Chapter Twenty-Three
“I don’t want to be here,” Parker says for the fiftieth time, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
My eyes roam appreciatively over his sexy bloody angel costume.
He is wearing a pair of white wings with an open white shirt. The band of his Calvin Kleins peeks out the top of his white jeans, and Deer spent a solid thirty minutes painting bloody tears under his eyes.
God, he is attractive.
“Are you going to bitch the whole time?” Aleks asks.
“Oh, let him be, babe. You know he’s a scaredy cat.” Stevie threads her fingers through Aleks’ and grins.
The two of them are dressed as Han Solo and Leia, although Stevie went for metal-bikini Leia. She looks drop-dead gorgeous, and more than a few people have stopped to stare at her. Aleks has given out his fair share of death glares tonight as a result.
Personally, I can’t stop staring at the large hickey on her neck she’s neglected to cover up.
“I am not a scaredy cat,” Parker rejects.
“And I’m not about to punch you.” Jackson hits Parker on the back, and the two begin arguing.
According to Parker, it had been a chore to get Jackson to put any costume on, let alone the one he has on now. Honestly, I didn’t even realize it was a costume. He’s wearing stone-gray sweatpants and an extremely tight navy T-shirt and is carrying a weird-looking sword. Parker explained that it’s an anime character from a popular show. Togi? Toji? I don’t know, I just nodded along.
Lee’s outfit I recognized, at least. She’s dressed as Sailor Mars and looks both cute and badass.
Deer, I thought, is just dressed as a sexy nurse. However, she got extremely offended when I said as much and made sure to correct me that she wasn’t just any nurse but Nurse Joy from Pokémon.
Sometimes working with gamers gives me a headache.
There are too many things to remember. How anyone can keep track of every video game character or anime character seems impossible to me. I just make sure I keep up to date on what the boys play and leave everything else to the rest of Mathias’ team.
I’d try to go simple with my Halloween outfit until Deer bombarded me with an Alice in Wonderland outfit she’d bought for me. Apparently, after she found out my original idea was to dress up as a cat, she decided to take matters into her own hands. I was heavily outvoted as I sat in Lee’s bathroom getting ready earlier.
“We can hear you bickering all the way from the festival entrance.”
We all stop to look at the newcomers. Deanna, Stevie’s best friend, enters the fray with her girlfriend, Maya. They’re dressed as Daphne and Velma.
I haven’t hung out with Deanna much, but I know her girlfriend pretty well. Maya works for OMEN, one of the top Gods League esports teams. She’s at a lot of the same events that I bring The System to, and her hours are even worse than mine.
“Dee!” Stevie abandons her boyfriend and flings herself at her best friend.
Everyone begins chatting as we move up the line for the haunted mansion.
The Huntington Halloween Festival opened last year and is all anyone can talk about. It is located a few hours from our apartment, just outside Palm Springs on this massive, abandoned lot that had been completely renovated. In addition to the haunted mansion, there is a man-made corn maze, a house of mirrors, a bunch of those carnival games where you toss rings or shoot fake guns, and a Ferris wheel.
The food is amazing, too. We’d already spent an hour going through all the stores and gorging ourselves until we almost burst. They have some of the best spiced caramel apples I’ve ever tried, and everyone else raved about this spiked pumpkin spice drink that came in a mini pumpkin.
It is hard to believe we are even in California; it looks like we have been transported to some remote town in the Midwest.
There is hay strewn over the dirt ground, cobwebs line barren trees, and fog machines throughout the grounds add to the ambiance. There are even employees who are dressed up as skeletons and scaring people as they walk about.
Everything is creepily perfect.
The line to get in here was nuts, but I worked my PR magic and got us passes that bypassed it.
Parker has been on edge the entire time. I’m pretty sure the only reason he came is because he didn’t want to be left out. We flew back yesterday from Chicago from Parker’s third win. He has officially secured his place in the Divizion Championship Series, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I had certainly shown him how happy I was on the flight back.
Never had I been so thankful for a bedroom on a private jet before.
An ear-piercing scream rings out from inside the haunted mansion, and Parker blanches, turning as white as his outfit. Deer’s eyes, however, brighten, and she clasps her hands together.
“This is going to be so much fun!” She hops from one foot to the other, her pink hair swinging from its elaborate style. Sometimes it is easy to forget how much she loves this kind of stuff, given her kawaii aesthetic.
“Totally! I heard they hired some special effects dude from Hollywood to help this year,” Lee chimes in.
“Yeah, he’s one of the guys who works on Devil Nun. Should be sick.” Jackson grins, a gleam in his eye. If there’s one way to get Jackson pumped up, it’s horror movies.
“Not fucking Devil Nun,” Aleks groans.
“There is something wrong with all of you.” Parker glares at them.
“I think it’s going to be cool.” I smile. “Nothing like a good jump scare.”
Parker gapes at me. “Et tu, Brute?”
I roll my eyes and nudge him with my shoulder. I am excited for the haunted mansion even though I feel bad for Parker. I’m not as into this stuff as Jackson, Deer, and Lee, but it still speaks to the crime buff in me. There is something about the adrenaline that comes with being scared.
Plus, it is fall. Which is my favorite season.
“Have I told you how much I love this outfit?” Parker’s voice is low. “Blue always looks good on you.”
“You should see what’s underneath,” I tease.
“Oh?” Molten curiosity spreads as his gaze rakes up my body.
He slings an arm over me and tugs me to his chest. Heat sparks in my belly at the feeling of his bare chest against my arm. My hands twitch to run all over him, but I refrain, not wanting to be too obvious.
I doubt there will be anyone here who would outright recognize the guys, since it is Halloween, but they are also gaining more popularity every week, and this festival is one of the hottest places to be.
Sigh.
Even when I’m not working, I’m working.
Plus, Aleks and Parker still have their bet going, and I promised him I wouldn’t do anything to sabotage it. Not that I really know what that means. Parker doesn’t seem to be doing anything different to dissuade the few curious looks I’ve been getting from Lee.
We finally make it to the front of the line, and the employee taking our tokens gives our group a once over.
“You’re welcome to go in together, but it’s more fun in pairs or smaller groups. The hallways are quite narrow at times,” she says while dropping the tokens into a glass pumpkin.
“Then we’re going first!” Lee links her arm with Deer, and the pair start running inside.
“Hell,” Jackson mutters under his breath before he jogs up the stairs behind them.
“Guess that leaves you and me, babe.” Aleks grins down at Stevie, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Stevie’s fox eyes gleam. “Perfect,” she purrs before tilting her head up into a kiss.
“Gross.” Deanna shoves past them. “We’ll see you on the other side.” She and Maya hold hands as they disappear into the haunted mansion.
Stevie and Aleks follow a few minutes later, and then it’s our turn to wait for entry.
Parker’s quiet. I can feel the nerves vibrating off his body. He even starts toying with the twin hoops in his ear as his eyes dart all over the creepy monstrosity before us. It’s like he is trying to see through the decrepit wood to the inside so he can map out an escape, and we haven’t even gone in.
“Don’t worry.” I pat his chest, my fingers tingling at the contact with his skin. “I’ll protect you.”
He scoffs, standing straight and gripping the collar of his shirt to puff it out.
“I’m not worried.”
“Sure,” I drawl.
“Next,” the employee calls out.
“Come on, Alice. Let’s enter the rabbit hole.” He tugs my hand and starts to lead us inside. “Maybe I’ll even show you my caterpillar later.”
“Oh, Parker.” I frown. “No, that’s,” laughter bubbles out of me, “that’s awful.”
He gives me a boyish smirk, but it quickly fades away as we walk into the entryway of the mansion. It’s somehow bigger and smaller than I expected. There’s the hum of music swirling around us, a solemn piano tune mixing with quiet laughter. The creepy kind, not the joyous kind. It’s also colder here, and goosebumps rise on my arms.
Parker stills, every part of him on high alert.
“Come on, let’s go this way.” I nod to the room on our right, one that looks like a dining room from the crack through the door.
Excitement burns through me. It feels like I’m part of my beloved haunted house podcast, investigating a creepy ghost story.
We’re making our way through the living room when the chandelier starts to flicker. The room is plunged in and out of darkness over and over.
It looks like there are spiders crawling on the ceiling, and a dripping noise begins playing through the speakers.
“Oh, fuck no,” Parker swears, grabbing my hand and pulling us through the next door.
We just about make it through when a nearby cabinet pops open and a bloody head rolls out. It looks pretty realistic. Parker flinches and immediately starts running us down the dark hallway.
I snicker quietly under my breath.
“This was a shit idea,” he mutters, finally slowing down.
“I think it’s fun.” I trail my hand up his arm absently, looking around and trying to make out shapes in the distance. There looks to be another set of doors just up ahead.
Parker’s hand closes around mine. “I think my idea of fun is better.”
The husk in his voice pulls my attention, and I look up at him. The blue of his eyes is so much brighter against the deep red paint dripping down his face. My breath hitches as my hand comes up to trail his sharp jaw.
Creaks and groans sound around us. There’s even a whistling of wind. It all adds to the moment, increasing the urgency.
Parker backs me against the wall in the narrow hallway, his hands clasped around my wrists as he lifts my arms above my head. My chest heaves.
Parker leans down, not once breaking eye contact. The tip of his nose dances lightly against my own, and that contact of skin makes me break out in shivers. His lips remain a breath away, but I can feel the ghost of them.
I squeeze my thighs together, something thick and warm mixing low in my abdomen. Desire surges through me as Parker closes the distance and brushes his lips against mine. I try to deepen the kiss, pushing forward, but he doesn’t let me. He just continues to tease me with the soft brushing of his lips.
My hands twitch, begging to touch him, somewhere, anywhere. But they’re trapped. I groan in frustration.
Parker smirks. I’m about to complain, but then his tongue coaxes the seams of my lips. I open myself to him, humming in pleasure as he deepens the kiss. I lift one of my legs to wrap my ankle around his calf, pulling us closer. Everything fades away, and I start to forget exactly where we are.
The freedom he instills within me is euphoric and dangerous.
That is until Parker screams into my mouth and reels back.
Shock ripples through my body, and it mixes with my growing arousal, creating a cacophony of confusion in my brain.
What looks to be some sort of zombie clown looms over Parker. Even my own heart starts to beat faster in its presence. They weren’t kidding about the special effects being out of this world. The guy looks as if someone had taken IT and thrown acid at him.
As soon as Parker makes eye contact with the clown, he screams again and starts running down the hallway.
Without me.
It takes a second before my brain catches up through the love-drunk fog and I start after him into the darkness.
“Parker,” I yell at the disappearing angel. “Parker!”
It’s useless.
My core is still tight with the memories of a few moments ago, unreleased want leaving me wired, but fear begins to crawl through my system as I attempt to follow him through the haunted mansion.
Room after room of jump scares. It’s one thing to be going through this with someone, but navigating it on my own is way worse. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun but in a seriously terrifying way. The mansion gets darker the farther I go, and it feels like it gets colder, too.
I round a corner and shriek when some creepy doll girl pops out of nowhere with an axe, true fear bleeding into me for the first time.
Shivers wrack through my body, but I push on, picking up the pace and looking over my shoulder to make sure the doll isn’t following me.
What I thought was a cool idea has turned very, very uncool.
I am going to kill Parker.
A screech rings out from nearby that sounds oddly like my boyfriend.
I pivot and head in the opposite direction. I didn’t think you could get lost in the haunted mansion; it isn’t supposed to be a maze. But the more I run, the less confident I become.
I’m halfway up a set of rickety stairs, doubting every decision I’ve ever made, when a burst of white starts barreling down the stairs.
For a second, I just pause.
The bloody angel running toward me is beautiful.
“Run!” Parker’s hand closes around my wrist, and he pulls me with him.
I let him lead us through the mansion. He alters direction whenever we come across an employee, his throat going hoarse with each screech. I think lose my sense of self along the way because I start laughing.
“This isn’t funny, Sydney,” he hisses.
More laughter spills from me.
“Fucking clowns, and dolls, and skeletons, and ghouls,” he mutters.
Parker continues to complain and curse until we come across a door with an exit sign. He practically body slams it to get out.
We spill into the cool night, the amber lights of the festival grounds a welcome brightness around us compared to the imposing darkness of the haunted mansion.
Parker releases me as he falls to his knees, bracing his hands on the ground.
“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” I laugh, crouching next to him.
His head whips up, and he rocks back onto his ankles, glaring at me.
“That was awful.”
“All of it?” I smile.
His shoulders drop, and a lazy grin spreads across his moonlit features. “Not all of it.”
He reaches forward and pushes my hair over my shoulder, the tips of his fingers grazing my neck. That warmth from earlier returns, stirring within me.
“Y’all dating?”
We freeze.
As one, Parker and I crane our necks to look up at Deanna. Her cool chocolate eyes have a calculating glint.
“Don’t be silly.” Deer sidles up next to her. “That’s just them.”
“Yeah,” Lee backs her up.
My eyes slip to Jackson hanging behind them. An unfiltered grin splits across his face. He’s more than enjoying the show.
Deer’s eyes bounce between us, and her pale brows furrow.
“Wait,” Parker cuts in. “Wwhere are Stevie and Aleks? They went in before us.”
We all pause, scanning the surrounding area.
As if we summoned them, the duo comes running out of the mansion exit. The creepy zombie clown from earlier is hot on their heels. We stare, confused, as the zombie clown stops in the frame of the exit door.
“Keep your horny hands out of our mansion!” he shouts before disappearing back inside.
My eyes narrow on the couple, zeroing in on Stevie’s smudged nude lipstick and Alek’s untucked cream top.
“Please tell me you did not have sex in the haunted mansion.”
“We didn’t have sex in the haunted mansion.” Stevie raises her hands in front of herself in defense.
“Not for a lack of trying.” Aleks grins.
She elbows him in the ribs, giving me a placid smile. I cock my head, assessing them further. It’s the faint remnants of glistening tears clinging to her bottom lashes that gives them away. They act like teenagers sometimes.
“That clown is a real cockblock.” Aleks snakes his arm around Stevie’s ribs, his fingers toying with the bottom of her bra top.
“Tell me about it,” Parker huffs, rising to his feet before holding a hand out to me. I sigh, taking it.
Standing, I brush myself off, unruffling the poofy blue dress.
“Oh my Gods, they were right.” Deer points an acrylic nail at me. “You’re fucking!”
My jaw goes slack. “What?”
“Yes,” Aleks hisses, fist bumping the air. “I win.”
“No way, the bet was whoever figured out we were dating first. Dating,” Parker counters.
“You’re dating?” Lee gapes at me.
“See, now I win.”
“Dude, that’s not how it works.” Aleks steps closer to Parker, and they come chest to chest. “I get to drive the Lambo, fair and square.”
“Not my fault you weren’t less specific about the terms.”
“Shut up, both of you.” Lee pushes them apart and holds a hand in front of each of their chests. She gives me an exaggerated pout. “Sydney?” She says it all whiney and hurt.
I give her a weak smile. “Surprise?”
“Girl.” She gives my shoulder a push before crushing me in a hug. “I hate you, but I’m so happy for you.” She whispers it so only I hear her.
“Thank you.”
She pulls back, smiling at me. “You have to tell me everything.”
“Everything?”
“Ew, no.” Her nose scrunches, and she loops her arm in mine.
“Well, I want to hear everything.” Stevie grins.
“Yeah, like is it as big as Stevie said?” Deer bounces in front us and starts walking backward with a smirk.
“You guys,” I groan, flushing.
Deer lets out a sparkly laugh, crinkling her eyes. Her expression falters for a split second, and her eyes flare slightly as she looks over my shoulder. I follow her gaze but see nothing out of the ordinary. When I look at her again, she’s nothing but smiles, pushing herself between Stevie and me before looping her arm around my free elbow.
“Come on, Syd. You can share. What is it, eight inches?”
“I’m more than happy to prove that,” Parker calls from behind us.
“No public nudity,” I shout back.
“But, babe.”
We all fall into a fit of laughter as we weave our way back into the throng of the festival crowds. The girls keep chittering around me, peppering me with questions. My heart lightens as I fill them in with details. I didn’t realize how much I had wanted to talk with them about this. I was so used to keeping a thin barrier between me and everyone else. But Parker had shattered that and shown me freedom.
I turn and look at the naughty angel behind me. He winks, mouthing the word “later.” The promise burns into my skin, sending a fire to my thighs. I look forward, pressing my lips together to hide the smile.
This boy is trouble in the best ways.