Milo and Eve found Cliff with Skye in the foyer of the house, which was decorated with rubbery spiders and low-hanging spider webs. Skye the Scarecrow was explaining to some guy in a toga with a chalice full of wine, that she was an asexual scarecrow. Even Cliff almost rolled his eyes. This was the third time she had found a reason to give this speech since they’d arrived almost two hours ago. Maybe he was just irritable; after all, it had been over an hour since either of them had seen Milo or Eve.

Eve was now barefoot, tightless, and riding on Milo’s back. Cliff was surprised at the pang of jealousy in his gut. Ever since he and Eve started seeing each other he and Milo had gotten closer and closer, the best of all worlds. He flirted, but nothing ever happened with Milo, but now he felt a new kind of dizziness. Where had they been? Where were her tights? Why did they both look so glowing?

“Hey, boo,” Eve greeted Cliff in a wispy murmur. “We’ve been looking for you.”

Cliff told himself to push the feeling aside. It couldn’t have been him who felt that way. No, he was evolved, and above petty spats with a lover. Not his girlfriend—his lover. Was that a patch of smeared lipstick on the inside of Milo’s stubble? And why was all Eve’s lipstick gone?

“There you guys are,” Skye cheered for their arrival, completely blind to their body language and the tension that had settled over the trio. “We tried to find you! But then we ended up on this dance floor with a bubble machine, and you know how it is. They were playing Lil’ Jon. Like, you try not to dance to that tune and tell me what happens.”

“You explode,” Eve answered easily, sounding very tired.

“You explode!” Skye, on the other hand, hummed with energy. “What’s with you guys?” she wondered. “Don’t tell me you want to go home! It’s not even midnight!”

“It’s almost midnight,” Milo countered.

“But we just got here!” Skye cried.

“It was two hours ago,” Eve stated flatly.

Cliff’s eyebrows lowered and he spoke for the first time since they’d approached.

“Where are your tights?”

“Um,” Eve answered. Cliff saw the shift on Milo’s face, as well. They were both uncomfortable with this sudden pivot in the conversation. “Well, it’s kind of a long story, actually.”

Cliff watched her expectantly. He had never felt this way in his life. He felt too hot, and the walls felt too close, and he wanted to rip Eve off of Milo. He wasn’t even sure which one he was jealous of. Later, he would meditate on that but right now, he was about as contemplative and mature as a guard dog on Adderall.

“Did someone mess with you?” he asked tightly.

“No, well, yes,” Eve answered hesitantly, “but Milo kicked their ass. I don’t think we could find them in this big house anymore, anyway. Is anyone else in the mood for hibachi right now?”

“Why didn’t you come get me?” Cliff went on, even though he knew how childish and nonsensical he sounded. He couldn’t stop himself from talking. His cheeks were getting pink and he couldn’t shut his stupid mouth.

“You weren’t there,” Milo answered simply. “Come on, let’s get out of here. She doesn’t have her tights or her shoes anymore.”

But Cliff stepped into Milo’s way. He put his hand out, and the gesture appeared almost casual but he wanted to kick Milo’s ass.

Milo saw the combative look in Cliff’s eyes and his own flared brighter.

Now that Cliff was this close to the other couple, he could see the edges of Eve’s thighs. They were draped in red flannel. Cliff’s nostrils flared.

“She’s wearing your shirt as underwear?”

“Her skirt is see-through,” Milo replied. He moved to step around Cliff, and Cliff zagged into his path again, wired and ready for anything. Milo exhaled through his nose and his jaw set. “Look, man.”

Shit. Cliff knew that expression. He knew that tone. Milo was about to level with him, and Milo McNamara was the most honest, fair person Cliff had ever met. He had a grim, flat look in his pale blue eyes that let Cliff know he was about to state some brutal truth. “You know what happened.”

Skye’s eyes were riveted to the scene unfolding in front of her.

Cliff’s brows lowered. “What?” He couldn’t have heard that right.

But Milo knew that he’d heard correctly, and deep down, so did Cliff. Milo nodded at Cliff without saying anything more. Eve blinked down at Cliff, her eyes as large as saucers.

“We aren’t together, I mean, umm exclusive, right?” she asked meekly.

Skye gasped loudly. She didn’t say anything, but Cliff knew the pieces had just fallen into place for her friend.

Cliff shook his head. He knew what had happened, all right. Why they’d been missing in action for over an hour. How they could be so laid back now.

“Right,” Cliff answered. “We’re not together. I mean, we rent romantic comedies together, and we go out on the weekends together, and we call each other every day, but no, we’re not together.”

“Milo does all those things with us too,” Eve stated.

“Then I can see how you got confused,” Cliff snapped. He didn’t know why he was doing this. This wasn’t like him. To yell at his not-girlfriend in the middle of a party full of strangers? Because his own logic had circled to bite him in the ass? Still, he couldn’t stop. His heart pounded and he felt the judgment of the entire room crashing down on him, but he couldn’t stop. “Maybe you should just be with Milo, then!”

“Cliff,” Eve called his name softly. Her green eyes grew as dark as a forest at nightfall. Her pain was clearly visible. Her thighs squirmed against Milo’s locked arms. “Let me down, Milo.”

But Milo didn’t release her knees from the inside of his forearms. “Don’t be like this,” Milo said, his voice low and steady compared to the others. This was one man who couldn’t make a scene if his life depended on it. “We can talk about it at home.”

Cliff seethed. He forgot that the foursome had all gotten ready for this party at his place. That meant this hellish night wasn’t over yet, even if he stormed out right now.

“It’s okay, Eve,” he assured her. His chest tightened and burned with vitriol. He added an incendiary droplet of gasoline to the flames: a lie. “I was already thinking about taking a break from whatever we’re doing, anyway.”

Eve gasped and squirmed harder. Milo released her this time. “What?” she demanded, stalking up to Cliff in her bare feet, thrusting her face up toward him. Cliff’s heart softened, but it wasn’t enough to melt the fire in his belly. “You’re the one who wanted this!” she insisted.

“And I’m glad I did,” Cliff reasoned. Too many people were watching them now. Strangers—a cowboy, an astronaut, a gaggle of zombie cheerleaders—all rubbernecking. He rooted in his pocket and produced the keys to his apartment, letting them dangle in the air in front of Eve. They were walking distance from his place, but he didn’t want to be anywhere with Eve or with Milo. Not right now.

Damn, he hated this feeling. What was happening to him?

“Here.” Cliff passed the keys to Eve. “Go ahead and get your things. Go on home. I’m going to stay out for another hour or two.” He broke eye contact here. “But I don’t want to see you when I get back.”

“Cliff!” Eve yelled up at him, horrified. Her fingers tightened into a fist around the keys. “This isn’t fair! You were the one who wanted this!”

Cliff nodded and reached his hand up, touching her face briefly. Already his anger was ebbing, and in its place utter defeat was blooming. “I know,” he said. His hand slipped away. “Maybe I wasn’t ready for it. Just leave the keys on the coffee table for me.”

Eve stared, dumbfounded, and her green eyes grew shiny. Cliff didn’t know if his resolve would hold. “Get out of here,” he commanded, gentle but firm.

Eve sniffled deeply and nodded, marching through the foyer with her bare feet, in her crinoline skirt and her corset, out into the blustery Halloween night. Skye scurried to catch up with her, yelling something about pneumonia and leaving Cliff and Milo behind to stare back and forth at each other.

“She’s right you know.” Milo shrugged. “You said this was what you wanted. From both of us. Nothing. No commitment. No labels.”

Cliff nodded. As much as he hated Milo right now, he also wanted to collapse into his arms and let the world fall apart. He wanted to deconstruct himself and figure it all out. Where had he gone wrong? In theory, this should have been an absolute heaven of no-strings-attached sex. But it wasn’t. The emotions seething were demanding, and now threatening to destroy him.

“I know,” he said. “I just need some time.”

Milo clapped him on the shoulder, the gesture brotherly and consoling. “Love you,” he offered.

Cliff swallowed. “Do you?” he wondered.

Milo’s head cocked to one side. “You know I do.”

Cliff grimaced. “I know.” His eyes drifted to the front door of the haunted house, through which Eve and Skye had just disappeared out onto the porch. He thought of Eve out there, barefoot and freezing, with nothing but an annoying, moralizing scare-person to protect her from New York City on Halloween night. “Watch after her for me,” he told Milo.

Milo gave one perfunctory nod. “Naturally,” he agreed. He stuck his hand out between them. “Still friends?”

Cliff hesitated, staring down at Milo’s hand like it might transform into something else. This man had just put his cock inside Eve, but Cliff couldn’t muster the strength to hate either of them. He didn’t know what he felt anymore. He was glad he hadn’t officially made Eve his girl, or made Milo his man because he now felt every bit as mixed up as he did after Allison first served him the divorce papers.

Cliff swallowed, took Milo’s hand, and gave it one hard shake.

“Friends,” he swore, eyes lingering on Milo as the other man turned and departed in search for Eve and Skye.

* * *

“Do you want me to stay over tonight?” Milo asked Eve, after driving her back to her place. Now he lingered in the doorway of her apartment, half-hoping for an invitation. Milo wasn’t blind. After the scene with Cliff at the party, she was obviously as fragile as a glass doll. He just didn’t think she was ready to spend the night alone after the breakup of her technically-not-a-relationship.

“No,” Eve answered listlessly. “I need to think. I need to be alone. Thanks, though.”

Milo nodded and gave her a warm, firm hug goodbye. Eve closed her eyes and relished the moment of contact, but when it was over, she let him go willingly.

“Call me,” he murmured to her, stepping out of the threshold to her place and back onto the stoop.

“I will,” she promised. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Evelyn.” He nodded and turned, and Eve let the door drift shut between them. She turned and leaned against the frame, expelling all the air in her lungs with a deep, long sigh, as if she could jettison all the negativity welling up inside her. God, she needed to get a grip on this cold, wriggling feeling in her chest. Something was deeply wrong but she didn’t know who to talk to. Skye would probably want to read tarot cards. Milo and Cliff were both involved in her current mess, so she couldn’t talk to them about it. The next closest thing she had left to a best friend would be… Eve dug out her phone and scrolled for his number in her contacts list. Joshua Mooney. Little brother. Groom-to-be. All of twenty-five years under his belt, but he could always make her feel better anyway.

Eve hit “Call” and flounced into her bedroom, chewing her lip. She hoped he answered. She knew he was busy.

Josh picked up on the sixth ring. Eve had been waiting for his voice mail to roll over when his real voice came on the line. He sounded winded. “Happy Halloween, pumpkin spice!”

Eve grinned. Her heart was still throbbing, but she grinned. She loved her brother. “Happy Halloween,” she replied weakly, trying to infuse her voice with even half of his enthusiasm. “What are you doing?”

“Drinking,” Josh answered casually. “Trying to get through this horror fest with Brie.” A female voice piped up, muffled, in the background. “Brie says hi.”

“Hi Brie,” Eve replied reflexively, though her mouth didn’t even twitch toward a smile. “Handing out candy? Got dressed up?”

“You know it. I am Batman. How about you?”

“Zombie bride.”

“Of course you are.”

“Of course I am.” Eve tossed herself onto her unmade bed with its numerous pillows. She let her head fall back into the mess. Thoughts of Cliff and Milo bubbled up, and then she heard the doorbell and Brie yelling in the background. “You sound like you’re having a good time,” Eve said.

The whole phone call idea now seemed stupid. She couldn’t call her brother and moan about how she and her yoga instructor accidentally caught feelings for each other. It had only been a month of her life. Josh was trying to enjoy his Halloween with Brie, the woman he’d been with for five years now.

“You don’t sound like you’re having a good time at all,” Josh said. A chorus of trick-or-treat sounded in the background.

Eve smiled despite herself. “I’ve been better,” she admitted. “I got kind of but not really dumped tonight.”

Josh laughed, then quickly subsided. “I’m sorry, Eve,” he said, reining in his exuberance. “That was just a funny way of putting it. You and Cliff?”

Eve cringed. She’d forgotten that Josh and Cliff knew each other from the NYC Social baseball league. So he knew EXACTLY who she was talking about. Great. They were probably Facebook buddies.

“Me and Cliff,” she confirmed uneasily.

“That’s too bad, Cliff is a great guy—” He sounded distracted for a moment, and Eve figured he was concentrating on something else. He came back into the conversation quickly. “But you’ll be okay. What happened?”

“He said he wasn’t ready to be in a committed relationship yet,” Eve lied. It was close enough. If she had known he’d wanted to be exclusive, she wouldn’t have slept with Milo. But he hadn’t wanted to be exclusive. “I just feel like a total trash person. No job. No boyfriend. I tried to go out to this party and it was too big, and I got lost, and some yeti grabbed my ass.” Eve’s mind drifted toward the remainder of the evening, but she shut it out. “What a night. I just…”

She heard a door shut at Josh’s end.

“Needed to talk to someone?”

“Yes,” Eve answered. “Yes. Was he really that great of a guy? Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

“He really is,” Josh was suddenly hesitant. “That’s why I sent him an invitation to the wedding.”

“You what?”

“I sent him an invitation to the wedding,” Josh answered. “He sent me a message on Facebook, congratulating me on my nuptials, and it just felt right.”

“Oh Josh.” Eve buried her face into a pillow and resisted the urge to scream. So, she was going to be forced to see him over the weekend right around the holidays and she would either have to go without a date, or take Milo. No good options.

“Do you want me to disinvite Cliff?” Josh asked.

Eve’s eyes bulged. “Don’t you dare,” she commanded him. “You are right, that man is a saint. Let him come to your wedding.”

Josh said, “Okay,” like he wasn’t sure if it really was okay. “But you’re going to have to wear that nightmarish pink dress in front of him. And dance awkwardly to Twist and Shout together.”

“Yeah, well. He liked the peach dress,” Eve muttered to herself.