Page 68 of Love Me
Staring at myself in the mirror, I was proud of the final result. There had been a quick moment of panic where I’d had to remind myself that the illusion of blood on my collar wasn’t real, no matter how realistic I’d made it look. Blood was a trigger and so far, I was still in control. I was in the moment.
My black Mary Jane pumps with a single strap each clacked on the tile floor in the bathroom as I went to leave. As soon as I had the door open, my ears filled with the sound of loud gunfire from Keelan and Knox’s video game they were playing.
Their eyes flicked in my direction when I entered Knox’s room, where they were planning on locking themselves in all night. They were sitting in front of the large TV on Knox’s dresser, Keelan on the foot of the bed and Knox in a leather desk chair, both with controllers in their hands.
Keelan’s brows rose and Knox paused their game, as if needing full focus to take me in.
I stopped walking a few feet from them and did a turn. “What do you think?”
“Amazing,” Keelan said and looked to his brother. “Would it be weird to develop a clown fetish?” Then he gestured to me with his hand. “Because I’m into this.”
I snorted.
“You just have a Shiloh fetish,” Knox said. “If she came out dressed like a nun, you’d be into that, too.”
Keelan appeared to ponder that. “Are we talking about a naughty nun or a full-fledged nun?”
“Would it matter?” Knox asked, his gaze never leaving me. The way his eyes drank me in made me think it wouldn’t have mattered to him.
“I suppose it wouldn’t.” Keelan gave me a naughty grin. “I’d be going to hell either way, because I don’t think I could let her leave this room until I had her praying to God. Loudly.”
Knox rolled his eyes and I had to fight not to squeeze my thighs together. I shouldn’t egg him on because I really didn’t want to start the party with wet panties and I was wearing the only lacy white pair I’d brought, but the words left my mouth before I could stop them. “Is my clown costume not tempting enough to make me pray? Or is it the idea of corruption that snaps your control?”
Keelan’s grin shifted into a smirk that made me want to throw myself at him just as much as it made me want to run from the room. “You are a temptation all on your own. I’m holding myself back because I know you’re looking forward to the party. But if you push my buttons enough, baby girl, you’ll be late for that party and Knox will get a front-row seat as I have my way with that gorgeous red mouth of yours.”
That red mouth stretched and lifted. “Just my mouth?”
Keelan stood and I yelped, dashing for the door. I could have sworn I heard Knox chuckling as I exited the room.
Music was playing and it grew louder as I made my way down the hall that led past the door to the garage and into the kitchen. Before entering the kitchen, I had to duck under caution tape and a sign that said “Area Off-Limits” pinned across the hall’s entrance. I paused as I entered the kitchen to take in the room. The rest of the cabin was an open floor plan. From the kitchen, I had an unobscured view of the living room, dining nook, and most of upstairs. The living room ceiling was vaulted, and one wall was completely windows with a view of a large wooden deck and the forest beyond it. The second floor was balconied off and curved around the living room like an L. From downstairs, you could see four doors. Three doors led to Keelan’s, Colt’s, and Creed’s rooms and the fourth led to a guest bathroom.
The guys had pushed the living-room furniture up against the walls, leaving the center of the room empty for dancing. They’d decorated lightly. A few fake cobwebs here and there, hanging bats, and a bunch of jack-o’-lanterns. In the corner there was a fog machine and a strobe light that filled and lit up the dance floor in the living room.
There were already some people here as I made my way toward the outside deck that the living room’s folding glass doors opened to. Standing around a lit fire pit in the center of the deck with their backs to me, Colt and Creed were wearing matching yellow raincoats and rain boots like Georgie had worn in the movieIT. They were currently in the middle of talking with Ethan and Isabelle, which was probably why they didn’t realize I was behind them, even when Isabelle spotted me first and smiled.
“Did you two make matching paper sailboats for me to steal from you, as well?” I asked.
Colt and Creed turned at the same time. Both were smiling until their eyes landed on me. Their gazes danced all over me, taking in my costume.
“I didn’t think a clown could look creepy and hot at the same time,” Creed said.
Colt nodded in agreement.
Isabelle giggled and I glanced at her. She was in a strapless, skintight, full-length mermaid-style dress. The bodice had metallic-looking black, bluish-gray, and teal scales sewn all over it until where the bottom poofed out with black tulle. On top of her head, she wore a matte black, spiked crown. She had crimped waves in her teal hair and her makeup was dark. Even her lips were done in black. Ethan dressed as Isabelle had said he would, as a drowned prince, but his outfit matched hers perfectly. His black billowy tunic, which was collared and cuffed with black lace, was torn in some places. Fake seaweed was tied and hanging from one of his wrists, his belt, and his neck. He was wearing makeup to make his skin look pale and grayish and his lips look purple. And he wore a crown that matched hers.
“You two look amazing,” I gushed and moved closer to Isabelle. “I can’t believe you made this dress. Well, I can. I’m just blown away. It’s gorgeous!”
“Thank you,” Isabelle beamed. “It took a lot of work, but it was so worth it.”
It definitely was.
Loud voices came from inside as more people arrived. From a glance, it was some of Ethan’s football buddies and their girlfriends or dates. Creed and Ethan separated from us to go greet them, while Colt stayed by my side.
“Drinks?” Isabelle asked me.
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
“The kitchen is stocked with everything, and if we run out of anything, we have another fridge stocked in the garage,” Colt said before Isabelle left.
