On my way.

Maddy grinned when she saw the text Carter had sent to her phone. She had known the Wonder Woman costume was a good idea.

She checked the time on the text. Nearly forty minutes ago. That meant he should be here soon. Perfect. Nat had run into an old friend about twenty minutes ago, disappearing with a wink at Maddy that told her she shouldn’t wait up.

Maddy stood on her tiptoes in her Wonder Woman boots, her lasso of truth slapping against her thigh as she looked for him. Since he was taller than most of the people in here, he should be easy to spot.

“Maddy?”

Maddy froze, the happy glow in her chest being dashed to ice. Trying to breathe normally, she turned around. Her ex, David, was standing there, wearing a basketball jersey as his costume.

You can do this, she told herself. He’s a jerk who doesn’t deserve your respect.

Keeping her face smooth and detached, she smiled blandly at him. “David. Hi. How are you?”

“Good!” he said, sidling up to her, getting way too close. She took a big step back.

“Aw, Madz, don’t be like that,” he said, sticking his lower lip out, pouting like a toddler. “We never really got closure, did we?”

She wasn’t going to take his bait. Especially because she’d just spotted a light brown head towering over everyone else. “Carter!” she called, waving. He spotted her, waving back, making his way through the crowd towards her.

“Who’s that?” David frowned, peering through the throng.

“Bye,” Maddy said, not even looking at him as she moved toward Carter.

Of course, of course, David had to follow her. As she reached Carter, she realized that he was still behind her.

“Come on, Maddy. We should be friends, after everything,” David said.

Carter raised his eyebrow at Maddy when she reached him, like, who’s this guy? She mouthed the ex at him.

Immediately, Carter shifted, taking her hand and moving so he was between her and David. David, who had been running his mouth about “friendship,” immediately shut up as soon as Carter towered over him.

“Hi,” Carter said. “You must be the slut-shaming asshole I’ve heard about.”

David’s eyes widened. He was the type of guy who liked to think he was enlightened, but who also mansplained all over your Twitter feed when you disagreed with him. He may have been all twisted up about sex in private, but in public, portraying himself as open and enlightened was important to him.

“You have anything to say to this guy?” Carter asked her.

“Who is this?” David demanded. “Who are you?”

“He’s the man who’s drawn me down a path of incredibly satisfying, ultra-decadent, toy-filled, adventurous sex,” Maddy explained, unable to hide a smirk. She leaned forward, her eyes wide with fake sincerity. “I’m sorry, David, but you’ve lost me to the land of women with high libidos forever. I’ve become their ruler.”

“All Hail the Queen!” Carter said, grinning, and she looked over her shoulder at him, falling a little bit more in love with him in that moment than all the moments before.

“What the fuck, Maddy?” David sneered. “This is another one of your weird jokes. All I wanted was to give you some closure since our breakup was so difficult on you. It was me doing you a kindness.”

“You know, I’m really good with no closure,” Maddy said, tossing her hair back. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” she looped her lasso of truth around Carter’s neck, pulling him toward her. He laughed, going willingly, and Maddy pulled him onto the dance floor, leaving David—and all his baggage and all those shitty feelings he tried to stick her with--behind.

“Is it wrong of me to find you really fucking sexy right now?” Carter asked, grinding against her as the heavy beat of the music sang through them.

She tossed her head, rolling her ass along to the rhythm of the bass drum, with his hands anchoring at her hips making her think of his hands on other parts of her body. God, she felt amazing. Sexy. Empowered. Like she could do anything. Like she was Wonder Woman herself.

“Come on,” she said to Carter, pulling him from the dance floor, leaving the music behind.

They found a dark corner, just the two of them, and when he kissed her, his hands skimming over her costume like she really was a goddess, for the first time in her life she felt like one.