Page 72 of Fall I Want
“Now that would’ve been tragic.”
Autumn moves over to the pumpkins and carving tools. I grab afew dish towels and we dry off what we can, then I clean up the wet footprints we tracked into the house.
Afterward, we sit at the breakfast bar and continue with our conversation, returning to our pumpkins. We fall quiet as we work on our designs. It’s a comfortable silence, though.
“Phew. I think I’m done. I win because I finished first,” she says.
“Most women do.”
“Mmhm. Unless she fakes it.” Autumn snickers.
“Have you ever faked it?” I ask. “The truth.”
She lifts a brow. “More times than I’d like to admit.”
I chuckle. “I’m sorry for laughing.”
“You don’t think a woman has ever faked it with you?” She scoffs.
“Never.”
“And how would you know?”
I lean in and lick my lips. “Let’s just say I love confirming.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek, holding back a smile.
The timer buzzes and Autumn gets up and removes the pizza since I’m still working on my pumpkin carving masterpiece. She sets it on the stovetop and I try not to watch her, but it’s hard when she’s right there.
“This looks incredible.” Then she snags a pepperoni and the cheese stretches then snaps as she pops it in her mouth. “Hot, hot!”
Her mouth is wide open and she’s waving her hand in front of her face. She hops between her feet like it’ll help. A minute later, she swallows it down.
“Was it worth it?” I ask as I shake my head, finishing my carving. I move it back, making sure everything I cut out is straight.
“Yep.”
“You’re stubborn,” I say, glancing back at her.
“But you already knew that.” She reaches for another pepperoni.
I stand and grab the two battery-powered candles I got for ourpumpkins then I walk over to her. I gently take her hand and set it in her palm. “We have a pumpkin reveal while it cools.”
“Okay.”
Her cheeks are pink and I realize how much I enjoy the tipsy version of her. Cute. Funny. Sexy. I study her face as she looks up at me.
“Did my eyes blink at two different times?” she asks.
I burst into laughter and my head falls back on my shoulder. “No, they didn’t.”
“Felt like it.” She glances back at the pizza, snagging another pepperoni and repeating the process of burning the shit out of her mouth. I watch her. “You know your eyes give you away.”
“Yeah?”
She nods. “They say they’re the window to the soul, ya know.”
“Shakespeare. Though, I have a feeling you’re more of a Poe fan,” I tell her.
