Page 62 of When to Call a Blitz

“What the fuck?”

“Do you like her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you like Heidi?”

Closing my eyes, it takes every single ounce of self-restraint I have in order to not strangle him. I’m bigger than him, too. It could be done easily.

“I don’t have time for this,” I say simply instead, turning to head back. Leo catches my arm.

“She likes you, man. Please don’t tell her I told you anything. I’m serious when I say I’ve been sworn to secrecy but,” he pauses, “you know how I get about secrets! She’s a good person, and you know I want what’s best for you.”

“You have no idea where I’m at with things,” I snap. “I’m not in a place where I can have feelings for someone, man. You know that. I’m not going to hurt her.”

Leo purses his lips, his eyes downcast. “I just don’t know if this is something you want to let get by you, you know?”

I do know.

“You ready to go, Bug?” I call as I put on my full costume.

“Yes!”

Juniper peeks in from around the corner, the giant Jabba costume fully inflated, the soft hum of the fan in the back going at full force. “Leo and Elara will be here soon,” I tell her, grabbing her pillowcase.

As a kid my parents used to give me a large pillowcase for my Halloween candy, and when McKenna and I got together I found out she did too. It’s something so small that I continue to do just to feel a little more connection to her.

The doorbell goes off, and I wedge myself through my door in order to answer it only to find my mom beat me to it.

“You ready?” Leo yells, his green arms outstretched.

The man is covered in green with little green ears popping out of the top of his head. The man loves a good bald-cap Halloween costume.

“Where’s donkey?” I ask.

He steps aside for Elara, who barrels through the door to hug Juniper.

“And the Princess?”

“She stayed home. She’s getting ready for tonight,” he shrugs. Ever since last Halloween, Leo hasn’t been able to shut up about getting together and trick-or-treating again. He couldn’t care less about the drinking after.

“Got it.”

“Heidi here?” he asks, waving at my mom in the kitchen.

“No, she’s getting ready for tonight too. Mom is going to watch the kids so I figure right after we get back from doing our rounds we’ll head to Lulu’s?”

We leave about thirty minutes later as the sun is going down. My mom comes with us and she spends the entire time talking to Leo about how his injury healed up since the end of last season—swimmingly—and how he and Briar are doing.

The girls skip ahead of us without a care in the world. They stop at every driveway, pushing and shoving each other as they see who can run the fastest to the door; Elara in her donkey costume or Juniper in her Jabba costume.

At the end of it all, it was about a tie. Juniper frequently grabbed at Elara’s tail, pulling her back and gaining yards.

When the kids were officially home, out of their costumes with candy scatted all around them on the family room floor, Leo and I head out to the bar.

The place is completely packed by the time we get there, but I presume it’s been like that for the last few hours, if not since they first opened today.

“I assume everyone’s in the back,” Leo mumbles, pulling me through the crowd.

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