The door shoves open. We both let go, and I turn around so quickly I get whiplash.
“Oh my god! Charlie, are you okay? Where the hell did you go?!” a girl in a colorful dragon costume shrieks, crashing them into a hug. “You weren’t at the meeting spot! We thought you’d found another way out, but you weren’t outside either!”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, giving me a pointed look as he gently pushes her off him.Not a word about his freakout, got it. “I, uh, got lost?” He hooks a finger at me. “Had to call the staff over for help.”
The staff?Ouch. Not that he’s wrong.
“You got lost?”
“Yeah. It was dark and my phone died and…”
“He locked himself in one of the bedrooms by mistake. I had to swoop in and save him,” I jump in helpfully, earning myself a nod in thanks.
His friend gives me a long and somewhat calculating look. “Well, in that case, thanks. We’ll be out of your way now.”
I open my mouth to protest it’s not necessary, but she’s out of the room before the words even leave me. I stare at the dark corridor as her shoes clink against the hardwood and her voice drones on about fun and parties, feeling like the rug has been pulled from under my feet.
She barged in at the worst possible moment, interrupting what I am sure was going to be an amazing kiss even if I don’t really understand why I had such a strong urge to be close to Charlie. I just did. And then she just took him away before I’d even had the chance to ask him for his number.
Great. Just great. I meet the first guy in years who makes me feel like I’m riding a rollercoaster, and his meddling friend snatches him from my arms.
“You okay, buddy?” Lawrence rasps in his perpetually hoarse voice, slipping into the room and shucking off his zombie costume. “Just two more groups and we are off. You coming to the party with us?”
Sighing, I walk over to the window and watch another staff member lead Charlie and his two friends through the overgrown back garden. She hands them the silly certificates that they’ve successfully cleared the haunted house attraction and sends them on their way.
I guess I’m never seeing the cute dork again. It’s a shame, but that’s life for you.
“So?” Lawrence insists, leaning back in the creaky chair and crossing his big arms behind his head. “Yah or nah?”
I pull my phone out. We’ll be done by nine, which means I’ll be home by ten. There’s no way I can fall asleep, especially with the buzz of excitement that meeting Charlie invited. So I guess I’ll go.
Who knows, I might even meet someone who’ll help me forget the blue-eyed cutie I wish I hadn’t let go.
Chapter 4
Charlie
I’m still reeling aswe enter the noisy club. That guy. Ben. He was going to kiss me, wasn’t he?
A shiver rushes down my back. I drag a finger across my lips as the phantom sensation of his breath caresses my skin. God, he was so hot. He also seemed super nice… not that I’m letting myself get fooled by something that can be so easily faked. I learned my lesson.
A part of me likes to think that maybe he would’ve been different. Genuine. I can’t explain it—it’s a gut feeling. But well, I doubt we’ll see each other again, so I guess it’s time to move on and forget all about my embarrassing accident at the haunted house and the nice guy who manhandled me like I weigh nothing.
“What are you having?” Trish shouts over the music when we reach the bar.
I take in the crowd, spotting a couple of guys I wouldn’t mind rolling in bed with. I’m still annoyed as fuck because of what Andy did, and the shitty freakout I had only made it worse. So I need a distraction, something to take my mind off things.
What better way to do that than a hookup?
“Gin and coke!”
“Going straight for the hard stuff I see,” Greg comments from the left, shaking his head when I roll my eyes at him. “Same for me, babe!”
We usually start with beers and take our time, but I’m not in the mood for it today. I want to get a buzz as quickly as I can, so the excitement Ben instilled in me can go the fuck away.
Thirty minutes later, I’ve downed my drink. Trish and Greg are slacking behind on theirs, so after letting them know I’ll be on the dance floor, I head through the sweaty, swaying bodies of the Halloween crowd. Everyone is dressed up, the costumes ranging from intricate full-body getups to skimpy lingerie that barely covers people’s private parts.
The guy I am after is somewhere in the middle. He’s big and blond and dressed as a Viking. His full beard is braided just like his long hair. Yeah, he’ll do, even if I prefer clean shaven.Like Ben with his angular jaw, green eyes and dirty blond undercut.
