Without A Reason, What Is This Fire, Burning Slowly, My One And Only
So short. Just simple and pointless and sweet. And now October can end. I'm totally done with it, got all that I could out of it and bring on November(16th).
"Are you into Halloween?" Lee asks as he leans over the counter in the coffee shop that Erin works at. He rests his forearms on the surface, looking up at her.
She wrinkles her nose as she fills a cup with coffee and hands it over to a customer. "What do you mean?"
"Like, do you get into it or anything?"
"Do I dress up?"
"Yeah."
She laughs. "No. I haven't done that for years. It's not really my thing."
"You don't like it?"
"Not really." She shrugs and looks over at him before looking back at the women standing in front of her asking for a coffee. "I guess I did when I was a kid but I grew out of it. Can't wait for it to be over actually." She turns and pulls down a cob web decoration that was in her way. "These things are annoying." She gets the women's coffee and she pays and leaves and Erin looks back over at Lee. His hands are intersected and he's looking down at them and she gets the feeling that she just bashed something that he likes and she feels guilty.
"Do you like it?" She asks warily.
"Well I don't dress up or anything. But I was wondering if you had anything planned that night."
"No." She says immediately.
"Do you want to come over?" He can barely look at her as he asks it.
"Are you having a party or something?"
"No, no." He shakes his head and looks back up at her fully. "I was wondering if you'd like to come over and help me hand out candy."
A smile spreads over her face at his cuteness but then she hides it because she doesn't want him to see how he effects her.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I have a lot of kids that come to my house and it kind of gets boring and all my friends are out at some party or whatever and I wanted you to come."
"Really?"
He huffs out a breath in frustration and stands up straight. "Yes. God, do I have to send you a formal invitation or something." He ends it with a laugh and she smiles and lets him see it this time.
"Okay, it's not like I have anything else to do that night."
"That's great." He says sarcastically, quietly, more to himself then to her as he leans back down on the counter. "That's what a guy wants to hear when they ask a girl on a date, 'i've got nothing better to do.'"
"Is this a date?"
"Oh. I don't know. I wasn't...I guess. Not a very good one." He winces an apology.
"No." She reaches out her hand to touch him. "It's good."
He looks down at her hand on his arm and she takes it off. "So. This a date?"
"Yes." She says, slightly embarrassed at how excited she sounds. "Yeah. It can be a date." She tries to smooth over the damage.
"Okay." He lets a smile spread over his face, not bothering to hide his excitement. "Alright." He taps his hands against the counter and stands up, pushing himself off of it. "So i'll see you later?"
"You will." She smiles shyly back as he turns to leave the shop, tossing one more look over his shoulder at her, his face still lit up as, before he walks out the door.
She gets to his house just as it is getting dark.
There are already a few kids out and as she walks up his driveway to get to his deck where he's sitting she passes a little girl dressed like a fairy and a boy dressed as a farmer.
When she gets to him he stands up to greet her and she sees the three giant bowls of candy set out on the table in front of him.
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said that you got lots of kids." She says as she gestures to the candy.
"Nope. And I like to let kids take a big handful. Not one piece. That's not fun."
"I bet the parents love you." Erin says sarcastically and he nods.
"I get a few dirty looks but whatever." He pats the chair next to him and she sits down. "I can deal with it. At least I know dumbass kids won't be egging my house."
"But the parents might."
"Some of them look like they could." He laughs.
They spend the next four hours together.
He does get a lot of kids coming up to his house and they all leave with fistfuls of candy added to their trick-or-treat bags.
There are kids of all ages, some way too old, but Erin only really pays attention the little ones, that when Lee asks them what they are, shyly tell him that they're a princess, or a cowboy or a doctor, or boldly ramble on about how they're a robot, or a power ranger or a puppy and Lee will listen to them and talk back to them like they're saying the most interesting things in the world.
Towards the end of the night, while two kids walk away from them and the candy in the bowl is starting to get low, she shakes her head at him.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing." She shakes her head back and starts to dig through the candy to find something that she wants. "You're just.." She pauses, her hand in the bowl and looks at him. "You're kind of adorable."
"Adorable?"
"Yeah." She can feel her face get red but that doesn't stop her from talking. "The way that you are with the kids. You listen to every word and care about it. It's cute."
"Really?" He sits forward in his chair.
"Yeah. I'm not like that, I can't hold a conversation with kids like that. It's amazing." She takes a bite out of a fun sized Snickers.
"You don't like kids?"
"It's not that I don't like them. It's just that I like them more when they're all cute and dressed up instead of when they're all hopped up on sugar when they get home. Cuteness wares off a little bit." She explains and he laughs. "I don't know. You're lucky you're good with them whenever. You're a good catch."
"Thanks." He says softly.
She studies him for a moment. Notices how he looks in just the glow of the moon and the candle light that's coming from the lit pumpkin on the stairs. "Why did it take you so long to ask me out? You come into the shop everyday, some days you don't even order anything, and you talk to me, you've been doing that for the last three months and you just ask me out now? Why?"
"I thought that this would be a good time."
She doesn't buy that.
"I thought you might say no."
"Why would you think that?"
"Because I was a guy that came in and talked to you everyday, without even buying anything on some days. What if you didn't like that?"
"Then I wouldn't have talked to you everyday." She says simply. "I was waiting for you to make a move."
He looks at her, his eyes dark, and puts down the bowl of candy that he was holding and hooks one of his feet around the leg of her chair and pulls her closer to him.
"What are you doing?" She questions and she gets her answer when he stands up and puts his hands on her face and kisses her.
His lips linger on hers and her hands come up to lightly touch his sides and he pulls away from her with a smile as he sits back down.
"I think i've made the first two moves." His voice is light and teasing and challenges her to make the next move.
She does when she stands up, puts her hands on the arm of his chair to block him in, and kisses him.
"Are you into Halloween?" Lee asks as he leans over the counter in the coffee shop that Erin works at. He rests his forearms on the surface, looking up at her.
She wrinkles her nose as she fills a cup with coffee and hands it over to a customer. "What do you mean?"
"Like, do you get into it or anything?"
"Do I dress up?"
"Yeah."
She laughs. "No. I haven't done that for years. It's not really my thing."
"You don't like it?"
"Not really." She shrugs and looks over at him before looking back at the women standing in front of her asking for a coffee. "I guess I did when I was a kid but I grew out of it. Can't wait for it to be over actually." She turns and pulls down a cob web decoration that was in her way. "These things are annoying." She gets the women's coffee and she pays and leaves and Erin looks back over at Lee. His hands are intersected and he's looking down at them and she gets the feeling that she just bashed something that he likes and she feels guilty.
"Do you like it?" She asks warily.
"Well I don't dress up or anything. But I was wondering if you had anything planned that night."
"No." She says immediately.
"Do you want to come over?" He can barely look at her as he asks it.
"Are you having a party or something?"
"No, no." He shakes his head and looks back up at her fully. "I was wondering if you'd like to come over and help me hand out candy."
A smile spreads over her face at his cuteness but then she hides it because she doesn't want him to see how he effects her.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I have a lot of kids that come to my house and it kind of gets boring and all my friends are out at some party or whatever and I wanted you to come."
"Really?"
He huffs out a breath in frustration and stands up straight. "Yes. God, do I have to send you a formal invitation or something." He ends it with a laugh and she smiles and lets him see it this time.
"Okay, it's not like I have anything else to do that night."
"That's great." He says sarcastically, quietly, more to himself then to her as he leans back down on the counter. "That's what a guy wants to hear when they ask a girl on a date, 'i've got nothing better to do.'"
"Is this a date?"
"Oh. I don't know. I wasn't...I guess. Not a very good one." He winces an apology.
"No." She reaches out her hand to touch him. "It's good."
He looks down at her hand on his arm and she takes it off. "So. This a date?"
"Yes." She says, slightly embarrassed at how excited she sounds. "Yeah. It can be a date." She tries to smooth over the damage.
"Okay." He lets a smile spread over his face, not bothering to hide his excitement. "Alright." He taps his hands against the counter and stands up, pushing himself off of it. "So i'll see you later?"
"You will." She smiles shyly back as he turns to leave the shop, tossing one more look over his shoulder at her, his face still lit up as, before he walks out the door.
She gets to his house just as it is getting dark.
There are already a few kids out and as she walks up his driveway to get to his deck where he's sitting she passes a little girl dressed like a fairy and a boy dressed as a farmer.
When she gets to him he stands up to greet her and she sees the three giant bowls of candy set out on the table in front of him.
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said that you got lots of kids." She says as she gestures to the candy.
"Nope. And I like to let kids take a big handful. Not one piece. That's not fun."
"I bet the parents love you." Erin says sarcastically and he nods.
"I get a few dirty looks but whatever." He pats the chair next to him and she sits down. "I can deal with it. At least I know dumbass kids won't be egging my house."
"But the parents might."
"Some of them look like they could." He laughs.
They spend the next four hours together.
He does get a lot of kids coming up to his house and they all leave with fistfuls of candy added to their trick-or-treat bags.
There are kids of all ages, some way too old, but Erin only really pays attention the little ones, that when Lee asks them what they are, shyly tell him that they're a princess, or a cowboy or a doctor, or boldly ramble on about how they're a robot, or a power ranger or a puppy and Lee will listen to them and talk back to them like they're saying the most interesting things in the world.
Towards the end of the night, while two kids walk away from them and the candy in the bowl is starting to get low, she shakes her head at him.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing." She shakes her head back and starts to dig through the candy to find something that she wants. "You're just.." She pauses, her hand in the bowl and looks at him. "You're kind of adorable."
"Adorable?"
"Yeah." She can feel her face get red but that doesn't stop her from talking. "The way that you are with the kids. You listen to every word and care about it. It's cute."
"Really?" He sits forward in his chair.
"Yeah. I'm not like that, I can't hold a conversation with kids like that. It's amazing." She takes a bite out of a fun sized Snickers.
"You don't like kids?"
"It's not that I don't like them. It's just that I like them more when they're all cute and dressed up instead of when they're all hopped up on sugar when they get home. Cuteness wares off a little bit." She explains and he laughs. "I don't know. You're lucky you're good with them whenever. You're a good catch."
"Thanks." He says softly.
She studies him for a moment. Notices how he looks in just the glow of the moon and the candle light that's coming from the lit pumpkin on the stairs. "Why did it take you so long to ask me out? You come into the shop everyday, some days you don't even order anything, and you talk to me, you've been doing that for the last three months and you just ask me out now? Why?"
"I thought that this would be a good time."
She doesn't buy that.
"I thought you might say no."
"Why would you think that?"
"Because I was a guy that came in and talked to you everyday, without even buying anything on some days. What if you didn't like that?"
"Then I wouldn't have talked to you everyday." She says simply. "I was waiting for you to make a move."
He looks at her, his eyes dark, and puts down the bowl of candy that he was holding and hooks one of his feet around the leg of her chair and pulls her closer to him.
"What are you doing?" She questions and she gets her answer when he stands up and puts his hands on her face and kisses her.
His lips linger on hers and her hands come up to lightly touch his sides and he pulls away from her with a smile as he sits back down.
"I think i've made the first two moves." His voice is light and teasing and challenges her to make the next move.
She does when she stands up, puts her hands on the arm of his chair to block him in, and kisses him.