by A. E. Murphy
Presley and I don’t speak to each other at all. Which is fine by me. It’s weird, but as the week goes on, I get used to it. According to Asher, he’s not the most talkative of guys and I wonder if that has anything to do with his home life.
Carter and I sneak around for kisses, they’re few and far in between but we manage it. It’s not like we go out of our way to kiss, it just happens sometimes. Despite the fact we decided that while we’re dancing together we shouldn’t complicate things. If we were to fall out or expect too much of each other, this entire thing could fall apart.
Still, I like to think that Carter is fast becoming a friend that I kiss sometimes. Though he hasn’t let me look at his penis, I really want to. I wonder if I’ll ever see one this big again in my lifetime.
I scream with surprise and fright when I turn away from Stanley who is looking over my shoulder like he’s seen a ghost.
“Mr. Oaks.” Carter grins, flashing white teeth between black lips, fake blood dripping out of the corners. I guess we definitely won’t be kissing tonight. He’s wearing a headless man costume. So his costume is super tall but it looks like he’s holding his head in his hand. So clever.
“That’s just weird,” Stanley grumbles as Carter approaches.
“I’m here for the fairy maiden,” he declares like a knight instead of a headless monster.
“You’re supposed to sound like you’re gargling blood,” I inform him with a scrunch of my nose.
He tries again, choking around the words, “I am here for the fairy maiden.”
“Much better.” I pat his cheek, getting blood on my shimmering hand.
I chose to be a dark fairy. Lane helped make the costume. It’s black, silver, and white with huge wings that fold inwards with the pull of a chord.
Asher did my hair in two braids with dark purple ribbon, and Alice sat and watched while I did my makeup. Asher dressed as a dead bride on her wedding night, meaning white lingerie and fake blood. Alice is Beetlejuice because it’s Alice.
They both look amazing but they both already went ahead without me, having made plans to meet other friends before joining them at a party. I was working to help Stanley lock his shop and the junkyard down so it wouldn’t get pranked. Apparently, last year kids covered all his shit with silly string. Little fucktards. Kind of funny though. I might do it myself but then I’ll probably have to help with clean up tomorrow.
“You look so hot,” Carter comments, making me twirl, and Stanley makes a snarling noise at him. “I meant beautiful, magical, charming. Not hot. Did I say hot? She definitely does not look hot, Mr. Oaks.”
“Back by ten.”
“Actually, Lane and I agreed midnight,” I say and pat his cheek, leaving a residue of fake blood and powdered glitter.
He snarls again like before, sounding more animal than human.
“You totally should have dressed as a wolf; you sound just like one.”
“Get out,” he barks playfully and shoves me towards the door as trick-or-treaters press the creepy spider bell by the door.
They all scream when they see Carter, which I find hilarious.
When I reach the end of the pathway from the house, I notice Carter isn’t beside me. When I look back, Stanley is throwing him away and Carter runs for his life.
“Your dad is insane,” he declares.
“Not my dad.”
“Whatever. He’s mental.”
“What did he say?”
“That he’d chop my dick off if I even thought about touching you.” His hand slides down my back to my rear which is hidden under black lace and tulle. “Like this basically.”
“Stop,” I hiss, then laugh as I skip ahead. So glad I wore black boots and not heels. Lane really went all out. I kind of love living here and helping Stanley in his body shop, and taking Curlyfry on long walks, and being part of something in school.
I’ll never truly feel settled because this will never be my home. I’m too old to be adopted and I’m leaving for college anyway, that’s if I get in.
“Do you mind if we swing by to pick up Presley on the way?” he asks, helping me out of my wings so I can get in his SUV.
“Why would I mind?”
He places his hand on my thigh and squeezes. “Maybe….”
His words trail off.
“What?” I prompt.
“I know I gave you the whole speech on Wednesday about keeping things real between us without the added complications… but I was thinking…”
“You were thinking?”
“That if Presley isn’t going to be a massive dick about it… that maybe we can go on a date or something.”
I turn towards him in the dark cab of the car, a blue light illuminating us from the radio. “You want to date me?”
“Absolutely. And I’ll even let you look at my penis.”
“So good of you,” I reply, giggling because I’d been just thinking about that exact thing.
“Who doesn’t love a grown-up game of show and tell?”
I smack his chest, ignoring his mischievous smile and then place my hand over his on my thigh. He keeps it there until he needs it on the wheel and the print of it leaves a burning space behind.
We pull up at Presley’s ridiculously large house after a few minutes and I watch Carter get out of the car and approach the door. I remember egging this place. That was so much fun. So much wall space to work with.
He knocks loudly and I almost laugh at how ridiculous he looks opening the door.
I laugh even more when Presley answers in a knight suit, complete with dark leggings beneath metal plates. His eyes come my way and scowl.
Damn… I thought we were almost past this.
“You coming to the party at BM?”
I initially see Presley shake his head and hear him explain, “I’ve got to look after Paisley.”
A little girl suddenly appears behind her brother and sticks her head between his thighs. “CARTER! Look what I got!” She drags her body through the gap and onto the porch and holds up a tub full of candy. “We went trick-or-treating. I got so many.”
“Now, I know you can’t eat all those yourself,” Carter tells her playfully and her little face scrunches with a scowl. “You’ve got to give me half at least.”
“I can and I will not. They are mine.” She hugs the tub to her chest and kicks Carter in the shin. I laugh when he grunts but duck when her eyes fly my way. “Who’s that?”
“That’s my friend, Scandal.”
“Scandal? That’s a weird name.”
Presley chuckles at that, it’s the first time I’ve seen him properly smile. “I tell her that all the time.” Oh he does, he just loves to get in a dig whenever anybody says it.
“Why is she in the car?”
Nobody gets to answer because Mr. Myers also appears in the doorway, forcing Presley to step out and give him space.
“You going out?” he asks Presley who shakes his head. Myers shifts on the spot, looking guiltily between his kids. “Go on. I’ll put her to bed tonight.”
“You’ll look after her? No drink?”
“Don’t fucking patronize me, son. You know I wouldn’t.”
Presley nods but he still looks unsure. I can also see that he wants to hang with his friends.
He crouches down and hugs his sister, whispering something in her ear and she nods.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Love you, son,” Myers says, ruffling Presley’s blond hair. I wonder if it’s naturally brown like his dad’s. “Have fun. Don’t be home too late.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Later, Mr. Myers,” Carter calls and both boys move to the car.
I expect Presley to fight me for the front seat but he just climbs into the back without issue and watches his father guide his baby sister back inside.
“You look dashing,” I say to him, twisting in my seat.
“Your tits look great,” he retorts, a fake smile on his face.
“You’re such a dick.”
He surprises me by laughing a little, like he did on the porch with his sister.
“Your sister is cute.”
“You don’t have any siblings, do you?”
I shake my head, again surprised but this time by the fact he asked me something about myself. “I’ve got no family at all.”
“Except your senator uncle.”
I frown but try not to because I don’t want my heavy makeup to cake. “He’s not family. He’s not anything.”
Carter puts the car in gear and turns the radio up. “Let’s do this motherfucker!”
I cheer loudly and pull a small flask from my bag. “I may or may not have stolen a little alcoholic refreshment from Stanley and Lane.”
Presley snatches it from my hand and takes a long pull before opening the window and spitting it onto the street. He chokes dramatically before pulling his head back inside and handing it back to me like it’s made of fire. “Shit… that’s vile. What the fuck is that?”
“Fuck knows. It was in a gin bottle.” I sip it myself and gag. Then I start laughing my ass off.
“What’s so funny?”
“Stanley,” I murmur and pull out my phone.
Scandal: Did you tamper with my flask?
Stanley: I thought you could use a bit of vinegar and prune juice mixed together for being a little shit and raiding my liquor like I wouldn’t notice.
Scandal: Am I grounded?
Stanley: Did you drink some?
Scandal: Sure did.
Stanley: Will you ever try to fool me again?
Scandal: Probably.
Stanley: Good luck with that. No, you’re not grounded. You will be if you come home drunk. Have fun. Not too much. Don’t be a dick.
I show the messages to Presley and he laughs too, not a full laugh, but a chest chuckle. That’s a thing. I like his laugh, it’s quite charming and knowing I’m the one who made him laugh makes me feel good.
“What a dick.”
“What?” Carter asks, glancing at me.
“Stanley saw me sneak his alcohol and swapped the contents of my flask for prune juice and vinegar.”
“That’s savage.”
“Yep.” I tip the fluid out my window and drop the flask back into my purse. “Guess we’re not getting buzzed, then.”
We make it to the party which is raging already. It is full to the brim with characters of all kinds. Jeff’s parents are making some serious dollar tonight.
“Lame and Lamer are busting their shit moves,” Presley comments as I hug an inebriated Alice and Asher.
“Where you been? You so late,” Alice slurs, looking merry and full of joy.
I wish I had her bubbly persona. She’s always so full of energy.
“Carter,” Asher says suggestively and kisses his cheek. “You’re looking terrifying tonight.”
“Eh… no,” Alice says, her face flat and she pulls Asher away from him. “You want Melvin, remember? You massive slut.”
Asher laughs and hugs Alice who returns it with one arm and crosses her eyes at me like she’s exasperated.
Carter’s hand grasps my rear again like in Stanley’s driveway.
I give him a pleading look. The last thing I need is to be wound up sexually tonight. I’ve had a raging lady boner since we got down and dirty in his barn studio a week ago.
“You look so sexy, I can’t take my eyes off you,” he whispers in my ear sending a shiver down my spine. I turn and slap him around the face with my wing.
“Let’s go show them how it’s done,” Presley declares, looking excited.
I’m surprised when he grabs my wrist and pulls me through the crowd where we greet people with a smile as we go. Or I do. Presley doesn’t.
Carter takes the hand I stretch to him and I pull him and then Alice takes his hand and I’m sure Asher takes hers. We’re like a train of people starting with Presley as the engine.
We stop at the center circle of the roller rink and Presley looks back at both Carter and me.
“Feel like showing off?” he asks and Carter declares as he pulls off his costume showing a bare chest and black pants, “FUCK YEAH!”
“Laissez les bon temps rouler,” Alice yells, raising her fist in the air.
I laugh when everybody screams at the sight of him shirtless and scream louder when Presley starts to remove his armor.
“I am not getting naked,” I inform them as they force my wings from my body. “Just so you know.”
I look them both up and down and wonder how such muscular, defined, incredibly sexy and powerful bodies could belong to boys so young. Though, looking at them now, they do not have the bodies of boys but the bodies of men.
“Let’s do that first one we did for Hammond,” Carter suggests. “Warm us up a bit.”
“This is humiliating,” I say but ready myself anyway as Lame and Lamer both edge backwards, giving us the floor.
“That bitch is tight, she’s got some sick moves,” I hear Lamer say, aka Michael.
I wink at him and place my hand on Carter’s shoulder.
The music changes and we begin. The crowd goes wild as the three of us perform our sort of rehearsed dance. We all go wrong in a couple of places but we deviate and it works so fucking well.
Carter grinds up against me and Presley yanks me away. It’s insanely good and we have the best time. By the end of the dance, the crowd is screaming and phones are out all around us, filming it.
I’m laughing with choppy breath, and when we’re done, I throw my arms around Carter’s neck and bounce with excitement.
We go on to actual dancing, just fooling around, nothing choreographed and one by one we slay it. Presley opens up in an entirely new way and dances with me like he never has.
His hands are all over my body, grabbing and moving me with him. Something I don’t find too hard to follow, he’s great at leading, much like Carter. My body is on fire and clammy from sweat. They’re both the same, losing themselves in the music, touching me like I wouldn’t normally let them if we weren’t in the moment.
But then Michael decides he wants to join in, and he steps into me, forehead to mine. I raise a brow but I join him, laughing when he spins me under his arm and dips me.
“Back off,” Carter says, shoving Michael’s chest who just grins and raises his hands.
Presley wraps his arms around my waist, under my breasts, and pulls me backwards. His lips and tongue touch my neck sending powerful euphoric waves down my spine. I moan and lean into him as Carter pinches my chin with his finger and thumb.
“You only dance with us now,” he says and pulls my lower lip down with his thumb.
I nod, hearing him loud and clear. He releases my lip and pulls me away from Presley, pressing my hips to his.
The music is heavy but slow, and before I realize what is happening, I’m being flanked by the two sexiest guys in the room. Suddenly they’re both battling for my body against theirs and I don’t know who to choose. I fit perfectly with them both.
“You have to go!” Alice cries, tugging on my arm, genuine panic in her eyes. I have never seen her look so serious and my happy buzz vanishes immediately. “Presley’s house is on fire. It’s all over Facebook.”
What the fuck?
“Presley!” I scream, and he stops showing off with Carter. Asher shows him something on her phone and his face falls. He runs through the crowd so fast I can hardly keep up.
Carter follows but overtakes me and pulls me along, unwilling to leave me behind.
The three of us dive into Carter’s SUV and he takes off, beeping his horn when people don’t move out of the way.
“She’s out of the house,” Presley whispers, gripping his knees, “she’s out of the house. She’s out of the house.”
I place my hand on his. “She is. You’ll see. She’s out.”
“That son of a bitch. I should never have left her with him.”
“You don’t know what happened yet. Do
n’t panic, okay?”
He punches the back of the seat twice. “Can you go any fucking faster, Carter?”
“I’m trying,” he beeps his horn and overtakes a slow-moving blue car in the middle of town. We follow the orange glow and the smoke rising into the night sky.
It’s almost midnight but I’m sure Stanley will forgive me when I roll in late.
“Please, please, please,” Presley begs quietly, he’s visibly trembling. “She’s only four. She’s only four. And I’m so mean to her sometimes.”
“She’ll be okay,” I promise him. “She’ll be okay.”
I ditch my wings as we finally pull onto Presley’s street. There’s a single firetruck parked haphazardly across his front yard and driveway; people are standing across the road but the house is almost entirely engulfed by flames. The noise is insane. I’ve never heard anything like it.
We pull up onto the curb, almost hitting an onlooker in their fluffy white gown and Presley climbs over me to race straight for the fireman directing the massive hose towards the house. There’s an ambulance too and Presley’s father is in the back of it, a mask over his face.
“There he is,” Myers cries.
Oh shit… he’s drunk.
“There’s the best son in the world.” He tries to sit up but the paramedics push him back onto the gurney.
“Where is she?” Presley yells, sounding hysterical.
One of the firemen whips his head round and he approaches quickly. “He said she’s with you.”
“Oh my God,” Carter breathes. “She’s still in there.”
“No… no…” Presley’s eyes fill with tears and he runs straight towards the front door.
“THE KID IS IN THERE!” the fire chief bellows. “SHE’S IN THERE!”
“NOOOO!” Presley shrieks and Carter follows but the police are too strong. They form a line to block them off, pinning Presley to the grass as two firemen rush towards the flames.
“Which room is her room?” one of them asks through his protective gear. “Where will she be?”
Carter points to the window on the second floor because Presley is too hysterical to be rational right now. “The room behind that one is her room.”