Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist (Maple Hollow #1)

I looked at Jordyn, the flames dancing in her eyes and glowing on her pale skin. She was so beautiful. I watched intently as her lips parted. My heart thudded, and I was screaming in my head to make a move, but Jordyn lurched into me, her face colliding with mine before we both tumbled backward.

“Oh my goddess, I am so, so, so sorry!” She cringed, dusting golden leaves off me and helping me up. “I, uh, tripped!”

“You tripped standing still?” I asked skeptically. “It felt more like someone shoved you into me.” I looked over her shoulder but saw nothing but empty street.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” she gritted out. “Lots of ghouls out at this time of night. We’re nearing the witching hour, I think. We should probably get you home. Don’t you have to get up like crazy early?”

She was rambling, turning in a circle, looking everywhere but at me.

“Hey.” My voice was calm as I grabbed her hand and squeezed. She looked down to where our fingers were joined. “Walk me home?”

“Okay.” Her eyes darted around one last time before I tugged her back in the direction we’d come.

Keeping her hand in mine, we wandered back to the twinkling candle in the window of the Witch’s Brew. Her delicate fingers felt good in mine, despite mine probably being a bit sweaty. But she didn’t seem to mind.

“Two years ago,” she said.

“What?”

“My last first date was two years ago.”

“Oh,” I mused.

“We dated for about a year before we broke up.” Jordyn scrunched her eyes closed, and the muscle in her jaw flexed. “I mean, I broke up with her,” she corrected. “And she died a few months later and I just haven’t gone out with anyone since.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

She glared over her shoulder. “I’m getting less and less sad about it by the day.”

I had no idea what that meant. But I brushed off the odd comment. Grief did weird things to us all, I supposed.

“I can’t imagine there’s a lot of queer people in a little town like Maple Hollow,” I said.

Jordyn shrugged and threw a look around the square. “You’d be surprised. There’s a pretty big overlap between the paranormal and rainbow communities.”

We walked past a monster with black and purple hair draped across one eye.

“I guess that makes sense,” I replied.

The monster flashed us the “rock on” symbol, and we tried desperately to keep ourselves composed as we flashed it back. When he was halfway down the block, we finally burst out laughing, Jordyn’s face bright red as she wiped a tear of joy from her eye.

We stopped in front of the burgundy door to the Witch’s Brew Café, still smiling at each other.

“This was fun,” I said, lingering at the steps.

“Yeah. It was.” She smiled back at me. “Maybe we could do it again sometime? Or, er, uh, not show you around again ‘cause I obviously just did that, but maybe, like, we could go . . .” She gestured to the café window. “Willow always decorates the windows with carved pumpkins this time of year. Maybe we could go pumpkin picking? Saturday. If you want. No pressure.”

Her rambling was so adorable, I couldn’t help myself. I stepped in and slowly kissed her on those sweet, soft lips. It was the gentlest of kisses, a little spark that I already knew would eventually set me aflame. But right now, I protected that perfect little ember as she hummed against my lips. I reluctantly took a step back.

Another night. Another night, I would run my hands through her hair and plunder her mouth and taste every sweet inch of her gorgeous body . . . but tonight, I’d leave it at a sweet, little kiss—a question mark—that she could answer when she was ready.

“A pumpkin patch date sounds perfect,” I said with a wink, leaving her seemingly stupefied on the sidewalk as I stepped into the café.

13

JORDYN

Lou snickered from behind me as we watched the door to the Witch’s Brew close. The embarrassment of almost face-planting into my date’s lips still burned even after the amazing kiss we’d just shared. I brought my fingers to my lips to savor the feel of Harlow still lingering there.