend, Johnny, used to describe me over the course of our relationship.
Oh, and his favorite,mediocre.
Sure, from the back I’m wearing a plain, gray dress with a ruffled cream collar and petticoat, so I probably look like ‘the help’ to the Beast, but I’m not a small woman. I take up physical space.
It should come as no surprise that burly bastard didn’t see me as he made his grand entrance to the Cedar Rapids Raccoons’ Halloween party. Because why the fuck would he?
As I stare at the retreating back of the beast, I run through the list of words Johnny called me on the regular.
Forgettable. Lackluster. Tepid. Stale. Lifeless. Colorless. Dreary.Humdrum. Pedestrian. Mundane. Vapid. Insipid. Flat. Listless. Spiritless. Uninspiring. Nondescript. Generic.
“Lilith?” Athena ducks her face in front of mine, like she’s trying to snap me out of somewhere deep inside my own brain. “Are you okay, amiga?”
Her soulful and expressive brown eyes search my face, concern etched in the two lines between her brows and how she purses her lips.
I nod. “I rang but no one answered.”
Athena hooks her arm through mine and guides me into the expansive mansion. “First rule of de la Peña parties, the bigger ones at least. We operate an open-door policy. If it’s a smaller dinner party, generally that’s a knock and wait kind of situation.” She leans close to my ear. “And holy sexy Pennywise, Lilith. You look incredible!”
I mutter something about it being due to the costume she gave me as she leads the way through the house. My mouth hangs open at the expensive but tasteful décor. On the walls, smiling de la Peñas through the ages hang in frames clearly not from the nearest thrift store. They’re so shiny I could see my face in them if I got closer, and they’re definitely giving ‘money.’
Makes sense. When I first got the call from Apollo de la Peña, I thought he was calling to talk to me on behalf of his parents and their business interests. Nope. I had no idea how entrepreneurial these ‘kids’ were, or that they were so altruistic. And now I’m their charity coordinator. This group of four siblings does so much good in the world, they need me to come and coordinate their charity portfolio.
What bizarro world is this?
It’s a fucking great one.
A flash of royal blue catches my attention to the left as we work our way into the kitchen space.
“I’ve got to go check on something, but I’ll be right back, okay?”
I nod, already determined to give Mr. Beast a piece of my fucking mind because, tonight, I’m not Lilith Radcliffe. Boring. Dull. Mousy. My tits are pushed up so high I can rest my chin onthem, my skirt barely covers my hoo-ha flaps, and I’m wearing heels.
Tonight, I’m sexy Pennywise. Athena de la Peña said so, and, after being in her presence for a matter of seconds, I already get the impression she’s rarely wrong.
I grab a glass of some kind of murky, glittery cocktail on a passing tray from a server dressed as a zombie, and down it in one go. If I’m going to confront The Beast for body checking me out of the way at the front door, I need some Dutch courage.
I’m in a new city, new state. People back in Montana don’t generally behave like that, and I guess it’s my small-town upbringing that drives me to want to hold him accountable. Because I just can’t seem to let it go.
