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Am I supposed to say thank you? Because that didn’t feel like a compliment. I pull my hands out of her iron grip.
“Jasmine did my makeup.”
“I barely recognized you,” she says, still staring at me. “Wow. I love your hair. The flower looks so pretty.”
“Jas did my hair, too. Cute costume,” I tell her, gesturing to the bunny getup. “It suits you.”
“Thanks!” She lets out a little sigh. “I don’t know if it’s having the desired effect on the man I want it to, though.”
“Is he here?”
“Yes. He’s around here somewhere.” Mandi lowers her voice. “I don’t know why he’s playing so hard to get, especially since we kissed for hours the other night.”
I take a huge swig of beer and gulp it down. “Right.”
After I got home from my dinner with Eli at the Chaseton Café, Mandi immediately filled me in on her kissing marathon with him.
She’d spared no details, going on and on about how he’d kissed her, the things he’d whispered to her, and the way he’d touched her. When she’d finally finished, my grilled cheese had turned into a lump of lead in the pit of my stomach.
“I told you, Mandi, he’s not a one-woman kind of guy. You need to understand that. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
“I have no plans on getting hurt,” she says confidently. “I only have plans to win his heart.”
Oh, lord. This girl is literally her own life coach and positivity guru rolled into one.
Though I have to admit, I envy her confidence.
“Well, good luck. I’m going to go get some fresh air,” I tell her, noticing that the balcony is empty. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay. I’m going to findMr. You Know Who.”
Once outside, I take a gulp of the fresh, cold night air, then let out a sigh. This shindig is going to end up like every other college party I’ve been to so far—me hanging out on the sidelines, watching everyone else have a good time.
I guess it’s a better alternative than being forced into small talk with strangers. Still, I wish Jas and Beckett were here.
“Nice boots,” comes a deep male voice from behind me. I recognize it at once and turn around.
Eli stands in front of me, dressed in a black outfit with glowing bones all over it—a skeleton. When he sees me, his mouth drops open as he rakes his gaze down my body, then back up to my face.
“Holy fucking shit,” he whispers, staring at me. “It’s you.”
I cock a brow. “Um, hi to you, too?”
“Holland?”
“Yep, last I checked.” I take a sip of my beer and peer at him over the rim of the cup. “Skeleton, huh? A solid, if safe, choice.”
“I didn’t recognize you,” he says, still staring at me with wide eyes. “The makeup, and the costume...”
“Uh-huh. Well, that’s kind of the point of Halloween, isn’t it? Costumes and all that.”
“Right,” he says, then swallows. “Yeah, sure.”
Well, look at that. I do believe the cat’s got his tongue. His reaction secretly thrills me, but there’s no way I’m letting him know that. I brush a lock of hair away from my face, and his gaze strays to my mouth.
“I’ve never seen you with makeup on before.”
I shrug. “First time for everything, right?”
