One Year and One Day

That's how long I've been married =)

Celebrated on successful year of marriage yesterday. YAY! Ate the top tier of our cake. Well, part of it. Watched our wedding video. That's going to become a tradition, I've decided. And had crazy monkey sex. YAY! Now that's what I'm talking about.

In other good news... this is blog post 105 and this blog has had over 20,000 hits. YAY! You guys make me feel so good =)

Here's a little bit more of the Halloween story - which is now 30 pages long and STILL NOT DONE! Longest single entry I've ever written. Hands down. I think it might be one of the best too. This section picks up right where the previous teaser left off:

"I can see so many ways this could backfire," muttered Veronica.

To tell the truth, so could Lily but she'd thought through all of the consequences and had decided that the risk was worth it.  She knew that Paul might never look at her, Lily, the way he looked at other girls. But she wanted to try. Dammit, she just wanted a chance.  Even if the only way she could do it was hidden behind a mask.

**********  

Paul adjusted his Zorro mask as he and Rob headed up the front walkway to the party. "Is it on straight?"  

"Yeah, you look good," Rob said with a grin. "How about me?"  He adjusted the feather on his hat.    

"Like you're ready to rob the rich blind," Paul replied, with a slight emphasis on "rob" that made his friend snort.  He must be in a good mood, normally he hated Paul's puns and it was up to others to laugh at them.    

Giving his friend a once over, he had to admit they looked pretty good.  Rob was wearing dark leather boots, green pants and a dark green shirt with a brown leather vest over it which was belted closed.  There was even a plastic sword hanging from a scabbard.  Paul was similarly outfitted, but in all black, looking exactly like the legend of old.    

"Kind of funny that we're both dressed up as similar characters," he said.   

"Yeah well that's Lily for you," Rob replied as they reached the door. "Don't know what I'd do every Halloween without her.  That mustache she found for you is ridiculous by the way."  The two of them always managed to win some kind of costume contest, thanks to Lily's help with putting together very detailed costumes.  She was always on top of that kind of thing and never minded lending them a hand with theirs.  

"What is she doing this year?"   "Some party with her friends I think."   "No, I mean, what's her costume?  She didn't mention it to me."  Paul always loved seeing what she came up with.  Even as a middle schooler she'd had amazing costumes and they'd just gotten more detailed as she'd gotten older.  Last year she'd made an incredible Loony Luna and had even made her own radish earrings. He always admired her ingenuity and was a little disappointed that she wasn't coming to the same party as them. Not that she always did, but he hadn't even gotten a glimpse of her tonight since Rob had picked him up in a taxi on the way to the party.  

"I'm not sure," Rob said. "Hello... Lisa?"  

The pretty witch who had just opened the door, face partially hidden behind a sleek green beaded mask, grinned up at them. "Good job! Although I guess since I'm the one throwing the party I shouldn't be that surprise," she said laughing. "Mmmm... Rob and Paul!"  

"How'd you know?" asked Paul, bemused. The Zorro costume covered him up pretty well he thought.  

Lisa grinned at him. "You two always show up to everything together.  Without Rob's blonde hair I might not have recognized him, but you've got a pretty distinctive jaw line and put the two of you together..."  

"Okay, okay," Paul said rolling his eyes. "Stop now before we have to break out in a rendition of 'Guy Love.'"  

"You wish dude," Rob punched his shoulder.  

"Go enjoy the party guys," Lisa said, shoeing them off. "The bar's downstairs and it's turning into a dance party down there, we've got jello and syringe shots, kegs are on the back porch and beer pong is in the garage."  

"Fantastic," said Paul, heading off towards the back porch. Rob followed him and he returned to the conversation they'd been having. "So you have no idea what Lily's being for Halloween? That's kind of weird isn't it? Usually she won't shut up about her costume."  
"I dunno," Rob answered a little distractedly as he looked around the party, unleashing his most charming smile on a small group of half dressed women giggling and standing in a corner as they talked. "I think she's still mad at me after I told her off for trailing after us all summer.  Last week she said something about that maid from Clue."

Yvette. Paul stifled a groan at the image that flashed in his head of Lily in Yvette's outfit. Sweet mother of all that was holy.  For the first time that night he thanked his lucky stars that Lily had decided to attend a different party. He'd spent all summer doing his utmost not to notice how well she filled out her bathingsuits and those tiny sundresses, had been perfectly respectful during the times when she'd needed help with her sun screen, and had finally had to admit defeat to himself and hint to Rob that it would be nice if they could have more guy time. Although Rob didn't know it was because Paul had been at the end of his rope when it came to restraint from Lily, who had grown up all too fast and all too well.

He couldn't even hint that to Rob because he had no doubt that his best friend would cheerfully kick his ass if he had. Well, try to kick his ass anyway. But Paul probably wouldn't have fought very hard because he wouldn't be able to blame Rob for doing so.  If he found out that any guy had been having thoughts about Lily like the kind of thoughts that he was, he'd cheerfully kick that guy's ass.

Suddenly Lily's absence from the party seemed like a very bad thing.  Especially if she was prancing around in a Yvette outfit with her mile long legs and those gorgeous boobs pushed up and-

"Here."  Automatically Paul took the cup of beer from the Rob, only now noticing that he'd blindly followed his friend out onto the back porch. Thank god. He needed booze to clear away the rage that he felt at the idea of some asswipe hitting on Lily... God he hoped she hadn't gone as Yvette. Not without him there to watch out for her. Although who would have kept him in line then?

As forbidden fantasies went, Lily dressed as Yvette and laid out naked on his bed had to be-

"Dude are you okay?" Rob helpfully interrupted his reverie for the second time in two minutes.  He gave himself a small shake and took a sip of beer to snap himself out of it.

"Yep, good, just trying to decide where to go next."

"I'm going to go back to that group of girls we saw," Rob said with a wicked grin, heading back inside.

Girls. That was a good idea. Something to get his mind off of Lily.  Maybe he could find someone to derail his thoughts and fantasies from the utter train wreck they'd slowly devolved to this past year.  That would be ideal.

Stepping back into the house he was almost immediately halted.

"Oooo cool costume!"

"Thanks," he said, smiling down at the pretty girl. Her mask and wig covered enough that he couldn't tell if he knew her or not.

"What are you? A highwayman?"

"Ah sort of. Ever heard of Zorro?"

The slutty Raggedy Ann shook her head.  Dressed up as a doll and didn't know Zorro.  Talk about a warning sign for jail bait.  Giving her a casual smile he was preparing a friendly brush off when a vision in pink and white sidled up to them.