Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
I shrug my shoulders, feeling despondent, the idea of going home seriously crossing my mind. All the preparation, all the secret longing, seems ridiculous. What kind of person am I to put my own desires and feelings above someone else’s in such a big way, particularly someone that I know and care for?
“Hey,” he says, putting his hand on the top of my arm. “I was only joking.”
“I know,” I whisper. It’s too noisy for him to hear my mouse-voice, but he must lip read.
“You want to go somewhere for a bit? Somewhere quieter?”
“Sure,” I say. This is exactly what I was hoping for, but now my success tastes bitter. Still, I follow him out of the main room, down a corridor that’s lined with people chatting and drinking, and into a small side room that’s like a study but with comfortable chairs.
Harrison flops down on the couch, pulls off his mask, and opens the fastenings on his robe.
“Such a relief to take this thing off,” he says, chuckling it onto the floor. His hair is mussed, and he runs his hands over it in a way that seems ridiculously sexy.
Maybe it isn’t.
Maybe I’m just a loser with a crush that would think anything about the boy I like is cute.
I go to sit down next to him just as he throws his arm along the back of the couch. Suddenly, I find myself sitting with his arm around me. “So Mandy, with the sexy costume, where are you from?”
“I’m local,” I say, almost choking on the words. From the bedroom, next door to yours would be the truthful answer, but I can’t give away my secret.
“How come I haven’t seen you around?” His eyes travel from my face and rest on the hemline of my skirt that has ridden up so high I’m an inch off flashing my panties at him.
“Maybe you have,” I whisper, knowing I’m heading into dangerous territory but seemingly unable to stop myself.
“I think I would have remembered.” Harrison pauses and looks around the room. “Are you okay now? Out there, you seemed a bit upset.”
“I’m okay.”
“Are you sure that guy didn’t hurt you?”
“I’m sure,” I reply. “He was just being handsy.”
“Well, you can’t really blame him, can you?” Harrison says, looking at me pertinently. “That costume is pretty special.”
I lick my lips, remembering the red gloss I painted on them. The mask is itchy against my skin, but there’s no way I can take it off without risking that he will recognize me.
“Are you into gothic horror?” I ask, knowing full well he isn’t. He does like Stephen King though, and other crime thriller type books he stacks on his nightstand.
“I wasn’t before tonight, but I think I might have changed my mind.”
“You don’t seem to be enjoying your costume very much.” I nod my head towards the hideous latex pile of grotesque face and pins that is lying on the wood floor.
“Do you have any idea how sweaty it gets inside a mask like that?”
“I guess I don’t.”
“Lucky you. I’ve learned a lesson tonight. Next time my stupid friend suggests we dress up for a party, I’m gonna tell him he’s on his own.”
I chuckle softly. “You don’t have to wear a big latex mask though, do you? You could paint your face. There are all these gross stick-on wounds at the costume store. There is so much you can do for Halloween that doesn’t involve a face full of rubber.”
Harrison laughs. “I’m not as artistic or imaginative as you, obviously.”
He is. I’ve seen the doodles he draws lying on his desk when I’ve gone into his room to borrow a pen. He has an eye for art too. Apart from the sexy calendar of a bimbo pop star he has on his wall, the other posters are all beautiful abstract landscapes. I can’t say any of this, though, without giving myself away, so I look around the room, trying to think of something innocuous to say that’s interesting too. When you know someone well, it’s hard to think of how you might talk to them as a stranger. My mind is blank, except for the weather. I must wait for too long, looking uncomfortable or something because he asks if I’m okay or if I want to go back to the party.
I shake my head and look at him. His gorgeous hazel eyes look soft and his lips. Oh god, I’ve dreamed about kissing those beautiful full lips. His hair is still mussed, and it makes him look younger and more innocent somehow. I know I’m running out of time, but I’m so torn.
I know this is my only chance to know what it would be like to be with Harrison. In our real lives, we are step siblings, and it would be just too big a line for him to cross.