Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 68: Monsters

“So, let me guess, you’re an English lit major, right?” I hazard a guess.

“How could you tell?” Colton asks, breaking into a laugh. Just like everything else about him, his laugh is super sexy deep and warm, sincere, slightly boyish but alluring.

“Seriously though, please don’t judge me based on that cringey cocktail analogy thing,” he says with a sheepish grin. “I guess my pickup game isn’t as strong as it used to be. Can we start over?”

“I actually thought the cocktail thing was cute,” I admit, feeling my ch*eks heat up as I flirt unashamedly. “It won me over, for the record.”

“Oh, well in that case, maybe my rusty old pickup game isn’t so bad after all,” he replies with a twinkle in his eye, and we both share a genuine laugh.

He steps closer to me, and I’m suddenly very aware of the feel of his body heat, the musky scent of his cologne – he smells spicy and woodsy, like cloves and cedar.

“Now it’s my turn to guess,” Colton says, making a show of thinking deeply “Hmmm… I’d say you’re a freshman, studying… give me a sec…. Environmental Sciences?”

“What the…? How on earth did you know that?” I ask, and he just shrugs in reply.

“Lucky guess,” he says with a wink.

“So, uh, where in Australia are you from?” I ask.

“Australia?!” He asks, narrowing his eyes as he begins to laugh. “Oi! Now that’s a major insult, I’m a Kiwi. The nationality, not the bird or the fruit.”

“Oh yeah of course, New Zealand, Australia’s slightly cooler neighbour,” I say, and he nods emphatically,

“Hah! More like way cooler,” he guffaws, “Between you and me, those Aussies are a bunch of sheep shagging wankers, NZ’s where it’s at. You ever been?”

“No, but I’ve always wanted to see it,” I say, remembering all that beautiful scenery in the Lord of the Rings movies, a tiny country on the other side of the world filled with ancient forests and majestic mountains

“Well, maybe someday you will,” he says “You just need to meet a nice Kiwi bloke who’ll take you there.”

I can feel my blush deepening, and I dig deep into my mind looking for something witty to say, but I come up blank.

“You’re a transfer student then? Or an exchange student?” I ask, trying to guess what a drop–dead gorgeous Kiwi is doing at a frat house party in California.

“Yeah, the second one,” he says. “I’m a post grad at the University of Otago in Dunedin, finishing up my masters in English lit. My thesis topic is actually, believe it or not…”

He pauses

for

dramatic effect, puffing out his chest and speaking in a low, gravelly voice, NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

“Insert drum roll here… “Homoeroticism and Misogyny in Shakespear’s Later Plays. Thrilling stuff, and totally bloody useless out in the real world.”

I giggle, starting to warm up to Colton even more. He obviously doesn’t take himself very seriously, unlike so many of the self–obsessed jocks I’ve met so far at college.

“So why Berkeley then?” I ask “Sounds like you should’ve done an exchange with someone in England or Europe… like, go to Oxford or something.”

“Nah, the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies here is top–notch,” he says with a grin.

“There’s a couple of world renowned professors whose brains I wanted to pick for my thesis.

I’m almost sorta sad it’s all ending, to be straight with you. I go back

k to NZ at the end

of the semester.”

The end of the Fall semester… that’s mid December. Hmmm. A month and a half away. A pity, but still plenty of time to have some fun before he leaves to fly to the other side of the world. Just the right amount of time for a quick fling, no strings attached.

Chapter 6 Monsters

It might actually be sorta convenient to have a clear expiry date on whatever happens between Colton and me. Tonight I’m on a mission, with one set goal – lose my virginity.

And Colton is perfect.

As I think this, Colton’s phone buzzes, and he fishes it out of some concealed pocket in his Pharoah’s costume.

He unlocks his screen and looks out briefly into the crowd, as if searching for someone.

That’s when I spot him. Or rather, them.

Five

guys on the other side o

of the pool, standing about fifty feet away, apart from the crowd of party–goers. They’re wearing identical Halloween costumes the long black hooded robes and white anguished Ghostface masks from the Scream movies. Their hands are concealed with black gloves, and they seem to be standing in a group, all of them turned in my direction… all of them watching… ME

I wouldn’t usually feel uneasy about seeing someone dressed as a serial killer at a Halloween party- we’re surrounded by witches and skeletons and monsters or all different types tonight – but something about these guys seems off. And although it’s hard to know for sure with the masks concealing their faces, I could swear that they are all staring straight at me.

One of the guys in the Scream killer group raises his gloved hand, and I realise that he’s holding a gleaming hunting knife, cruelly sharp and coated with what I am hoping is fake blood.

Slowly, he drags the knife across his throat, and although his eyes are hidden within the darkness of the mask, I just know that he’s making unwavering, direct eye contact with me while he does it.

“You alright?” Colton asks, breaking me out of my daze. “You’re lookin‘ kinda pale. Want

it another drink?

“It’s nothing.” I lie, not wanting to sound paranoid. “Just… those guys give

e me the cre

the creeps”

I point

towards the guys in the scream killer masks, who are still staring in my direction, now standing perfectly still.

“What, them?” Colton laughs, wrapping an arm around me. “Nah, they’re just takin‘ the piss, is all. Just a bunch of drunken frat boys that’ve been on the turps since sun–up. Ignore ‘em.”

I nod my head, feeling instantly safer now that Colton has one of his arms wrapped around

d me.

“Anyway, if you wanna bounce, I know somewhere else we could go.” he says, leaning in and speaking just above a whisper. The feel of his hot breath against my ear sends tingles down my spine, and for the first time since leaving the Castle of Endless Night, I feel myself growing hot and wet.

“I’ll go literally anywhere with you,” I blurt out, instantly feeling a little stupid for being so easy. Maybe the alcohol’s already going to my head – but I honestly mean it. I’d probably follow this guy off a cliff. He’s just that f*cking hot, and I have several months of pent up sexual frustration bursting at

the seams.

“Perfect,” he says with a smile. Then he takes my hand and leads me away from the party- and into the jaws of fate.

Chapter Comments

Ekzabeth Johnson.

when is the next update, please

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