As I got ready for bed I caught myself several times picking up my new phone to call him. Since I got home, I’d spent the rest of the night messing around with all the options and adding a gazillion apps to my iPhone. It could pretty much do everything except pee for me, and I was sure there would be an app for that soon. I had customized the crap out of it, including programming Chase under Douchebag. I had quite a giggle over my ingenious.
Curled up under the covers, sleep evaded me until the moment I heard the crunching of his tires next door. Then a serene calmness overcame me, and I promptly fell to sleep.
Figures. Stupid bond. I hope he suffered miserably.
Chapter 3
It was the end of October, which in Spring Valley, Illinois meant tumbleweeds, tilling fields, and of course hayrides were a given – Hickville. For me Halloween had a slightly different impact. I just loved the idea of loads of candy corn, insane parties, and sexy costumes. In Arizona we never had to factor in the weather as part of our costume. Here, they dressed in layers or long underwear, which you can be sure I wouldn’t ever be caught dead wearing.
Bahahaha.
I loved Halloween. And it just so happened this year I lived in my own personal haunted house. No matter where I walked you could guarantee a floor board will creak, a cobweb will be hanging in a doorway (not a decoration, but the real deal), and sometimes the lights flickered for no apparent reason.
My first week back to school flew by in a whirlwind of chaos. Out of the blue, I had become a hot commodity at Hall High. Guys I had never seen before said hi to me between periods. I even received an anonymous note from a secret admirer. It felt like there was always a small crowd around me, well until Chase got there that was. I hated every second of the attention. Chase’s presence became my saving grace – the only time I was left alone. One frown from him and they all scrammed. I never thought I would be grateful for the overbearing jerkwad’s company.
But I had bigger and better things to think about…
Halloween was right around the corner and it was starting to seep into my pores. I was itching to start my costume shopping.
Shopping.
Once upon a time that word would have elicited excitement, now it made my feet hurt. I swear, I got blisters just thinking about shopping with Lexi. But there was no getting out of it. The commitment had already been made.
Every year there was a Halloween party thrown for the high school kids at a local farm. It was on a pumpkin farm – how original. This town oozed originality. I was told it was a regular hee-haw, complete with obnoxious music, a bonfire, tractor rides, and a costume contest.
And it was unsupervised.
Lexi insisted I couldn’t miss it for the world. Truthfully, she just wanted a reason to drag me shopping with her. Lucky for her, Halloween was my holiday. For one day I got to pretend like I was somebody else – anybody else. Lara Croft. Selene from Underworld. Mystique. I’d been every kickass girl I could think of. No princesses, mermaids, or faeries for this gal. I was all about woman empowerment.
This year I was turning over a new leaf – sort of. What I had in mind for my costume was different from my usual characters, but it was going to be no less than amazing. There was only one problem…Lexi and I were on opposite continents when it came to shopping for our Halloween costumes. She wanted to hit every costume shop within a two-hour radius. I, on the other hand, was looking to scope out the craft and fabric shops. When I told this to Lexi, all I got was a blank stare.
“Why would you want to go there?” she finally asked, crossing her legs in the passenger seat, her black spiked boots nixing the dash.
I kept my eyes on the road, maneuvering my little white Fusion in the next lane. “It’s like tradition. My mom and I have always made my costume. I can’t imagine not doing it. It’s part of the fun.”
She looked unconvinced. Her blue-green eyes measuring me like I was the one who wasn’t human – which was still totally debatably anyhoo. “You are like a dying breed. It’s no wonder Chase is so enthralled with you.”
I rolled my eyes. “He is not enthralled with me. He thinks I’m a nuisance.”
“A sexy nuisance. I know Chase better than anyone, and let me tell you, you have changed him. You are the first person he’s truly cared about.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Are you telling me that you are not over-the-moon crazy about him?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t admitting to anything, not even to myself.
“Do you even have ovaries?” she asked bluntly.
I rolled my eyes. “Obviously.”
“Then trust me, you’re more than interested. The girls in this town might treat him a like pariah, but they secretly dream about doing the nasty with him at night. Fact.”
Flushing to the roots of my hair, I bit down on the edge of my nail. “Whatever.”