Page 9 of Pumpkin to Talk About

“It’ll be great. You’ll see. Now”—I grab her arms and tug as I stand, pulling her out of the bed—“shower. You’re stinking up the place.”

Chapter 6

Belle

“A little more to the left.”

“I’m pretty sure this is exactly where it started,” Mike grumbles as he stands on a ladder, hanging the last of my fabric ghosts on the tunnel we built. The idea is that everyone will enter this way, and they will both see and feel the ghosts in the tunnel. The strobe light and fog machine should give it an extra layer of creepiness. But not too creepy. This is for grade school kids, after all.

To be honest, though, I haven’t been paying much attention to where the ghosts are being placed. Having Mike’s ass practically at eye-level for the past hour has been distracting, to say the least.

The school library is closed for the rest of the week to set up for the haunted house. Or, rather, the haunted library. The rest of the school is functioning like normal, but the library has black paper taped over the interior and exterior windows so no one can see inside. Before Mike hung the paper, I put up signs that said:

No bones about it. This will be the best haunted house ever!

Raising the roof… and maybe some spirits!

Frightening reno-vamp-tions in progress!

Mike had groaned at the last one, saying the pun didn’t flow right. But when he thought I wasn’t looking, he re-read it and chuckled, so I think he was just teasing me.

Once he hangs the last ghost, he hops of the ladder and puts his hands on his waist to study his handiwork. After a moment, he gives a nod of approval.

“What’s next, boss?” he asks.

I rub my lips together and hum as I take in the space. As much as I want to keep him here, I know he’s busy with Annie and her house. He’s already been here for four hours. “I don’t think I need you for anything else.”

His dark eyes survey the room, then land on me. One corner of his mouth tips up in a soft smile. “I could come back tomorrow, if you need.”

I’m pretty sure I smudge my lipstick by chewing on my bottom lip. His gaze dips to watch the motion, then back to meet mine, somehow darker than before. Just for a moment, though. It’s gone as quickly as it came.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Mike was thinking about my lips just then.

Do I want him to be thinking about my lips?

Honestly, this whole afternoon has been more fun than I anticipated. And not only because he wore his sweatpants and backwards hat again. He’s turned into a nice guy over the years. Helpful. Funny. He teases me, but not out of malice. It’s more like he is trying to goad me into playing around. After a while, I gave in and teased him back.

It was… nice.

“If you have time, I wouldn’t mind help setting up the pumpkin scavenger hunt and the eyeballs. Oh, and the mystery doors.” I say. I don’t really need the help. It’ll probably only take me one more afternoon to get it set up, but if he wants to come back, who am I to refuse him.

“I’m sorry, the what?” His brows are furrowed with concern. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked a little green.

“The mystery doors?” I ask. “They’re doors the kids open for a surprise—”

“No, no,” he cuts me off, then swallows hard. “The eyeballs.”

I watch him for a moment, sure he’s fucking with me. But no, he seems genuinely nauseous.

Rolling my lips together can’t contain my laughter, and a little snort escapes against my will. “They’re just peeled grapes,” I assure him. “I put them in a big bowl and hide them under a box with a little curtain. The kids reach their hands in to feel them.”

“That’s…” Mike trails off and shakes his head in dismay. “That’s disgusting.”

“It’s Halloween!” I exclaim, stretching my arms out wide as if to remind him of what we’ve been doing here. “It’s fun.”

“No,” he insists, almost as if he’s talking to himself. “It is not.” He shudders, then looks at me and straightens quickly, like he remembers I’m watching him. “The germs, I mean. That has to be a cesspool.”

“Right,” I say slowly. “You don’t have to play cool with me, Indy. I knew you in high school back when we were all nerds, remember?”