Page 20 of Costume Party Crush
He nodded, and I turned him so that he could see his reflection.
“Damn,” he breathed. “I’m getting a knot tonight for sure.”
“As long as that’s what you want.”
He sighed. “Kinda? It’s been a while and I’m craving it.”
“Regret not taking up coffeeshop dude on his offer?”
Justin snorted. “Hell no. There’s a difference between wanting a knot, and being so desperate that I’d throw standards out the window.”
I laughed and stepped back to fully admire my work. I’d started by badly bleaching the dress so that the original color and white were streaked. Then I’d splattered paint to give it an unrefined feel. I’d finished the prep by shredding the hemline so that the floor length was more on the sides, but much higher in the front and back to show off Justin’s legs.
Then I’d got him into it and cut out panels along the middle, replacing fabric with mesh and adding criss-crossing straps bearing patches and pins.
Somebody might have described it as punk had it been in darker colors, but it was bright and loud, making ‘fashion train wreck’ the most appropriate term. We’d even finished it off with some garish eighties-style makeup.
Justin looked fantastic in it, and he was going to turn heads all night.
“I almost feel bad,” he said, turning one way then the other so that he could fully appreciate the look.
“Why?”
“Because you put all this work into my costume, and you could have made yours incredible.”
I laughed. “What are you talking about? Mine is incredible. Incredibly bad, just the way I want it.”
He snickered. “Dork.”
“You forget, my job is making others look good. Window painting is something for the business, not me… usually. You look great, so I’m happy.”
He hugged me. “Thank you.”
I laughed. “You’re welcome. I’ll be ready in a few minutes, then we can go.”
“Ok.”
Justin took another couple turns in the mirror as I pulled the striped shirt and a pair of trousers from the closet, then I kicked him to the living room so that I could get dressed.
My best friend wasn’t the only one hoping for a happy end to the night. There was a feeling in my middle, and I prayed it was right.
I was ready to meet my mate.
I finished dressing, then strode out.
Justin grinned at me. “I thought it was gonna look like crap, but you’re actually rocking that hideous shirt.”
I laughed and tied the mask on. “Well?”
“I wouldn’t immediately guess cat burglar, but we’ll probably spend half the night asking other people what they are, so it’s fine.”
“What did you decide to call yourself?” I asked.
“Fashion disaster, of course.”
I nodded. “Good call.”
“Ready?”
