Page 41 of Revelry
I nodded, putting my little knife down. “Reveal on three?” I asked.
“One…two…three!”
I spun mine towards her and looked over to see hers and immediately burst out laughing. She’d done some wacky caricature with wonky teeth and crazy eyebrows and used a chunk of pumpkin shell to fashion a tongue hanging out. The pumpkin seed innards spilled out of the toothy mouth like it was puke. It was kinda gross but also looked hilarious.
I continued laughing and then looked to Gertrude, ready to congratulate her on her creativity but she was staring at me open-mouthed. My laughter subsided, self-consciousness taking over.
“What?”
She blinked and shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing, I’m glad you enjoyed my efforts. But oh my God, Tate! Look at yours!”
I glanced down at the spider in its web that I’d carved into my pumpkin. “I didn’t really know what to do. It’s not silly.”
“No, it’s not silly but it is exquisite. It’s so intricately done, it’s amazing!” she enthused.
My cheeks flushed and I scrubbed the back of my neck. “I, uh, thanks. I mean, I need to have a delicate touch for all those tiny stitches I do. So I guess I lost, huh?”
She fixed me with a hard stare as she removed her apron. “Tate, did you have fun?”
I thought about it for a moment and realized I actually had, after the messy part was taken care of. She hung up her apron and came over to me, looking me directly in the eyes as she reached around me and pulled my strings loose. I could feel her breasts pushing against my stomach. I wanted to cup her jaw and stroke my thumbs over the apples of her cheeks.
“I did,” I replied, my voice hoarse.
“Then that’s all that counts. Besides, you’ve bought us a couple of drinks so it’s my turn anyway.” She pulled away and I lifted the apron over my head before she hung it up for me. “And when I get back, we can practice that Monster Mash Off you were so dang excited about.” She winked at me like she knew I was dreading it, and I shook my head, almost smiling again.
While she was getting drinks, I took a picture of our pumpkins side by side and stared at the image on my phone, making it my screensaver.
“Do we leave them here?” I asked when she returned.
She nodded. “I’ve asked Daisy to keep them safe for us. Now, let’s Mash!”
With another thud of dread from my heart, I followed her over to the stage where the band announced they would be starting the Monster Mash Off in a few minutes.
Gertrude turned to me, her expression serious. “Now, we need a strategy. We can’t go too big too soon or we’ll lose our audience. So I suggest we start small and simple and build up, agreed?”
I held up my hands. “I have no clue what you mean.”
“This is a competition and I play to win, Tate, so listen up and listen good!”
My third whiskey was giving me a warm, pleasant feeling and I wanted to boop her nose, she seemed so serious right now. “You need to smile more,” I said.
She blinked at me and then burst out laughing, but I wasn’t sure what I’d said that was so dang funny.
“How many drinks have you had?”
“Three.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you drink much?”
“Not really.”
She placed her hands on her Betty Boop hips. “Ah, I see. So Tate’s tipsy, is that it?”
“I don’t think so. I think I’m very sober.”
“Good because I need you sober for this. I can’t cope with sloppy dancing or we won’t win. Now I think less is more, so maybe this to start…” She went into a slow version of the twist and I watched as her hips swayed, my mouth drying. “Then maybe this?” She did the mashed potato. “Then go into this?” She swung one arm over her head, sticking her perfect ass out, then swapped her arms over.
My tongue grew heavy. “Looks real good to me.”
