Page 40 of All Yours

“That’s not what I was there for.”

Camden laughed, almost spitting out his beer. “That’s exactly what you were there for.”

“What? No. She wanted comfort after a scary incident. Not some asshole pawing all over her.”

“Whose idea was it to get into her bed?”

“Who have you been talking to?”

“Lauren. They all got ready for tonight together. Eden couldn’t wait to talk about it.”

Great. Did Sloane tell Lauren that’s what she wanted? This is confusing.

“This is getting a bit too high school for me.”

“Oh please, this town’s one giant high school,” Camden quipped. “Aren’t you going to ask where she is?”

“I need a drink.” I walked through the sea of partygoers in costumes toward the bar. When I spotted the three women all wearing 1920s flapper dresses sitting in a line at the bar. Sloane stood out like a beacon with a bright red beaded dress with fringe at the bottom. The sleeveless dress met in a v in between her cleavage, which was pushed up tonight. Her short blonde bob pinned behind her ears. My breath stopped in my chest at the sight. I tried to not stare. Some guy dressed as a cowboy had parked in the seat to her right and was trying to keep her attention, but she donned a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Thank God. This bastard stared at her chest without even trying to hide it.

“You knew she was getting hit on,” I said to Camden.

He grinned. “Is that a problem?”

I glared at Camden and marched toward the bar, ready to punch this fucker in the face.

“We could go out to the Haunted Woods.” I caught the guy saying to Sloane.

The temptation rose to tell him he was in my seat, but Sloane spotted me before I could.

“There you are.” She reached over and grabbed my bicep, wrapping her arm around it and pulling me toward her.

“Sorry, I’m late,” I said, noting the sharp look of disappointment on the guy’s face.

“Jonah, this is Patrick,” she said.

I gave a cursory nod in his direction with a poignant “beat it” eye contact. He smirked.

“Where’s your costume?” he asked.

“I’m dressed as a hitman.”

Sloane giggled, but the dude lost his smirk. I didn’t want her to realize that I was telling this guy to get lost.

I signaled for Finn, the bartender.

“He’ll have a Zombie Cocktail, and I’ll have a Vampire Kiss,” Sloane ordered when Finn appeared.

“A Zombie Cocktail?” I asked.

“The drinks are Halloween themed tonight,” Sloane explained.

“What’s in it?”

“Rum. You’ll like it.”

“Can’t I just have a beer? Camden has a beer.”

“He’s also dressed as a mummy and you, once again, are in work clothes.” She grinned. “So, get in the Halloween spirit with me.” Judging by her glassy eyed giggle and rosy cheeks, my pretty little flapper had a decent buzz going.

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