Better Off Friends: Extended Halloween Scene

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There was a longer Halloween scene in my original edit of Better Off Friends, but it got cut. Why? Well, as you'll see below, the scene with Macallan's dad and uncle along with extra Macallan and Levi banter, while always fun, didn't really add much to the story. When my editor suggested cutting it, I thought, "I can always release the uncut scene online!" So here we go!

For those who haven't read Better Off Friends (I'll be posting an excerpt in a couple weeks), Levi has moved from California to Wisconsin, where he meets Macallan. They become instant best friends. Then Levi starts dating Macallan's other best friend, Emily. The scene below (which begins on page 51 in Better Off Friends) is at the Halloween party that Emily is throwing. Enjoy!

Generally when a guy gets a girlfriend, he usually ends up spending less time with his guy friends. But with Emily it was the opposite.

Before I knew it, I was starting to hang out with more guys. Keith, Troy, and I went to the mall to get our outfits for Emily’s Halloween party. We ended up grabbing a few slices and talking about sports. I hadn’t had that much bro-time since I moved. I even got excited when Keith picked on me for spending so much time with Macallan and “not hitting that.” I took it as a compliment that he was ribbing me. It meant that I was in.

“Have I told you you’re the greatest boyfriend?” Emily pecked me on the cheek as I put up the last of the fake cobwebs in the living room the night of the party.

“Not today.” I winked at her.

She laughed before surveying the room for one last inspection before people arrived. We moved the furniture so there was a large area for people to hang out and maybe dance. We had a table set up on the side that had a punch bowl filled with “green slim” (which was basically green colored punch) and chips, dip, pretzels, candy, and a lot of room left for Macallan’s food.

“Macallan’s here!” Emily bolted to the door to let Macallan, her dad, and Adam in.

“Hey!” Macallan’s arms were full with bags of mini-hamburger buns. “Can you guys help unload the car?”

I grabbed the serving tray her dad was holding. “Of course!”

Emily started directing us while Mr. Dietz, Adam, Macallan, and I ran back and forth to the car.

After we had all the items, we started rearranging the food. Macallan, as with everything, outdid herself. There were “mini-mummy” pizzas (where black olives were used as eyes), deviled eggs that had peppers sticking up like horns so the eggs looked like devils, mini-cupcakes decorated with candy corns. And of course, her infamous pulled pork sandwiches.

“This all looks amazing, Macallan!” Emily hugged her.

“Well, this places looks fantastic.” Macallan surveyed the room.

I felt a sense of pride at her compliment. It took all day to hang up fake ghosts, cobwebs, and streamers. Glow in the dark ghosts, witches, and haunted houses were taped up all over the living room and kitchen. We even covered most of the furniture in black cloth. 

“Dad!” Macallan hit her dad on the arm.

It took me a second to realize that Mr. Dietz was covering his mouth.

“What did I tell you? No eating the food! I have plates for you guys at home.”

“Sorry,” Mr. Dietz replied with a huge grin.

Macallan turned to me. “Can I trust that you will leave the food alone so Emily and I can get dressed?”

“Hey, of course. Why aren’t you giving Adam the same dirty look?”