My phone buzzes again.
Natalie
Yoga class tonight. Should be home by 8 if you want to come over for dinner.
My heart does a stupid little jump. She’s inviting me over casually, like it’s normal. Maybe I am making progress.
Jake
I’ll be there. Any cravings?
Natalie
Something with carbs. Lots of carbs.
Jake
Got it. See you at 8.
I look up to find Wyatt watching me with a knowing smirk.
“That her?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re smiling like an idiot.”
“Yeah.”
He laughs, unlocking his car. “Text me later. Let me know how it goes.”
seventeen
. . .
Natalie
I adjustthe pointed black hat on my head for the third time, checking my reflection in the rearview mirror. The classic witch costume felt like a safe choice when I ordered it two weeks ago. Now, sitting in the Wonderland Studios backlot parking lot, I’m second-guessing everything.
The hat is crooked, my dress is too tight across my chest thanks to pregnancy boobs, and I’m about to walk into a party full of Hollywood’s finest while stone-cold sober and pregnant. This should be fun.
Maybe it will be. I haven’t been to a real party in months, and getting dressed up for Halloween and going out to a party sounds like exactly the kind of distraction I need.
My phone buzzes.
Stella
Where are you??? We’re already inside and it’s AMAZING.
Natalie
Parking. Be there in a sec.
I grab my purse and climb out of the car, smoothing down the black dress. At least it’s flowy enough that my tiny bump isn’t obvious.
The night is warm, typical for LA, and I can hear music thumping from somewhere deep in the backlot. The entrance is marked by an archway of orange and purple lights, fake cobwebs stretched between vintage lampposts. A security guard checks my name off a list and waves me through, and suddenly I’m in the middle of a Halloween wonderland.
String lights crisscross overhead. Fog machines pump out a low mist that swirls around everyone’s feet. There are food trucks lined up along one side, a DJ booth set up near what looks like an old Western saloon facade, and everywhere I look, people in elaborate costumes are laughing, drinking, dancing.
