Page 58 of Losing Faith

“Nope.” I face forward, focusing on my pumpkin.

The next hour and ahalf consist of the three of us carving our pumpkins while I steal glances at Lisette. She pretends not to notice and smiles to herself. In return, when I’m not looking, her eyes find their way to my biceps and the rest of my shirtless frame.

Stepping outside, we set our pumpkins on the doorstep, the electronic candles under them.

“Okay, let’s see.” Belle jumps off of the steps and stands a few feet away to get a better look. We follow after her and I shake my head at the overachiever Lisette is.

While Belle and I have a standard face carved out of our pumpkins, Lisette managed to perfectly capture Ghost Face and it’s not just his iconic mask, but he’s holding a knife too. With the way she carved it, she managed to add shadows and it looks incredibly realistic.

“You’re really talented.” I nod to myself. “You paint and stuff, too, right?” I glance down at Lisette, remembering some canvases in her apartment the first time I went over.

“Yeah, it’s the only thing I’m good at.” She shrugs as if her talent is no big deal.

“That’s not true.” I bump her arm gently. “I’m sure you’re great at a lot of things. For starters, you know the difference between fruits and vegetables.”

She breaks into a laugh before shoving me. She uses a lot more force than I was expecting, forcing me to step away from her.

“I should get going.” She smiles at me before kneeling to hug Isabelle. “Good night, princess. Thank you for letting me crash.” She kisses her cheek and Belle immediately wraps her arms around her neck.

“You weren’t crashing. We wanted you here.” She kisses her nose and Lisette’s entire face softens as if she desperately needed to hear that.

She musters up a smile as she rises to her feet. Glancing down at her phone, her brows raise. “It’s only seven thirty.” She pinches Belle’s cheek. “Hurry, you have just enough time to start a new movie.”

Isabelle lets out a gasp before running into the house quicker than I’ve ever seen her run, leaving us laughing behind her.

When Lisette looks back over at me, I find myself not wanting to say goodbye. “So,” I tuck my hands into my front pockets. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

Being that tomorrow also isn’t a tutoring day, I won’t be seeing her until Friday, which is a bit disappointing.

She rolls her eyes as she thinks of something. “I wassupposedto go to a pottery thing with my friend, but she canceled.”

“We can go with you.” I shrug.

She shakes her head. “It’s in the morning. Belle will be in school.”

I nod in return. “Oh… well thenIcan go with you.”

Her brows furrow now. “Don’t you have that fancy job that requires you to wear a suit at home?”

I bite back a smile. “I’m off tomorrow.” I’m most certainlynot. “What time were you supposed to go?”

“Eleven.”

“Perfect.” I have a meeting at eleven then two more right after. Eleven is indeed not perfect. “I can pick you up after I drop Isabelle off at school if you’re up early enough? We can get breakfast then head over.”

Her eyes slowly narrow as she watches me. “Are you asking me out on adate?”

I swallow the sudden nerves at her offended tone. “Is that against the law?”

“My brother sure does think so.”

Right… her brother who I’m best friends with and certainly should not do this to since it goes against every bro code.

“Well, it’s not a date.” I shrug again. “You stay over for dinner all the time and we just went apple picking the other day,” I point out. “We’re just hanging out on my day off.”

She doesn’t look like she believes me as a smirk grows on her face. Slowly, she takes a step towards me. Tilting her head up to look at me, she cocks her head to the side, her ponytail swaying from side to side.

“If you admit you want me, then we can hang out tomorrow. As anondate.”

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