“I feel like I'm on display,” I argued weakly, one last time, as I glanced down at my crotch.
“Oh stop,” Adam said, handing me my mask. “You'll be having so much fun you won't even think about it.”
“I hope so. I just wish Micah was going.”
Kane squeezed by me to take one last look at himself now that he had his mask on. “Can we go now?” he asked, never taking his eyes off his image.
“We'll be early,” I argued.
“Why don't you go by and see Steve before you go,” Adam suggested. “I know it's out of the way, but he would love to see you in your costumes.”
“It's not that much out of the way,” I said. “And it will allow us to be fashionably late.”
“I guess that's ok,” Kane said. “At least that way we can make an entrance.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I said sarcastically. “Are we going to have to pry you away from the mirror?”
“What? I'm not that bad.”
“You haven't stopped starting at yourself since you put that costume on.”
“So? I look good. And so do you, so don't start. Let's go.” He tossed over his shoulder as he started down the stairs.
I gave Adam a long-suffering look and grabbed my wallet. It didn't take long to realize that there was nowhere to stick it in this costume.
“Just leave it in the car,” Adam said. “I know you wanted Micah to go, but try to have fun without him. Just not too much fun. Don't forget you're taken.”
“As much as I've seen him this week, I might as well be single.”
“This is a critical moment in his career. It won't last forever. Things will be back to normal before you know it.”
“I can't wait.”
“Come on!” Kane called from downstairs.
“You'd better go before the boy wonder wets himself,” Adam said with a grin.
I laughed and headed out the door.
“Oh, and Killian?”
I paused.
“Keep an eye on Kane.”
* * *
Steve got a kick out of our costumes, as did the middle-aged gay couple who had checked in that day. They practically drooled over the two of us before we got out the door. It took longer than we had planned since both Steve and the couple insisted on taking pictures. I'm sure I was as red as my costume and I didn't even want to think about what those guys would be doing with our pictures.
The party was in full swing when we arrived. It was being held in the same building Haven met in, but in a larger room. We found the room by following the thumping sound of the dance music. Everett and the plump blonde girl from the first meeting were sitting at the door selling tickets. Everett was dressed up like someone from Star Wars; although I wasn't sure who, the light saber gave it away. The girl, whose name I couldn't remember, was dressed all in black with huge black wings. She looked like an overgrown crow, but I was pretty sure that wasn't what she was going for.
“Hey, Killian. Wow, you guys look great.” Everett said. “You remember, Tanya, right?”
“Of course,” I lied. I handed him the money for our tickets and Tanya stamped our hands while Everett eyed Kane.
“Is this your boyfriend?” he asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Kane choked and I bit back a giggle. “No, this is my little brother, Kane.”
“Oh, hi Kane. I'm Everett. Are you gay?”
“Nope, 100% straight, but I'm gay friendly,” Kane said with a grin.
“Damn. I knew it would be too much to hope there'd be two guys that hot in the same family who were both gay.”
“Actually, I'm the only person in my family who isn't gay, but that's another story. Right now, I just need to know if there are any hot girls here who aren't just into other girls.”
Everett laughed a huge booming laugh. “I like this kid. I don't know who's here to be honest with you. I just got here and took over for Tony. I thought he was going to have a heart attack before I got here, he wanted to dance so bad.”
“He was dancing out here,” Tanya said. “There are several girls here who are straight and quite a few who are bi.”
“Thanks,” Kane said, flashing her his most dazzling smile.
“It's wasted on her, buddy,” Everett said. “She's one of those who's only into girls.”
Tanya elbowed him in the side and he laughed again.
“Well, we'll be going in then,” I said.
“Wait, let me get a picture,” Tanya said, grabbing a camera and hopping up in a flurry of feathers. “Who are you supposed to be?”
“They're Rage and Zephyr from QAF,” someone said from behind me. I spun around to find Noah giving me an admiring look. My mouth dropped open when I saw the costume he was wearing, or maybe I should say not wearing. All he had on was a leopard print loincloth, and a white shell necklace with a matching anklet on one ankle.
“You like my costume?” he asked.
“Tarzan?” I somehow managed to say in a normal voice.
“Yup.”
“Picture,” Tanya reminded me. I posed with Kane while she snapped a couple photos. By the time she was done, Noah had paid and been stamped and he followed us into the room, which was surprisingly full.
They had gotten a DJ and the music was pumped up. The lights were low and a disco ball threw tiny spotlights all over the room.
“Hey guys,” Val said as she bounced up in a cheerleader uniform. I had to laugh when I saw the letters FU across her chest. “Nice costumes,” she enthused. Then she noticed Kane. “And who is this?”
“This is...” I started but Kane quickly interrupted.
“I'm Kane, Killian's brother. And you are?”
“I'm Valora, you can call me Val.”
“Hello, Val.”
“Kane is straight,” I said rather unnecessarily.
“Well, I hate to disappoint anyone, but I'm not,” Val said with a laugh, “but I can introduce you to some girls who are.”
“That would be great,” Kane jumped on her offer like a starving dog on a bone. He turned to me with a pleading look. “Is that ok?”
“Sure, go have fun. Just be careful, and you'd better not drink anything or Adam will kill me.”
“There's no alcohol here,” Val said. “At least officially. Come on, Kane. I'll introduce you to everyone.”
The two of them went off into the crowd, leaving me alone with Noah.
“You really look great,” he said after a moment.
“You look pretty good yourself,” I said. I was trying hard not to stare at his body. It was a lot more defined than I had expected, complete with pecs and a lightly defined six-pack.
“Where's your boyfriend?”
“He couldn't come tonight. He was too busy with work.”
“That sucks. I have to meet this guy. I'm beginning to wonder if he really exists.”
I glanced over to see if he was serious or joking, but it was impossible to read his expression.
“Oh, he's real,” I said lightly. An awkward silence fell between us. I spotted the drink table. “I'm going to go get a drink, you want anything?”
“Um, yeah, thanks,” he said as if I had interrupted his thoughts. “A Dr. Pepper if they have it.”
I crossed over to the table and grabbed two cans of Dr. Pepper out of the ice. I popped them both open, poured them into clear plastic glasses, and carried them back to Noah.
“Thanks,” he said as he took one of the glasses from my hand. A chill went up my spine as his finger brushed mine. “It was nice of you to bring your little brother. I hope he doesn't get hit on too bad.
“You think he will?” I asked.
“Probably. He's a cutie, and the guys will be all over a fresh piece of meat like that.”
“Kane can take care of himself.”
“How about you?”
“What about me?”
“Can you take care of yourself?”
“I like to think so,” I said nervously,
I wasn't sure what he was getting at. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, you have to know you look really hot in that costume. Every guy here is staring at you.”
“They might be staring at you, you know,” I said in an attempt to shift the attention off of me. “After all, you're the one who's half-naked.”
“It was you they were watching as you walked across the floor.”
I looked around and noticed several guys looking over in our direction. It was impossible to tell who they were looking at, although a couple waved when they saw me look their way. I hoped the dim lighting would hide the blush I felt creeping up my cheeks.
“It was nice of you to notice that I'm half-naked, though,” he said with a grin. “I was beginning to think I was invisible.”
“Oh, I noticed, I'm just trying to behave.”
“Behaving is never any fun,” he said, shifting a little closer to me. I could feel the body heat from his bare skin.
“I need another drink,” I said in a slightly breathless voice.
“You haven't drunk that one yet,” he pointed out. I looked down at the almost full cup in my hand.
“Oh,” I said brilliantly.
“Come on, let's dance,” he said, taking the drink from my hand and setting his and mine on the floor against the wall. He then grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the dance floor. Now that he'd pointed it out, I noticed more than a few sets of eyes follow us as we made our way to where a group of people had started dancing. The song playing was a sexy remake of Donna Summer's “Love to Love You Baby.” I was very uncomfortable dancing with Noah, he was practically nude and my attraction for him was stronger than ever, but it wasn't too long before the music took over and I loosened up. Before I knew it I had almost forgotten who I was even dancing with, I just moved into my own little zone.
“You dance really well,” Noah said into my ear, startling me out of the slightly hypnotized state into which I had slipped.
“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled as I realized how intertwined I had become with Noah's body. I tried to pull away unobtrusively, but he pulled my body close again. I gave up. It's just one dance, I told myself.
That one dance turned into two, which turned into three, and before I knew it, it was an hour later and I was still dancing with Noah.
“I need a drink,” I told him. “Water, preferably.”
“I'll get it,” he said. “Wait over there by the door.” He pointed in the direction of a metal door on the far wall.
As I made my way towards the door, a few guys asked me to dance and one of them, smelling strongly of alcohol, groped me a little. I pushed him roughly away and finally made it to the door. I was only there a second before Kane was at my side.
“Hey, are you having fun?” I asked.
“Yeah, actually I am. And from the looks of things, so are you?”
“What? I'm just dancing,” I said defensively.
Kane cocked an eyebrow at me.
“Oh, put your eyebrow back where it belongs,” I snapped. “I'm just dancing. What was I supposed to do, stand against the wall all night?”
“No, but you could dance with a few other guys. You've been with the same one all night. He's hot for you.”
“He's just a friend.”
“Killian, he's hot for you. I saw the way he was looking at you. He wants you bad.”
“Have you met anyone?” I asked, choosing to ignore his observations.
He tried to look stern, but couldn't resist grinning. “Actually, yeah. She's really cool. She's my age and everything. Her name is Lila, she's Val's cousin and she's just as hot as Val.”
“And she's straight?”
“Not exactly. She's bi, but she's with me so that's all that matters.”
I laughed. “Well, where is she?”
He turned around and scanned the dancers. A tall slender girl with long dark hair standing on the edge of the crowd fluttered her fingers at Kane and he waved her over. She was dressed like an Indian maiden, maybe even Disney's version of Pocahontas. A short buckskin dress revealed long, tan legs. Her shell necklace was the twin to the one Noah was wearing. It seemed to be a popular accessory this evening.
“Lila, this is my brother Killian,” Kane introduced us.
“Good looks run in your family,” she said flirtatiously.
“The same could be said for your family,” I returned the compliment.
She looked a bit confused for a second, but then her face cleared. “You mean, Val? Yeah, she's gorgeous. If she wasn't my cousin…” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and I laughed again.
Kane has his hands full with this one, I thought. Speaking of Kane, he was grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary, but I had a feeling he was the one about to get eaten.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Noah approaching with the water I'd asked for. Kane followed my gaze and frowned.
“Be careful,” he said under his breath. “Don't forget how much you love Micah.” Then he turned back to Lila and offered his arm. “Shall we dance?” he asked gallantly.
“Why thank you, yes,” she replied with a little curtsy, and they melted back into the dance floor.
“Your little brother met someone?” Noah asked as he handed me my bottle of water.
“Yeah, she's Val's cousin. He seems to like her, but she looks like a handful.”
“If that was Val's cousin she is a handful from what I hear.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. It might not even be the same cousin. Is it hot in here or is it just you?”
I groaned. “That was awful. You can do better than that.”
He grinned. “Actually, I'm serious. I'm really hot. I could use some fresh air. Come outside with me?”
A little fresh air would be nice. “Sure.”
He pushed open the door and we slipped out into the cool night air. A few other couples had the same idea, several of which were busy making out in the shadows.
“The moon is almost full,” Noah said.
I glanced up at the bright yellow orb, hanging low in the sky. “A full moon for Halloween? The goblins and ghouls will love that.”
“It's beautiful though, don't you think?”
“Yeah, it is.”
He moved a little closer to me and I shifted away as nonchalantly as I could.
“You really look great tonight, Killian.”
“So you've mentioned a few times,” I said teasingly. “You look great too, although you have to be freezing now.”
“It is a little chilly.” He shifted closer again and I moved away. He nearly had me against the wall now, another foot and I wouldn't have anywhere to move to. “You could keep me warm,” he said when I failed to pick up on his hints.
“Or we could go back inside,” I said. I liked Noah, and there was no denying my attraction, but things were quickly getting out of hand.
“I'm not ready to go back inside just yet.” He turned to look at me and the moonlight reflected off his face making him almost seem to glow. His eyes locked onto mine and his full, red lips parted. He really has amazing lips, I found myself thinking, I wonder what it would be like to kiss them…
He moved in a little closer and my back hit the wall. He lifted his hand and softly stroked my cheek. “I've wanted to do this since the first time I saw you,” he whispered and quickly leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.
Chapter 24
For one shocked, confused moment, I actually returned the kiss. It was as if instinct took over and my lips responded of their own accord. Then my brain caught up and I reacted. I twisted my face away, planted my hands firmly against his chest, and shoved with all my strength. Noah stumbled back, tripped on an uneven paving stone, and sprawled backwards onto the ground, where he lay looking up at me with an expression of disbelief.
“Noah, I have a boyfriend,” I said softly. I reached out a hand to help him up. He stared at my hand for a minute, then purposefully ignored i
t as he stood up without my assistance.
“You know,” he said in a low, tense voice as he brushed off his bottom, “I'll admit I'm not blameless here, but let's get one thing very clear; neither are you. You've been sending out mixed signals to me since the day we met. You were staring at me that day in the bookstore, you flirt with me, you've been dancing with me all night, you come out here alone with me, and I know damn well you kissed me back just now.”
The Truth of Yesterday Page 35