Page 144 of Falling for You
‘That’s our cue!’ she giggles. ‘Let’s go!’
She hurtles towards the dance floor and I scurry after her. This is our favourite Halloween song. I mean, yes, you have ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Monster Mash’, but really, everyone knows that this is the best one.
We start to dance, and as the chorus beats around the room, other people sashay around us. Penny’s blonde hair swings around her as she shakes her head, singing along loudly. One by one, people throw their arms in the air and shake their hips, chanting along to the chorus. Penny takes my hand and spins me in a circle and I laugh, the warm champagne bubbles popping in the pit of my stomach.
‘It’s working!’ Tanya cries, bouncing up next to us. ‘Penny, this was a great idea, you genius.’
Penny flicks her hair and gives Tanya a wink as she joins us.
‘Come on,’ Penny nudges me. ‘You need to do your wings!’
I glance around, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.
‘Yes!’ Tanya cries, spotting my expression. ‘You need to do it, they’re incredible, Annie!’
‘Is it not a bit much, for here?’ I say, looking at the girlnext to me who is dressed as a dog (I mean, come on. What’s scary aboutthat?).
‘No, it’s perfect,’ Tanya says defiantly. ‘Go on, Annie. Do it!’
‘Hang on,’ Penny says, pulling out her phone. ‘Let me film it! Okay, I’m ready.’
My fingers coil around the string on the inside of my cape.
‘Ready?’ Tanya grins at me. ‘Three, two, one … go!’
‘ARGH!’
Oh no.
CHAPTER TEN
Nate
I need to start by saying, yet again, that I never wanted to go to this party. Halloween is for children and college students, not adults. I mean, God. Stevie wanted us to go in matching fancy dress! We’re not newborn twins. We’re fully grown adults and yes, okay, Stevie loves fancy dress, but I’m much more comfortable wearing jeans and a jumper. Halloween for me is just an ordinary Saturday night.
Stupidly, I thought I’d won the battle as Stevie flitted out of the door. I was getting ready to slump in front of the TV and make myself comfortable for the evening, and then Stevie came home with two black masks and a bottle of vodka, and told me that a taxi was arriving to pick us up in thirty minutes.
And now I’m here, on the dance floor, wearing a suit and a static, slippery mask. Stevie is opposite me, bopping from side to side and flicking his head around to try and catch eyes with one of the (many) attractive people milling around. I don’t fit in here – I’m far too gangly and not nearly chiselled enough. But I’ve got a champagne glass in my hand and I quite like this song, so I can’t complain.
Or, that was until I got impaled by a wing, right through my suit jacket.
‘Oh my God … I’m so … I’m so sorry!’
The girl attached to the wing tries to move, but this just forces the wing to ping round and pop open my shirt buttons. I yelp and try to spring backwards, but she’s fully attached to me, and now we’re facing each other. The tightness of her costume means that her body is almost pressed up against my – now exposed – chest and I instinctively hold my breath.
‘Argh!’ she squeals.
‘It’s fine,’ I gasp. ‘I’m sure we can untangle it …’
I look round for Stevie, but he’s caught the eye of a man dressed as a cat and disappeared through the crowd. I may as well be dead to him.
‘Annie, just stay still,’ another girl is saying, not even trying to hide her laughter. ‘The more you move, the worse it’ll get.’
‘Yes, please don’t move,’ I say gruffly, imagining what part of my clothing she will tear off next. I take the wing and try to bend it out of my jacket, but it’s rammed so tightly within the buttonhole that it’s stuck.
I move it as carefully as I can, desperate not to break it. ‘Okay,’ I say, ‘I just need to …’
‘Yeah, if you just …’ the girl says, taking hold of the wing with me. ‘I think we need to loop it like …’
