Page 2 of In The Dark
“I’m so proud of you, Sky. And I’m so sorry I haven’t been to any of your shows this Halloween season.” Guilt presses heavy on my chest, and I sigh again. “If I can handle tonight, I’ll come back for round two.”
“Really?” She wraps me in a tight hug. Some of the glitter she’s wearing gets on my arm, but I don’t mind. “You’re the best friend ever.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I might break your hand when we walk through the house. The second someone pops out from behind a wall, I’m going to lose my mind. Will I get arrested if I punch them in the face?”
“And banned from the park.”
“So, I’d be escorted out? That might be worth it. I could handle a night in jail if it means not having to deal with mummies and zombies.”
“Come on.” She drags me out of my room and toward the kitchen. “Let’s take a shot. That will help you relax.”
“Like I’m going to turn that down.” I lean my elbows on the counter and blush. “I might’ve browsed some Fright Nights pictures so I could know what I’m working with, and it got me wondering.”
“Oh? About what?”
“You have to tell me the truth. What do the guys in masks look like underneath their costumes? Do you see them backstage?”
“A lot of them are pretty cute.” Skyler grins and pulls a handle of vodka down from our liquor cabinet, pouring us two shots. We knock the glasses together, throw them back, and I grimace at the burn. “Wait. Is that what you’re into?”
“I guess? Maybe? But it’s not only scary masks. It’s motorcycle helmets. Goalie masks. Bandanas pulled up over someone’s mouth. I think it’s the unknown that I like. It’s a mystery who you’re talking to, and there’s something so hot about that.”
“That whole ‘if I find you, I get to have you’ game with someone you don’t know would be so fun.”
“Yeah. It would be.” My cheeks heat. I grab the vodka and pour myself another drink, grateful I’m not driving tonight. “Confession time: I’ve always wanted to try something like that, but I’ve never asked for it. I’ve never knownhowto ask for it.Brian was… he was so boring in bed. I faked almost all of my orgasms with him.”
“Of course he was boring. His name isBrian,” Skyler says, mentioning the ex I broke up with two months ago after he cheated on me. We dissolve into a fit of giggles. “He probably liked to leave the lights on when you had sex, didn’t he?”
“I plead the fifth.” I smile and toss back the second drink. It goes down smoother this time, and I dab the corner of my mouth with a paper towel. “Since we broke up, I’ve been reading a ton of romance books. I’m exploring things I might like in the bedroom so I can share those desires with the next guy that comes along, and I’m learning a lot about myself. Like, there’s something so sexy about surrendering your power to a partner you trust. They’d be rough with you and play out your fantasies, but after, they’d take care of you. A devil and an angel, you know?”
“Oh mygod.My little Maxine isn’t so innocent, is she?”
“Hush.” I swat at her arm, smiling again. “I have no clue how I’d meet someone like that. Is there an app?”
“What about after a PTA meeting at school?”
“Please. I doubt Tommy Dallworth’s dad would be interested in something other than the stock market. When is the right time to tell someone your bedroom preferences? After the third date? The fifth? A year down the road when you say, ‘hey, honey? Could you tie me up and gag me while you fuck me? And after, could you chase me? Don’t forget to start the dishwasher.’ Is that something I should put in my Tinder bio?Learning my kinks. I’m also attracted to men who don’t show their face?”
“You’re not going anywhere near Tinder. Those finance bros talk a big talk, but none of them deliver. It’s like they read the books that are popular right now so they can pretend to know what they’re doing. They don’t. Trust me.” Skyler huffs, a frustrating story behind the exhale. “They say they’ll give youwhat you want, but when you ask them to smack your ass, suddenly they don’t want to do it anymore.”
“Weren’t you seeing some guy pretty regularly?” I pour another round of shots for us and slide the glass her way. “It was a friends with benefits arrangement, right?”
“He went and got a girlfriend.”
“Damn him for being someone who likes commitment. Monogamy is making you sexually frustrated, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea.” She downs the drink and fans her face. “No more. I need to have a clear head for the show. I’m working with that asshole, Dominic, tonight. With our history, he’ll trip me in front of thousands of people and make it look like an accident.”
“Sounds like a love story waiting to happen.”
“More like a homicide. If I can get through the next month leading up to Halloween without murdering him, I’ll be proud of myself.”
“Let’s try to keep the violence to a minimum.” I put the cap on the handle of vodka and take a deep breath. “I’m ready. Take me to hell, Skyler Buchanan.”
TWO
HUNTER
“I’m getting tooold for this shit.” I look down at the navy-blue jumpsuit in my hands. My knees already hurt, and the night hasn’t started yet. “I can’t hear out of my left ear.”
