It was Sunday again, and I was woken up by an email from my office complex reminding everyone of the Halloween party. "uhhh." The thought of running into Russel-or worse, Layla-made me want to crawl under my sheets and skip straight to November. It was now 1:45p.m and I still haven't had my first cup of coffee. That alone was a reason to leave the apartment. I slipped into my sexy black costume, zipped up my thigh-high boots, and headed to Noir Lux Coffee for their new Candy Corn Latte. The moment I stepped outside the crisp October air kissed my skin, I felt a little more like myself again-confident, mysterious, and free. Almost as free as a stray cat. Noir Lux Coffee was packed with sexy witches, all types of sexy animals, I even saw a sexy goblin, all sipping the Candy Corn Latte. I couldn't help but to wonder... how us women have turned our childhood fears into sex appeal? Maybe mystery was a part of our allure. I also now understood why everyone had the same coffee, it was bold, smooth, and unexpectedly addictive. The barista mentioned that it was from their new line Crimson Luxe. After sipping and watching a group of serial killers in glam talk about their trip to Miami. My phone buzzed. A text from Layla: "Hey September, do you think we could talk tonight at the Halloween party?" After my long silent pause, I texted back "Sure." By the time I reached the elevator, a woman dressed as a corpse bride stepped in with mascara tears streaming down her cheeks. "Are you ok?" I asked. "No", she said. "My boyfriend cheated on me. I'm going to get drunk and make out with everyone tonight." I just nodded, silently hoping that I wasn't part of everyone. Minutes later, I arrived at the rooftop party where the skyline glittered, and everyone wore a mask to match their costume. Somewhere between the un comfortability and the music, I spotted Layla dressed as a playboy bunny. Immediately, Layla apologized softly, but I wanted to mask my feeling tonight so instead, we drunk the blood-orange rum punch, danced and laughed until the corpse bride made her rounds-pouting her lips to collect another kiss. Not thinking, but thinking fast, I leaned in and kissed Layla instead. I understood why I did it, but what I couldn't understand why I wasn't uncomfortable. When Layla left to grab more punch, I escaped as sly as a cat back up to my apartment. And to my surprise the big bad wolf was sitting at my door, I was pissed but also happy to curl up with Russel.

                                                                        To be Continued...