was.
Shane and Celia left us alone on the sidewalk in front of Rockafellas. I stuffed my hands into my coat pockets, and Audrey slipped her hand into the crook of my elbow.
“I guess we should get back to the shop,” I declared. “I gotta get my bike.”
“Nuh-uh. No way are you driving.” She shook her head persistently.
“How am I supposed to get it home, then, Audrey? Huh?” I cocked a brow, challenging her with a tone teetering on playful.
“You’ll get it tomorrow,” she told me, tugging me along. “Right now, we’re going for a walk.”
“You and your walks,” I chided.
“What’s wrong with taking a walk?”
“I just know where they lead,” I mused, nodding thoughtfully as we walked past a cluster of people dressed as zombie Teletubbies.
“Mm-hmm,” Audrey hummed, stopping abruptly to slip her arms into my open jacket and around my waist. The city was alive with lights and sounds as her body pressed against mine. Rocking on the balls of her feet and tipping her head back, she asked, “Will you kiss me, Blake?”
It was as if she knew I’d hesitate to show any sign of affection toward her in public. And if she’d been anybody else, I would’ve thought twice, but not with her.
Slowly, I snaked my arms around her waist, holding her to me as I brought my lips to hers. Audrey sighed, followed by a whimper, and I closed my eyes to open my mouth and taste the alcohol on her tongue. Her fingers gripped my shirt, clenching the fabric in a tight grasp as she teetered unsteadily on high heels and weak knees, and I moved one hand to her hair while the other held her waist tighter.
I was trapped in a euphoric bubble, tangled in her kiss, as the rest of the world disappeared. The storefront we stood against vanished, and the pedestrians and rushing cars were nothing more than fading white noise.
“Blake,” she whispered, muffled by my lips on hers.
“Hm,” I answered with a grunt, planting kiss after kiss to the corner of her lips, her cheek, behind her ear.
“Come back to—”
“BOO!”
Audrey’s grip on my shirt strengthened as her mouth wrenched away from mine with a frightened gasp. Instinct had my arms wrapped around her in a protective hold as I looked up and searched frantically for the fucker who’d dared to burst our bubble, when my eyes landed on a kid of about eleven. He was dressed as Michael Myers and was accompanied by pint-sized versions of Freddy Kreuger and Jason Vorhees. Their costumes were excellent, and I appreciated them for a second before Michael pulled his mask off hastily.
“Sorry,” he hurried, startled by my anger.
I softened my glare and lifted my mouth in a half smile. “It’s cool. But only ‘cause your costumes are awesome.”
“Thanks!” He grinned and pulled the mask back on. “Happy Halloween!”
Audrey loosened her grasp and turned in my arms to appreciate them as they ran away to torment some other unsuspecting fool. She smiled and tipped her head against my chest.
“I love this town,” she said with a wistful sigh.
“Me, too.”
“Halloween is in a few days.”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“What are we doing?” She unraveled my arms from around her and took my hand.
“We?” I snorted, threading my fingers with hers and questioning if anything had felt this good before. If anything could feel this good ever again. “What’s with this we bullshit?”
She nodded, eyelids heavy with booze and lust. “Yep, we. We’re a we now.”
My heart thumped annoyingly in my throat as I let her lead me. “Oh, we are, huh? When was I gonna know about this?”
Audrey’s lips spread with her knowing smile. “Don’t tell me you didn’t already know.”
Fate. God.
Signs.
“Fine,” I relented. “I won’t.”
Slowly, we walked in silence for a few more seconds, quietly enjoying the air and ambience of a city we both shared a love for. Then, she tugged me down a residential street, over cracked sidewalks and beneath trees decorated in red and gold, and I realized I didn’t know where we were headed.
We. I allowed a smile at the thought, squeezed her hand, and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“I want you to see where I live,” she answered.
“You live in Salem, too?”
Audrey nodded. “Yep.”
“For how long?”
“Well,” she released my hand and wrapped an arm around mine, “let me think. I’m twenty-six now, so—”
“You’re twenty-six?” I interrupted.
Giggling, she pressed her cheek to my arm. “Yes, why? Does that matter?”
“Nah, not really. I just wasn’t aware I was a fucking cradle robber,” I