Page 30 of Shadowface

All three of us are wearing black outfits, so I’m hoping it will make me invisible because I want him to have a hard time finding me. He needs to work for it after what he’s put me through.

Dani shakes her head as the wine simmers on my tongue, and I make an orgasmic face and smile at her.

Probably because I’m drunk…and very horny. The heat of the liquor intensifies everything, and I’ve not experienced a true orgasm in years.

“I don’t know how you drink that stuff. Red wine makes me loopy,” Dani says as she walks to the fridge and grabs a bottle of white and pours her and Misty a glass. It seems she also has a little strut tonight.

Red wine is my drink of choice. I always thought my parents looked so sophisticated when they drank it, my father especially.

The doorbell rings and Misty’s eyes light up. “I’ll get it.” She gracefully slides off the barstool and saunters over to the door while I keep my back straight and face the kitchen.

I hear three male voices, and bile rises in my throat as I get a whiff of the cheap cologne Grant usually wears. He sneaks up behind me, and I nearly choke on the smell as he slides his hands around my midsection.

“Hey, Summer.”

My body convulses.

Dani arches her well-manicured brows as I scowl at her. “I invited Grant and his friends so they can take us to the party. I thought it would be safer showing up with them.”

She has a valid point, so I turn and smile sweetly at him, knowing Misty is watching. I’d rather Misty think I have a crush on Grant, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You look good tonight,” he tells me, and I can’t help but notice Misty’s shoulders slump a bit.

“Thank you,” I respond, straightening my back as his eyes veer down and I really take him in.

He looks cute tonight—dark curls, tanned skin, all-American face. I realize just how big and muscled Grant really is, how perfect he should be for me.

From what I recall of my nameless monster, his body was lean, but he wasn’t a giant. Every time I close my eyes, Lincoln’s body is the one I dream of. So perhaps if I walk in with a football player that will get the attention I need from him.

I gently place my hand on his muscled thigh, finally meeting his gaze. My three-inch heels brush against his legs, playfully tickling him. Despite my slightly blurry vision, his eyes sparkle with excitement from our connection. Deep down, I’m aware I’m toying with danger.

The six of us cram into Grant’s SUV. Grant opens the door and I slide beside him in the front, while the rest pile in the back. He turns the music up and we drive out of town as the sun fades in the sky. The usual autumn mist swirls in the air as darkness descends.

Electronic music blasts out of the speakers and the girls dance behind me, giggling as we make our way deep into the woods. My stomach swirls and so does my vision, and I regret drinking so much. Grant’s hand finds my thigh in the dark and my face heats, but I let his hand linger there for a moment.

The touch of his skin shoots butterflies into my belly—not SF-level chills, but enough to know that at least I’m normal and react as I should when a cute guy makes contact with me.

Someone who acts like a normal college guy, not a guy who stalks and threatens me.

My head bobs from the alcohol and my hand finds his. He relaxes and squeezes my hand.

I’m a terrible person, and I’m definitely drunk. He’ll want a piece of me tonight, and with how much I’m teasing him, I’m not sure I can stop it. I can tell by the look in his eye he has something planned for me.

I can’t let him, but I can’t push him away, either. My curiosity about SF is tempered by my desire to not die tonight.

A delicate dance.

I’ll have to navigate both guys: one for excitement, and one for protection.

We take a minor road through the woods as moonlight slithers through the canopy above, casting long shadows on the road in front of us. The crisp fall air is calm and still, the trees are motionless giants.

Dark woods, a legendary slasher, a secret cult that kills people. What could possibly go wrong tonight?

We pull up to what looks like an abandoned warehouse in the woods, with black silhouettes and an obscene amount of glow sticks everywhere. It looks as though the entire school is here, even though the police and administration warned everyone not to do this.

My stomach turns, realizing it’s at the old Fresh Mart Dani and I saw last week. Surrounding it are barricades and a broken sign saying: Stay Out. As if my grandmother is screaming at me from the grave.

The place is already bustling with activity.