Page 82 of Game Over

“Ladies. Just wanted to see if y'all need me to do anything for you. Jesus, that's terrifying.” Standing in the middle of the living room was Olivia, all dressed up as a perfectly horrifying zombie princess.

“Isn’t it! It turned out better than I imagined.” Olivia squealed as Allie was checking over her work. She had the most radiant smile on, pleased with what she had accomplished. The random talents this woman pulled out at times were astounding, really.

“Sissy did a great job, didn't she? I can’t wait to terrify people, and I’m already starting off strong by scaring you!” Olivia was trying and failing to stay still and was bouncing up and down. Allie shook her head and laughed, taking one last look over the outfit.

“You didn’t scare me. I was just stating the obvious.”

“Your voice went up a couple of octaves. You were scared, buddy.” Olivia shot back with her ever-present sass.

“Whatever you say, ya little brat.” I chuckled and pulled Allie into me. She squeezed me tight, lying her head against my shoulder. “Hi, gorgeous.”

“Hi, handsome.”

“You did great, honestly, sweetheart. I can’t wait to get into our costumes later.”

“Oh, what time is it? I wasn’t paying attention.” Allie scrambled for her phone, completely ignoring the fact that she had a watch on her wrist. “Phew, okay, it’s almost three. Glad no one overreacted there. Alright, sis, you’re all done and good to go. Do you need me to do anything else or need anything?”

“Nope, I’m all good! I’m gonna go see Mom before heading to my friends. Thank you again, it's perfect.” They hugged each other tightly, being extra careful to not mess up the makeup.

“Anything for you, baby. I’m always here for you. Don’t forget to come by with everyone so I can see your group! I stashed the king-size bars away for y’all.” She winked at her sister as she pulled away.

“I will, don’t worry. I love you guys, see ya later!” Olivia ran out, leaving Allie and me standing in the living room.

“That child is going to be the death of me, I swear.”

“She’s just like you. Might as well be your mini-me.” She swatted my arm, laughing.

“You’re not wrong, I guess. The little spawn. Alrighty, let’s go over the decorations one last time before I go shower and get ready.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Giving her a salute, I set to work, making sure everything was perfect for her.

Four o’clock rolled around, and I showered, starting to get ready. We had all the candy bowls set outside and ready, so nothing else needed to be done for the trick-or-treaters. Everything in the house was all set, and everyone confirmed they’d be coming.

Allie was at her vanity finishing her hair and makeup when I got done showering. She was wearing this black cotton robe that made focusing very hard.

“You’re going to look amazing once everything is done.” I walked up behind her, running my hands under the top of her robe and along her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh and leaned back against me.

“I’m sure most people would say it’s basic, but I’m excited for our costume. It’s a classic.”

“Even if it is basic, you love it, and that’s all that matters.” I placed featherlight kisses along her jaw.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to go off the schedule I’ve created in my head.” She tilted her head back, giving me better access to her neck. I trailed a few kisses down and along the tops of her shoulders.

“Well, we certainly can’t have that. I’ll go style my hair like you showed me and then get dressed. Holler if you need me.” Pulling on my boxers, I made my way to the bathroom. It took an ungodly amount of cream, but I was finally able to get my curls to behave and lay slicked back. I sprayed my cologne on and then got dressed. The costume was simple enough, an all-black suit with white pinstripes, slicked-back hair, and black dress shoes.

“Alright, sweetheart, how do I look?”

“Hmm, something’s missing…” She tapped her finger against her chin while she took me in. “Oh, I know! The mustache! Come here so I can draw it on.”

“What are you gonna use?”

“These two brow pencils, so it looks more realistic like little hairs. Sit.” She straddled my lap and set to work drawing the mustache on, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she focused. When she finished, she pinched my chin in her fingers, turning my head left and right, and examined my face. Once happy with her work, she nodded to herself and held up a little mirror for me to look at.

“See, it pulls it all together, don’t you think?”

“It did, and you weren’t joking about the hairs looking more real. You did great, baby girl. Here you finish up, and I’ll go make sure all the snacks are out and ready.”

Allie was set on going all out for this little party. All the snacks had themes. Even the drinks. It was cute, though, and honestly, this was the most excited I had been over a holiday in a very, very long time.