It’s difficult to look at her knowing I want her so badly that it hurts. Damn, if she isn’t the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
This sort of thing is nice.
I have to admit to myself, if only to remind myself, that I’m here with the two of them, like a family. This is the kind of family I would want for myself. I let out a sigh, my eyes falling on the phone in my hand.
With a little click, the screen lights up for me, the image of all three of us on the hayride earlier pops up filling the screen, and it only makes the feeling of need for her grow even stronger.
These feelings have been building like a burning fire since the first time I saw her at the club. I have realized what this could mean for me, and that she may feel the same.
I don’t want to go back to being without Kathleen.
She is so tempting, so damn lovely all of the time, and her mind is so enthralling. I can’t help but sigh again as my hand falls to my side to tuck my phone back into my pocket. My gaze wanders back to the orange pumpkin patch right in front of me.
There is a bubble of familiar laughter as light and joyful as it comes. Twisting my head to the side with a grin, I find Kathleen laughing behind her hand, her pale green eyes twinkling with unbridled amusement.
The look on her face sends a little jolt through my heart, and I have to remind myself not to get too carried away with her. I don’t want her to think I’m spending time with the two of them as a means to an end. I want her and whatever else for as long as I can have it all.
Just then, a little rugrat heads straight for me with his head down. I am knocked off balance, straight into a pile of smelly, soggy leaves.
I’m still grinning as I sit up, brushing old leaves that smell of autumn away from my face when they continue to flutter around me. Some undignified spluttering later in the leaves, and a hand appears before my eyes, a familiar, soft-looking hand.
Following up the length of her red coat, I find Kathleen fighting the laughter in her throat but failing as little bursts of giggles still escape her lips. She pulls me to my feet and helps me brush the leaves from my leather jacket and hair.
A completely frazzled mother pulls a red-faced child over to stand in front of us. She forces the little kid to apologize for knocking me over as he accidentally ran into me. He does, reluctantly, rolling his eyes at me.
“Yeah, that’s alright, little man,” I tell him, and I can feel Kathleen staring at me. “Just watch out there, huh? You don’t want to knock anyone else over, do you?”
The little boy shakes his head with a little smile. When the mother and child finally leave, Kathleen turns back to me, not quite looking at me though I can see a pleased smile on her plump, pink lips.
I find that I want more of that smile from her and of that laugh.
I’m happy to see that it’s because of me that she’s happy. I feel a sense of pride from that, and I want to keep making her happy for as long as I possibly can.
Her smile is like seeing the sun, and it warms me up.
I can see Stevie playing with the other kids close by, engrossed in his pumpkin picking. He’s not even glancing over at us at all; he’s having so much fun.
“He doesn’t get to do stuff like this often,” Kathleen says thoughtfully. “So thank you for this. Thank you for all of it, Eddie. It means so much more than you know.”
“It’s nothing,” I tell her, gulping hard. “It feels nice to make someone happy.”
"Oh hey, you dropped your phone,” Kathleen says as she bends to pick it up, with my heart in my throat. I don’t want her to see the front screen.
She makes to pass the phone back to me in an easy motion when the screen lights up under her touch, and her gaze goes to the light automatically.
Of course, the picture of us on the hayride, smiling big and bright, flares to life in her hand. Her green eyes are wide as she stares at the screen even after it’s gone completely dark once again. I can’t gauge her reaction.
After a moment, I suck in a hard breath, knowing full well that I’ve been caught, my feelings about her on full display. I move to take the phone back from her. Our fingers brush, and I can hear her breath as she sucks in, and those big eyes turn on me while the light pink of her cheeks deepens into a full-blown blush.
Suddenly, she’s right in front of me, looking up at me as if it’s the very first time she’s ever seen me. Her hand brushes up my side under my leather jacket.
I lean down, and Kathleen presses her lips to mine, giving me a deep kiss like there’s no one around. Therearepeople around, though, and she pulls away after a moment.
“Stay here,” she tells me. “One of Stevie’s friends is over there. I’m going to ask her parents to look after him while we go try and find my glasses in the maze.”
“In the maze?” I wonder, thoroughly confused at what she just said. “You wear glasses now? And when did you go into the maze? We’ve been with you the whole time, Kat.”
At that, Kathleen just laughs, and when her hand brushes the crotch of my jeans when she passes, I suddenly understand. There are no glasses.