He flashed a wicked grin as I squinted my eyes suspiciously. Opening the other bag first, I took out a Catwoman costume which was one-piece and made out of black nylon. It also came with a mask.
“That’s for tonight…for the trick or treaters,” he said.
“What’s the other one for?”
“For…whenever. I just thought you’d look good in it.”
I reluctantly opened the Adam and Eve bag and pulled out a white sheer piece of material with red accents. There were little patches in the shapes of crosses at the nipple area, and you could literally see right through the fabric.
My eyes widened as I read the tag. “Nurse Feel Good?”
“It reminded me of when you took care of me when I was sick.” His face was unusually flush, like he’d actually been embarrassed to give it to me.
“You want me to wear this?”
He bit his bottom lip. “Not now.”
I looked down at the tag again. “Panties not included. Something tells me that’s because I’m not supposed to wear any?”
“Look…I know I may never actually get to see you in that. Honestly, I just got really turned on in the store thinking about you in it. I had to buy it. A guy can dream, right?”
He was getting turned on thinking about me, and I was getting really turned on thinking about him getting turned on thinking about me.
I cleared my throat. “What are you going to be?”
Winking, he said, “It’s a surprise.”
We had about an hour before the trick or treaters were set to start arriving. Justin hung the orange lights along the window and put some lit carved pumpkins outside along the steps. He dimmed the main lights in the house and lit candles. It was a cross between spooky, romantic and cozy.
“Living in the city, I really missed Halloween,” he said, ripping open bags and filling the bowl with candy. “You don’t get trick or treaters at the apartment.”
I smiled inwardly, noticing he’d bought extra of my favorite candy bars from when we were kids, Almond Joy.
“I’m gonna go upstairs and get Bea dressed, get into my costume, too,” I said.
“Alright. I’ll go change after you.”
Upstairs, I slipped into the slinky black outfit which looked like it could have been spray painted onto my body. Placing the mask on, I looked at myself in the mirror. It was pretty damn sexy, actually. It was no wonder why he’d chosen it. My own knee-high black leather stiletto boots completed the look. Bea was standing in the crib looking amused at seeing her mommy in this getup.
After getting her into the furry bumblebee costume, we returned downstairs.
Justin’s eyes popped as he looked me up and down. “Wow. Look at you. I definitely picked the right costume.”
“Not very scary. More sexy.”
“Well, you’re scaring me stiff.” He wriggled his brows before taking Bea from me and kissing her on the cheek. “You are officially a bumblebee now, Bumblebee.” Carrying her over to the window, he said. “Look at the lights, Bea. I put them up for you.” He’d gone off with her, his voice no longer audible as he whispered in her ear while showing her the decorations. He took her outside to look at the carved pumpkins.
I just stood back and watched them, wondering when exactly we’d become a little family. Was there an exact moment when we had crossed over? As much as I wanted to deny it as a self-protective mechanism, the past four months with Justin had felt more like a family experience than anything else in my entire life ever had. Scary or not, it had happened—both of us unable to admit it to each other. It had just evolved naturally without discussion. But while Bea was my entire life for at least the next eighteen years, was Justin only temporarily playing house? That remained to be seen.
Justin walked over and handed her to me. “I’m gonna go change. Be right back.”
The first group of trick or treaters arrived before Justin returned. Carrying Bea in one arm, I grabbed the large bowl and headed to the door to give out the candy.
As I was waving them off, I felt the warmth of his body behind me.
“I’m back.”
When I turned around, the sight of him nearly knocked the wind out of me. Justin was dressed in all black. He was supposed to be a SWAT team officer. A short sleeve black shirt displayed his muscular arms. A black vest with the words SWAT in white covered the shirt. He was wearing sleek black pants and heavy combat boots. It was one of the hottest things I’d ever seen.
“Oh my…” My body was burning up beneath my tight spandex getup.
“You like it?”
“Yeah…I love it.”
“They didn’t have a ton of costumes left in my size. It was either this or a clown. I didn’t want to scare Bea.”
“This was…yeah…a very good call.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he whispered close to my neck.