Page 8 of Losing the Rhythm

“I-I didn’t mean it!” Paxon began sputtering.

But the guys wouldn’t let it go. And my cheeks were flaming as I watched them give him shit. I could even still feel him touching me. I definitely didn’t mind it.

I cleared my throat and said, “Leave him alone. It was just a mistake.” That got them all to settle down. To distract them more, I asked, “What else do you guys do for Halloween during this Stobrasonroweyes tradition.

“Hey, you were able to say it right,” Toby said.

“And I’m sure the next time I try to say it, I’ll mess it up. Are you serious about that being the name you use?”

“For the last seven years.”

Jesus. This was why leaving names to ten year olds was a terrible idea.

“Halloween is truly our event. The adults leave us alone,” Seth said.

“Which isn’t always a smart thing,” Bryan said, sending a challenging look at Toby. Toby just grinned. When Toby realized I was looking at him, he sent me a wink.

“We just do all the traditional Halloween things,” Seth continued to explain. “We decorate our houses, bake all the goodies, like candy apples, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and whatever weird concoction Toby finds on the internet.”

“Watch all the spooky movies. We probably have like ten spooky nights before Halloween,” Paxon said.

“All the candy,” Toby of course added. “Candy corn in the buckets.”

Bryan snorted. “For you. I still don’t understand why you like that candy. It’s disgusting.”

“It’s yummy.” Toby rubbed his flat stomach.

“There are some farms around here, so we find corn mazes, go on hayrides, pumpkin picking,” Bryan said.

“Pumpkin carving. And we end up doing some volunteer work too.”

“My favorite is the pumpkin seed roastings,” Justin said.

“What about on Halloween?”

Seth seemed to think about it. “Well, we used to trick-or-treat. We do a little bit of that now, but more like we help the watch committee for a couple hours. Then hold our own little Halloween party with only a couple other friends. It’s small and tame.”

“Unless someone spikes the Witches Brew again,” Paxon said.

I raised an eyebrow at that.

“Last year, someone spiked the punch, and we didn’t realize it until it was too late,” Seth said.

“Was still a good party,” Toby said.

Bryan rolled his eyes. “If you count the hangover as a good thing, sure.”

“Oh, you know you had fun.”

Some of the guys chuckled.

“We’ll be careful this year,” Seth said. “I don’t want to hear another lecture from the police chief.”

“He lectured you?”

“A warning. And he understood it was out of my control and an accident. Besides, our parties are always far more tame than the others he has to deal with that night. So he let us off after a lecture.”

“I mean, Bryan. I think enough said,” Paxon said.

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