Sophia was running all over the apartment in her Snow White costume. When I showed her the package she screamed her high pitched scream and never let her smile falter.
We eventually got me a costume put together. I couldn't remember what Maid Marian wore in the movie so I let my daughter take the reigns and dress me herself.
I had on a pink long sleeve shirt up under a light purple dress I forgot I had. She grabbed a white scarf hanging on my closet door handle and told me to wrap it around my head. I told her I would once we started trick-or-treating because that thing was itchy.
"Now who's going to be your Robin Hood?" Sophia asked, tapping her chin with her tiny finger.
"Who said Maid Marian needs a Robin Hood? Why can't she be a single and happy fox?" I questioned back, placing my hands on my hips.
"Having a man makes everything better. That's what Sky says." Sophia told me.
"Stop listening to what Sky says," I told my child. I really need to talk to Sky about what she tells Sophia.
"So if she tells me to eat my vegetables I should not listen and eat junk food?" She asked me, giggling.
I gave her a 'really?' glare and she burst into a fit of laughter. "You know exactly what I mean," I told her and she kept laughing.
When she finally calmed back down she asked, "When will Sky be here?"
"I'm not sure," I told her, walking the two of us out of my room and into the living room. "I'll give her a call though and see if she's almost here."
"Okie dokie." Sophia cheered and skipped to the couch where her coloring book was.
I picked my phone off the couch arm and pulled up Sky's contact. While the phone rang, I walked over to a closet to look for Sophia's candy bucket.
"Heyo bestie, what's up?" She greeted happily.
"Sophia and I just got done getting dressed. When will you be here?" I asked while digging past extra blankets.
"Traffic sucks right now. I should be there in ten minutes though. Where are we going again?" She asked me. I could faintly hear a horn honking in the background.
"I'm actually not sure yet," I admitted. "But don't worry, I'll ask Zack or something. Maybe he knows."
"Getting warmed up to Zack I see..." she said with a thick layer of teasing to her voice.
"You of all people know good and well that's not how it is," I said, rolling my eyes even though she couldn't see me.
"You of all people should know I'm joking." She retorted back. "I'll see you at the apartment. Traffic is getting kinda crazy out here. If you can, pick someplace within walking distance." Sky said in a hurried tone.
"Okay, see you then," I said before hanging up. I sat my phone down and continued my search for a pink princess candy bag. I eventually found it buried behind spare pillows.
I finally got Sophia completely ready for the night by five. We still had a couple of minutes before Sky would be here so I took the time to figure out where we would actually go for the night.
"Hey, Sophia!" I called through the apartment. "Wanna do me a favor?"
She ran into the living room and said, "Snow White is here to help! What do you need?" She asked me.
"I need you to go ask Zack where he thinks we should go trick-or-treating at tonight," I explained to her.
She lit up when I said Zack's name. Even after being here for two months, she still loved the dude to death. "Can he come with us?" She asked me while jumping in place.
I gave an exaggerated sigh and said, "If you really want him too..."
"Oh my gosh, yes!" She sped out. She ran to the door and I couldn't help but laugh. I didn't care if Zack tagged along. It wouldn't be a bad idea having a guy with us. There's always creeps out on Halloween.
I watched from the couch as Sophia knocked on Zack's door and waited for him to answer. When he did, I had to suppress my laughter.
Zack was wearing a big green shirt and a thick brown belt. He even had on green skinny jeans and little brown boots.
"Hey Squirt, what's up?" He asked Sophia, squatting down to her height.
"Mommy wanted to know where we should go trick-or-treating at. And I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us!" She expressed by flailing her arms out.
He looked up at me and, even being about 15 feet away, I saw his signature smirk crawl up his face.
"I'd love to go trick-or-treating with you, Tiny-Tot." He said happily.
He picked Sophia up and she squealed. He spun both of them in circles and through my front door. Once close enough, he threw my daughter over the back of the couch so she landed next to me. Her hair was messed up and she had a big goofy smile of her face. Her laugh was so contagious I couldn't help but let out a small laugh too.
Sophia stood up on the couch, luckily, she didn't have her shoes on. "Are you suppost to be Peter Pan?" She asked Zack.
"Actually, I decided to go as Robin Hood." An arrogant smirk made its way onto his face and he shot me a wink.
I sent a glare back but I doubt it had much effect due to the blush forming on my face. Of course, he would have to pick the match to Maid Marian.
"Oh my gosh, that's perfect!" Sophia cheered, throwing her hands in the air.
"What can I say, it just came to me." Zack shrugged. I don't think I'll be able to keep my cool if he's gonna act like this all night.
After Sophia caught Zack up on whatever was going on at school, it was time to leave.
"If we're gonna go trick-or-treating we need to go now. Sophia can't be out late." I said, ending their conversation.
"Alright, where are we going?" Zack asked, reminding me I had no idea.
"I actually don't have a location picked yet..." I dragged on, hoping he would offer up a suggestion.
"Wow, good job. Mom of the year right here." Zack sarcastically clapped.
"Oh, shut up!" I said, shoving his shoulder. "Do you know some neighborhood or not? I need to tell Sky where to meet us. She's still stuck in traffic and won't be here any time soon."
After a moment of thinking, Zack said, "How about the nicer apartment complex down the road? They're bound to have some good shi- I mean, stuff."
I silently thanked Zack for rephrasing his choice of words. At least he respects my wishes as a mother to some degree.
"I guess that'll have to do." I complied. "How far away is it?" I asked him. The last thing I want to do is end up carrying Sophia for a few miles on the way back.
"Five blocks at the most." Zack waved off. "You afraid of a little exercise?"
"I think we'll manage," I said with a sarcastic tone back.
Zack smiled. I allowed a small smile onto my face as I turned away from him.
I grabbed my keys from the kitchen and sent Sky the name of the apartment complex we were going to. Even the name was fancier than ours. If I had the money, I'd probably choose the Meilleur Lofts over our dinky apartment complex any day.
I was glad we decided to walk. Traffic was absolutely insane. I'm pretty sure someone drove on the sidewalk for a few yards before realizing it wasn't an extra lane.
Naturally, I kept Sophia in between Zack and I. God forbid something happens, but if it does, one of us will be able to get her out of the way quickly. As much as I prefer Zack not to be around Sophia too much, I was glad he held her hand like I was. I could tell he had a good grip but not enough to hurt her.
Walking through the streets was definitely interesting. We past two babies dressed as pumpkins, three cheerleaders, Harry Potter, and at least a dozen clowns.
A few moms complimented on our costumes and thought it was cute I was taking my little sister out trick-or-treating. Most of them gave me surprised looks followed by one of disappointment when I corrected them.
Another mom complimented us, but before I could correct her and get silently scolded, Zack spoke up.
"Thanks. We've been planning this for a while. It's our first Halloween together." He said with pride.
"Aww, how cute!" She cooed. "You must be the boyfriend."
"Yeah, something like that." He mumbled. "Well, we're late meeting a friend. Nice chatting with ya." Zack cut to the chase.
Once we were a few feet away from her, I asked him, "What was that about?"
"I'm sick of people giving you those stupid looks. It pisses me off and I'm pretty sure pisses you off too." He said, plain and simple.
"Why should it piss you off? You're not the one getting scolded." I reminded.
"Despite what you think Naomi, I do care about you... both of you." Zack said seriously.
I snapped my neck towards him. Was he being serious? Knowing Zack, there wasn't any way to tell.
He wouldn't look at me. Instead, he kept looking around with his face grim. But no matter how much he tried to keep his face hidden from me, I saw the blush across his cheeks.
My chest swelled with warmth and my face turned red. Something about the way he said those words, the seriousness behind them, made me all tingly inside. I felt like a little high school freshman who was just noticed by a hot senior.
We walked the rest of the way listening to Sophia singing This is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas. At least she was oblivious to the awkward atmosphere.
Five minutes later, we met Sky outside the lofts. Sophia ran into her arms, leaving Zack and I next to each other. I didn't realize she was acting as a small barrier. Once she was gone, I felt more awkward than before.
"Are you ready to get some candy?" Sky asked, picking up Sophia.
"Yeah!" She cheered back. "I want a whole bunch of Skittles and chocolate!"
"Well, by the looks of this place, you should be eating well for the next few months." Sky encouraged.
Sophia followed that with more cheering. Leave it to Sky to hype my kid up before the candy gets in her system. I guess I won't be sleeping tonight.
"C'mon, let's go," Sophia said once Sky sat her down. She grabbed my hand with her tiny one with a surprisingly strong grip.
I let her push the elevator button and we rode to the top floor, starting there. Sophia ran out of the doors before they were even fully opened.
"Sophia, wait!" I called after my excited little kid. The floor wasn't necessarily packed, but it wasn't empty either. The last thing I wanted happening was to lose Sophia.
"I've got her. You old people won't be able to keep up." Sky mocked. Before I could come up with a witty comeback, she ran out of the elevator too.
"At least we get to take our time now," Zack said breaking the silence before it could solidify.
"Do you plan on trick-or-treating too?" I teased, walking out the elevator with him on my heels.
"Why not? I could pass as a teenager." He shrugged.
I took his appearance in. Behind the stupid green getup, he had a strong, full body. His hair was freshly trimmed and he didn't have a dot of acne on his face. He was definitely over his teen years.
"There's no way you could pass for a teen anymore," I told him, walking along the long and wide hallways.
"Is that why you were just checking me out?" He teased back.
I gave him a glare and he just laughed. "I wasn't checking you out." I lied.
"Hey, I don't mind. I'm pretty used to it." He shrugged, letting his ego inflate, returning back to normal.
I rolled my eyes and kept looking for Sky and Sophia. Was I really going to have to deal with him all night by myself?