Rather than continue my search for a non-costume costume, I duck out of my dorm and walk across the hall to knock on Tracy’s door.
“Coming!” She appears nearly a minute later, running a comb through her curly red hair with one hand and applying white powder to her cheeks with the other.
“Hey,” she chirps. “Happy Halloween!”
“Happy Halloween.” I pause. “So listen…how badly will you hate me if I bail on the dorm crawl? And then when I add insult to injury and ask to borrow your car?”
Disappointment floods her eyes. “You’re not coming? Whhhhhhy?”
Shit, I really hope she doesn’t start crying. Tracy is the kind of girl who bawls at the drop of a hat, though in all honesty, I think her tears are of the crocodile variety because they always dry up way too fast.
“A friend of mine is having a bad night,” I say awkwardly. “He could use the company.”
She gives me a suspicious look. “And does this friend go by the name Garrett Graham?”
I smother a sigh. “Why would you think that?”
“Because Allie said you guys are dating.”
Of course she did.
“We’re not dating, but yes, he’s the friend I’m talking about,” I admit.
To my surprise, Tracy breaks out in a huge grin. “Well, why didn’t you lead with that, dum-dum? Of course I’m going to let you off the hook if it means you get to go and fuck Garrett Graham! Note to you—I will be living vicariously through you, because Oh. My. God. If that hottie so much as smiled at me, my panties would probably melt away.”
I don’t want to touch even a single part of that response, so I ignore it altogether. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She waves a hand. “My cousin is visiting from Brown, so I’ll just recruit her.”
“I heard that!” a female voice shouts from inside the room.
“Thanks for being so cool about this,” I say gratefully.
“No prob. Hold on a sec.” Tracy disappears, then comes back a moment later with her car keys dangling from her index finger. “Hey, so I don’t know how you feel about sex tapes, but if you get a chance, record every single thing you do with that boy tonight.”
“I most definitely will not.” I take the keys and grin at her. “Have fun tonight, babe.”
Back in my room, I grab my phone from the living room couch and text Garrett.
Me: U home?
Him: Yup.
Me: Bailing on the dorm crawl. Can I come by?
Him: Glad u came to your senses, baby. Get your ass over here.
29
Garrett
When the front door creaks open, I’m more than a little apprehensive, because I half expect Hannah to appear in some ridiculous-ass costume in an attempt to spread the Halloween cheer and lure me to that dorm party.
Fortunately, she looks like regular-old Hannah when she pops her head into the living room. Meaning she looks fucking gorgeous, and my dick immediately salutes her. Her hair is tied in a low ponytail with her bangs swept to one side, and she’s wearing a loose red sweater and black yoga pants. Her socks, of course, are neon pink.
“Hey.” She flops down beside me on the couch.
“Hey.” I sling my arm around her and plant a kiss on her cheek, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
I have no idea if I’m the only one feeling this way, but Hannah doesn’t pull away, nor does she tease me about how fucking boyfriendly I’m acting. I take that as a promising sign.