Page 9 of EverGreene
It appeared to be the right shape. The right size. The right color.
“Ever? Ever, seriously, if you don’t talk to me, I’m going to come over there right now. Well, maybe not right now. But as soon as this episode ofThe Vampire Diariesis over, I will be hauling ass in your direction.”
“I’m okay.” I slowly rose to my feet. “Physically, anyway, I think.”
“Oh, thank God.” Katy breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Because I’m in my sweatpants and I’m pretty sure my ass has molded itself to this couch. But if you need me, totally there, babe.”
“I think I had sex with my stalker.”
Katy sat bolt upright on the couch, her eyes widening as her attention was stolen away from Damon Salvatore. “What? Jesus, Ever. What did that psycho send to you?” Hand still trembling, I held the feather up to the phone, watching as Katy’s mouth fell. “Holy shit. Is that what I think it is?”
“I think so.”
“Motherfucker. That is diabolical.” Katy squinted asthough trying to take in every last detail of the feather she could through the phone. “It doesn’t necessarily mean you boinked your actual stalker. I mean, maybe he just saw you banging the masked mystery man through the window and wants you to know he knows.”
“Yes, because that’s so much better.” I snorted. “Not only is my stalker unhinged, but now he’s pissed off, too.”
“Unhingedandpissed off make for a great combination in the bedroom,” Katy said so matter-of-factly that I couldn’t help but stare at the phone, waiting for her to elaborate. “Okay, so what if your stalker just saw you in your costume and sent the feather to you to tell you he liked it or something?”
“Wait…” I said, my voice trailing off as I sprang out of the chair once more, hiking it to my bedroom at the end of the hall. Balled up in the corner of my closet, far past the condition to ever return it, lay my costume from the party. Stomach churning, I snatched the disheveled article of clothing and ran back to the kitchen table to inspect the feathers. “Shit.” My heart sank as I held up the feather my stalker had sent to me, comparing it to the ones in the costume. “It’s a match.” My gaze trailed up to Katy, who stared at me in as much disbelief as I felt. “The man I slept with at your party, he pulled a feather out of my costume and, uh, used it in ways I never thought to use a feather.”
“Way to rub it in my face,” Katy grumbled.
“That’s not where he was rubbing it,” I smirked.
“You just keep twisting that knife, don’t you?”
I inspected the costume, noticing it was missing at least two feathers instead of the one I knew the man had taken. “He must have taken another one when I was, uh…”
“Coming down from your post-orgasm high,” Katy muttered.
“It was multiple orgasms, actually.”
Katy stared daggers at me. “So, your stalker is some gorgeous, buff sex god.”
“Damnit.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I banged my stalker, and I liked it.”
“Calm down, Katy Perry, it isn’t that bad. When you think about it, you’re pretty lucky. Most stalkers are not at all fuckable. You’ve won the lottery with yours. Hot stalkers are only a thing in romance books—never in real life.”
“I didn’t even see his face to know what he looks like.”
“Ev, with that body and those bedroom skills, who gives a shit what his face looks like. He’s hot. Trust me.”
“And you have no idea who he could possibly be? You know everyone, right? Who did you invite?”
“Well, first of all, literally everyone is invited. You know this. It’s not like I send out fancy calligraphy-filled invitations. People show up and they bring friends. No one signs in at the door. Secondly, if I knew someone who matched your stalker boyfriend’s description, don’t think I wouldn’t have already had him scoped out. My best guess is that he either came with someone or he came by himself. The latter seems like the most likely option.”
“Is there anyone we can ask? Someone has to have an idea, right?”
“What was he wearing again?”
“All black, except for a red pair of sneakers.”
“What about the mask?”
“Also black. But it had red eyes and red designs that kind of jutted out to create a face of sorts.”
“Hmm.” Katy tapped her lip with her index finger. “That seems like a pretty particular design. I’ll have Jem look into it. Maybe she’ll have an idea.”
