“There’s no way we both chose Disney costumes.” Kamila observes the short green heels I found.
I look at the Megara costume that hugs all of her curves, marveling at how she did her hair. “I can’t believe Cameron’s going to dress up as Hercules. Is he covering up his tattoos?”
She snorts. “Of course not, but he has been putting in extra hours at the gym, and I am definitely not complaining.”
“That explains why you guys are having less sex.”
Kamila gasps. “We are not! We’re just having it at his place.”
“Calm down.” I laugh. “I thank you for sparing me from all the noise.”
She rolls her eyes. “If you’re Tinker Bell, is Jake going to be Peter Pan?”
I cringe. “Ew, no. I’m not matching with Jake. He picked Indiana Jones. Specifically, the half-shirt-open Indiana Jones.”
“It wasn’t such a crazy question to ask. Levi and Stevie are doing a couple’s costume too. I just thought you’d like to…” Kamila closes her mouth slowly, and I narrow my eyes at her. Kami was never one to have this kind of mindset.
“I don’t want you guys to feel bad that we don’t have dates tonight.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she clarifies quickly. “You know I’m not like that.”
I sure hope not. Kamila is one of the most independent women I know, even with a man by her side. However, I have a feeling that the two couples in our group are starting to feel guilty about spending more time with their partners than with their friends, given how hard they’ve been trying to include us in their plans.
“It’s fine.” I smile and adjust my dress. The sparkly green dress might be a common costume that numerous people have recommended before, but I had it custom-made to make it stand out a little more. “We should get going.”
“I’m sorry, Em.” Kami grabs my hand, and I see the sincerity in her face.
Giving her a squeeze, a flashback of last Halloween comes to the forefront of my mind. The four of us dressed up as the characters fromScooby-Doo, which is how our group chat got the name, the Scooby Gang. We all got drunk off the tequila Jake bought for everyone at King’s Wolf. Kamila was dressed as Velma and practically did a split in the middle of the dance floor, Levi helped me take care of her, and Jake was off somewhere with some girl, as usual.
Oh, the good ol’ days.
Now we’re heading to King’s Wolf again, only this year they’re doing karaoke, and I’m more than happy to get up on that stage alone, drunk, and sing to my heart’s content. I’m not technically single, but I’m not in a relationship either. It doesn’t really matter because no one in the friend group knows. Jake might suspect, but we haven’t spoken about it yet.
He has his secrets, and I have mine.
“We should get going.” Kami and I gather our things, and unlike last year, we leave with our real IDs, not needing any fakes.
King’s Wolfis packed and already smells like cheap beer when we arrive. Although, I have to give them credit where credit is due: the place is an organized kind of chaos. All the booths are full, as are the regular tables, and the standing room is also packed, but people are respecting personal space thanks to some partitions they put in.
“There they are!” Kamila points to where Stevie stands, waving, dressed as Astrid fromHow to Train Your Dragon. “She looks adorable,” Kamila says over the music.
“And so happy,” I reply, my heart warming for the girl who went through so much the last year and a half to get to where she is now.
We arrive at the booth where Levi, Cam, and Jake are sitting, but no Luna in sight.
“Where are Luna and Brad?” I ask after saying my hellos.
Jake waves his drink around. “They decided to go to a friend’s house party.”
Damn, even Luna and Brad are out doing their own thing. Jake gives me a sympathetic look, and I shrug my shoulders. It is what it is.
“You look hot, Em!” Stevie stands up from the booth and twirls me around. “The shoes are straight out of the movie.”
I look down at the heels I’d thrifted. Tinker Bell might’ve worn flats, but I don’t roll that way.
“Thanks, I had my outfit custom-made, so the skirt doesn’t ride up. It’s going to behave for the rest of the night.” Levi stands next to Stevie, giving me a quick hug, and then allowing me to sit next to Jake in the round booth.
“And here I was hoping for a peep show,” Jake says very loudly.
