‘I have to. I’m the host.’
‘Then it’s a costume party. And yes. We’re in.’
Gabe perked up. ‘Awesome! See you guys then.’ He picked up his tray and his face dropped. ‘Oh … and, uh, every time I pass through here on the way back to my section for the next forty minutes.’
I laughed as he fled.
‘Think we’ll finally meet the boyfriend tonight?’ she asked.
‘I do.’ If Gabe’s boyfriendwasn’tthere, what kind of boyfriend would he be? What was even the purpose of having a boyfriend if he wasn’t going to spend time with you?
Plus, it was time for me to figure out who I was up against, and why it was so complicated.
After work, Ava and I threw together a quick couples’ costume – full disclosure, it was a recycled costume from Sophie Farnsworth’s Spring Fling-themed birthday party last summer. Ava and I had both won the Goodwill search the afternoon before the party, just as panic began to set in. As soon as we walked through the doors, there they were: two mannequins, one wearing a polyester seafoam-green three-piece tuxedo with black piping, a frilly shirt and a matching seafoam-green bow tie, and the other wearing a dark-green lamé dress with an alternating lime-and-hunter-green mermaid skirt.
We looked hideous. It was perfect. And even more perfect tonight with the new Halloween spin we put on it.
Morgan – dressed as a witch – offered to drive us so we could drink, and we got to Gabe’s around nine. We were worried about being early, but based on the number of cars in the driveway, and those lining the dark street along his property, we had nothing to worry about.
The carriage-house doors were wide open, and orange and purple lights ran from the wraparound porch to the carriage house and back. There were jack-o’-lanterns of assorted sizes along the drive, and the front porch was decorated like a house of horrors – scarecrows, skeletons, three witch dummies surrounding a bubbling cauldron, bats hanging from the ceiling. The windows on the second floor were all lit by strobe lights while ‘Riboflavin-Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Polyunsaturated Blood’ drifted from speakers hidden all over the front yard.
‘Holy shit,’ Ava said. ‘Gabe’s rich.’
‘And really into Halloween,’ Morgan said.
We stood on the drive for a bit, scanning the people in costumes and looking for Gabe or anyone else we might know.
‘Should we get a drink?’ I asked, pointing to the carriage house. Ava led the way, and I locked eyes with everyone I passed, trying to recognize Gabe.
There was a keg in the center of the empty garage with a line that led out the carriage-house doorway. To the left was a small bar with a pirate mixing drinks.Expensivedrinks. I noticed all the liquor was actual brand names, which meant they weren’t the Russian-inspired off-brand vodka served at most of the parties I’d been to. None of the bottles even had handles.
We skipped the beer line and went to the pirate.
‘These aren’t for everyone,’ the pirate said, before we even got within three feet of him. ‘VIPs only.’ He took a sip from his own Solo cup just to be a dick about it.
‘Oh, right.’ Ava hit my arm. ‘Told you we should have splurged for the VIP meet and greet.’
I hit my forehead. ‘Curse my frugality!’
‘We’re friends of Gabe’s, dude,’ Ava said, stepping forward and snatching a cup from the table. ‘He owns the house.’
He scrunched up the eye that wasn’t behind a patch. ‘Yeah,dude, I know who he is.’ He grabbed for the cup, but Ava pulled it back.
Then someone called Ava’s name from across the room. The three of us turned to see Kevin waving from the keg. He turned back to the guy he’d been talking to and excused himself to join us. He had smeared black and white paint on his face and a wavy black wig. He also wore obscenely tight leather pants and platform boots.
‘What are you supposed to be?’ Ava asked.
‘I’m Sloppy Kiss!’ He smirked and motioned to his ratty T-shirt and messy makeup.
‘That’s promising,’ Ava said, just loud enough for me and Morgan to hear. Then Kevin turned his attention back to the pirate.
‘They’re cool, Vic. Gabe works with them.’
Vic the Pirate didn’t seem impressed, but he still handed cups to me and Morgan – who refused it. ‘Ice is over there. Make your own drinks.’ With that, he left and Kevin moved around the bar to watch over the cups.
Ava and I smiled politely at Vic as he left the carriage house. Ava and Kevin started their heavy flirting, and I took Ava’s cup to the bar.
‘I’m starting to be happy that Gabe has a boyfriend,’ I told Morgan as I mixed a stronger drink than I probably needed to. ‘He doesn’t have one friend who isn’t a dick.’
