Page 73 of The Challenge

Chloe lowered her voice, “You like, Evan?”

“You know I like.” I gritted my teeth.

“I do,” she said with a smirk.

This was not a coincidence. Years ago, Chloe and I once had a discussion about weird dreams. I’d confessed that I’d had a sex dream involving the school nurse when I was in high school. That woman wasn’t even all that attractive, nothing like Chloe. But Chloe had teased me about it from time to time, and it became a running joke. Apparently, she hadn’t forgotten. And I wasn’t mad at that. Chloe looked fucking hot, and I’d have hours’ worth of eye candy. Then again, it would also serve to torture me.

“You’re such a brat,” I muttered.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to, Evan.” She batted her lashes. If Effie hadn’t been around, who knows what I might’ve done. I wanted to smack her ass, bury my face in her tits, and kiss her all at once. I felt my control slipping away fast.

On the ride over to Uncle Drew’s, we debated the all-time best Halloween candy. Effie insisted it was Skittles, while I stood firm on Reese’s peanut butter cups. When Chloe chimed in, professing her love for white chocolate, both Effie and I teased her about how disgusting it was, all in good fun.

Dozens of cars lined the road leading to my uncle’s house, and we ended up having to park quite a ways down the street and walk. When we got to Uncle Drew’s door, I braced myself. Not only because I knew we’d be facing half of Dry River tonight, but because this was the first time he’d be seeing Chloe in a while. And I anticipated his reaction would be the same as any warm-blooded man’s.

It didn’t take long for Drew to notice us after we let ourselves in.

He came right up to me. “Evan! Took you long enough.” He smacked me on the arm and his mouth curved into a smile as he saw Chloe.

“Uncle Drew, you remember Chloe Cavanaugh from years back…”

He smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Chloe.” He leaned in for a hug, and I was certain he enjoyed every second of it.

“So good to see you.” Chloe peered at me from over his shoulder. “Thank you for having us.”

“Hi, Uncle Drew!” Effie squeaked.

He knelt. “Hey, baby girl. You look so pretty.”

“Thank you. I’m Elsa!”

As Chloe walked ahead of us into the house, he turned to me and mouthed, “Holy shit.”

His reaction was exactly as I’d anticipated. “Pipe down,” I warned, only half-joking. I might tackle my own uncle if he kept on with it.

Effie ran straight to the dining room table where they’d set up cupcakes, candy corn, and bowls of treats on a large buffet table. Fake cobwebs were hung everywhere, and they’d put dozens of animatronic decorations around the house: a black cat with glowing eyes whose head moved back and forth, a monster who made scary sounds. There were skeletons scattered around as if they were party guests. Chloe knew now that I hadn’t been exaggerating when I’d told her Drew and Maura went all out for Halloween.

I watched Effie cover her face in orange frosting while demolishing one of the cupcakes, and I turned to Chloe. “Normally, I police her sugar intake, but this is the one day of the year I let her go hog wild. She won’t sleep tonight. I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Well…” She sighed. “Just a warning, I plan on eating a lot of sugar, too. Anything can happen.”

“Eat up, then,” I said, my tone suggestive. The fucks I had left to give when it came to resisting Chloe seemed to be dwindling by the minute. Pretty soon my actions might be matching my words.

Chloe excused herself to find a bathroom, and after a little while I realized she’d taken longer than normal to come out—or so I thought. Then I noticed I’d actually missed her leaving the bathroom when I’d gone over to the buffet table. Now she was in a corner of the living room talking to a group of people that included that guy who’d gotten her number at The Lodge. Brandon? Brendan? Whatever the fuck his name was, it shouldn’t have surprised me that he was here. Who wasn’t here? Drew knew everyone.

With Effie now occupied playing games out front with the other kids, I was left standing here like a dumbass while another guy stole Chloe’s attention.

Drew came up behind me. “Looks like she’s pretty popular. If nurses around here actually looked like that, I’d have to sprain something.”

I didn’t take my eyes off her. “That guy in the Thor costume… You know him?”

“Yeah. That’s Brendan Simmons. He’s a physician’s assistant in town, but he also manages the local health clinic.” He nudged me with his elbow. “He’s got his sights set on your girl, huh?”

“She’s not my girl,” I murmured.

“You’re sure as hell looking at her like she is. If I hadn’t interrupted you just now, would you have moved your eyes off her?”

“Probably not. But that’s because I need to look out for her.”