Page 24 of Moonflower
“Hey.” Ezra pulls his mask over his face. Then, in what I’d categorize as a horrible Pinhead voice, he says, “No tears, please. It’s a waste of good suffering.”
Cora lets out a tearful laugh, shoving him playfully. “You’re a fucking dork, you know that?”
“Yeah. But I’m your dork. Aaaaand you love me.”
Her expression softens, and for a moment I’m worried she’s going to start crying all over again. She doesn’t, though—just nods and says, “A lot.”
After that, her tears dry up. She has to fix her makeup again, but Ezra and I don’t mind waiting. Once she’s come out of the bathroom, I take her hand in mine, and she grabs Ezra’s. We walk downstairs like that, the three of us refusing to let go of each other. Pinhead, a fairy, and Dracula. I can only imagine it’s one hell of a sight.
All I want to do is take Cora back to her apartment and continue what happened in the library, but she seemed excited about this party. I may not leave her side all night, but I’m not going to take her away from her friends, either. Besides, I’m sure her body needs some type of break.
The past three years of agonizing distance still hurt, but after reading her blog posts last week, everything makes more sense. And it couldn’t be more clear that Cora was hurting, too. She must’ve been so lonely.
Downstairs, we run into Liling, Imani, and Brooke almost immediately. They’re in one of the larger rooms swaying to the music, red cups in their hands.
When Brooke spots us, she squeals, grabbing onto Cora and pulling her over. “Where have you been?! We’ve been waiting for you.”
“I was . . .” Cora straightens her fairy costume. “Busy.”
I’m barely able to hide my smile by asking, “You want something to drink, Cora?”
She nods.
“I’ll get it,” Ezra says. “You want anything, Wild?”
I shake my head. One of us needs to stay sober tonight, and it makes sense that it should be me since I drove.
Ezra goes to get drinks, and the girls immediately start chattering about this Ryan guy. Liling looks especially flustered.
“You both obviously like each other,” Cora says. “Why haven’t you done anything about it?”
Liling gulps down half of the liquid in her cup before saying, “He’s older than I am! What if it doesn’t work out? What if he wants kids? Because I don’t think I do. And what if—”
“LILING.”
She groans, smacking her palm to her forehead. “Am I overthinking things again?”
“Babe,” Imani says. “It’s what you do best.”
“Just give it a try,” Brooke says, throwing an arm haphazardly around Liling’s shoulders. Some of the liquid from her cup spills onto the wooden floor. “It could end up being the best thing that ever happened to you.”
Cora gives Brooke a concerned look. “How many drinks have you had?”
A large man with long, dark blond hair comes up behind Brooke. “I’ve got her, don’t worry.”
“Oh, hi Blaze.”
He gives Cora a tight smile before tucking Brooke into his side. She giggles, nestling into him with a happy sigh. Once upon a time, seeing a couple as head-over-heels in love as they obviously are would’ve made me jealous. But not anymore.
Fuck, that’s a good feeling.
Ezra comes up next to me and hands Cora one of the drinks in his hands.
Blaze casts a suspicious glance over me and Ezra. “Friends of yours, Cora?”
“Yeah! Um. My . . . boyfriends.”
Goddamn, that’s an even better feeling.