Behind the Masks

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

“What are you dressing up as?” my brother, Warren, asked as we discussed this year’s Halloween party. Our parents had gone on a cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary, so we were going to the biggest party of the year without having to deal with them asking us a million questions.

Dad never liked the outfits I chose.

“Slutty nurse?” one of his best friends, Alec, said with a teasing grin as he sprawled out on the couch to stretch. His gray eyes were full of taunting, knowing he was going to get under my brother’s skin.

Warren smacked the back of his head with a scowl as he dropped down beside him, forcing him to sit up.

“There’s nothing slutty about my sister. She’s sweet and untouched like an angel.”

“I saw the sex-tape. Not an angel,” Alec snorted, eyeing me. “Do you even have a gag reflex?”

A guy I’d been seeing last year leaked a video after we’d had a fun night together, and it was safe to say he hadn’t been back since Warren and his friends paid him a visit.

“Dude!” Warren spat, my mouth curving into a grin.

“No, but I wouldn’t risk putting your dick near my mouth. I mean, anyone can choke on small objects,” I answered without hesitation.

“Bitch,” he muttered, only making me grin more as I moved behind the couch, ruffling his dark brown hair. It was longer on top, the sides shaved to give him a punk vibe.

“Pin dick. Do you keep a magnifying glass in the bathroom so you can find it to pee?”

“Can you two not fight today?” Warren sighed, checking his phone. “We need to go meet the guys. Rose, are you meeting Maisie? Need a ride?”

Maisie was my best friend, and we’d been planning our outfits for this party all week. She was going as a sexy devil, and I was going as a hot librarian. Like, a really hot one.

My brother was going to kill me when he saw it.

It was my senior year of college, I was a twenty-two-year-old woman, so I wasn’t going to let him tell me what to wear. Warren and his friends were all two years older than me and always tried boss me around, but they acted like fucking children.

I had no idea how they graduated two years ago.

I was kind of grateful that they’d gone to a different college than me, giving me time away from them. They spent most of their time here growing up, and they always came back on weekends to visit since their college was only a two hour drive away.

At least once college started, they hung out at Alec or Kaye’s house more.

“Can you drop me at her house?” I asked, and Alec rolled his eyes.

“Sure. You’re in the back though. Girls in the front seat of my car are usually choking on my cock.”

“Like I said, pin dick,” I taunted, shrieking as he leaped off the couch and chased me. “Alec!”

Warren sighed but didn’t say anything, letting his friend chase me around the living room as I laughed.

I darted into the kitchen, managing to get the counter between us as a barrier.

“Now what?” I smirked, the amusement fading as he grabbed the counter and threw himself over it. His fingers wove through my long, wavy brunette hair and tugged me back hard into his chest as I tried to escape, his voice low.

“It’s cute that you thought you could outrun me.”

“Let me go, asshole,” I huffed, elbowing him in the stomach, but he barely reacted.

His fingers tightened for a second before releasing me, a devilish grin on his face.

“Not going to dress up as a slutty nurse for me? C’mon, be a pal.”

“Hot librarian,” I corrected, making him snicker as he stepped back.

“He’s going to kill you.”

“He needs to mind his own business,” I said sweetly, smacking his chest. “What are you going as?”

“Not sure yet.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure yet? The party’s tonight.”

“Plenty of time,” he shrugged, grabbing a glass of water and downing it.

Warren appeared, giving me a dirty look. “Stop flirting with my friends. It’s annoying.”

“Me?” I sputtered, glaring at Alec. “This fucker—”

“Yeah, yeah. He’s an asshole. Go get ready, we leave in five,” Warren huffed, motioning to the hallway.

I flipped them off and headed to my bedroom, grabbing the things I needed and shoving them into a bag. I brushed my hair since Alec had tangled it, and I added a little mascara to make my hazel eyes pop. Warren and I shared the same eye and hair color, but he kept his hair short.

Thankfully, his facial features took after Dad while mine took after Mom.

When I carried my bags out to the guys, they acted like I’d made them wait for hours, grumbling about it as we walked out to Alec’s car.

At least he had good music, we’d always liked the same kind.

“Gotta stop and grab Kaye,” Warren said over the loud music, and Alec nodded to let him know he’d heard him.

I liked Kaye. He wasn’t an asshole like Alec, and he was always nice to me. I’d almost claim he was my friend too. The guys had been best friends since middle school, so I’d grown up in a houseful of boys.

I scrolled on my phone until we reached Kaye’s house, giving him a smile as he slipped into the back with me. His hair was blond and short, but it was long enough to run your fingers through.

It was definitely something I’d thought of doing before.

“Hey,” I greeted, earning a smile in return.

“Hey. You coming tonight?” he asked, buckling up and turning to face me.

“Definitely. Maisie wouldn’t let me stay home even if I wanted to,” I joked, rolling my eyes when Alec turned the music up more to make talking difficult.

Kaye gave me an apologetic look before turning his attention to his phone as we drove towards Maisie’s house.

My phone dinged and I glanced down at it, finding a text from Kaye.

Kaye: He’s an ass. What are you dressing up as tonight?

Rose: Hot librarian. You?

Kaye: How about a princess? I’d look good in a dress.

Rose: Purple would really bring out your pretty blue eyes.

Kaye: What does a hot librarian look like?

Rose: You’ll see soon enough. Keep Warren away from me or he’ll cause a scene.

Kaye: Noted. If anyone’s a creep, come find us.

I looked over at him to see him already watching me, and I reached over to pat his arm in thanks. He always kept an eye out for danger for me.

I’d gotten so drunk at the Christmas party last year that he’d had to carry me out to his car and take me home. I’d learned my lesson on getting wasted that night when he explained how he’d found me passed out on a bed with some sleazy asshole trying to get my shirt off.

I didn’t get drunk at these things anymore, and if I did, I made sure Kaye knew about it so he could keep me safe.

Unlike Alec, who threw me in the pool in high school to sober me up and I’d almost drowned.

Alec was eyeing us in the rearview, but I ignored him and texted Maisie to let her know we were almost at her house. She had a huge crush on my brother, so I wasn’t surprised to find her waiting in the driveway, toying with her long, dirty blonde hair when we arrived.

Her skirt was tiny and her shirt barely covered her tits, giving us a blinding smile as I opened the car door and Alec turned the music down.

“Hey, guys,” she purred, resting an arm on Warren’s open window and batting her amber eyes at him. His gaze dropped to her tits for a second and I rolled my eyes.

Men were perverts.

“Hey. How are you?” he asked, a cocky smile on his face.

I pulled my bags from the trunk while they flirted, and Kaye got out to help me, his fingers going around my wrist to stop me from walking away.

“Don’t wander off into the woods tonight. It’s hard for me to find you if you need help. There’s a lot of people going that we don’t know, so—”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised, holding up one of the bags. “My shoes tonight aren’t exactly made for walking in the woods anyway. I’ll stay in the house.”

“Good. No wandering off with strangers.”

“Yes, Dad,” I scoffed, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t be a brat.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled, making sure all my bags were out of the way of the car before saying goodbye and climbing back into the back seat.

Maisie was still flirting up a storm with Warren, Alec joining in with whatever they were laughing at, and irritation hit me.

Alec didn’t deserve to laugh with Maisie. He was a prick.

As if sensing my thoughts, Maisie turned to look at me, finding me glaring at them.

“I guess I’d better go. I’ll see you tonight,” she said as she brushed Warren’s arm with her manicured nails and stepped back from the car, giving Alec a little wave.

He flashed her a smile before putting the car in reverse, and Kaye gave me a wave as they vanished down the street.

“Sorry, babe, but your brother’s so hot,” Maisie groaned, giving me a pleading look. “Let me fuck him once.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why? I’d let you fuck my brother if I had one,” she grumbled, following me into her house so I could dump my bags.

“Spoken like someone who doesn’t have a brother,” I snorted, eyeing all my stuff as I dropped the bags on the floor. “Fuck literally anyone else.”

“Alec? He’s cute.”

“Okay, anyone else apart from those two.”

“Kaye isn’t the type. Pretty sure he’s a virgin. I bet he’d fuck so sweetly,” she giggled, knowing I’d had a crush on him forever.

“Who cares? If he’s a virgin, then he probably won’t fuck you at the Halloween party,” I pointed out, opening a bag and pulling out my outfit.

We had a few hours to get ready, so we put some music on, grabbed a beer each, and started doing our makeup.