“Wardrobe malfunction,” Sabrina said.
“Ahh...”
That was the exact sound Sabrina made twenty seconds later after she'd dropped her pants, clutched her phone, and assumed the position.
David Jameson, Boomer to his friends, shut the driver’s side door of his truck and scanned the street for his friends. A crowd was gathered outside Jill’s Java Hut. In an earlier text message, Dylan had said his costume was distinctive.
Dylan had obviously underestimated Roseville’s enthusiasm for Halloween. Or their creativity and diversity in costume selection.
Making his way across the tree lined street, he headed down the brick sidewalk to join the party. He had to give the town credit, they went all out with their window displays. Pumpkins and hay bales dotted the street corners; corn stalks and potted flowers flanked the doorways.
He’d never lived in a place so picturesque.
But before he could dwell on that fact, Dylan spotted him and waved him over. They made small talk with a cop who, turns out, wasn’t in costume but was keeping an eye on things. Watching Dylan, with his pointy eared mask, shoot the shit with the locals was a revelation. He really fit in here, was obviously making an effort to become part of the community.
Boomer hadn’t fit in since he’d left the SEALs. That was by design, of course. The more he moved around, the less he got involved, the fewer strings he had to unravel.
He smacked Dylan on the shoulder. “Let’s go get something to drink.”
Inside, Halloween music bounced off the old brick walls. A quick survey of the dimly lit space revealed several familiar faces. They spotted their longtime friend and former SEAL, Teo Canales, and gave him a nod before squeezing their way toward the back of the room.
The place was packed. Teo wore a cream-colored toga that showed off his legs and chest.
“I hope you’re wearing something underneath that, Canales,” Boomer teased.
“Free as a bird my friend,” Teo shot back with a shit eating grin.
“Gag,” Dylan added, plucking at the hard rubber breast-plate that covered his chest. “This thing chafes.”
“Who are you supposed to be?” Boomer asked Teo.
“Supposedly a Greek God.”
The answer sent Dylan into a fit of laughter and Boomer’s lips twitched. He kept his back to the wall and avoided touching anything lest his green body makeup rub off.
“I didn’t know Roseville had this many people.”
“Trust Jill to know half the state,” Teo said dryly, but Boomer saw the pride in his friend’s eyes.
“How come he didn't have to dress up?” Dylan asked, glaring across the room like he'd just seen Bin Laden's ghost.
Boomer followed his friend's gaze. The target of Dylan's ire was Joe Catrell who stood next to a grinning blonde she-devil. Glittering red horns peaked from beneath Baby Campbell's shiny curls. Those two had been glued at the hip since Boomer met them.
Teo, who'd let his fiancée Jill come up for air long enough to host the Halloween party, laughed at Dylan's annoyance. Jill and her staff, along with Teo’s sister Reya and some other friends had been party planning and decorating for weeks.
“Because he's already a bodyguard and Baby finds that 'sexy',” Teo said, making air quotes while rolling his eyes.
Sure enough, Joe was dressed as he always was but tonight he wore pitch black sunglasses for an added bad ass effect.
“Chaffage,” Dylan complained again, trying to pry the Batman costume away from his skin.
“So, you've said,” Teo said, but didn't sound terribly sympathetic.
Somehow the three of them had been roped into dressing up for Jill's party. While Boomer loved Halloween, he hadn't dressed up in years. Technically, he hadn't celebrated the holiday since—
Don't go there.
He forced his mind back to the conversation at hand. “That's what you get for waiting till the last minute. I'm sure Reya will help you out of it later, so quit yer bitchin',” he said.
“What he said,” Teo agreed, jerking a thumb in Boomer's direction.
A woman dressed like a purple fairy strolled by, smiling at them with obvious interest. Teo and Dylan both glanced Boomer’s way and he raised a brow. When the woman got the hint and continued on her way, Dylan frowned.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Boomer shrugged. “Not interested.”
“In a sure thing?” Dylan sounded incredulous.
“Not tonight.”
Not most nights, to tell the truth, but they didn’t need to know that. What sane, red-blooded, thirty-something heterosexual male turns down pussy? That’s what they’d ask right before hauling him off to the loony bin.
Jill stopped by and handed them each a glass of purple liquid, said something about a Vampire Kiss and continued to her next guest. He tested the drink. Not bad but he still preferred a beer.
A woman dressed as a mermaid sidled up next to Dylan and plucked the glass from his hands. Boomer’s jaw dropped as she sent his friend a seductive smile and drained his glass.
Teo looked equally shocked and uncertain what to do.
The woman glanced their way and laughed. Her blue eyes sparkled beneath red bangs. “You don’t recognize your own sister?”
“Reya?” Teo cocked his head to the side.
“Who’d you think she was?” Dylan growled.
“But—I—You’re wearing contacts.”
And a wig. And a ton of makeup.
She laughed again and pulled Dylan down for a kiss.
Dylan wasn’t the only one who felt out of his element. Boomer was a little itchy himself and it wasn’t because of the body makeup.
By and large, most everyone in attendance, and it was standing room only, were couples. Teo and Jill, Dylan and Reya, Joe and Baby. Trevor Wyatt was here with his wife and several friends…all of whom were coupled up. The list went on and on.
All the coupledom made his single status that much more glaring. And Boomer wasn’t on the hunt for a woman. Not at all. But spending time with so many happy duos for the last ten months was taking its toll. It was harder and harder to ignore all the secret little looks the women gave
