pass at Ann and she shuts him down, turning her lips away from his with a look of disgust. A palm to his face seals the rejection.
“Sorry, Janice, that was just too funny not to watch,” I say, watching the couple continue to shamble toward the exit. “And I never thought you were like your mother. That’s her deal, not yours.”
“Exactly,” she replies with a content smile. “Glad you understand.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her in for a side hug. “I’m so happy you’re here with me tonight. You were so right…this was way overdue.”
“Promise me something, though?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Promise me we won’t be leaving the party like those two,” she jokes, gesturing to the drunkards with a slight nod of her head.
I laugh. “I think I can manage that. Ready to party?”
She smirks. “I think so.”
I feel the heat from the bonfire before we emerge from the security of the thick foliage. The roaring fire is surrounded by hoards of people, casting their shadows up into the canopy above and making quite the sight to behold.
Scanning the crowd, I see that everyone has a good old red Solo cup in hand. My eyes seek out the keg bar. Gunnar’s dad owns the local brewery, H.R. Brew, and he supplies the beer for all his son’s parties. I heard a rumor that the pumpkin ale is fantastic, and can’t wait to wrap my lips around one of those cups full of that exact beverage. I love anything pumpkin.
I spot Alex making a beeline for us. The first thing I notice is that she wasn’t lying about the costume she had to wear. Tight black spandex with a skeleton pattern affixed to the front of it hugs every curve of her body. Her face is also painted like a skull, with her long, dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looks like she’s about to come in for a hug, but then stops short.
“Not a single word,” she says, referring to her outfit. Then she finishes moving in for the hug. As she pulls away and looks behind me, she asks, “Who’s this?”
“Oh, this is my friend, Janice. She lives next door,” I respond, pulling Janice to stand beside me.
Alex sends a little wave to Janice. “Cool costume. Hey, wasn’t that the one you wore in the haunted house at school two years ago?” she asks me, and I nod. “Thought so.” She turns her focus back to Janice. “So, you’re Janice, huh? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Alex!” I reprimand when I see Janice’s expression change to an inquisitive one.
“All good things, of course,” she responds quickly in a playful manner.
I look over to see a smile on Janice’s face again.
“So, that was you guys playing earlier?” Janice asks Alex.
“That depends…did you like it?” she queries.
“Yeah, it sounded pretty awesome.”
Alex laughs. “Then yes, that was us. Hey, have you seen Rory tonight? That assclown was supposed to bring me a change of costume.”
I laugh at the “assclown” comment and reply, “We saw him earlier at the store, but not here, no.”
“I hope he didn’t forget,” she mutters. “So, it was nice meeting you, Janice, but unfortunately I’ve got to get back on stage. I hear the band queuing up again,” she says, and turns to me. “If you see Rory, tell him I’m looking for him, ’kay?”
“Got it. Have fun up there,” I tease, since it seems obvious she’s not having a good time in her spandex getup.
“I’ll try,” she drawls unenthusiastically while walking away.
“She was nice,” Janice comments off to the side.
“See, you’re fitting in just fine.”
“Uh, we’ve only met one person so far, and she’s your friend,” Janice quips.
“The night’s still young. Lighten up. Hey, how about a drink? I think I see the beer trail over there,” I say, pointing to a couple of kegs sitting on the ground. They’re next to a pathway that looks like it leads farther into the forest.
“Sure. I think it’d be good for me to loosen up a bit more anyway.”
Navigating the crowd proves a little difficult around the start of the beer trail, which isn’t surprising. Finally, we get to the two kegs nestled up against a tree. I look around for the cups.
“Those are tapped out,” I hear a female say. I turn to see Phoebe standing there dressed as the female version of Freddy Krueger, which really is just a shredded red-and-green striped sweater, black hot pants, fishnets, a nice brown fedora,