Love Me (WITSEC #3)(57)
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 movie IT. 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.
Colt took my hand in his. I smiled up at him, but found him staring at his friends that Creed and Ethan were talking to inside.
“If you want to go talk to them, I’ll be all right,” I said.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a paper boat, and held it out to me. “I’m good here.”
I laughed as I took it. “Now I kind of wish I had sucked it up and watched the movie.”
“You will watch it one day.”
I nodded.
“How are you feeling right now?”
“I feel good. A little nervous, but mostly, I’m looking forward to having fun,” I explained in a low voice. “The best way to differentiate scary movies and this party is that the movies depict fear and death a little too well and it’s harder to ignore. There shouldn’t be any killing at this party.”
He huffed a laugh. “Let’s hope not.”
Tonight, I expected dancing and drinking and fun, with a little bit of spookiness woven in. Scary movies weren’t going anywhere. But these experiences would pass me by if I let them. If I came across a trigger…well, I’d get to test out some of the exercises Dr. Bolton had taught me.
Ethan and Creed returned with one of Ethan’s football buddies and his date. He was dressed like Freddy Krueger, without the burned-face mask. He had on the striped sweater and the glove that had the finger blades attached to it. The moment my eyes landed on his date, I stiffened. She was dressed like a zombie with bite marks on her arms and cheek. The costume makeup was very realistic, especially how she made her throat look ripped out with all her blood spilling down her chest.