SEVEN

CELESTE

L eaning my back against my front door, I let out a sigh of relief to be home. I close my eyes and focus on my breath. In for four, out for five, in for four, out for five. It's some trick I picked up from someone along the way to help with my anxiety. I've dealt with anxiety and panic most of my life, ever since I was a kid. A string of various shrinks tried to "fix me" but I was too much of a lost cause. I'm too damaged to ever be normal. I did pick up some useful tips along the way though, like the breathing exercise or focusing my attention on my physical being.

I focus on the feeling of my feet on the ground, willing myself back down to Earth. I'm not really anxious right now, more like post-overstimulated. Is that even a fucking thing? The drugs and alcohol and high from multiple orgasms are all wearing off and I'm starting to crash. I need to ground myself back in the here and now after everything that has happened tonight.

The masked man silently grabbed my hand and led me to his car. Red warning lights had gone off in my head, cautioning me not to go with a masked stranger, but weirdly, I'd felt like I could trust him. I mean, I'd probably regret it when I ended up murdered on the side of the highway, but you only live once, right? He led me to a blacked out Dodge Charger with windows tinted as dark as the black paint. It's a sexy ass car. He drove me home without saying a word, music blaring from the speakers throughout the car. I'd simply rolled the window down and let the cool fall air whip my hair around my face while he drove. The flickering lights of fading jack-o'-lanterns flashed by as we passed through the streets filled with sweet little suburban homes.

When we arrived at my house, he pulled up to the curb and stopped the car. The car sat idling as he sat stoically, staring straight ahead into the darkness of the night. I'd awkwardly thanked him before exiting the car. I mean, what do you say to a masked stranger whose name you don't even know, but who you let fuck you with a knife in the back of a seedy club? Nothing, apparently. And apparently, he says nothing back.

I'm not sure if I expected some movie moment where he ran after me and kissed me in the rain or what, but this isn't a fairytale. I walked swiftly through the dark night up the walkway to my door alone, turned off the switches to my electric jack-o'-lanterns on my porch, and entered my house. Alone.

Sliding my phone out of my top, I pull up my text thread with Liv. My devil had been right—Liv had totally abandoned me. I love her to death but sometimes she can be a bit selfish. She'd sent me a quick text letting me know that she was taking the guy from the dance floor plus some other random guy back to her house for a "private after-party." That's her code for pulling out the handcuffs and riding crops for some seriously kinky shit. Not that I'm judging. Hell, I've let her use the crop on me before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Liv is a switch and she gives as good as she gets. I send off a quick text back to her.

Hope you're having fun with your two mystery men! Call me when they leave!

Feeling slightly better, I push off the door and walk into the living room, kicking off my heels as I go. My house is old and small but it's enough for just me. I bought it cheap when some old lady's husband died and she couldn't afford the mortgage anymore. Her loss was my gain. I have it sparsely furnished with neutral tones. There's no photos or knick-knacks lining the shelves and walls. It's bland and impersonal, as if anyone could live here, and if I left, no one would even know I'd been. It's a habit of bouncing from place to place—the less you have, the less you have to leave behind.

When I make it to the front window, I peer out the curtains. The houses on my street are aglow with lights from hollowed out pumpkins and flashing decorations. Despite the festive decor, the street is quiet and empty. Except for the black Charger still parked out front, idling aimlessly outside.

Is he waiting there for a reason? Was he expecting me to invite him in?

Not knowing what else to do, I raise my hand and wave. The sound of tires squealing against the pavement rips through the silence of my quiet little street. He leaves like a bat out of Hell. Was he waiting for me to get inside, making sure I got home safely? That's kinda sweet for a man disguised as a devil.

Making my way to the back of my house, I enter the small primary bedroom and start my nighttime routine. I'm terrified of getting old. I'm going to make an ugly ass old lady so I make sure to follow a strict skin care routine in order to avoid premature wrinkles. I wash, cleanse, tone, treat, and moisturize my skin. After brushing my hair, I throw it up in a messy bun and slip into my pajamas.

I pull back my duvet and crawl into bed. My pussy aches in a very satisfying way as I reposition myself in the bed. Thinking back through the night, I can't help but smile. This has definitely been one of my top five Halloween celebrations for sure.

Suddenly I shoot up, sitting rigidly in bed. Panic rips through me, strangling my heart and bringing the all too familiar sensation of an anxiety attack through my body. I'm completely frozen in fear as I realize that the masked man drove me home tonight, but I never told him where I live.

Three sharp raps pull me back towards consciousness. I barely slept at all last night. I was too consumed with running back through my mind trying to figure out how the Devil knows where I live. What if he's someone I know? What if he's a stalker or a serial killer or some shit? Finally, I drifted off into a restless sleep full of images of devils and demons and blood. Now, as I'm pulled away from my fitful rest, a sense of foreboding lingers.

Another set of loud bangs rings out through the silence. It's knocking. Someone's knocking at my door. Groaning as my head pounds uncontrollably, I roll over.

"Fuck!" I just want to sleep off my hangover and ensuing panic. Unfortunately, the banging on my door continues and rest does not seem likely.

Padding down my hallway, I rub the sleep out of my eyes. Everything within me seems to be pulsating with exhaustion. I'm desperately dehydrated.

Swinging open my door, the sunlight hits my eyelids with a force strong enough to make me flinch. I raise my hand to shield my eyes as Liv breezes past me into my house.

"Bitch, took you long enough. I've been out there pounding on the door forever," she says as she crosses into the living room and puts down the paper cups and bag she's holding onto the coffee table. "It's almost eleven. Are you seriously still asleep? Wait, how late did you stay up partying?" She wiggles her eyebrows at me, the piercing in her left one glinting in the late morning light.

"I got dropped off shortly after you ditched me." I collapse into the comfy chair across from her with a sigh.

Liv gives me a look before leaning across the table to grab one of the paper coffee cups and hand it to me. As she leans forward, her shirt pulls down, exposing the flesh of her tits spilling out of her hot pink bra. Something in my core twinges as I see she's completely covered in hickies and bite marks.

"Looks like you had some fun last night." I give a pointed glance at her tits as she sits back on the couch, taking a long swig of her own coffee. She got me some sugary pumpkin shit and I hold back a frown as the sweetness churns my already upset stomach.

She gives me a sly smirk. "Brody—the man who finger fucked you on the dance floor—was kinda'a dud. But Luke, the guy I met after you ran off and disappeared, was fucking incredible!" She's practically gushing and has a huge smile on her face. "He's a pleasure Dom!"

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." I'm too hungover and tired to care about her sex-capades currently. And if I'm honest, I'm a bit annoyed that she ditched me last night to run off with random men. But that's Liv.

"Girl, it's amazing! He was like, all about pleasuring me. He totally bossed me around, had me on my fucking knees for him, but it was about me the entire time. He even was commanding Brody around, forcing him to pleasure me again and again and again—"

"Okay, I get it! He made you come several times."

"No, you don't get it, babe. Brody drove us all back to my house and the entire drive there Luke had his mouth all over me, teasing me and driving me wild. He would finger fuck me until I was on the edge of coming and then pull away. I was a dripping mess by the time we got to my house."

I squirm uncomfortably in my seat, feeling warmth pool between my thighs. I sip my coffee and avert my eyes to cover up how I'm reacting to her story. A man like that, willing to use you and abuse you, but for your own pleasure—sounds like some fucking make believe fairytale shit. That's the kind of man that only exists in those smut books Liv is constantly reading. If they do exist, they're certainly not interested in girls like me. Girls that are ruined.

"As soon as we got to my house he blindfolded and tied me up. He had me splayed across my bed, limbs tied to each post of my bed frame. Then babe, you won't believe this." Liv mock fans herself as if she's working herself up reliving this. "He pulled out a knife and cut my clothes off of me."

The mention of a knife has my pussy waking the fuck up and paying attention. It throbs at the memory of how hard I came the night before. Liv doesn't seem to notice as she continues reliving her own sinful delights.

"He demanded Brody eat me out while he observed. Anytime he didn't think Brody was pleasuring me enough, he punished him by making him bend over me and then spanking him. Hard. I could feel Brody's cock pulse against me and his teeth sink into my skin every time Luke smacked his ass, and it was so fucking hot. Brody seemed like one of those uptight assholes who's secretly some kind of freak, like if Luke wasn't there he'd have been sucking on my toes or some shit. But the way Luke commanded him around, using him to pleasure me, it was so fucking hot."

"Girl, how you find these people I will never understand." I try to laugh off her story, deflecting in order to pretend like I'm the normal one. But I'm not. At least Liv got the names of the men she let fuck her.

"After I came on each of their faces, they took turns fucking my ass and pussy, using me as their dirty doll, until we all were spent." Liv is totally lost in her thoughts, staring off into space. "It was the best sex I've ever had."

"Fuck," I groan as I squirm further in my seat.

Liv finally snaps out of wherever she's been and really looks at me. Her expression changes quickly, heat pulsating in her eyes. A smirk spreads across her face as she crosses the room and straddles my lap. Her hands land on my shoulders for balance as she lowers herself onto me. My nipples stand at attention under my thin cotton tee shirt as her chest brushes against mine.

Leaning into me, she kisses a line up the column of my neck. "Sorry, babe. Am I working you up?" She whispers against the shell of my ear before licking from lobe to tip. A shiver creeps down my spine. "Did you not find someone to bring home last night?" She brushes her chest against mine, making my nipples harden even further. She knows exactly what she's doing to me as she rolls her pussy against my lap seductively.

She feels good. Pushing my hips up, I grind into her before pulling away.

"No," I whisper. I push her back slightly and shake my head at her. As good as she feels, I'm not in the mood for her games today.

She smiles down at me before kissing me lightly. Disentangling herself from my lap, she moves back to the couch and picks up her phone. "There's pastries in the bag," she says casually as she scrolls through her phone.

The sudden loss of her has me practicing my breathing again. In and out and in and out. I attempt to calm myself.

Suddenly looking back up at me, Liv cocks her head and narrows her eyes at me. "So no luck finding a guy to fuck last night then?"

I open the white paper bag and pull out one of the flaky pastries. "No," I mumble as I shove the sweet treat into my mouth.

I have no idea why I just lied to my best friend but I'm certain I don't want her to know about my devil in disguise.