AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re very young.” She angled her head to the other side and softly laughed. It was rather odd and kind of creepy.
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind.” The little boy in the Spiderman costume was there tugging at her coat and she turned her attention to him, patting him on the head. “Have you finished your chocolate, Payton?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s a good boy.”
“What an awesome name.” Katie reached into the case and handed him a sugar cookie decorated like a pumpkin. “Like Peyton Manning?”
“Thanks.” He grinned. “No, like Walter Payton.”
Bears. Of course. Duh.
“Even awesomer.”
He giggled. “That’s not a word.”
“Come on, Payton.” The woman took hold of his hand and they went to the door. After she pulled it open, she stopped to glance back at Katie. “Happy Halloween.” She licked her bottom lip with a grin. “Have fun tomorrow.”
So odd.
It was well past eleven by the time she and Kelly finished up at Beanie’s and headed upstairs to their noticeably emptier loft. “What the fuck, Kelly? Bitch took half the furniture.”
“We can get new stuff.” She shrugged. “Look, I’m really beat and I just wanna go to bed. Sweet dreams.” She leaned in for a hug. “I love you, Katie-Kate. Thanks for today.”
“I love you too. Night.”
Katie sat on her bed and blankly stared at the phone resting in her palm. The message to Brendan was still there, cursor blinking, waiting for her to press send. And she wasn’t sure if she would. She saw him walk past the shop today.
Late that afternoon, as dusk approached and shadows lengthened on the avenue, she happened to look through the storefront window just as Brendan walked by on his way to the club—she assumed that’s where he was going anyway. He didn’t stop. Or slow down. Not even a quick glance toward the window. Nothing. He just looked straight ahead, keeping a steady pace as he went.
She wondered if he walked by every day and she just hadn’t noticed before. Had he ever glanced through the window to catch a glimpse of her? Maybe. And maybe now he just didn’t give a fuck. Why should he? But then Chloe did tell her to text him back, and she didn’t think Chloe would say that if he didn’t.
Oh, fuck it.
She pressed send.
Now what? Katie didn’t want to sit there and stare at the screen, waiting to see if he’d reply, so she stuffed the phone beneath her pillow and went to take a shower. She’d make it a long one too. Deep condition her hair or something.
An hour later she left the bathroom with extra shiny hair, smooth stubble-free legs and baby-soft skin. Katie reached underneath the pillow and retrieved her phone. Nothing. She opened up their text thread. Her message was still unread. Did she really think Brendan was just sitting around at a sex club checking his phone for a text from her? Of course he wasn’t. What was he doing there? She probably didn’t want to know.
Or did she?
Just because she’d never been penetrated by a penis didn’t mean she was completely clueless. Katie had read her fair share of smutty novels, seen all the movies with red rooms and purple rooms, and a thirty-second scroll through Twitter was more than enlightening. Glory holes. Gang bangs. Dungeons and pleasure rooms.
Katie reached for the black vellum card she’d hidden between the pages of her English lit textbook. She traced the raised foil lettering with her fingertips. The idea had been brewing in the back of her mind since the odd woman put the invitation in her hand this afternoon.
‘Costumes are encouraged, though not required. Attendees must be en masque.’
She could do it.
She even had a costume.
Before she ended things with Cam, they had plans to go to a huge Halloween bash on Greek Row—the theme was historical figures. She was going to go as Marie Antionette and Cam as Louis XVI. With a few adjustments it would be perfect.
She could pull it off.
