“Just force it!”
“Alright!” I grab a step stool to get atop the ugly creation and with the timer counting down, I look at Janie one more time to be sure. She widens her eyes an alarming amount. I grit my teeth, raise the thing and pound it down on the blunt shaft as hard as I can.
“TIME!” The mayor calls.
Janie releases a terrified shriek.
I almost fall off the step stool.
Steven, I think, gasps beside us.
And he’s not the only one.
Because the pumpkin exploded.
In my hands, across my shirt under my open coat, down our scarecrow, and, I realize, across Janie’s face.
“Shit!” I say, climbing down to her. “Guess I overdid it.”
“You think? I mean I know I said force it but—” She frowns up at me, angry and so damn beautiful. Without thinking I step down, grab her head, and use my thumbs to wipe the gourd’s guts off of her face. She stops talking mid-sentence. I can hear the flurry of people and the snap of camera lenses around us but it’s all…muted.
She’s just staring at me, gray eyes wide and searching. Her full, pink lips are parted. Her cheeks are flushed from the chill in the air or the rush of the contest.
“You are so gorgeous.” I say quietly. She blinks a couple times, slowly, like she’s caught in a spell of sorts. Just like me. The photographers are calling out, trying to get a shot. “Can I kiss you now?” I whisper.
“What?!”
Spell broken.
She yanks out of my grasp and furrows her brow even more than before our little moment.
“No, no, I’m, I’m so gross. Ew. And,” she’s stammering, wiping her face. “Look at your shirt, ugh. Look at our scarecrow! Man, what a mess.”
“Sorry, I really am,” I say, hating how disappointed she sounds.
She exhales. “It’s okay, it’s not like we could really compete anyway. Look at that thing.” She points to the couple beside us, both men beaming from ear to ear as they accept their award. Their scarecrow looks like something from storybooks, with overalls, a straw hat, posed arms and, what, a wood carved face? They had time to whittle over there?
“Damn.” I say. I watch the couple accept their award. “Wait, that one only gotthirdplace?” I ask in shock.
“I tried to warn you, boss. This town is. Completely. Insane.”
“Completely,” I mutter as she throws down a rag she’d picked up to wipe her face with. With a defeated wave at the third placers, she starts to walk away.
I follow, equally defeated.
The twitchy feeling is back too. Why? What’s happening to me? Honestly, so what if we almost kissed? It was just for the paps and she was right, there would have been some pumpkin goo involved.
Who cares? Not me. I just wanted to have fun anyway, right?
We didn’t kiss. Fine.
We didn’t win. Fine.
I’m not bothered.
We did what we set out to do. End of.
First town appearance is in the books.
