Exception (38 page)

A
LL THE
commitments that the fall semester brought back into Emily’s life put a kink in the routine the two friends had during the summer months. With three of her weekdays busy, trips to New York were rare and usually related to Stanley Parker, who had become a good friend to both.

When the trees changed colors, Emily was amazed at the difference a season had made not only in her life, but also in the lives of those she loved. She’d finally opened up; Zack was blissfully dating the most adorable man; Old Joe’s had received a Michelin star, which meant success and money for Brad and Jody; Taylor had finally made peace with Penelope’s new boyfriend; and Charlie’s pregnant belly was now showing the first signs of the little girl inside. With all that, saying that she was excited about the upcoming holiday season was putting it mildly.

For their little family of friends, the holidays began on Halloween with Old Joe’s Spooky Bash. Since Jody had taken over the restaurant three years ago it had become one of the most sought after costumed events in New Haven. In the previous year, Emily only attended because of Jody’s insistence, but this year required no coaxing and Emily was beyond excited to have her ticket; she even put some effort into a group costume she’d planned for Taylor, Zack, Toby and herself.

However, her anticipation for the upcoming party paled in comparison to the uncontainable excitement she felt over her plans with Taylor. With Halloween falling on a Thursday, all her commitments on that day and Friday had been canceled so the kids could enjoy their parties, which was providential for the two friends who had a four-day scary movie marathon planned.

Taylor drove to her apartment on Wednesday night so they could get an early start on Thursday. And, from the moment her next-door neighbors left the apartment that morning, Emily and Taylor had settled on the couch, still in their pajamas, for a day of doing nothing except watching scary movies and eating junk food.

Day one of the marathon was dedicated to vampires, and included classics such as the original
Fright Night
,
The Lost Boys
,
Bram Stocker’s Dracula
and
Blade
. As much as Taylor loved those movies, he particularly loved watching Emily’s reactions, which grew in direct relation to the scariness of each film. The more frightening a scene became, the closer her legs would curl against her chest, and the faster her hands would dig into the popcorn bowl. The best part, though, were the surprise scares. Her reaction was always the same: an utterly terrified scream, combined with a series of involuntary, yet extremely violent, kicks to the air, preceding a fit of girlish giggles that correlated more with her hysteria than with the movie. Knowing all the movies by heart, Taylor found himself anxiously waiting for every impending outburst.

At around eight p.m. they started getting ready for the party. Their costumes required a great deal of characterization that tested Emily’s styling skills, as well as Taylor’s drawing abilities. Nonetheless, when the four friends exited the apartment an hour later, they looked as though they could have literally jumped out of the pages of Emily’s favorite young adult fantasy novel.

Bypassing the line forming outside the front door, the group of four entered the already-packed restaurant. In true Halloween-Jody fashion, the place had been completely turned into a spooky wonderland. Wherever your eyes rested there was something to see: spiderwebs in every corner and light fixture, monsters as the waiting staff, new menus featuring special and creepy snacks and drinks, and even a smoke machine and laser beams. The first of four musical attractions scheduled for the night was already rocking the stage when they found Jody.

Dressed in a dirty, torn white dress and a ratty veil, with her pretty face covered in gruesome make-up and fake blood, she was fussing behind the bar while talking to her fiancé, who was casually dressed in a chef’s coat and jeans.

“Zombie-bride this year, Jody?” Zack asked in between chuckles. “I’m beginning to think Halloween is the reason you’re so reluctant to say ‘I do.’”

Emily held in her laughter, smirking at Jody. “I bet you’re right, Zack. After the wedding J will be at a total loss for costume ideas. But at least we know that vampire and zombie are bridal looks that agree with her,” Emily offered, barely able to subdue the giggles emerging from her throat.

Jody rolled her eyes and replied with a sarcastic, “Ha, ha, ha!” making her teasing friends erupt with laughter.

“Yeah, but Frankenstein’s bride is still my favorite,” Zack teased, turning to Emily before continuing. “Shame you didn’t see that, she looked magnificent. I think that when you finally decide to make good on your promise and take this poor costume-less man to the church, you should keep that look. It totally worked.”

The annoyance in Jody’s eyes made her zombie face more threatening, and yet incredibly comical at the same time.

“You shouldn’t tease a zombie, Zack,” Brad admonished with his natural good humor. “Especially when they can bite your ass and turn you into the walking dead. Besides, this sous chef, which is my costume this year by the way, thinks that dead or alive she is, and will always be, the most beautiful bride in the word. And I will be lucky to marry her, even if she eats my face on our honeymoon.”

He leaned in for a kiss that turned into a playful biting match that had all of them laughing. The love Brad felt for Jody was overwhelming, and had both girls and Zack swooning. After a quick “See you later” and promises to send their plates out quick, Brad retreated to the kitchen to begin his busy night. No one made any further comments on Jody’s almost four-year engagement, or on how much they wished she would just get over herself and marry the man.

Jody eyed her friends’ costumes speculatively. Emily and Toby had black hair, and were dressed in close-fitting black clothes with thick leather belts and boots. Other than the drawing on Taylor’s forehead, he was dressed quite ordinarily in denim pants and a t-shirt and hoodie ensemble, and his normal rough stubble was replaced by freshly shaven skin along his jaw and cheeks. But the weirdest was Zack, whose hair was styled in spikes and was wearing all sorts of glitter and sequins.

There was no way for Jody to hide her giddiness at her friends’ obvious improvement in the costume department. Few things had gotten her as pissed as their lame Cheesecake and Fruitcake idea the year before. She had no idea in which universe the combination of those ridiculous stamped t-shirts and a nametag with the word “Cake” written on it would ever be qualified as a costume. But, if she were to be completely honest, their choice this year also didn’t make a lot of sense.

“Don’t get me wrong, you guys look great and it definitely is an improvement from last year, but other than the badass tatted up duo, a guy with something smeared on his forehead and a weirdo, who are you guys supposed to be?” Jody asked once they arrived at their usual table.

As if on cue, Clary showed up with their beverages. Her beautiful dark brown skin was painted in an ashy gray tone with purple circles under her eyes and various bloody scrapes and bites on her face, neck and arms. The overall look was weird and slightly disturbing.

“You guys look awesome,” the young woman hollered with a huge smile. “Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, Simon the daywalker and the high warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. Did I get that right?” she continued pointing at Emily, Toby, Taylor and Zack, naming their characters correctly.

With an emphatic nod, Emily confirmed their costumes, impressed by Clary’s instant recognition of the fictional characters they each impersonated. The girl’s smile broadened as she continued. “I love
Mortal Instruments
, and even though Zack’s not Asian, you guys made great versions of the characters. Even your runes look awesome. You would totally win the costume contest, if you could enter.”

After the waitress walked away from the table, Emily answered the long line of questions Jody had about the book that inspired the costumes. Being extremely excited about the story, and always wanting to get her friend excited about reading, Emily left no detail out. By the end of the explanation, Jody was completely captivated by the world and was seriously considering reading the books.

They talked and ate until the restaurant reached maximum capacity, with all sorts of monsters, superheroes, vampires, movie characters and, even a small group of smurfs, coloring everywhere you looked. With the house that packed, they ate their dinners at record speed and moved to the game room so that their table could be used by paying patrons.

While Taylor and Toby enjoyed the pool table, the other three found a secluded place where they rocked their bodies to the sound of the cheerful beat coming from the stage.

From his vantage point Zack had a prime spot to watch Taylor, whose giddy eyes were fixed on their shared best friend. This, in and of itself, was typical, since it happened quite frequently. The interesting change in events, however, came from Emily and the carefree way she moved her body while keeping her eyes locked with Taylor’s the entire time.

“Am I drunk for the first time in my life, or you can see that, too?” Jody asked Zack in hushed tones during a water break. Her nose pointed towards the pool table where, at that precise moment, Emily and Taylor were exchanging smiles and playful nudges.

Zack had the smile of a proud papa when he answered with his southern accent weighing heavily, as it often did after a few drinks. “You ain’t drunk, baby.”

“I don’t think either of them realize what’s going on. Should we say something?”

“Jody Francis, if you attempt to say a word about this I’ll cut off your tongue. It is not our business and we’ll stay out of it, unless Cheesecake or Taylor asks. Am I making myself clear?” Zack’s response had the firm tone he used whenever he was very adamant about something and wanted his friend’s full attention. With that, Jody nodded and promised not to meddle unless properly asked.

An emergency at the bar took Jody away, leaving the other four alone to play a few couples’ rounds, which, despite Toby’s best efforts, were mostly won by Taylor and Emily. Not even the pool shark in the world could make up for Zack’s lame attempt at playing. After several rounds, they all moved to one of the high tables by the mezzanine railing, allowing a priest and a prince to take over the table.

Both Taylor and Toby watched with adoring and appreciative eyes as Zack pulled Emily up for another round of dancing. The two friends looked like complete contrasts. He was all fun and sparkle, while she was the description of tough and sexy. As Taylor watched them dancing, the dangerous thoughts he had that first night he’d spent at her apartment returned, and he couldn’t help the jealousy rising within him—especially when Zack kissed her lips before taking his boyfriend’s hand and pulling him to the dancefloor.

“I think I know how parents must feel,” Taylor joked with a smile.

Emily looked at him with puzzled eyes, not having any idea what he meant. With a snicker, Taylor clarified, “I love to have all of them around, but I can’t help to feel glad when they get distracted or go to sleep.”

Allowing a long laugh to precede her words, Emily curled her arms around Taylor’s, holding his biceps with both hands and nestling into his side. “Yeah, they can be a handful, but just look at them,” she teased with her best proud mamma face.

They shared a laugh before she continued their conversation. “For part two of our marathon, I was thinking either going to the nineties for a
Scream
trilogy day, or using Jody as inspiration and doing
Zombieland
and as much
Resident Evil
as we can fit.”

“Those are some interesting choices, Watson,” Taylor said rubbing his recently shaven jaw and pretending to be deep in thought.

Emily watched his hand moving up and down his face absently. Seeing Taylor without his usual stubble was strange. At the same time that she missed his sexy scruffiness, kissing his hairless cheek was delicious. Knowing he would grow the scruff again she took full advantage of it, kissing him every chance she got.

“I say, let’s go zombie. More surprise scares.”

The sideways look and wicked smirk he gave made her eye him with that he’s-up-to-something look. “Wanting some passive cardio, Tay?”

“Not so much as wanting to see you scream like a little girl and toss popcorn all over the room. That’s priceless,” he teased.