Page 13 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

He just had to get her alone to tell her how much he admired her. She didn’t deserve their ridicule.

Neither did he, for that matter.

For years, he had moved around, always invisible to those around him. Until he’d found her.

Rubbing the blood from his nose, he winced at the pain her knee had caused. She shouldn’t have hit him. His dick still ached from the pain she had caused.

She’d have to pay for that. She’d have to learn her lesson.

As he slowly backed into the shadows, he started to sing, “Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood…”

Whistling the rest of the song, he went to clean up. He had several hours before she would be done. Then she’d find out just what happened when you didn’t respect the wolf.

Chapter Five

Deana endured the long lecture from Principal Thornton about proper costumes and conduct for a teacher, and then proceeded to change into her haunted house costume. The red gash across her neck made her look like the victim of a decapitation attempt. As she stared at the angry makeup in the mirror, she thought about the gleaming knife and the man in the hood.

Closing her eyes, she silently chanted, Think of something else. Think of anything else.

Finn’s smile. Finn’s kiss. Finn’s hands on her body. Okay, so her happy thoughts were all about Finn. So she had feelings for him. They were hot, smexy feelings of lust and wanting; they had nothing to do with liking the man.

Which is why you were worried about his safety? And you’re still all warm and gooey from his comment about wanting to make you smile?

Deana stood up, arguing with herself about why there was nothing wrong with appreciating the attentions of an attractive man. Even if that man had ripped her still-beating heart from her chest and stomped on it.

You were teenagers. All teenagers are idiots.

Just as she took her position in the tiny room with the flickering lights, a group of said teenagers came in, laughing and screaming as they saw her. Suddenly, she jumped at them, and they ran, making her smile.

On and on it went, scream, jump, and run. Deana’s throat started feeling scratchy, and she grabbed a sip of water every chance she got.

It wasn’t until after she scared her thirtieth group of kids that a thought struck her.

>

Everything awful that happened tonight led me back to Finn. Could it be a sign to give him another chance?

A hand fell on her shoulder, and she jumped.

“Sorry, I’m just your relief. You can go and enjoy the festival if you want,” the next slasher victim said with a smile.

“Thanks, I think I will.” Deana gratefully headed back out to the locker room they had designated as the changing room, greedily downing the rest of her water bottle.

After she closed and locked the door, she started to take off the long white sack dress covered in corn syrup. Standing in her panties and bra, she grabbed a package of baby wipes and cleaned off the fake blood.

A noise outside the door alerted her that someone wanted in. “Just a minute.”

Having gotten most of the red goop off her neck, she squeezed back into her costume, and shoes, checking herself in the mirror one more time before opening the door.

“It’s all…”

She looked back and forth down the hall, but there was no one there.

“Yours? Hello?” She stepped out into the hall, but something caught her foot, and she flew forward, hitting the wall hard with a smack.

As she slid to the ground with a wince of pain, she twisted around to see what had tripped her up.

There was a brown burlap sack in front of the door, a white piece of paper pinned to the side. Reaching out, she ripped the paper off and read it.

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