CHAPTER 27
MEAL OF CHOICE

DECEMBER WENT BY quicker than anyone wanted. Sabrina had been receiving RSVP cards back from her guests for weeks, and she collected them by the kitchen island in a pile. The Harper Watch holiday party was too close for comfort. One evening, Sabrina asked Sloane to check the mailbox in the building lobby for more RSVP cards. "It's imperative that I know the guest count and their meal choice by tomorrow," she told her daughter. "I have to contact the caterer and event planner tomorrow. There's just too much to do."

Sloane had never thought planning a party was that big of a deal, but when she noticed the pile of RSVPs adding up in the kitchen, she could understand why her mother was stressed. Where was Frank to help out with this? This party was for his business after all.

Rolling her eyes at the thought, Sloane had taken the elevator down and walked over to the wall of large mailboxes, all owned by Long Island City's elite. She stuck her mom's tiny key in the lock and turned. Automatically, RSVP cards started falling from the box, and Sloane had to act quickly to catch them. She gathered what was in the mailbox and began sifting through the names. No one she really recognized, but these were Frank's employees and different media companies. The Little People working for the Big Guy. Sloane frowned at the date on the cards. The holiday party was coming up this Saturday. Ugh. And she still needed a dress.

Sloane had been blindly sifting until her fingers paused. There was one card in this pile that wasn't filled out. There was no name or address, only a RETURN TO SENDER stamp on the front. Sloane's brow furrowed, turning it over, and her hand stilled.

In the meal of choice selection on the back side of the card, a person had simply written the word, YOU, in bright red Sharpie.

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Sloane blinked, bringing herself back to reality as she tore through the dress rack in front of her. She hadn't stopped thinking about that RSVP card since she found it in the mail a few days ago. Obviously, she didn't give it to Sabrina; she simply stuck it in the back pocket of her jeans and hoped to forget about it. She didn't. It haunted her nightmares, and even her daydreams, wondering if the Jawbreaker would dare to show their face.

She paused her search through the rack, thinking again. The RSVP card was intentional. There was no way the Jawbreaker wouldn't attend after that threat. And she would be alone. Unless she invited Peter to come. It was so risky though – him being around her family, having to deal with her mother's antics. It wasn't like she couldn't skip this party anyway. Sabrina was expecting her to make an appearance, and they would look like one big, unified family.

Sloane's hands began to shake. If the Jawbreaker was going to show, they wouldn't look out of the ordinary. They would be dressed just as everyone else. But how hard was it to hide a sledgehammer in a suit? The party was also at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, which was out of his usual killing zone. What if –

"Sloane?"

She turned at the sound of her mother's voice. Sabrina was standing with the clerk at the register, holding out the dresses she was debating on buying for the party. They were at one of the fanciest boutiques in Manhattan. Sloane had never even entertained the thought of coming in here, and especially didn't have the money to purchase anything. Frank's credit card came in handy for this occasion.

"What's wrong? Why are you just staring at the wall?" Sabrina asked, gesturing at her with the credit card between her fingertips. "You need to find a dress!"

Sloane rolled her eyes and spun back to the rack. All of these looked like funeral dresses, and while she did look best in black, she knew Sabrina would kill her if she picked out a black dress to wear. Sloane moved to another rack and saw her mother move to sit on a nearby hassock. She flicked through a couple of floor-length dresses and asked, "Why do I need a fancy dress for this holiday party anyway?" She did see a nice red sweater dress in a thrift store on the way here that would be just as nice.

Sabrina scoffed, "It's a gala, Sloane. Black-tie. All nine yards." She looked at her freshly-manicured nails. "So make sure Peter knows that."

Sloane turned her head at the right time to see her mother wink. She nodded slowly, feigning a smile. "Right. Peter. He's coming." And also the Jawbreaker.

Before she could entertain her own anxiety, Sloane stopped sweeping through the row of dresses. Her hands gripped a wad of green velvet, and she took the dress off the rack to see it in full. It had a high, square neckline with deep arm holes to show off a bit of side boob, even for someone like her with a small chest. The bottom was a mermaid skirt, hugging close to her hips and flowing out onto the floor.

Sloane held out the hanger to an employee waiting dutifully for instructions. "Can I try this on?"

"Of course," the woman replied, bringing her over to one of the fitting rooms. "This has already been prepared for you."

Sloane thanked her and shut the curtain. She looked at the price tag and whistled. It was steep, but probably not as much as Sabrina's sparkly gold dress would be. After she took off all her layers of clothes, Sloane carefully slid the dress off the hanger and pulled it on.

It fit her like a glove. The dark green velvet was so soft and hugged her curves. Sloane was small in height, but she had her grandmother's big hips, and the dress fit them perfectly. It was almost like it was made for her. She turned around and admired herself. The neckline was just as high in the back and – oh, my god. This dress even made her tiny butt look nice!

She walked out of the changing room and did a twirl for Sabrina. It took her mother a second to look up, and she replied, "Your taste is getting better, dear. That dress looks like it was made for you."

Sloane had never been so excited about a dress before. She turned to the employee excitedly and clasped her hands together. "Can we wrap this one up after I get out of it? I definitely want it."

Before the woman could reply, Sabrina said, "Are you sure you don't want to keep looking? It's beautiful, but that dress was from last season. It's probably on clearance."

Her smile fell. Sabrina always had to comment on something. "Yes, I want it."

Her mother's hands went up in surrender. "Just asking. We won't match as much, but I guess gold and green are in the same color family."

Sloane was already walking away. She had to before she started yelling. It didn't matter much what her mother thought; she had the employees wrap up the green dress anyway. After pulling her old clothes back on, Sloane shut the curtain behind her and walked out. She found Sabrina back at the register, watching the employees place their dresses in separate bags. Sloane frowned and began fishing through her endless pit of a purse. "Are you sure I can't –?"

Sabrina placed her hand on top of her daughter's, and then smacked the credit card on the counter. Her grin was wide. "Frank's treat."

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Sloane found it hard to get much writing done with the Jawbreaker's RSVP card sitting idly on her dresser. Her eyes kept reverting to it, and she wondered if her writing afternoon was completely lost to her own distractions. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Thankfully, she received a better distraction when Peter texted her, asking if she wanted to come over to his place for some Thai takeout.

She pulled out her parka from the closet and tugged her boots on, making sure to slip the RSVP into her pocket before heading out of the penthouse. As much as she wanted to be away from this damn card, she knew Peter needed to see it. Just the feel of the crumpled paper in her pocket made her keep looking from side to side as she waited for her Uber.

Sloane wasn't quite sure how to bring it up to him once she arrived. Peter seemed to be in such a good mood, and she didn't want to tear it down with the terror coursing through her bloodstream. But she guessed he'd seen her worse. He already had the takeout laid out on his kitchen counter when she walked through the door. He'd gotten her favorite curry and spring rolls. She ate it with him at the small island connected to his counter, her legs dangled off a stool, as he stood on the opposite side and tore a spring roll apart with his teeth.

Peter was no fool though. He knew something was off. "What's on your mind? You seem quieter than normal."

Sloane's eyes flickered for a short second to where her parka hung on the coat rack. "Nothing. Just enjoying this –"

His head turned towards the coat rack. "Is there something in your coat?"

She didn't reply, simply took another bite of her spicy curry.

"Sloane," he said softly, and just the sweet tone of his voice had her looking up. "What's wrong?"

Her hand in her lap was shaking at the memory of the RSVP card. YOU, written in the brightest red. The scratchiest handwriting. Sloane could practically hear the squeak of the Sharpie against the paper. She swallowed hard, realizing Peter was still staring at her, waiting for an answer.

Sighing, she reluctantly hopped off her bar stool and dug through the front pocket in her parka. The card was even more wrinkled than it was before, and she threw it on the island in front of Peter's plate.

Peter picked it up and viewed up at her. "It's an RSVP card, Sloane."

She stood close to him, leaning forward on the counter. "Turn it around."

He did as she asked, and cocked his head back when he saw the red handwriting on the back. Peter studied it for a moment, running his fingertips over where the permanent ink bled into the card stock. Sloane added, "My mom has been getting all these RSVPs in for a holiday party Frank throws every year. This was down in the mailbox with a pile of others, and I –" She bit at the end of her nail, refusing to look at Peter. "I'm so freaked. I think the Jawbreaker is coming for me next. They're obviously going to be at this party –"

Peter interrupted her tangent by bringing her into his arms. Sloane's cheek smushed against his chest, and she instinctively pulled him closer, breathing in his scent. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, smoothing a hand down her hair. "How do you know it isn't just someone pulling a prank on you?"

She looked off to the side where the card now sat on the counter. "I just know."

"Wait," he said, picking up the RSVP and flipping it to the front again. "Harper Watch Holiday Party?" He viewed down at her. "What holiday party?"

Fuck. So she really did have to talk about it now. She sighed heavily.

"What? You wanted to go stag?" He asked, twirling a strand of her hair with one of his long fingers. A smile played at his pink lips.

"No, no. I was going to tell you about it. I swear. I –" She shook her head. "I don't know. It's going to be all about Frank's business and my mother. It's also a black-tie event. Oh, and it's on Christmas Eve. I didn't want you to have to deal with that."

"Sloane, I've fought some pretty messed up people since I was a teen. I think I can handle your mother. But if you don't want me to come, I don't have to –"

"No, I want you there. I just didn't want to have to stress you out with more of my family." She placed her hands on his cheeks and squished them together. "Please, believe me."

With puckered lips, Peter replied, "I believe you." He batted her hands away and laughed. "So who else is going to be at this party?"

Sloane leaned more against the counter, but Peter still held her close with a hand on one of her hips. "Anyone who's anyone is going to be there. It's a big charity event."

Peter picked up the RSVP again, turning it over in his hand. "Maybe our guy will be there then."

"Are you sure you want to go to it? I don't even want to go."

His head snapped in her direction. "But you got a dress for it, right?"

Her expression fell. "Well, yes, but –"

"Might I give the incentive that if I go with you, I could rip the dress off you?"

"Shut up," she said, hitting his shoulder lightly. "You've convinced me though."

Standing on her tiptoes, Sloane pressed her lips to his. She wove one hand into his hair, playing with the strands, and hummed softly when his hand migrated from her hip to her butt. He squeezed, and she could already feel her nipples turning to pebbles. Before things could go too far, she leaned back and scrutinized him. "You're serious about going, right? You're going to be dealing with my mom, tons of people, and it could be dangerous –"

"Oh, I'm not going."

Her brow lifted. "Pardon?"

Peter's lips pulled into a crooked grin. "Spider-Man will be though."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this chapter was a leetle boring 🥲 but!!! next chapter is ELITE and full of holiday shenanigans. I guess that's one way to put it tho LOL

in case you guys wanted a visual for sloane's dress, I imagine it like this but in like a deep green/emerald velvet! ⬇️