'I'll probably be back before one, and if you need me, you've got the Anderson's number and anyway, I'll have my mobile.'
She reeled this off without ever once shifting her gaze from the mirror in which she was perfecting her make-up, as if it needed it.
'Laura, the Andersons live three doors away from us. I could probably go into the back garden and yell if I needed you.'
She gave him a look and snatched up her heaving handbag. What in hell did she keep in there? Maybe that's how much make-up it takes to keep up this ice queen façade, applying a new layer every time there's a hint of a thaw.
'Fine, whatever. Are you sure you don't want to come?'
She only asked because she knew he didn't.
'I'm sure I don't want to come.' He replied, in deliberate monotone.
'Suit yourself,' she responded curtly, before adding the final touch -- a pair of twee cat ears -- to her costume, if the outrageous combination of black jeans and a black top could be termed fancy dress. She stalked briskly out of the house, closing the door firmly behind her in a motion that could have been a slam if there had been enough emotion behind it.
Mike sighed. Everywhere he looked his gaze fell on a gaudy pumpkin, a chintzy 'Happy Holidays!' banner, or a tray of specially decorated Halloween biscuits, cut in the shape of ghouls and ghosts. It wouldn't be much better at the Andersons', he reasoned. Middle-aged couples gorging on canapes and complaining about their bosses; probably their spouses too, when they're out of earshot. No thank you. I'm only thirty, for god's sake, he thought to himself, despairingly.
Outside, children screamed and giggled. He peered hesitantly out between the blinds, searching for a glimpse of a hot young mother or sexy babysitter chaperoning the brats. No such luck. He let his eyes linger longingly on upstairs window of the house opposite, where the Johnsons' teenaged daughter often presided over slumber parties populated by gorgeous, giggling girls, all long hair and lithe limbs, and blossoming curves bursting out of scanty shorts and vests. He felt himself harden at the thought of it. Not tonight though. He reached a hand tentatively under his jeans, before thinking better of it. Don't want to have to stop mid-wank to dole out goodies to trick-or-treaters; there's something decidedly creepy about giving little children sweets while sporting a hard-on. Perfectly on cue, the doorbell rang. Trick or treat.
Mike slouched reluctantly towards the door, picking up Laura's perfectly iced biscuits en route as a peace offering to appease whatever tyrannical toddler was lurking on the other side of the door. With his free hand, he pulled the door to, only to find that what was waiting for him behind it fell most definitely into the treat category. Gazing coyly up at him from behind heart-shaped sun-glasses stood Holly, the Andersons' eighteen year old daughter, dressed in knee socks, an achingly short tennis skirt and a polo shirt that, thanks to the two pert mounds it modestly concealed, rode up ever so slightly to display a flash of flat, tanned tummy. The costume was completed with a round red lollipop she sucked with an air of nonchalance. He searched frantically for accompanying kids -- younger siblings, babysitting charges -- but found none. Just sweet Holly Anderson, standing on his front step as if she'd stepped fresh out of a fifteen year old's favourite fantasy.
'Trick or treat,' she said, smiling. He thought he saw a glimpse of cherry red tongue poke quickly between her perfect white teeth -- was she mocking him?
'Can I come in?' she asked sweetly, moving towards the door without waiting for a response. Instinctively, he stood aside and watched, mesmerized, as she breezed past.
'You've got some cool stuff, Mr Richards.' Holly mused, bending (deliberately?) over across the kitchen counter to play with the incense sticks he had brought back from a Japanese business trip for Laura -- she'd hated them, of course -- allowing the girl's tennis skirt to hitch up just enough for him to catch a glimpse of white cotton underneath. He stared, though he reluctantly reminded himself he shouldn't. She was eighteen, for god's sake.
'So,' he awkwardly began, sensing that he should at least attempt conversation. 'How's... school?'
Holly turned to face him and gave a husky laugh that seemed to jar with her young years.
'College, actually. So you don't have to feel like a paedo for looking.' She added, leaning back against the counter and slowly edging her legs further akimbo.
'I wasn't...' Mike trailed off, flustered. 'You look very nice.' He conceded weakly, edging further back into the kitchen table as if cornered by a hungry beast of prey. As if reading his mind, Holly licked her pouting pink lips and he could have sworn her teeth seemed more pointed than they had a minute earlier.
'Oh come on, Mr Richards,' she sighed with mock exasperation. 'I've seen you gawping at us whenever we're at Vicky's, and I know I've got the best ass of any of the girls there. I mean, you saw for yourself just a minute ago. And don't pretend you weren't looking.'
He was being teased, told off even, by a girl almost half his age, and it was unbearable. He tried furtively to cover the growing hard-on straining under his jeans.