“It really is. I bet this is how your wedding is going to be. Like so over the top amazing. I can’t even wait!”
I hoped my wedding reception didn’t look just like this. It was still a little scary. I didn’t want the main theme of my wedding to be horror.
Guests started coming in through the doors behind us. There were gasps of appreciation. And the DJ started with some light music as waiters dressed as zombified old-fashioned movie attendants flooded the floor holding trays of hors d’oeuvres. I tried to avoid the zombie waiters because they looked like they really did just rise from the dead to come eat human flesh.
“Look, there’s Felix!” Kennedy said and waved him over.
He was wearing the signature bandana of the boy from Karate Kid on his forehead. But otherwise he was just wearing a gray sweatshirt and a pair of worn jeans.
“You two went all out,” he said and gave us each a hug. “You look great, newb. And Kennedy, you look amazing.”
I looked back and forth between them. He’d said I looked great. But he said Kennedy looked amazing. Amazing! Had she caught that too? I knew that Kennedy said she liked Rob. But I was pretty sure she loved Felix.
Kennedy shrugged. “Thanks, weirdo. I’d tell you the same, but you barely even tried.” She waved her hand in front of his sweatshirt.
“Hey, the karate kid wore a sweatshirt at some point in the movie,” Felix said.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
He laughed. “No, I’m not positive. You got me.” He looked up at the spider webbed ceiling. “This is insane.” He let his gaze drop back down to me. “So this is your new home, huh?”
“At least until Isabella graduates. I don’t really know what will happen after that.” It was strange that Matt and I hadn’t talked about it. We were going to be married. A fact that I was still getting used to hearing out loud. So then what? I thought about the apartment that my dad had saved for me. That seemed like a good place to go. Would Matt’s parents let him move out? Would my dad allow it?
My dad. I bit the inside of my lip. I hadn’t seen my dad all week. Just a few phone calls with him checking in. I figured dropping the news about my wedding date would be better done in person. So I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him yet. But I really needed to soon. Justin was probably already calling him for details. Shit. My dad approved of Matt as a second choice to Mason. I still got the feeling that he was hoping I’d change my mind though. And the whole mobster thing? I felt the distance between us. And not telling him that we’d picked a date wasn’t helping anything. I wished he really would walk through the doors dressed like Al Pacino in The Godfather. At least then it would confirm my suspicions and I could actually talk to him.
“Earth to Brooklyn,” Kennedy said and waved her hand in front of my face.
“What?”
Kennedy laughed. “Do you want a drink?”
“No, you two go ahead. I’m gonna wait for Matt.”
I watched Kennedy and Felix walk over to the bar. I kept my eyes trained on the door. My thoughts were all colliding in my head. And I kept getting shivers down my spine. I turned around, but no one was even looking at me. When I turned back to the door, I watched Rob, James, and Rachel walk in.
Rob was dressed like Rocky. He even had a bruise around his eye and boxing gloves. James and Rachel were dressed up as…well, I wasn’t really sure. James had on a tuxedo with a white jacket. And Rachel was in some ridiculously revealing bikini. My guess was they were going as…themselves? I really had no idea what movie their outfits could be from. I hoped I was disappearing in the fog. But Rob’s smile and the fact that he was walking over to me said differently.
“Happy Halloween, Sanders. You make a damn fine Sandy. Leather should be your new go-to.”
“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.” My eyes wandered down to his exposed six pack. I’d officially seen all the Untouchables without their shirts now. It felt like I’d just accomplished some kind of weird Empire High scavenger hunt.
He smiled.
Fuck. Why was I staring at his abs? “How long did it take to put all that eye makeup on?” I tried to hide my smile.
He laughed. “You really know how to throw punches.” He lifted up his hands that were covered with boxing gloves and then lightly tapped one beneath my chin. “One of the many reasons why I love you.”
Stop it. I looked over his shoulder, but there was no sign of Matt. “I think you should focus on finding your Adrian.”
“I’m not really looking for an Adrian right now. More like a one-night admission to my boxing ring, if you get my drift.”
Well that wasn’t good. Kennedy wanted Rocky and Adrian love. Not a gross one-night stand.
“How about it?” he asked. “Just one night of you and me before you marry my brother? It’s better to get me out of your system now.”
I laughed. “Doubly hilarious. You’re not in my system. And I’m not marrying James.”
“I don’t know…Brooklyn Hunter has a better ring to it than Brooklyn Caldwell. Ugh.” He shuddered.
“James is literally standing right over there with his girlfriend.” I looked over at them. James already had a glass of something in his hand and I cringed.
“Yeah, but Rachel Hunter sounds terrible.”
I shook my head.
“Speaking of terrible things. I need those blueprints to the Pruitts’ apartment.”
“I told you that the prank was off.”
He sighed. “But it’s going to be so fun. I mean… pudding. So much pudding.”
I laughed because I couldn’t help it. I wanted to pull the prank on Isabella. I really did. But I’d promised Matt I wouldn’t be like Isabella. And that I wouldn’t hang out with the Hunters. “I know. But I can’t do it. I’m trying to be better than her.”
“Anything you do is better than her. One because you’re beautiful. Two because you think you’re as funny as me. And three because I know I’ll eventually corrupt you. Just text me when you change your mind. Make sure the blueprints are in the text.” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “Your ass looks amazing by the way.”