I groan. “This corset was cuter when it wasn’t compressing all my organs.”
The corset is dark brown, and Sam had sewn orange and yellow patches on it. I wear a matching dark brown silk skirt that falls to my ankles with a high slit up one side. A floppy scarecrow hat and black knee-high boots complete the outfit.
Derek waltzes in when Sam moves on to painting orange circles on my cheeks. “Did I miss any skin?” he asks as he turns in a circle.
He’s wearing metallic silver pants and a mesh long-sleeved shirt. He had taken up the entire bathroom space to paint his face, arms, and torso silver. I see that he also added a red heart to his chest, a nice touch.
I shake my head. “You look silver to me.”
Sam grabs my chin. “I swear to God, Summer.” He finally frees me after slapping black lipstick on my lips to match the stitching he’d drawn.
Sam had finished his own makeup ages ago, and now he pulls on a fluffy lion’s mane. “I will fight these judges if we don’t win this year,” he huffs.
“You can beat them with this goddamned corset,” I moan as I stand and finally stretch out my aching spine.
“You don’t think we’ll be docked points for not having a Dorothy?” Derek asks. “Doesn’t the group feel incomplete?”
“Don’t start,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I told Summer to ask the attractive boy who jumped at the chance of being her partner in class, but she refused,” Sam sniffs.
“We’re just partners for our midterm,” I insist as we make our way toward the door. “Presentations are due before Thanksgiving break, and besides going to the library together, we really haven’t hung out.”
“You still should’ve asked.”
I bite back a snappy retort as we arrive at the car. We clamber inside cautiously due to Sam’s threats about getting any makeup on his seats.
“So if you didn’t want to ask that guy,” Derek says, craning his neck to look at where I sit in the backseat. “Is there anyone else you would’ve asked?” He raises a suggestive eyebrow at me.
Sam’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, and he smirks. I sneer at him, but Derek continues staring me down, waiting. I sigh. “No. I’m not really into dating right now.”
Derek purses his lips. “Not ‘dating’ as in serious relationships? Or casually sleeping with people.”
I shrug. “Either.”
Derek gives Sam an incredulous look. Sam puts his hands up in response. “Oh, I know,” he snorts. “Trust me when I say this conversation is a losing battle.”
I scoff. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“I just think you’d be a happier person if you got laid every once in a while,” Sam points out.
“I’m pretty sure it’s good for your health,” Derek adds.
“I’m sure you’re both getting laid enough for all three of us,” I grumble, thoroughly embarrassed. Neither of them responds, but both exchange knowing looks.
I spend the remainder of the car ride listening to the two flirt with each other and discussing what movies they might’ve picked for trivia this year.
I notice Asheris at his typical table near the pool tables, but instead of the usual friends he’s normally here with, there’s a stunning woman by his side. She’s in tight black latex, with a tail and ears. Of course, his date is a sexy cat.
Is he on a date? Is that the type of girl he normally goes for? I know it’s wrong to compare yourself to other women, but I can’t help but notice our differences. She has smooth, perfect, dark-tanned skin and beautiful black curls that fall to her shoulders. She’s clearly a bit older than me and has a body that gives off the appearance that she lives at the gym.
I shake my head and try to stop staring at her. I’ll just spiral if I think too hard about how different we are.
At least they’re not in matching costumes. Asher is in his regular clothes, black slacks, and a suit jacket with a white button-up underneath. I resist the urge to scoff. Of course, he refused to dress up.
He kisses me in an elevator, then avoids me, and then brings a girl to the bar he knows we both frequent? Maybe I have no right to be upset about it. But did he have to bring her here?
My frustration continues to rise during trivia, which flies by amid arguments between Sam and Derek, who never seem to agree on the same answer. We come in third and are awarded a twenty-five-dollar bar credit. Sam uses the credit to get all threeof us a lemon drop shot, and all the while, I can feel Asher’s gaze on me.
