Dark Hearts (Light in the Dark 3)

Joel: I have a costume.

Me: What it is it?

Joel: Tsk, tsk, Clarke. A man has to have some secrets.

Me: That’s mean.

Joel: That’s life.

I type out the address and tell him I’ll see him there.

I head into the apartment and find Jace changing into a black t-shirt. He’s decked out now in head to toe black and coupled with the face paint it’s an intimidating sight.

“Joel’s coming to the party,” I inform him.

He growls. “No.”

“Will you stop with that?” I snap, slightly irritated. “He’s my friend.”

“Yeah, your friend that has a dick. Do you know what guys with dicks do?” I raise a brow, knowing he’s going to tell me regardless of whether or not I want to know. “They fuck hot chicks.”

“And I’m a hot chick?”

He snaps his fingers together. “Exactly.”

I shake my head. “You’re insane.”

“I’m right,” he reasons. “Trust me, the guy has thought at least once about what you look like naked, but since I’m also a guy I’m going to say it’s safe to assume that it’s much more than once and more like a couple hundred times.”

“Can we go?” I say, edging toward the door. “This conversation is giving me a migraine.”

“Just stating the facts.” He grabs his leather jacket and shrugs into it.

We take his truck to our friends’ house, and I’m shocked by the number of cars on the street. I mean, I know Thea said it was a party but I kind of expected it to only be us. Guess I was wrong.

Jace has to park on the street about a block away and we walk from there.

We reach the door and I hesitate, wondering if I should knock or just go in, but the problem is solved for me when the door swings open, revealing Thea.

“Oh, thank God,” she breathes in relief. “People I know. Get in here.”

Thea’s decked out in skin tight leather-looking black pants, a black off-the-shoulder fitted top, big poufy hair, with her lips colored a bright red.

“Sandy from Grease?” I surmise, stepping into the house with Jace following me.

She smiles and nods. “My Danny is around here somewhere. He wasn’t too thrilled about the couple’s costume thing but he has since warmed up to the idea and even sang his own rendition of “Greased Lightning”. It was glorious.”

“I’m sorry we missed that.” Truly, I am. Xander singing a song from Grease? That had to be hilarious. “I hope you do a duet later.”

She snorts. “Not likely but if I drink enough, it’s a possibility.” Her eyes flit over Jace. “Jacen Kensington,” she hisses his name over the music pumping through speakers in the family room to our right. “That is not a costume.”

“I’m a skeleton.” He points at his face.

“Unless that’s painted all over your body, then it’s not a fucking costume.” She glares at him. “You’re in regular clothes. This is blasphemy. The King of Halloween is rolling over in his grave.”

“There’s no King of Halloween,” Jace retorts.

Thea sticks her chin up haughtily. “If there was a King he’d be rolling over in his grave. You’re an insult to all Halloween loving people.”