His dad shook his head with a scoff. “That’s not decorating.”
“Dad, I’d have put more out, but I’ve been busy this year. I could put things on my porch, too.”
The chime of the doorbell saved him from the rest of this conversation.
Kids yelled from outside his door, “Trick or treat!”
Luc opened the door. “Hey guys!” He grabbed a few candy bars from the basket and handed them out, talking to the kids as he did. “I like the costumes! A zombie, a princess, and a pirate. Nice! Be careful out there, guys.”
“Thank you!” they all yelled, as they ran off to the next house.
“Kass, you want to sit outside? It’s not too cold, and if you need a jacket, you can wear one of mine. That way we don’t have to keep interrupting Dad’s television show.”
“Sure, use me as your excuse,” his father muttered with a smile.
Luc took Kassie by the hand and led her outside before closing the front door behind them. He pulled up a bench for them to sit on and turned to her, wanting to wrap his arms around her. But instead he caught her opening one of the candy bars.
“Did you just steal a candy bar?” Luc asked, trying to hold back the grin that threatened to form.
Kassie tried not to laugh as she hid the candy bar behind her back. “Maybe.”
Luc faced her and wrapped his arms around her waist, with the objective of grabbing the candy bar. “You know those are for the kids, right?”
Kassie laughed as his hands ran over her. She slapped him away with amusement. “Stop it! You have plenty.”
Her laugh warmed his chest. He loved seeing her happy. Giving up on getting the candy bar, because she was not letting him have it, he pulled her close with his arms still wrapped around her. His voice lowered, and her lips were only inches away. “But what if I run out? And that one last little kid comes to the door—Can I please have some candy—and we’re out of candy, because you ate it.”
She looked from his eyes to his lips, then back to his eyes. “Then we’ll just give that destitute-sounding little kid a signed hockey puck. Better yet, I’m sure you can spare a stick, and maybe a twenty-dollar bill, just as an added bonus so he can buy his own chocolate.”
Luc dropped a kiss on her forehead and pulled her with him to sit down on the bench. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“I do. Speaking of the chocolate, I’m impressed by the candy selection. Jumbo size bars. No one gives these away anymore. At least, not that I ever got. We typically only got the fun-size bars, more like bite-sized. My least favorite candy on Halloween were Now and Laters. I always preferred a good Kit-Kat, or anything chocolate.”
“Really? Hating on Now and Laters? They were great to eat while you were sitting in class.”
Kassie shrugged and glanced at the floor. “Well, I had braces, too. I wasn’t allowed to eat anything sticky. Plus, why waste calories on taffy when you can eat chocolate?”
He tipped her chin in his direction. “You mean you weren’t born with this stunning smile? I don’t believe it.” His words may have sounded like he was flirting, but he hoped the look in his eyes would convey his honest thoughts.
Kassie tried to respond to his comment, her cheeks darkening. “Oh, please—”
She was interrupted by a group of kids. “Trick or treat!”
“Hey guys!” Kassie jumped to meet them at the steps with the basket of candy in hand. “Everybody take one. Love the costumes!”
Right behind them were two more children. One was dressed as a doctor, the other a hockey player. They looked to be about seven or eight. Luc jumped to greet them alongside Kassie.
“Nice costumes! Doctor and hockey player. You two get an extra chocolate bar!”
Kassie laughed. “I think you’re his favorite, because he plays hockey.”
The little boy in the hockey jersey smiled nervously. “I know… I know you play hockey.”
The little guy in the doctor costume spoke up. “We live way down the street, but we had to come to your house and see if it was really you.”
“If it was really me?” Luc squatted down as the boys met them on the porch.
“Yeah. We heard from people that you lived here,” the doctor said.
“I’m a big fan,” the hockey player spoke up, shuffling his one foot and avoiding Luc’s eyes. “We watch all the games, and we play hockey too.”
“And you know who I am?” Luc asked, as if he didn’t believe these kids were here specifically to see him.
“Of course! You’re Luc Marcella from the Renegades,” the boys said together.
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Kassie whispered.
“Wow, guys, I don’t know what to say. You caught me off guard. I’m really glad you stopped by. Here, Kassie will give you some candy, but wait one minute. Let me go grab something inside.” Luc hurried into the house and searched through a few drawers until he found what he was looking for. Returning to the porch, he opened the marker he brought, scribbled his name on two different hockey pucks, and gave one to each kid. “Here you go guys, it’s all I have with me right now. But if you want to stop back sometime with your parents, I’ll sign something else, or take a picture with you. Whatever you want.”
“Awesome!” the boys said in unison.
“Just do me a favor. Let’s keep where I live between us, since this is private property. But if your parents want to give me the info on where you play hockey, maybe I can plan to stop by sometime.”
“Awesome!” the boys yelled again.
“By the way, I think your costume choices are perfect,” Kassie spoke up. “The doctor can fix the hockey player when he gets hurt!”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Luc said with a laugh.
That made the kids laugh.
Luc looked around the parking lot and noted there weren’t many kids left walking around. “Here, before you go, each take two more candy bars. I have a feeling the night is almost over.” The boys, still excited, turned to leave, and Luc called after them. “Please be careful walking home! Watch for cars!”
They watched the kids until they were out of sight. “That was pretty cool.” Luc grabbed a candy bar, opened the wrapper, and took a bite.
“Now who’s going to make us run out of candy?”
Luc looked at his watch, guessing that trick or treat was now over. “I think we’re safe to shut it down now.”
Kassie double checked the parking lot. She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah. Looks like it. Halloween always seems to go so fast.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” He’d wanted to bring something up all night, but every time he was going to say something, more kids had showed up. “So… Tomorrow night we have a game, and I’d like you to be my guest.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Her voice was weird, almost as if she was hoping he was going to ask something else.
Luc ushered her into the house. Setting the basket of remaining chocolate on the table by the door, he noticed his dad wasn’t around. He must’ve retired to the bedroom already. “Want anything to drink?”