One Night in New York

Chapter Six

What is Halloween if not a day when we can all dress up and pretend to be someone else? We get to act for a time, and our costumes seem to give us confidence as we play a different persona. Isn't that what life is all about: dressing up every day to pretend to be someone we're not or someone we want to be? That's how I've always thought, prompting me to overthink everything while hunting for the deeper significance behind everything. But would my relationship with Liam have a deeper meaning for me? I wasn't sure, but I'd find out soon.

The remainder of October flew by, and before you knew it, it was Halloween. Aside from Christmas, my favorite holiday was Halloween, which was full of family, friends, and celebrations. I had planned to take Liam, Angie, and Marcus to New York's Village Halloween Parade, allowing him to meet two of my dearest friends and most significant individuals in my life.

I didn't want Liam to go out of his way by picking us up, so he had Andrew bring him to meet us. We were going to meet on Canal Street and stay there until the parade was over. We intended to hang out at a nearby pub afterward because it normally lasted three hours. There would be around 50,000 participants and almost two million spectators along the mile-and-a-half parade route. We were ready, and the three of us dressed up, although Liam told me he did not want to.

"I'm so excited for this night!" Angie shouted as we made our way out the door, clapping her hands quickly like an excited toddler. That was one of the best parades and parties New York had to offer.

Angie was dressed as a seductive devil, of course. She was dressed in skin-tight red leggings that sat over her skin-tight bodysuit and thigh-high red boots. On top of her head were horns, and on her back was a devil's tail. Marcus dressed up as Dracula, complete with cloak and fangs. That was the extent of his outfit. Angie chose me to be a sexy cop. Yes, she most certainly did. I let her choose because we all knew my fashion sense was usually inadequate. I was dressed in skin-tight pleather pants and a quarter-sleeve black bodysuit with a badge on the left arm. I donned black boots that reached just below my knee, as well as an officer's cap. I felt terribly uneasy, but my closest friend encouraged me to come out of my shell, so I gave in.

Nerves began to build as I imagined how embarrassed I would be when Liam saw me wearing something revealing in my daily life. I didn't have much time to calm down because we were just ten minutes away from our location. We arrived hours earlier, aiming for the greatest view as I scoured the crowd for Liam. I didn't see him, and I knew he wouldn't recognize me in that costume, so I texted him to let him know where we were. I felt a touch on my shoulder as I was about to press the submit button. When I turned around, I noticed Liam. I brought my hands to my mouth as I looked at him, astonished. He had on a green Top Gun flight costume, coupled with aviator sunglasses.

My heart leaped out of my chest when I saw him dressed up for Halloween, knowing that it was one of my favorite holidays. He grinned, took off his glasses, and kissed me. He said he did it to surprise me. I was stunned because it meant a lot that he would come out with my friends and me despite being a wealthy, prominent man who would normally never take on an event like that.

We enjoyed the parade and partied hard as New Yorkers do. I met so many wonderful people, most of whom were dressed up for the occasion. The people walking the parade route were also a welcome fright. I saw Siamese twins, Pennywise the Clown, bands with members dressed as the dead, goblins, ghouls, skeletons, and much more. We started hitting the canal street bars as soon as it was over to continue celebrating the night.

We walked into a packed elbow-to-elbow bar when I heard a female voice scream out, "Liam!"

Liam and I both turned to see who was calling his name. I was especially intrigued when I noticed a tall brunette raising her arm above the crowd in an attempt to catch his attention. "Great, this is how the night is going to go," I thought.