Page 109 of Sinful Desires

“What are we doing first?” I inquired, hoping they weren’t big on dancing because that’s the last thing I wanted to do.

“I’m actually meeting someone,” Gia answered, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

The sky was still dark, but the rain had stopped. We weren’t the only ones making our way toward the building; everyone seemed to be out right now. I would have been content with just staying in and watching movies, but Raven wasn’t having it.

Making our way inside, the heater blasted us, making a shiver tumble through me. The girls had been smart enough to grab sweaters, but not me. I only had my leather jacket and a hoodie or two that I wouldn’t be caught dead in.

I didn’t care what anyone said, I was doing laundry tonight. Procrastinating was one of my many talents apparently.

“This way,” Raven said, taking a right around the corner and leading us toward a set of double doors.

Music was already flooding out into the walkway right before we opened the doors, the sound of hip-hop echoing around the building. People were already dancing. Some were socializing, some were snacking, and some were getting drinks across the room.

“Could you at least pretend to look excited?” Gia smirked, her amused gaze settling over me.

“Yeah,” Raven agreed. “Maybe you should have dressed up as a zombie.”

I snorted a laugh and rolled my eyes. Even the small display of emotion had my body feeling even more drained. For a school function, this looked a bit…much. As we ventured further inside, the people were easier to see. There were girls grinding on guys, some people making out, drinking games.

“I see my date,” Gia beamed before sashaying across the room to some dude in a bandit costume. His face was hidden by a maroon blindfold, but he seemed familiar enough. If his blonde hair was any indication.

Every table had a black tablecloth draped over it with a spooky centerpiece—each one being different. On one table, it was a skeleton hand. On another, it was a bloody heart. The lights were dimmed, giving the room that ‘Halloween’ feeling.

It was obvious they took the holiday seriously. This party had to have cost thousands. It still felt weird that adults were condoning this though.

Turning to Raven, her gaze was assessing as she looked over the several people dancing. “You’re not leaving me too, are you?” I agreed to come after a lot of persuasion, but I didn’t agree to be a party of one. If that was the case, I’d just go back to my room or go do some laundry.

“Not yet. After the dances end, I’ll be meeting up with Hunter.”

Unease coiled around my gut and my throat tightened just remembering what he did to me yesterday. I didn’t want her anywhere near him. There was obviously something going on in that pretty little head of his—something dark. I couldn’t exactly tell her any of this though. If I told her what happened, she’d be more adamant on confronting him and it could end badly. She was already hellbent on speaking to him for whatever reason. I needed to keep my mouth shut for now.

“I need a drink,” I said.

Raven nodded in agreement, and I followed her to the tables near the back wall where they had the beverage station. The line wasn’t too long, so we hopped in the back and waited.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the front, and when we did, my breath caught in my throat as my gaze clashed with Monroe’s. It had only been a few days since I’d seen him, and I almost never got nervous, but right now, my stomach was flipping, and my breathing was shallowing.

To his credit, his gaze didn’t even drop down to my ‘very exposed’ chest. That could only mean one of two things. Either he didn’t want anyone to suspect that we just had hot, steamy sex…or, he was having regrets and just wanted to treat it like a one-night-stand. The latter made the most sense to me, which was fine. It wasn’t like I expected him to leave his wife or fall in love with me or anything like that. We didn’t even really know each other.

“Punch for both of us,” Raven chirped before looking around the room again—probably for Hunter.

Monroe dropped his gaze to the punch bowl and fixed us each a drink, refusing to meet my eye again. Figures. I took both drinks and handed one to my friend in which she accepted graciously. Taking a sip, annoyance flashed across her face.

“What?” I laughed, examining her.

“There’s no alcohol in this.”

I rolled my eyes. “No shit. That’s kind of the point of a chaperone.” She shot me a glare and took another drink, before tearing her attention away.

“There’s Hunter,” she said, inclining her head toward somewhere behind me.

Turning, my heart rate accelerated as my eyes landed on him—or them I should say. Across the room were four guys sitting at a table, all wearing masks. None of them wore shirts, and it was easy to make out Myles since he was covered in tattoos. Every time I saw him, his arms were covered—the only tattoo visible was the one on his neck. My gaze darted to Collin next. His skin was the most tanned and he had the body of an athlete. A blonde stood at his side, a girl I didn’t recognize. Her skirt was shorter than mine, making her ass cheeks visible any time she turned or leaned in to talk to him. A witch’s hat rested on her head and her hair was in high pigtails.

Collin’s mask was white with blood splattered around the eye sockets and mouth. The mouth was stitched up and a crescent moon adorned the forehead, bringing the whole piece together. A shudder rolled through me as I examined Myles’ mask more closely. It was fucking creepy with white, bubbly eyes, concealing his blue ones underneath. The mouth of it was stretched wide, revealing a row of yellow, rotting teeth. Hunter’s mask looked like a helmet which seemed to fit his bad boy aesthetic. That left Foster for last—who was wearing a Michael Meyers’ mask which was oddly fitting. Not only was he strong and silent like Michael, but in the Rob Zombie movies, Michael was always killing people while they were fucking or naked. Maybe Michael had a thing against sex too.

“They look like idiots,” I murmured, turning back around to face Raven. The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I wasn’t going to admit that I was attracted to them. They didn’t deserve that much attention.

Raven rolled her eyes. ‘I know they’re dickwads, but even you aren’t immune to them.”

---