Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
A knock on the front door has Rachel grabbing the bowl of candy and opening it. "Happy Halloween." I hear the kids scream and rush over to the door to see them with their bags up. I smile at them and think back to the pictures I got about an hour ago from my mother and my nephew. He was dressed up as Spiderman, and you could see his two teeth in the front missing.
"I swear to God," Lydia says, coming into the kitchen after we close the door. "This gives new meaning to the word latex and spandex." I turn around, seeing her walk in wearing a black one-piece cat outfit. It even glistens in the dim light of the apartment, and her boobs look like they are pushed up to her chin. "All I have to say is whoever I go home with is going to think he’s uncasing a sausage."
"I’m going on record for saying next year there will be no slutty in anyone's costume," I joke, walking back into the kitchen to pour the sweet tea shots. "We should go as Disney princesses."
"How is that going to get me laid?" Lydia asks when Victoria comes out of her room.
"I’m fine with this outfit," she says, laughing, and I just shake my head.
"It’s tights and a corset top." I point at her.
"I have a whip and a top hat." She lifts her hand and slaps down the whip that her costume comes with. "And these pants are leather." It makes us all laugh. "And you can go as Ariel. She wore a shell bra and a mermaid tail."
"Ohh, I could," Lydia says. "Okay, fine. Next year, it’s princesses with a twist." She lifts her shot glass. "To a successful night."
I grab my own glass. "To a successful night," I repeat, and Rachel and Victoria follow. The shot goes down smooth, and it makes me miss home. "Let me make a couple of drinks," I say, turning to the little bar we have set up next to the coffee station. I start filling the mixer cup with ice and adding a mix of alcohol together.
"I love when she plays bartender," Rachel says, sitting down. "It’s almost like you’re a mixologist."
"Almost," I agree, shaking the mixer in my hand before pouring two drinks. "Taste this."
Rachel takes a sip. "All I’m missing is a beach chair and an umbrella," she states, passing the drink to Lydia, who oohs before passing it to Victoria, who finishes it off.
I make about four more drinks, and when we are all a bit tipsy, Victoria says, "Okay, picture time." We all squeeze in and take a picture. "Let’s go prowl, girls," she suggests once she posts the picture to Instagram.
I grab my phone, tucking it in the front of my tights before walking over and putting the sweet tea away. "Just in case you savages escape before me and I come home and find you guys passed out."
"Ye have little faith in us," Rachel says, laughing.
"I went to the bathroom the other time and you guys took three shots in that time," I remind them as we walk down the steps.
"We would have had more had you not raced back," Victoria admits as we walk out the door.
The street is quiet as the lights to the homes are off. The only people on the streets are college kids as we make our way over to the local bar.
Victoria pulls open the door, and the noise from inside spills out into the street. I step in after her, holding the door open for Rachel and Lydia. I’ve seen it packed before, but nothing like this. The wooden bar is against one wall, the whole wall filled with bottles of booze, right in front of a mirror. The seven bartenders tonight all look like they are busy. The beer on tap lights up in the middle of the bar, and all the stools in front of the bar are taken. I look around, trying to convince myself that I’m not looking for him, but deep down, I know I am. The high-top tables are all taken, and people stand in the middle of what is the path to walk in and out. I follow Victoria through the crowd of people, trying not to step on anyone when I spot him in the corner with Jake, Chris, and Frankie.
My eyes are on him as he talks to a blonde beside him. They’re both laughing, and something inside me burns. She puts her hands on his chest, an intimate move on her part, and he leans down and says something in her ear. When she looks up at him, you can tell she likes him, and I have to wonder if maybe they are seeing each other. The burning in my stomach comes on full force. I pretend it’s the booze I drank on an empty stomach, but maybe it’s just plain old jealousy.