49. Halloween
FORTY-NINE
Halloween
STEVE
Steve checked his watch again as he stood at the bar. He knew Tara would show up any minute to a packed house at Jo’s Bar but others were all decked out in elaborate costumes that included Oscar-worthy makeup jobs.
He flashed his hand at one of the extra bartenders working tonight and ordered two bottles of beer.
Steve cut his drink short and froze the moment he caught his first glimpse of a black hat turned up on one side with long, dark red feathers, a la Three Musketeers , sticking out behind it. There was no mistaking the sexy redheaded pirate walking straight toward him.
As she walked toward him, Steve raked his eyes over her from head to toe and back up again. He took in her knee-high, black leather boots, and the skirt pulled up so high on one side that he didn’t have to imagine much of her fishnet-covered legs. A black shawl lazily draped over her otherwise bare shoulders, and her blood-red bodice was laced tightly enough to make her chest the main focal point of anyone with eyes.
He followed her every step from the door to where he stood at the bar. On her way, something across the bar caught her eye, causing her to pause. Her expression changed to one of confusion until someone bumped her in passing. She glanced back with a quick shake of her head, as if confirming something wasn’t there.
Concerned, he looked across the bar, and while he didn’t know everyone, he saw nothing unusual beyond a man dressed up as Pennywise, which gave him the creeps. He shuddered, thinking of that Steven King book, one of the few that actually freaked him out.
Steve focused his attention back to Tara. He smiled as she drew closer. “Sexy pirate, huh?” Steve wrapped an arm around her waist and greeted her with a kiss.
“No other pirate I’d rather be.”
Tara grinned and took the bottle of beer out of Steve’s hands for a swig. “Did you even notice my sword?” She may have worn a shawl to ward off the cold, but the pièce de résistance was the belt with a sword hanging on her left side.
“It’s uh… not your sword I’m thinking of,” Steve said while still taking in her costume again. He cleared his throat. “But I’d be happy to disarm you.” His smile turned cocky, clearly enjoying himself while Tara backed up and looked him up and down.
She returned his smile. “Sexy biker, huh?”
“Yeah, but I don’t need a costume for that. I know you already think I’m sexy.”
Tara answered him with a mischievous glance, but leaned up and whispered. “Yes. I do.”
She snatched her shawl off her shoulders, revealing no shortage of cleavage, drawing Steve’s eyes down though not nearly as far as his jaw, which instantly hit the ground as he let out a sudden exhale.
“Would now be an appropriate time to claim a pirate’s treasure?”
With a suggestive smile, Tara passed her beer bottle back to Steve and tied her shawl around her waist to hang down at a diagonal angle opposite her sword. She took it back to take another quick sip, but hesitated before it touched her lips.
Steve glanced across the bar for a few moments again before returning his gaze back to Tara with concern. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. Just thought I saw someone I knew.”
She leaned in and kissed him again until a cloaked figure bumped into them.
Steve did not care for the interruption.
Kiro laughed from under the cloak and oversized black hood he was wearing. “Damn, Steve. Did you just growl?” He leaned his scythe against the bar and wrapped an arm around Celeste, dressed up as the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira.
Tara and Celeste greeted each other with hugs, immediately raving about each other’s costumes, while Kiro scanned Steve’s costume with obvious disdain.
He tipped his head toward Tara and Celeste, then back to Steve with a suspicious brow. “Really pushed yourself for something different tonight, huh? This…” he motioned with his hands in front of Steve’s costume, “Uh… I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that today’s costume came out of your weekend casual collection.”
“You’re an ass,” Steve countered.
“You go right on thinking that.” Kiro leaned in and greeted Tara with a quick peck on the cheek. “Come on. We have a table over here.”
Tara and Steve joined Tim, dressed as a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player, and his currently on-again girlfriend, Vanessa, who was dressed in a cheerleader outfit that left nothing to the imagination.
Tim greeted them and made sure everyone had room.
Steve nodded to Derek at the end of the table. “No date tonight, Mitchell?”
“Nah,” Derek grinned. “Have to take a night off now and then. Leave them all wanting for more.”
Like the wave in a football stadium, everyone around the table rolled their eyes.
When they took their seats, Steve wrapped his arm around her exposed shoulders and pressed a kiss against her temple. “You look beautiful tonight, Sugar.”