Learning Curve

Thursday, October 31st

Scottie

Julia and I cross the street on a half jog, and I adjust the tight corset of my vampire costume. I also try like hell to smooth the leather shorts over my butt so my ass cheeks aren’t hanging out, but my bread basket is two buns too full.

I had planned to wear something a little less risqué, but when Julia showed up at my dorm to get ready and saw my boring costume of jeans, a black tank, and cat ears, she pulled an extra costume out of her duffel and told me to put it on.

Refusal wasn’t an option. Julia can be bossy as hell when she wants to be. Her hips and ass are also a size smaller than mine, which is probably why I look so much like I’m on a Kardashian vacation right now.

Music pounds from inside the Alpha Pi house, the Fang Bang, as the genius frat bros have been calling it, in full swing. Black streamers and toilet paper litter the trees out front, and scary ghouls and goblins wander the dystopian sidewalk. People smoke and laugh and stumble over one another coming in and out of the house, but just outside the entrance doors of the big brownstone on Frat Row, a couple is arguing.

People coming out of the party laugh at them as they fall down the steps on their left, and for my part, I’m just glad I’m not part of the scene this time.

“I saw the texts, Davis! I saw the fucking texts!” the girl in a sexy Little Red Riding Hood costume screams into the face of the guy with a Solo cup in his hand and a face that’s reddened from the effects of whatever’s inside. “You cheated on me! With my sister!”

His eyes are a little lazy as he tries to focus on what she’s shouting. Which, honestly, adds a bit of comedy to the clown makeup that’s painted on his face. A giant smile in the shade of blood red doesn’t budge when he says, “Babe. Calm down.”

“Do not babe me, you motherfucker!” Sexy Little Red cries, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You fucked my sister, you piece of shit!”

She sprints away from him, and he tries with all his might to follow, but the big orange clown shoes on his feet make him waddle instead of run.

Julia and I exchange wide, unfamiliar eyes. She’s wearing cat-style contacts to go with her Catwoman costume, and I’ve got irises the color of blood a la a hungry Cullen.

Her mom went the full mile on these costumes, evidently going so far as to consult a Broadway costume designer before dropping them off at Julia’s room this morning along with a basket of assorted muffins, pastries, and fresh fruit.

When some of the other girls in Delaney saw it, they all commented on how nice it must be to be that rich. All I could think was how nice it must be to have a mom who cares so much.

“You think it’s less dramatic inside? Or more?”

“Girl, I’m hoping the whole night is like this. It’s very vintage Jerry Springer with a haunted twist.” She laughs and wraps her arm around my shoulders as we scale the stairs once occupied by Red Riding Hood and her clown. “Let’s go see if Kayla’s here yet.”

A guy in a ninja outfit pulls open the door as I’m pushing it, standing back to hold it open for Julia and me when he sees us. His eyes linger on all our exposed skin, and I find myself dancing in a side step to point the cheeks of my ass in the other direction.

Julia notices and laughs. “You look fucking hot, Scottie. Own it.” I shake my head, and she laughs again. “Well, then I hate to break it to you, but all you did by turning was show your ass to Finn Hayes instead of ninja boy.”

“What?” My head whips around in shock. Finn is standing near the staircase, chatting with Ace and Blake, his face the most relaxed I’ve seen it, maybe ever, not looking sick at all. When he wasn’t in English this morning, I assumed he was under the weather and had all but abandoned the idea that he would be here tonight. In fact, I was kind of counting on it since the journal entry I stole is still in my room, tucked away in the drawer where I keep my extra notebook paper, and I haven’t had a chance to fess up to it yet. Seeing him here but knowing this isn’t even remotely the right place to do it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I don’t want to lie to him.

Finn laughs and rolls his eyes at something Ace says, and I don’t miss his obvious lack of costume. His dark hair fans over his eyes in the most delectable James Dean kind of way, and he’s dressed in boots, jeans, and a black shirt that perfectly conforms to his muscles, as usual. In a sea of wizards and ghosts and ridiculous Harry Potters, he’s an attractive apple, ripe for the picking. Every girl in his vicinity watches him closely, waiting for an opportunity to catch his attention.

Me included.

“I thought you guys were never going to show up!” Kayla exclaims as she barrels into us in her cute purple fairy costume. She pulls both Julia and me into a giggling hug. “A girl from my chem class just found her boyfriend is cheating on her, and holy hell! It was total drama for a minute there.”

“Yeah, we saw her on our way in,” Julia comments through a smile. “Screaming at the Bozo—no pun intended.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s trying to chase her down 120th Street without falling over his clown shoes.”

“Not gonna lie, I kind of hope he eats pavement,” Kayla says, but then she leans forward and drops her voice to a whisper only Julia and I can hear. “By the way, Nadine and Dane are here. They’re both shit-faced, and I almost threw up in my mouth a little from the PDA.”

Both of them meet my eyes carefully, and I shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

“Scottie, if that bitch tries to start any shit with you, I’ll pull her fucking hair out,” Kayla states. “Promise.”

Kayla knows all too well the crap that Nadine Jones tosses my way on a daily basis at cheerleading practice. From tripping me on my way to get a drink of water to messing with my counts to try to get me to fuck up, she stops at nothing to make my life as uncomfortable as possible. The only saving grace is that her wrist is still sporting a cast from her drunken debacle at the Delta Omega house at the start of the year, and most days, she’s working with our physical therapist or sitting on the sidelines. In English, she keeps herself in check, but I think it’s because she’s afraid of setting Finn off.

“Nadine is still giving you a hard time?” Julia asks, suspicious. I know she’s thinking about the text message shit, but I really don’t think it can be her or Dane.

“It’s not a big deal. Really.”

Kayla’s narrowing eyes say otherwise.

“It’s fine,” I reassure both of them. “I’m so over Dane’s rainbow, I’m with the leprechaun at the end. He and Nadine can ride off into the drunken sunset together—the sooner, the better.”

Julia nods and Kayla grins.

Arms wrap around me from behind and sway me side to side, and I know who it is immediately. His smell is unmistakable and unlike the rest of the male Dickson population who cover themselves in cologne. Clean soap and deodorant and a little bit of male musk is all Finn Hayes needs.

“Vampire?” he questions, a barely there smile curling the corners of his perfect mouth on the shell of my ear. I shiver at the feel of his lips—lips I’ve kissed before—on my skin.

I shrug my shoulders into his chest. “Julia let me borrow it.”

“So, she’s the one I should blame for all these fuckers staring at you?”

I snort. “People aren’t staring.” I turn to look over my shoulder just as Finn shrugs.

His smile is mischievous and heartbreaking. “I was.”

Finn Hayes is smiling and flirting and outright telling me I’m hot? I swear, in the two months we’ve been in school together, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this unrestrained.

“Lia!” Ace’s voice booms as he and Blake join our group on their way out of the kitchen. “What the hell are you wearing?”

It’s an ironic question, given his snake charmer costume. There’s a cobra sticking out of the front of his pants—literally.

She scrunches up her nose and glances down at her costume before saying, “Uh…a Catwoman costume?”

“I can see that. But why do you have to be so…”

“So…?”

“Hot?” Kayla offers through a laugh.

“Sexy?” I add, making Finn chuckle into my hair.

Ace frowns, stepping toward her so his snake pokes her in the breasts. “I’m not leaving your side tonight.”

“What?” Julia questions on a laugh. “I don’t need a protector.”

He narrows his eyes. Julia narrows her eyes right back at him.

Finn settles his hands on my hips, and my vagina tingles so hard I feel it in my throat.

Holy cow, what is happening tonight?

“I’m going to get a drink,” I announce, even though I’m not thirsty at all. But a little distance from Finn feels like a good plan.

To my surprise, he says, “I’ll go with you,” and grabs my hand.

My head says shit, but the flutter in my chest says something else entirely. This…this is the Finn I’ve been dreaming about since the moment he wiped the tear off my face in the rain.

As he guides us deeper into the party with one hand in mine and the other at the top of my very small vampire shorts, I feel like I’m in seventh grade again, mooning over Tony Gorassi as he held my hand.

When we get to the kitchen, the frat brothers, dressed like western robbers—or bandoleros, as they so helpfully keep yelling at random moments—point us in the direction of drinks. Finn lets go of me to rummage through the coolers on the island counter, and I have to wrap my arms around myself to ebb the feeling of emptiness. “Do you want a drink, drink? Or, like, a soda drink?”

“Soda. Definitely soda.”

There’s so much booze in this house, covering every surface, that I’m surprised he can even find a soda, but after rummaging for what feels like forever, he manages to hand me a Mountain Dew.

“Do the Dew?” he teases, and I’m overwhelmed by the sight of his face with an easy smile. It’s even more handsome than I could have imagined.

“Thanks.” The cold metal tab is sharp on my fingertip as I crack it open, and startled, I pull my finger away to the sight of blood. Finn grabs my hand and puts my finger in his mouth, sucking gently until the flow stops. My saliva is almost too thick to swallow as I stare into his sensuous brown eyes. Every fiber of my being is a raging fire.

“I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to suck your blood,” is all I can think to say.

“There’s still time,” is Finn’s absolutely unhinged answer. Holy moly, my head is swimming.

When I set the can down on the counter, he steps closer to me again and gently places his hands on my corset-covered hips. “Want to dance?”

“Dance?” I nearly laugh. If I’m dreaming right now, I swear someone had better wake me up before I make a WAP-inspired mess of my bed.

“What? You don’t think I can dance?”

“Honestly?” I counter. “No. I didn’t think you were the type to dance.”

“What type do you have me pegged as?” His fingertips dig into the bare skin on my hips.

“I don’t know.” I push my teeth into my bottom lip. “The type that wears a leather jacket and rides around on a motorcycle?”

“I don’t own a leather jacket or a motorcycle.”

“Oh.” My inhale is unmistakably shaky as he rubs the waistband of my shorts with his thumbs.

“Come on, Scottie,” he says and takes my hand again to guide me back toward the big living room where a DJ is currently playing a remix of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

The section of the room that’s been marked off as the official dance floor for the night is covered with bodies. Couples dancing close. Girls in sexy costumes giggling and shaking their hips and singing the lyrics to one another. And Finn leads us straight to the center of it all.

Which is crazy. I mean, Finn Hayes isn’t exactly a social butterfly. He’s a lone wolf who prefers solitary situations, not a golden retriever like Ace Kelly, who wants to be everyone’s friend.

Chest to chest, he guides us into an easy rhythm with the best part of the song.

Sabrina talks about having a guy wrapped around her finger, and I channel all the power of her words into allowing myself to feel sexy. We move and sway together, and Finn’s thigh cradles itself between my legs. It’s erotic and intimate, and I can hear the sound of my heart deep inside my ears.

Finn can dance.

He spins me around with ease, leading me in movement until my back is flush against his chest. His hands find a home at the front of my waist, and I can feel his warm breath brush against my neck. My eyes fall closed of their own accord, and I relax into his embrace, savoring the feel of what it’s like to be wrapped up in Finn’s arms. I’ve dreamed of this kind of situation more times than I’d like to admit, and now that it’s happening, my mind races with far too many questions.

Is he enjoying this as much as I am? Is he thinking about being with me as much as I’m thinking about being with him? Is he going to ask me to come back to his dorm again? What’ll happen if he doesn’t leave this time?

And maybe the biggest question of all…

Why is he so different tonight?

A new song pounds from the DJ’s speakers, but my mind is too much of a mess to make out what it is as Finn spins me back around to face him.

I’ve never had the authority to study his eyes this closely, and now that I am, I can see the tiniest of golden flecks that make up a rim around the outside edge of his irises. I think, seeing it now, it’s what makes them feel like magic.

I’m a live wire in the web of his sexy hair and stunning eyes and perfect lips, and I’m powerless to fight against it.

“Finn,” I whisper as he slides one of his hands into my hair. My heart thrums and my adrenaline sings as he presses his lips to mine.

The kiss doesn’t start off slow and hesitant like before. No. This kiss is deep and intense from the start. His tongue slides against mine while our bodies continue moving to the beat of the music, and my whole body melts into the kind of kiss I’ve never felt before.

It’s consuming, but if I let myself think about it, I’m afraid I might realize it’s only that way because I am. Consumed.

Body and soul and mind, I’m so deep in Finn Hayes, I don’t know if I’ll ever dig my way out.

I think…despite all the reasons I shouldn’t be…I’m in love with him.