Status: On hiatus
Fact or Fiction?
Halloween
That Friday was my favorite day of the month: Halloween.
Despite Marcey’s pathetic attempt at destroying what I worked for, I had everything set up. Lucy brought in the fog machine and creepy CDs and I closed the shop down at 5:30 so we could change into our costumes. I had forbidden the sexy costumes. We were handing children candy, not condoms.
My costume was a witch. It was quite attractive, considering. The dress was black and grey and tattered a little. I had a black and blue wig that reached below my shoulder blades. To finish it off was a pair of fish net leggings and heels. Unfortunately, I suck at putting on leggings.
I was hopping in my room until I fell back into my closet and fell painfully on my strong box. I grunted and stood back up. I looked at the box and sighed. I had been avoiding the book but my curiosity was getting the better of me. It was only 6 and we wouldn’t start handing out candy until 6:30 so I put in the code for the strong box.
The book looked as it always had. I took it to my bed and opened it. There were words and I bit my lower lip, hoping it was good news.
Halloween: Zackary’s least favorite holiday. But he had purchased candy regardless. It brought joy to the little kids and that’s what mattered. While he waited by his door, gliding through posts on his phone, he thought to Ophelia and the book. He was putting off the minute he had to tell her about it. He had grown to care about her, even more so after the kiss they shared. He didn’t want to leave. He heard the sound of little kids and sighed, hitching a smile on his face and straightening the cheesy vampire costume his sister had bought him several years ago.
“Who hates Halloween?” I said out loud and closed the book.
I put it back in the strongbox and finished my makeup. I stepped back to admire the affect before grabbing my purse. I glared at my window was I walked to the door. The repairman had come out almost immediately but I hadn’t stood in front of it since then. On Monday is when Zackary would tell me his thoughts about where to go so I didn’t touch anything, either. The police hadn’t done much investigating since it was the middle of the night and they didn’t think they’d find anything. That was annoying but it’s not like I could force them to stay at my house and look.
The streets were bustling with little kids and I snuck up on an angel. I knew it was a little girl from my neighborhood.
“Boo!” I said, jumping in front of her.
She screamed in laughter. “Miss Ramsey!” she cried. “You scared me!”
I laughed. “Just for that, you can have my very first piece of candy.”
Her eyes lit up and she followed me, holding onto my hand. A group of kids followed behind us and I grinned. This was my favorite part of Halloween: the kids. They were always so eager for everything we had.
Lucy had just opened the door when we arrived. She was dressed as a devil and the kids all screamed happily when she made a spooky pose. I laughed and passed around a piece of candy to each of the kids. I waved goodbye and put my purse down.
“Lookin’ hot, boss,” Lucy said and I snorted. “Hey, we were invited to a Halloween party after we close up.”
“Really? By whom?”
“Ian Hart,” she answered. “The guy that runs the bakery,” she added when I still looked confused.
“Oh! Sweet. Sounds like fun.”
She smirked. “You should invite your new lawyer.”
I blushed and cleared my throat. “I don’t think he’d want to come. He doesn’t like Halloween.”
She scoffed. “Who says he’s coming for the Halloween party?”
“Shut up,” I blushed but got my phone out anyway and pulled up my messaging app.
Local bakery is having a Halloween party tonight. Do you want to come?
I bit my lower lip, passing out candy to a group of kids, and waited anxiously. Finally, my phone buzzed.
Already planned on it. He sent me an invite last week. Hope to see you there. ;)
“That’s embarrassing,” I groaned, showing her.
She giggled. “Ah, you’re fine. Now come on. Let’s scare the pants off of the older kids,” she smirked, passing me a mask.
-
At 8:45, we finished with the late stragglers. Lucy gathered up half of the remaining candy into a small box and we walked to Ian’s house, joking.
“That little devil was adorable,” she said. “I’m so glad you got a picture.”
I laughed. “Her mother made sure I sent it to her, too.”
She laughed, too. “Parents are ridiculous about pictures; especially when the kid is a baby.”
“It was strange, though,” I mused as we walked up the sidewalk in his neighborhood. “I mean, a baby dressed up as a devil?”
She scoffed. “It’s kick ass is what it is.”
Ian’s house was rather large. He had two stories and definitely had plenty of room for all of us. His yard was decked out in cheesy yet awesome Halloween decorations and a few teenagers – Marcey being one of them – were wasted on the front lawn. I frowned but Lucy pulled me onward.
“Let their parents take care of it,” she said in an undertone. “If there’s one thing I learned about the parents here, nothing gets by them.”
“I hope so,” I said, looking over my shoulder while Lucy rang the bell. “What if she’s drinking because I fired her?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Marcey’s been drinking for over a month now. I caught her coming out of a bar. Before you say anything, yes I called her mother.” She shook her head. “Fool wouldn’t believe me. Anyway, it’s not your fault. Jesus! What’s taking so long for him to answer!?”
As if waiting for her to say that, the door opened and Ian stood in front of us, dressed up as-
“You rang?” he asked, adjusting his Jesus toga. He gasped dramatically and put his arms around Lucy. “You see!? We were meant to be! The Lord and the devil! It’s Shakespearian!”
Lucy rolled her eyes and shoved the box of candy in his stomach. He made a small “oof” sound and looked upset until he saw the contents. His eyes lit up and he turned.
“Yo! More candy!”
He ran into his house and I smiled, shaking my head. Ian was only 28 years old but he was an amazing business man.
A red Solo cup was pushed into my hand from someone but I put it down for a water bottle. Most of the party was just people milling about while Halloween and modern music blasted through his stereo system. I noticed bobbing for apples but he had dyed the water red, making it more difficult. I giggled as someone stuck their face in, came up apple-less, and cringed at their now red face.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
I turned and tried not to laugh. I couldn’t stop myself and doubled over.
“Oh shut up,” Zackary said, spitting out the cheesy vampire fangs. “Jennifer demanded I wear them and take a picture with you.”
I composed myself but I was still smirking. “Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her. Get your phone out and put those fangs back in, Dracula.”
He wrinkled his nose but did as he asked. We did a couple serious and then funny pictures before he pocketed it.
“Is Jennifer your sister?” I asked, passing him a drink of cider and he tossed the fangs in the nearest trash can.
“Indeed she is,” he said, smiling. “I walked by your store earlier. It looked awesome.”
“We had fun,” I nodded. “Did you hand out candy?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I’m not a huge fan of Halloween,” he added when I stared at him.
“Why not?”
“A lot of crime happens on Halloween,” he said simply and I got the hint.
I looked around, trying to find something to distract him. Finally, I saw people were actually dancing.
“Come on,” I said and grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the living room which Ian had cleared up for dancers. “Dance with me.”
“Okay,” he said and immediately grabbed my hips.
I laughed, taken by surprise. We kept a good distance between our bodies for a while but, as the music turned more sensual since the hour was growing late, I moved closer to him. Drunk adults were dancing, too, and I felt like I was in a club with carpets and a fancy fan.
He kept his hands on my hips but our bodies were touching now. Even though he was taller than me, he had his temple pressed against mine. His breath was hot on my neck and I shut my eyes, enjoying the way it felt. The more we danced, the more into it I was getting and I lifted my arms, wrapping them around his neck behind me.
He kissed my neck a few times and I opened my eyes half way, turning my face to his. They were smoldering and immediately he was kissing me. Shivers ran up and down my spine as we danced without breaking from the kiss. I stopped and turned so I was facing him completely and he deepened the kiss, holding my body against his.
I ran my hands into his hair and he broke away to kiss my neck some more, our hips swaying with the music again. I shut my eyes. I had never felt this way before. He kissed back up to my lips.
“I’m turning into a pumpkin,” he breathed and I opened my eyes again.
“What time is it?” I whispered.
“After midnight.”
I groaned. “Shit. I open early tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “Can I walk you home?”
I bit my lip and looked into his eyes.
“Yes.”
Despite Marcey’s pathetic attempt at destroying what I worked for, I had everything set up. Lucy brought in the fog machine and creepy CDs and I closed the shop down at 5:30 so we could change into our costumes. I had forbidden the sexy costumes. We were handing children candy, not condoms.
My costume was a witch. It was quite attractive, considering. The dress was black and grey and tattered a little. I had a black and blue wig that reached below my shoulder blades. To finish it off was a pair of fish net leggings and heels. Unfortunately, I suck at putting on leggings.
I was hopping in my room until I fell back into my closet and fell painfully on my strong box. I grunted and stood back up. I looked at the box and sighed. I had been avoiding the book but my curiosity was getting the better of me. It was only 6 and we wouldn’t start handing out candy until 6:30 so I put in the code for the strong box.
The book looked as it always had. I took it to my bed and opened it. There were words and I bit my lower lip, hoping it was good news.
Halloween: Zackary’s least favorite holiday. But he had purchased candy regardless. It brought joy to the little kids and that’s what mattered. While he waited by his door, gliding through posts on his phone, he thought to Ophelia and the book. He was putting off the minute he had to tell her about it. He had grown to care about her, even more so after the kiss they shared. He didn’t want to leave. He heard the sound of little kids and sighed, hitching a smile on his face and straightening the cheesy vampire costume his sister had bought him several years ago.
“Who hates Halloween?” I said out loud and closed the book.
I put it back in the strongbox and finished my makeup. I stepped back to admire the affect before grabbing my purse. I glared at my window was I walked to the door. The repairman had come out almost immediately but I hadn’t stood in front of it since then. On Monday is when Zackary would tell me his thoughts about where to go so I didn’t touch anything, either. The police hadn’t done much investigating since it was the middle of the night and they didn’t think they’d find anything. That was annoying but it’s not like I could force them to stay at my house and look.
The streets were bustling with little kids and I snuck up on an angel. I knew it was a little girl from my neighborhood.
“Boo!” I said, jumping in front of her.
She screamed in laughter. “Miss Ramsey!” she cried. “You scared me!”
I laughed. “Just for that, you can have my very first piece of candy.”
Her eyes lit up and she followed me, holding onto my hand. A group of kids followed behind us and I grinned. This was my favorite part of Halloween: the kids. They were always so eager for everything we had.
Lucy had just opened the door when we arrived. She was dressed as a devil and the kids all screamed happily when she made a spooky pose. I laughed and passed around a piece of candy to each of the kids. I waved goodbye and put my purse down.
“Lookin’ hot, boss,” Lucy said and I snorted. “Hey, we were invited to a Halloween party after we close up.”
“Really? By whom?”
“Ian Hart,” she answered. “The guy that runs the bakery,” she added when I still looked confused.
“Oh! Sweet. Sounds like fun.”
She smirked. “You should invite your new lawyer.”
I blushed and cleared my throat. “I don’t think he’d want to come. He doesn’t like Halloween.”
She scoffed. “Who says he’s coming for the Halloween party?”
“Shut up,” I blushed but got my phone out anyway and pulled up my messaging app.
Local bakery is having a Halloween party tonight. Do you want to come?
I bit my lower lip, passing out candy to a group of kids, and waited anxiously. Finally, my phone buzzed.
Already planned on it. He sent me an invite last week. Hope to see you there. ;)
“That’s embarrassing,” I groaned, showing her.
She giggled. “Ah, you’re fine. Now come on. Let’s scare the pants off of the older kids,” she smirked, passing me a mask.
-
At 8:45, we finished with the late stragglers. Lucy gathered up half of the remaining candy into a small box and we walked to Ian’s house, joking.
“That little devil was adorable,” she said. “I’m so glad you got a picture.”
I laughed. “Her mother made sure I sent it to her, too.”
She laughed, too. “Parents are ridiculous about pictures; especially when the kid is a baby.”
“It was strange, though,” I mused as we walked up the sidewalk in his neighborhood. “I mean, a baby dressed up as a devil?”
She scoffed. “It’s kick ass is what it is.”
Ian’s house was rather large. He had two stories and definitely had plenty of room for all of us. His yard was decked out in cheesy yet awesome Halloween decorations and a few teenagers – Marcey being one of them – were wasted on the front lawn. I frowned but Lucy pulled me onward.
“Let their parents take care of it,” she said in an undertone. “If there’s one thing I learned about the parents here, nothing gets by them.”
“I hope so,” I said, looking over my shoulder while Lucy rang the bell. “What if she’s drinking because I fired her?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Marcey’s been drinking for over a month now. I caught her coming out of a bar. Before you say anything, yes I called her mother.” She shook her head. “Fool wouldn’t believe me. Anyway, it’s not your fault. Jesus! What’s taking so long for him to answer!?”
As if waiting for her to say that, the door opened and Ian stood in front of us, dressed up as-
“You rang?” he asked, adjusting his Jesus toga. He gasped dramatically and put his arms around Lucy. “You see!? We were meant to be! The Lord and the devil! It’s Shakespearian!”
Lucy rolled her eyes and shoved the box of candy in his stomach. He made a small “oof” sound and looked upset until he saw the contents. His eyes lit up and he turned.
“Yo! More candy!”
He ran into his house and I smiled, shaking my head. Ian was only 28 years old but he was an amazing business man.
A red Solo cup was pushed into my hand from someone but I put it down for a water bottle. Most of the party was just people milling about while Halloween and modern music blasted through his stereo system. I noticed bobbing for apples but he had dyed the water red, making it more difficult. I giggled as someone stuck their face in, came up apple-less, and cringed at their now red face.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
I turned and tried not to laugh. I couldn’t stop myself and doubled over.
“Oh shut up,” Zackary said, spitting out the cheesy vampire fangs. “Jennifer demanded I wear them and take a picture with you.”
I composed myself but I was still smirking. “Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her. Get your phone out and put those fangs back in, Dracula.”
He wrinkled his nose but did as he asked. We did a couple serious and then funny pictures before he pocketed it.
“Is Jennifer your sister?” I asked, passing him a drink of cider and he tossed the fangs in the nearest trash can.
“Indeed she is,” he said, smiling. “I walked by your store earlier. It looked awesome.”
“We had fun,” I nodded. “Did you hand out candy?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I’m not a huge fan of Halloween,” he added when I stared at him.
“Why not?”
“A lot of crime happens on Halloween,” he said simply and I got the hint.
I looked around, trying to find something to distract him. Finally, I saw people were actually dancing.
“Come on,” I said and grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the living room which Ian had cleared up for dancers. “Dance with me.”
“Okay,” he said and immediately grabbed my hips.
I laughed, taken by surprise. We kept a good distance between our bodies for a while but, as the music turned more sensual since the hour was growing late, I moved closer to him. Drunk adults were dancing, too, and I felt like I was in a club with carpets and a fancy fan.
He kept his hands on my hips but our bodies were touching now. Even though he was taller than me, he had his temple pressed against mine. His breath was hot on my neck and I shut my eyes, enjoying the way it felt. The more we danced, the more into it I was getting and I lifted my arms, wrapping them around his neck behind me.
He kissed my neck a few times and I opened my eyes half way, turning my face to his. They were smoldering and immediately he was kissing me. Shivers ran up and down my spine as we danced without breaking from the kiss. I stopped and turned so I was facing him completely and he deepened the kiss, holding my body against his.
I ran my hands into his hair and he broke away to kiss my neck some more, our hips swaying with the music again. I shut my eyes. I had never felt this way before. He kissed back up to my lips.
“I’m turning into a pumpkin,” he breathed and I opened my eyes again.
“What time is it?” I whispered.
“After midnight.”
I groaned. “Shit. I open early tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “Can I walk you home?”
I bit my lip and looked into his eyes.
“Yes.”