Love, Chloe(58)
“That I still love your dimples.” He looked up at me. “I haven’t figured it all out; but I know that for sure.”
CHAPTER 16
September turned into October as we welcomed autumn and the changing colors of the leaves on the trees surrounding the island. In the month since the night we watched The Big Lebowski, things stayed pretty innocent between us; we hadn’t discussed sex again nor attempted to define our relationship. But we were getting closer organically.
Bea was now seven months and developing more of a personality every day.
Justin had taken one short trip to New York at the end of September to meet with his music agent who’d set up a studio session to record some of his original songs for a demo. Overall, we were still taking it day by day, and there was no clear indication of when, or even if, he’d be going back to the city for good.
Halloween fell on a Saturday this year. We decided to take Bea to a local pumpkin patch. Justin snapped lots of photos of me and my daughter amongst the sea of orange and hay. We took a few selfies of the three of us as well. I knew I would always treasure those pictures. Justin and I sipped hot cider as we enjoyed the crisp air with a rosy-cheeked Bea, who was bundled up in a hat and mittens. Despite the fact that there are thousands of days in the course of a life, this was the kind of day you just knew you’d never forget for as long as you lived.
The plan was to spend a few hours out then return home to give out candy while dressed in our costumes.
Knowing that Halloween was always my favorite holiday, Justin went all out. After the pumpkin patch, he dropped Bea and me off at the house before heading to the Christmas Tree Shops in nearby Middletown, where they sold lots of seasonal Halloween items.
It was nightfall by the time he returned with a ton of bags. He’d purchased a plethora of orange and black decorations along with packages of candy and a bumblebee costume for Bea.
“They didn’t have any suitable costumes for us at the Christmas Tree Shops, so I went to a couple of other places. That’s why I’m late. I couldn’t decide on yours, so I got more than one.”
“Well, let’s see.” I reached out my arm. “Hand them over.” One of the bags was from Island Costumes, and the other was from…Adam and Eve. “Isn’t Adam and Eve an adult novelty store?”
“Yeah. It was right next door to the costume place.”
He flashed a wicked grin as I squinted my eyes suspiciously. Opening the other bag first, I took out a Catwoman costume which was one-piece and made out of black nylon. It also came with a mask.
“That’s for tonight…for the trick or treaters,” he said.
“What’s the other one for?”
“For…whenever. I just thought you’d look good in it.”
I reluctantly opened the Adam and Eve bag and pulled out a white sheer piece of material with red accents. There were little patches in the shapes of crosses at the nipple area, and you could literally see right through the fabric.
My eyes widened as I read the tag. “Nurse Feel Good?”
“It reminded me of when you took care of me when I was sick.” His face was unusually flush, like he’d actually been embarrassed to give it to me.
“You want me to wear this?”
He bit his bottom lip. “Not now.”
I looked down at the tag again. “Panties not included. Something tells me that’s because I’m not supposed to wear any?”
“Look…I know I may never actually get to see you in that. Honestly, I just got really turned on in the store thinking about you in it. I had to buy it. A guy can dream, right?”
He was getting turned on thinking about me, and I was getting really turned on thinking about him getting turned on thinking about me.
I cleared my throat. “What are you going to be?”
Winking, he said, “It’s a surprise.”
We had about an hour before the trick or treaters were set to start arriving. Justin hung the orange lights along the window and put some lit carved pumpkins outside along the steps. He dimmed the main lights in the house and lit candles. It was a cross between spooky, romantic and cozy.
“Living in the city, I really missed Halloween,” he said, ripping open bags and filling the bowl with candy. “You don’t get trick or treaters at the apartment.”
I smiled inwardly, noticing he’d bought extra of my favorite candy bars from when we were kids, Almond Joy.
“I’m gonna go upstairs and get Bea dressed, get into my costume, too,” I said.
“Alright. I’ll go change after you.”
Upstairs, I slipped into the slinky black outfit which looked like it could have been spray painted onto my body. Placing the mask on, I looked at myself in the mirror. It was pretty damn sexy, actually. It was no wonder why he’d chosen it. My own knee-high black leather stiletto boots completed the look. Bea was standing in the crib looking amused at seeing her mommy in this getup.
After getting her into the furry bumblebee costume, we returned downstairs.
Justin’s eyes popped as he looked me up and down. “Wow. Look at you. I definitely picked the right costume.”
“Not very scary. More sexy.”
“Well, you’re scaring me stiff.” He wriggled his brows before taking Bea from me and kissing her on the cheek. “You are officially a bumblebee now, Bumblebee.” Carrying her over to the window, he said. “Look at the lights, Bea. I put them up for you.” He’d gone off with her, his voice no longer audible as he whispered in her ear while showing her the decorations. He took her outside to look at the carved pumpkins.