Page 114 of Pucking Wild

Her gaze softens as she searches my face. “Be gentle with Langley,” she says at last. “He’s my not-so-secret favorite, and he’s crazy about you. He’s one of the good ones, Tess. Maybe even the best one. Just…don’t hurt him, okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, giving her a nod. “Okay.”

Langley is crazy about me? Well, that’s pretty convenient, because I think I’m crazy about him too.

41

Cars already line the block when Novy pulls up at Sully’s house a little after 8:00 p.m. The birthday party is in full swing. We’re fashionably late, of course. Lukas Novikov doesn’t know any other way to be.

After our morning spent shooting spots for the Humane Society, we all went out to lunch and then to the beach. The guys played a little sand volleyball, but I just watched. No way am I torquing this knee again.

“Hey man, you want me to drop you at the end of the driveway?” he calls from the front seat.

“I can walk just fine, asshole,” I shout back over the loud music.

He parallel parks half a block down and we all get out. Morrow and I coordinated our costumes. I smirk as I watch him walk in front of me, joining up with Novy on the sidewalk. We’re all in jeans and white T-shirts wearingSOAblack leather motorcycle cuts.

Am I playing fair dressing up as Jax Teller? Hell, no. Fuck fair. I want Tess, and I want her to want me. If giving her a little taste of her favorite fantasy earns me any points, I’ll never take this damn costume off.

“Jesus,” Morrow cries, nearly jumping on top of me. “Dude, what the fuck?”

Novy and I both look to see a grim reaper wandering across the dark front lawn.

“Who the fuck is that?” Morrow shouts, clearly rattled. “Who are you?”

“Dude, chill,” comes a deep, muffled voice. “It’s me.” Davidson pulls his hood back, revealing his face. “Pretty cool, huh?” he says, gesturing to himself.

“It’s not a haunted house, asshole,” Morrow snaps. “It’s a birthday party.”

“Yeah, but this was left over from Halloween,” he explains. “I wasn’t going shopping for a new costume just for this party.”

“Whatever, man,” Morrow replies. “Scare me like that again, and I’ll knock out all your jibs. Fucking shadow of death creeping on me in the darkness,” he says, crossing himself.

“Come on,” says Novy. “Let’s go.”

We all make it to the front door and let ourselves in. The house is packed, dance music playing over the speakers. The first people we see are J-Lo and Lauren. He’s wearing long black robes like a toga, and his hair is hidden under a crazy blue wig.

“Whoa, cool costume, J,” says Novy, taking them both in. “Hades, right?”

“And his darling wife, Persephone,” says Lauren, already tipsy as she throws an arm around J-Lo’s shoulder. She went all out in this crazy floral headdress and a pink flower gown.

“You both look great,” I add, giving them a smile. Then I snort as I see Teddy the PT intern saunter past with both his fists full of beers. “Who are you supposed to be?” I call after him.

He spins around, totally drunk. He’s wearing a blue bathrobe and a long white beard. “I’m Merlin, duh,” he slurs. “Aw, damn. Where’s my hat? It makes more sense with the hat.”

Novy slips a beer out of his grip, handing it to me. Then he takes one for himself before Teddy goes stumbling off. “This party is gonna get messy,” Novy says, taking a swig of his pilfered beer.

We move towards the kitchen, in search of the party hosts, Novy and Morrow walking ahead of me. I run right into their backs when they both suddenly stop. “Guys—what?”

I glance between their shoulders to see a wide-eyed Poppy. She’s looking up at them, holding tight to her red Solo cup. I don’t know what her costume is. She’s wearing some kind of prairie dress and a bonnet thing with her hair done up in curls around her face.

Novy glares at her. “You said you weren’t coming.”

Squaring her shoulders at him, she juts out her chin. “Well, obviously I changed my mind.”

Novy is so tense, it’s making me tense. “But you said—”

“Cool it,” Morrow says, placing a hand on Novy’s arm. “Not here.”

---