"Finn Nathan Acker!" I froze in place when I heard Lexi storming into the kitchen.
"Shit." I quickly disposed of the evidence that I had been eating the snacks she had prepared for the party. I turned to her, leaning my butt against the kitchen counter, hiding the half-empty bowl of popcorn behind me. "Yes, sunshine?" I tried to sound normal and even smile.
"Look at this!" When I noticed that she was holding Sunny, who was in a green costume that resembled Pascal from Tangled, I breathed a sigh of relief. I'm not in trouble then, phew.
"He looks adorable." I didn't even try to hide my smile.
"Right?" She said with sparkles in her eyes before turning him towards her. "We all match, huh, Sunny?"
My gaze fell on her Rapunzel costume, which consisted of a light purple dress with dropped sleeves and fishnet gloves. Her hair was in a braid with various decorative flowers, and she had pink sneakers on her feet.
This couple's Halloween costume was her idea, but I'm not complaining because I ended up wearing a navy vest with a white shirt underneath, the sleeves rolled up, brown pants, and a shoulder bag.
It's my first Halloween costume party since I was little and there's no one I'd rather spend this holiday with than Lexi.
Well, I'm spending it with her and a few other people who will be arriving shortly because Lexi has thrown a full-blown party.
We moved into her house two months ago because her father left Portland and we left our apartment to her mom. Thanks to that, we were able to organize tonight. We would not all fit in the small apartment in which we lived for almost a year already.
"You're so cute." She kissed Sunny's head. "And don't think I didn't see you." She pointed her finger at me. "Hands off the snacks, Finn."
"I would apologize, but I'm not sorry." I reached behind my back and scooped up a handful of sweet popcorn. "You shouldn't have made delicious things if you didn't want me to eat them." I popped a handful of popcorn into my mouth and earned a disapproving look from her.
"Unbelievable." Shaking her head, she placed Sunny on the floor and walked over to me. "Stop it." She slapped my hand when I tried to take another handful.
"Ouch." I grabbed my hand, trying to sound offended. "You hit me."
"Seriously?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't be a child."
"You love me anyway." I lowered my head to hers, but before I could connect our lips, she placed a finger on my lips, stopping me.
"Watch it or you'll be sleeping in the other room tonight."
I frowned. "Are you threatening me?" I asked in surprise. "Oh my...I destroyed you sunshine."
"Stop it." She slapped my shoulder playfully, but she still smiled.
"I totally corrupted you." I put my hands on her hips and pulled her to me.
"Idiot." She laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck.
I could listen to her laugh all my life.
"Your idiot, tho." I winked at her and kissed her.
We pulled away only when the doorbell interrupted us.
"Who do you think will have the best costume?" She grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the door.
"We do," I answered without hesitation. "Have you seen Sunny?" I pointed at the cat sitting on top of the couch now.
"True." She shrugged and opened the door.
"Oh wow!" Zack threw up his arms and immediately hugged Lexi. "You look adorable."
"Thank you." She laughed. "Harley Quinn and..." She looked at Luca next to him. "Joker. Of course."
Zack put his all into these costumes. His hair was pinkish-blue, as was his deliberately smudged make-up. He was wearing a white crop top that showed off his abs, a red and blue jacket, and a baseball bat in hand.
His boyfriend, Luca, a.k.a. Joker, had green hair, white makeup with some fake blood and for some reason, his shirt was completely unbuttoned.
"I want to know how you got him to put something in his hair." Lexi intertwined her arms with Zack and began to pull him into the living room.
"It was a struggle..." He began to explain.
"Good costume." Luca walked through the door, stopping next to me.
"Thanks." I laughed and looked at him. "Any reason you're half naked?"
"Oh my god, Luca, you see it!" Zack shouted looking at Sunny. "Look at his adorable costume!"
"Don't act like you wouldn't do it if Lexi asked." He walked past me.
"True." I shrugged and was about to close the door, but at that moment I noticed other people walking towards us.
"I knew Lexi would come up with something cute. Hi Finn!" Destiny was already waving at me from the sidewalk, Stefan next to her, and behind them Adrian with Vivian, his girlfriend, who is also the woman who charmed him when she bumped into him some time back.
I nodded my head at them in greeting. "Nice costumes."
Destiny and Stefan were dressed as characters from the movie Wizard of Oz. He looked like a scarecrow with a straw hat, red shirt, and skeleton makeup, while Destiny was Dorothy in a short white and blue dress and two braids.
Adrian wore his hair slicked back, and had a fake mustache. He completed his Gomez costume from The Addams family with a suit and black tie.
Vivian, being of course Morticia, had naturally long, straight black hair. She wore a bit more make-up, mainly red lipstick, and a black dress that hugged her narrow waist and wide hips.
Vivian was a woman who was proud of her body 24/7 and wasn't ashamed to show it off. That's why her dress had the biggest neckline that almost showed her damn navel.
I greeted everyone before inviting them inside. All the women formed a circle around poor Sunny and immediately started melting over.
"Lincoln and Penny?" Stefan stopped next to me.
"They're not here yet." I shook my head and looked at the clock. "And unfortunately El couldn't come because of her family."
"It's okay. We'll send her a picture later or call her." I agreed with his idea and just then the doorbell rang again.
"They came last." Adrian, who already had a bottle of beer in his hand, was sitting on the couch with Vivian on his lap. "If they don't have the best costumes, they're hosting the next party."
"You're way too hard on them." Lexi laughed. "I got it, babe." She patted my chest and went to open the door.
"He's so fricking cute," Destiny muttered, not moving from Sunny. "Look at that sweet costume."
Sunny looked at me scared and I laughed. Oh yeah buddy, you're going to have a rough night.
When I opened the door, expecting Lincoln and Penny behind it, I was frozen in place when a woman I had never seen before stood there.
She had black hair, the body of a goddess, and a prison costume that consisted of bright orange pants, a white tank top, and an orange jacket wrapped around her waist.
This isn't an open party, but I told everyone they could invite whoever they wanted. However, I would be more comfortable if they let me know in advance.
"Um, hi." I looked at her confused.
"Sunshine, why don't you invite them..." Finn appeared next to me, also probably expecting Lincoln. "Oh." He said in shock.
"Finn and Lexi?" She asked us.
"Yes," Finn answered her and took a step forward, wrapping his arm around my waist. "And you are?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be rude." I dug my elbow into his side.
The woman standing in front of us measured us with her gaze. "You have cute costumes." She said with a smile.
"Thank you," I said honestly. "If you don't mind me asking..." I laughed nervously. "Which of the guys invited you?"
"I told him it shouldn't be a surprise, but he didn't listen to me." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "He never listens to me."
"Who didn't listen to you?" Finn asked before I did.
"In my defense..." A husky male voice came from the driveway. "I had hearing problems when I was younger."
My jaw almost fell to the ground when I saw Sebastian, Finn's brother, in a prisoner costume. He stopped beside us, wrapping his arm around the woman.
"Hey, little bro." He smiled at Finn, who stood next to me like a statue. "Lexi, you look good." It didn't sound like some stupid remark, but a sincere compliment. "This is Maya, by the way." He looked at the woman. "My girlfriend."
"Hey." She smiled at us.
I hadn't seen Sebastian since my first visit to New York, and Finn wasn't much better. He spent the last holidays with me and my mother, so he barely saw his siblings. However, they often called each other.
"Don't I get a hug?" Sebastian frowned and removed his hand from Maya.
"What the hell?" Finn finally moved and hugged his brother so hard they almost fell to the ground.
"You said you were having a Halloween party. We couldn't miss that." He patted him on the back. "And I wanted you to finally meet Maya." They pulled away from each other. "Maya, this is my little brother Finn, he's not handsome like me, but he's fine."
"Dick." Finn shook his head and gave Maya a hand. "If he's holding you against your will, blink twice quickly."
Finn mentioned that Sebastian had found someone, but I didn't believe him. Until now.
"He would only try that once." She snorted. "Nice to finally meet you."
"I can't believe you're here." He took a step back, standing closer to me. "Come in, I'll introduce you to everyone." He took my hand and we all went inside together.
"Wow, Lincoln and Penny have really good costumes. They're like completely different people." Zack remarked with a laugh.
"Because it's not Lincoln and Penny." His boyfriend elbowed him.
Finn introduced his brother and girlfriend to everyone, and in the meantime, our last two guests arrived, and by the way, they were sloppy with their costumes. Penny was a sexy nurse and Lincoln was a doctor.
"You all look amazing," Maya spoke up. "But I do love that baseball bat." She pointed at Zack.
"I adore you." He smiled enthusiastically and went to hug her, but Sebastian stopped him.
"Hey, hands off." He frowned and pulled her to him by the hips.
"Oh my god," Maya muttered under her breath and rolled her eyes. "Ignore him."
I smiled at Sebastian's behavior. It was strange but good strange. He has changed a lot since I last saw him. For good, of course. I think Maya is good for him.
*****
"I hope we didn't disturb your evening." I looked up from the sink where I was putting the dirty glasses.
"Absolutely not, Maya, I'm glad you came." I smiled at her and took the empty bowl from her hands.
"Sebastian would never say it out loud, but he misses his siblings. Though it would be nice to stop by." She leaned her butt against the kitchen counter next to me, looking at the living room where everyone was sitting.
"You're both welcome here anytime." I smiled at her.
She looked at me with a heartwarming look. "You're a sweetheart. You remind me of my best friend, Julie, you know."
"Well, you can bring her with you too." I proposed.
She put her finger to her temple and tapped it. "I'll keep that in mind."
"How do you do it, by the way?" She looked at me confused, so I explained more. "How do you keep him in check? "I nodded my head towards the living room. "He didn't make any stupid comment all evening, didn't flirt with anyone but you, and I looked at Vivian's cleavage less than I did."
"Oh, he knows that if he did that, he'd end up homeless and with two black eyes." She raised her chin proudly. "But I know what you mean. He's changed, huh?"
"He's unrecognizable." I laughed.
"I take full credit for that." She whispered and winked at me.
"Understandable." I nodded.
"What are you two gossiping about?" Sebastian appeared in the doorway with Finn hot on his heels.
"Gossip? Me?" Maya clutched her chest. "Where did you get something like that?"
"Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, hush." She glared at him, but that changed when he walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulders, kissing her forehead. She melted like an ice cream against him.
Finn walked behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "Hey, sunshine." He whispered and kissed my cheek.
"Hi." I giggled as his breath tickled my neck.
"Look at us, little brother." We both looked up at Sebastian. "Who would have thought, huh? The two of us in healthy relationships. With gorgeous women, of course." He winked at his girlfriend.
"Right?" She placed her hand on his chest. "You're so lucky we don't have anything in these pretty little heads so we're dating you." She said with the most serious smile.
"My heart." He placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing his chest. "See what I have to live with?"
Finn and I exchanged a look before bursting out, laughing our asses off.
"You are all mean." He turned on the spot and started walking away. He looked a bit like an offended child.
"Do you see what I have to live with?" Maya pointed at him before following after him.
"Sebastian found a female version of himself," Finn said, reading my mind.
"They're cute." I turned around in his arms. "I'm glad they came. You haven't seen your siblings in a long time." I blamed myself a little for that, but I didn't say it out loud.
"We're in touch, it's okay." He raised his hand to my face, running a finger down my cheek. "But if you want to go to New York again, just say."
"I'll go wherever you go." I wrapped my arms around his waist and stood up on my tiptoes, kissing him. "Love you."
"Love you more." He smiled and bent his head towards me, resting his forehead on mine.
"Okay lovebirds, come here! We're about to play truth or dare!" Lincoln shouted from the living room.
We both laughed. "Thank goodness there's not a lake close by, huh, sunshine?"
"Oh, I wouldn't mind seeing you half-naked." I winked at him and slipped out of his embrace, walking quickly into the living room.
When I sat back in my seat, I saw Finn looking at me. With fire behind his eyes and certainly dirty thoughts in his head.
Yeah, I will regret saying such a thing to him and then running away.
Who am I lying to, of course, I won't regret it. Especially since Finn started recreating some stuff from my books.
How could I not love him?
I missed all these characters soooo much ð