A Pumpkin and a Patch

by Jennifer Peel

“He’s the idiot. I mean, you’re the prettiest pumpkin in the patch.

His tongue skimmed my lips like the water tickling my toes before it crashed into my mouth like a tidal wave threatening to drown me eternally in a passion so deep, I would gladly breathe only his breaths for the rest of my days.”

our mothers were sisters who married brothers, which made us cousin cousins. It was like inbreeding, but the legal and non-gross kind.

If any man pops up in my life, I’m going to Whac-A-Mole all over him.”

“You don’t like me now, but believe me, love, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll beg me to own you, body and soul.”

Alpha roll was a term Jenna had come up with. It was an alpha male mixed with a cinnamon roll. Meaning he was the perfect mixture of a take-charge man with a heart of gold who would do anything for those he loves, especially the woman he loves. Like Jenna would say, he is hot and ooey gooey and you want to sink your teeth right into him.

All I could think about was that blasted story and how every time the rogue pirate would touch the heroine, she felt as if she were drunk on rum. It was exactly the way I felt now, and I couldn’t say I disliked it.

he smelled divine. My nose was like, Yes baby, come to Mama.

“I never know what you’re going to do or say. I have to admit, it’s wildly attractive.”

for some reason, you’re embarrassed by the story you wrote. And you think by not liking me, it will help you continue to run away from that piece of yourself that was exposed to the world. It’s why you always hide from me, but really, you’re just hiding from yourself.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just, for so long I’ve wanted to know the woman behind the words. That story—” He didn’t finish his thought;

“If you need to know exactly why I want to get to know you, here’s my list: You’re a little crazy,” he chuckled. “You’re passionate about everything you do, as far as I can tell. You’re talented and gorgeous. I can’t stop thinking about you,”

Men don’t choose to be friends with women. It’s the door they knock on, seeing if you’ll let them in. You open that baby even a crack, and before you know it, he’ll be pushing you up against that cave wall you wrote about in grand detail.”

My esteem for my dad always grew when I realized he was not blind to my mother’s craziness, yet he embraced it anyway. That was true love right there.

She placed her little hand in mine, and something just clicked inside of me. Almost like something that was broken instantly repaired itself.

More than my bread was on fire. My heart was, and I wasn’t sure if I could put those flames out.

put down an offer and take that man off the market.”

I was perfectly sane at work until you walked in the door.” In other areas of my life, not so much. “Are you saying I drive you crazy?”

you drive me crazy. In the best ways,”

“If ever we wind up in Greece together, you can kiss me hello.”

“I still have a hard time believing you’re attracted to me at all.” “That’s a shame, but I’ll make a believer out of you yet.”

I was thinking more along the lines of, kiss me, and see how important you are.”

“I picked the prettiest pumpkin in this patch.”

“Why would you want to be thrown into the blender in order to mix in with the masses, only to get cut by the blades?”

“For years, I let others cut me with their words and insults, but I realized it was because they so badly wanted to be in the mix. When I finally learned it was okay not to be, it changed my life. From then on, I didn’t give a damn about what anyone thought of me.”

He took his time getting acquainted with my lips, brushing and tugging on them, even gliding his tongue across them as if he wanted to intimately know every part of me.

In that moment he owned me, yet I didn’t feel as if he wanted to possess me.

I would be your pirate any day, if that’s what you want.

Thank you for making my awake better than any dream I’ve ever had.”

“Josie, you should always be the first person to stand up for yourself. I’m always happy to play backup for you, but the first step to getting out of the blender is to see your worth—and to realize you’re worth fighting for.”

“You’re not insane. You’ve been hurt.” “It’s made me crazy.” “I like your brand of crazy.”

“You can’t fix me.” I needed him to understand he should just let this thing between us go. “I don’t want to. I learned a long time ago that you can’t fix people; you can only help them.”