Chapter 15
Zoe
Oh. My. God.
“Uh, hi, Zoe,” Clifton says, the words coming out of his mouth like he can’t quite believe he’s saying them.
He’s wearing a cheese costume. It looks goofy. At one point, I might have found that endearing, but not now.
However, I’m savoring the look of shock on his face while trying to contain my own.
He shouldn’t be so surprised. I mean, I’m the one who mentioned this place to him—and I’m the one who suggested we dress up as a mouse and a piece of cheese.
I wasn’t serious about that, but still. They stole my idea.
It’s not nearly as bad as their previous betrayal, but it pisses me off nonetheless.
“Remember when we went out last Halloween?” Macy says to me, speaking as though nothing’s wrong. She’s determined to act like we’re still friends, like she didn’t sleep with my boyfriend. Yet the last time I saw Clifton, he was fucking her.
Traitors, the both of them.
I put on a syrupy sweet smile, despite the mess of emotions inside me. “Yes, I remember.”
“Who’s this?” she asks, gesturing to my companion.
Bennett’s wolf hat is pulled down low, and the lighting in here is rather dim. I’m pretty sure that Clifton hasn’t realized I’m with his brother. No, his shock is just over running into me.
This wasn’t the plan for our fake relationship; I wasn’t supposed to see Clifton again until Bennett took me to a family event. But that’s okay. I can adapt.
In fact, I’m practically gleeful at the prospect.
“Take off your hat, sweetie,” I say. Maybe I’m laying it on a bit thick, but this is fun. I reach for Bennett’s hand—the one that’s not removing his hat—and squeeze.
“Hi.” He doesn’t smile at Macy. “I’m Bennett.”
“It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Zoe’s—”
“He knows who you are,” I interrupt. “You’re my former friend.”
Macy is momentarily caught off guard. Then she composes herself and gestures to Clifton, wanting to continue the charade, I guess. She’s so engrossed in playing nice that she doesn’t notice his mouth has fallen open and he’s turned as white as the ghost sitting at the next table.
I really am enjoying this.
I turn my attention to Bennett. He looks like his usual serious self, except the left corner of his mouth is twitching.
“This is Clifton,” Macy says. “My boyfriend.”
Apparently, they’re together for real. They weren’t just fucking in the common areas of our apartment.
“I know Clifton.” Bennett practically growls the words. He refused to growl earlier, but he’s doing it now. It’s actually kind of hot.
“Really?” Macy is upbeat despite Bennett’s tone. “How?”
Clifton is still pale. He opens his mouth, but no words come out.
“He’s my brother,” Bennett replies.
“Wait a second,” Macy says. “He only has one brother. That means… Right, I should have figured it out from the name. It’s not too common, is it? At least, not among people our age.” She giggles nervously and looks at me. “How did you two meet?”
“Well,” I say, “when I lost my apartment—”
“You didn’t lose your apartment.” Some of the anxious good cheer in her voice has disappeared.
I wonder what her parents know about the situation. Did she pay my share of the rent for October? Has she found another roommate? I haven’t returned my keys yet.
Bennett glares at her as he lifts the cocktail skewer from his drink. He removes the lychee eyeball with his teeth, his gaze never leaving hers. To my delight, it’s enough to make her tremble.
Me? I’m trembling in a different way.
His intensity is more than a little attractive.
I focus on Macy. “I basically did,” I say. “I slept on Eddie’s couch for a couple of nights, but it wasn’t all that comfortable, and I don’t have any friends with guest rooms. But I did have Clifton’s phone, and I remembered his PIN.”
“You…what…” Clifton stammers.
“Don’t worry. All I did was look up your brother’s info.” I don’t mention my brief attempt to find a photo. “Although I’d never met Bennett, I knew you had a rich older brother who’d surely have a guest room where I could stay until I got back on my feet.”
That sounds convincing enough, doesn’t it?
Bennett and I haven’t discussed the details of what we’d tell his family, so I’m making it up as I go. But I think the simple fact that we’re here together—Bennett is actually at a Halloween party and dressed in a costume!—is pretty convincing.
“As we spent more time together…” I shoot him an adoring smile.
“So, things worked out for the best,” Macy remarks, as if to say, you can forgive me, right?
What the fuck? I want her to feel more shame. I clench my right hand under the table.
At least Clifton’s response is making up for her shamelessness. The guy can be smooth and charming, but right now, he looks like a scared little boy.
“You seriously went to my brother,” he says, “after everything I told you about him?”
That’s the first proper sentence he’s uttered.
I shake my head. “You expected me to believe you?” I raise my voice, just a little. “After you fucked my—”
“Zoe!” Macy shrieks, glancing around nervously.
Ha. Now I’ve got her.
I can’t see the expression of the ghost at the next table, but the devil beside the ghost looks on with interest as she sips her eyeball martini.
It’s too loud for anyone else in the bar to hear, and I wouldn’t want tons of people knowing my business anyway.
But Macy cares more about appearances than I do, and I’m not the one who fucked up.
Bennett puts his paw over my left hand in the middle of the table. I know he’s doing this as part of our act, but I still like the feel of it.
“What are you going to tell our parents?” Clifton asks.
“I don’t know. What am I going to tell them?” Bennett sips his drink. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” He speaks nonchalantly.
Clifton pales once more.
The devil continues to watch, as though this is one of the best live shows she’s ever seen.
Macy tugs her boyfriend’s arm. She doesn’t bother with any more pleasantries, just drags him in the direction of the door.
As soon as they’re a few paces away, I sling my arm around Bennett.
“That was amazing,” I whisper. “You were great.”
“Thanks.”
“This was totally not what I’d planned, but it went even better than I could have hoped. Clifton was speechless!”
I turn toward the crowd. I can still see Macy and Clifton departing, and my ex is looking back at us. I nuzzle the side of Bennett’s neck.
“He’s watching,” I hiss.
Then I give Bennett a kiss on the neck. Just part of our act, of course.
But once I start, I don’t want to stop. His skin is warm, and I want to burrow against him and learn every nuance of his scent. That harsh exhale? I want to make it happen again and again. I want to crack him open.
“Zoe,” he murmurs.
Fuck. I’m wet. If he says my name again, I might start humping his leg.
Revenge makes me horny, I guess.
I place a hand on his cheek and turn him to face me. His lips are parted, and there’s heat in his eyes. It’s exhilarating.
“Zoe,” he repeats, and this time, there might be a warning edge in his voice.
When I move closer, he looks away. He’s not going to let me kiss him properly.
The disappointment shouldn’t be so acute.
We’re not really dating; we’re just pretending to date. And this is a very reasonable boundary for him to have.
I take the seat across from him, and we sit in heavy silence as I collect myself.
“So,” I say brightly, “any other plans for the weekend?”
“Shopping, dim sum, the usual.”
“Do you think Clifton will come this weekend?”
“No idea, but I’ll tell my parents about you either way.”
Yes, he said he’d do it by the first week in November.
The music stops, and the small stage in the corner—where the bar occasionally has live music—lights up. A man in a space suit announces that the contest will begin shortly and asks all participants to line up to the stage’s right.
“How do they judge the competition?” Bennett asks as I down the rest of my drink.
“When I came here two years ago, there were three judges who conferred after everyone posed, but I believe the crowd’s applause was a large factor in the decision.”
He puts on his hat. “We have to pose?”
“You can just stand there if you like. Or growl.”
“I’m not growling or howling. I thought that was clear.”
“You basically growled when you said you knew Clifton.”
“That wasn’t… Well, you may have a point,” he concedes.
I feel far too pleased with myself.
“Still, I’m not growling onstage.”
True to his word, he doesn’t. When it’s our turn, I strike a pose with my elbow out and grin at the crowd, while Bennett stands there stoically.
“It would have been better if you’d shaken your tail,” I whisper as we walk away.
“We’re not going to win anyway.” He nods toward the pirate and purple kraken stepping onto the stage. The kraken’s costume is truly impressive. “No amount of howling or shaking my ass would have changed that.” His dry tone makes his words more hilarious than they should be.
“But it was fun to dress up, right?”
“It was tolerable.”
“Are you saying you love wearing a wolf hat and tail?”
He scowls, but I feel like we’ve gotten over the awkwardness of the almost-kiss.
After the kraken and pirate win, Bennett takes off his hat, tail, and paws.
He puts them in my basket. I suggest we walk through the rest of the bar, and I loop my arm through his as we ascend the stairs, not wanting to lose him in the crowd.
Though given how my gaze is always drawn to him, it probably wouldn’t be an issue.
The second floor, as I remember from my previous trips here, looks a bit like a mad scientist’s lab. We tour around before heading back down, then out into the night. I pull my jacket around me—the weather has cooled off.
It’s a short walk to the subway and a rather long subway ride to Bennett’s house.
As I remove my jacket in the front hall, I say, “Other than the picture I took of the eyeball in my drink, I don’t have any photos of tonight. We should take a selfie together. You know, as evidence of our relationship. You do it, since your arms are longer than mine.”