"Trick or Treat!"
I grinned at the little kids, giving my best wicked witch cackle as I loaded up their goody bags with chocolate. It always made me smile to see them, their faces lit up with excitement and sugar overload, their costumes transforming them from ordinary kids into superheroes, princesses and monsters. It was all a part of the magic of Halloween for me, and I sighed as I watched the kids skip down the pathway back to their patient parents, feeling a little bit wistful. Normally, Matt would be standing next to me, making scary faces at the kids and flashing them the fake fangs of his Dracula costume. I smiled as I remembered the way he'd tried to use those fangs on me the night we'd met, our drunken tryst turning from moans to laughter when the cheap plastic had bent, lodging against his teeth and requiring several minutes of awkward fumbling to remove. I'd teased him that I'd cursed his fangs, keeping him from sucking my blood, and when he finally removed the mangled plastic he'd responded by holding me down and giving me a hickey so big I'd had to wear turtlenecks for days. The sex had been hot, amazingly so, but more than that I'd been impressed by his wit and sense of humor. When he called me the next day and asked about a date, I was all too happy to agree.
The smile faded from my lips as I closed the door on the departing trick-or-treaters and settled myself on the couch, tossing my witches hat on the floor and half watching the terrible horror movie playing on the tv. This was the first Halloween that Matt and I had been apart since we'd met and frankly, it sucked. I'd been looking forward to playfully helping to dress each other in our costumes, handing out candy to the kids, and when the doorbell finally stopped ringing, fucking each other like rabbits until the sun came up. We'd both always loved Halloween and it had taken on a special significance for us, with Matt proposing to me a year to the day after our first meeting. It seemed only natural that we would hold our wedding on Halloween as well.
And yet here I was, alone and lonely on Halloween, wishing Matt were here instead of driving home from a business trip. He'd tried to leave early but when he'd called me that morning and said that he couldn't start the 7 hour drive until at least 10pm, my heart sunk. We both knew it was necessary, and the promotion we'd been hoping for was almost guaranteed by his extra work, but it didn't make it any easier for me. I'd dressed up as usual, wearing my custom black corset with the black velvet skirt and pointed witch's hat, but the sexy thrill I got from seeing myself looking so wickedly hot was dulled by his absence.
With another sigh I mentally prodded myself and reached for the remote to switch off the movie. I wasn't normally the sort of person to mope, and I didn't like how pathetic I was being. I supposed the wine I'd indulged in wasn't helping my mood any, but I decided it would be best just to go to bed and try to sleep. Matt would come home in the dark hours of the morning and I was sure he wouldn't be too tired for a quick romp in the sheets. What was one night without him anyway, even if it was our night?
The doorbell rang again and I frowned, glancing at the clock. It was getting late for little kids to be out, but perhaps some teenagers were still wandering around, hoping for free candy. Not bothering to replace my hat, I headed for the door and threw it open, cackling as eerily as I could, but there was no one there.
"Typical." I muttered, rolling my eyes at the absent troublemakers who had rung my doorbell and then ran. I reached over to turn off the porch light, hoping to discourage any further visitors, and shivered as a gust of icy wind swirled around me and into the house. I gasped and felt my nipples harden under the thin silk of the corset cups, and then laughed ruefully as I closed the door. "I must be more hard up than I'd thought if a gust of wind can do that." I thought, turning back to the living room and preparing to head to bed. I paused suddenly, stiffening as I felt something lightly touch my hip, but when I spun and looked, there was nothing.
"Oh, Molly, it is definitely time for bed." I sighed, heading for the windows to draw the curtains. I smiled at my reflection in the dark glass, loving how the light made my long dark hair shine, and then shrieked as I again felt something touching me. This time it wasn't gentle, and I stared openmouthed at my reflection as my skirt began to slowly lift, seemingly of its own accord. I grabbed at it, staggering backwards and flinging my arms around, trying to make contact with whatever was doing this, but there was nothing there. My skirt was still rising, slowly and inexorably as I struggled with it, trying to hold it down. I fell to my knees, panicked and terrified and suddenly it stopped, everything becoming still. I was kneeling there, panting and wild eyed, searching the room desperately for an answer, when I felt a soft caress on my cheek. I whimpered, closing my eyes, and a warm breath blew across my neck, carrying with it a scent I knew all too well.
"Matt?" I whispered, feeling crazy even as I said it. There was no answer but the gentle stroking of my cheek. "What's happening?" I whimpered, too scared to open my eyes. Another soft breath blew across my neck and I moaned as it was followed by lips pressing against my skin, softly kissing me just the way Matt always did. I shook my head slowly, unable to understand what was happening, and then whimpered again as the hand stroking my face slid down to rest on my stomach, pulling me back against a hard chest. My eyes flew open and I stared at my reflection in the window, bewildered and scared as I watched a strand of my hair be tucked behind my ear by an invisible hand. I felt the hand on my stomach creeping upwards, tracing the line of corset hooks til it reached the smooth skin of my cleavage, and then moaned again as it traced along the edge of the fabric, dipping just far enough underneath it to tease me. My nipples, already hard from the cold, tightened into sharp little points and I whimpered in anticipation. I glanced up at the glass again, and then closed my eyes, willfully denying what was happening to me. I didn't understand, couldn't understand, and some part of me didn't want to. If I was going crazy, so be it. If this was simply a delusion born of wine and loneliness, I could accept it.