Pumpkin Muffins on a Busy Street

I stared at my hands where they rested atop the faded steel counter, twisting together in useless patterns in a reflection of my troubled, fidgeting mind. Across from me, my roommate was eating a cranberry muffin in complete silence, and it was slowly driving me insane. Eventually, I just couldn't take it anymore, and I slammed my open palm onto the table in annoyance.

"When did we sink this low?" I demanded.

Max, lifting his dark brown hair away from his eyes with a light-fingered, delicate touch, pinched his eyebrows together in a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

I motioned to the plate in front of us, which was completely bare except for a few stray crumbs and one last muffin. Pumpkin, if I remembered correctly. "We're eating muffins for the third day in a row," I pointed out in a slightly disgusted tone.

He raised one eyebrow elegantly, absently picking apart the paper wrapper with long fingers. "Well, the bakery sent us those free coupons last week."

"Exactly!" I hit the table again in frustration. Max jumped slightly.

There was a moment of hesitation before he asked in a soft, timid voice, "So, what's wrong with saving money?"

I frowned at that, having no real answer, and merely shrugged instead. I waved my hand uselessly in the air. "I'm tired of muffins," I explained lamely.

"Are you saying you don't want the last one?" His fingers twitched, suddenly poised over the plate. I let out a low growl as I slapped his hand away.

"Hell no," I said, taking a sudden interest the muffin, and picked it up to hold it close to my chest. "This muffin is mine."

"What?" he exclaimed, looking offended. His lower lip stuck out in an adorable pout. "But you've already had two!"

"So have you," I pointed out, and I smirked as I peeled away the baking cup. "Besides, you had the last one yesterday."

"But Charlie," he dragged out my name as he said it, "I'm still hungry!"

I shrugged and forced myself toappear uncaring, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to make him unhappy. Damn those bright green eyes. "Not my problem," I hummed, teasingly twirling the muffin in my fingertips. His eyes followed it hungrily.

"We could split it," he suggested.

"No way." I brought it halfway to my mouth, allowing myself a small chuckle at his panicked expression. "It's all or nothing, baby."

That certainly got his attention. He choked, "Baby?"

I shrugged, feeling myneckheatwith embarrassment. Thankfully, I was wearing a high-collared shirt for work that day, and I didn't think he noticed. "It goes with the saying, I think."

He suddenly took on a mischievous expression, the light illuminating his sprinkle of freckles as he leaned forward into the yellow lamplight of the bakery. "In that case, it's nothing," he said, and he snatched the muffin right out of my hands and took off running towards the door.

"Hey!" I yelled, my chair scraping loudly against the dirty linoleum andnearly tipping over as I jumped out of it in my haste to follow him. I ripped the door open mere seconds after it closed behind him, calling after his retreating backside, "Get back here with my muffin!"

Max glanced behind him as he ran, a surprised expression quickly replacing his smug one as I began to catch up. He always was a slow runner.

"Crap!" he yelped, just before I tackled him. We hit the concrete hard, and for a second I was worried I'd ripped his shirt until he looked up at me with those incredibly green eyes, and all coherent thought quickly fled from my mind.

"Oof," he said in that soft voice of his, jumpstarting my brain, and he somehow wriggled one of his hands out from underneath me to rub the developing bump on his head. I let my fingertips brush over it apologetically before they dropped away in shock at the sight of the pumpkin muffin laying a few feet away, covered in grime from the sidewalk.

"Oh, gross," I mourned, picking it up delicately. "Now it's all dirty."

"Well, it's your fault," Max mumbled from underneath me. I glanced at him briefly as I turned the muffin from side to side, inspecting its surface to see if any part of it was even remotely edible. It wasn't.

"My fault?" I blinked in surprise. "You're the one who ran off with my muffin," I snorted, and I tossed my head slightly as my hair slid into my face. I really needed a haircut.

Max made a low tsking sound in the back of his throat. "Well, you're the one who tackled me!" He squirmed, obviously trying to get away, so I shifted my position to straddle him. His face immediately blossomed in a pink blush, and I knew he wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Oh well." I dusted the muffin off with a sigh and stared at it critically for a few moments. "I guess it's still edible," I eventually declared, and I bit off a small piece from what I thought was the cleanest portion. I saw Max's nose crinkle from the corner of my eye and almost laughed.

"That's disgusting," he hissed.

I smirked. "At least I don't have to worry about you stealing it anymore," I mused and made a point to take an extra large bite,watching him squeeze his eyes shut in revulsion. I had already made my way through half the muffin – which was quite good, despite the unsanitary conditions – before Max opened his eyes again.

His voice cracked slightly when he finally spoke. "Are you going to get off me?"

I pretended to consider the question for a moment, enjoying the growing redness in his cheeks. I grinned and patted his warm face. "Nope," I decided cheerfully. "I'm going to torture you while I eat this." And I took another bite to demonstrate.

He turned his head, probably to soothe his cheeks against the cold concrete, and muttered softly, "It's not exactly tortuous, you know."

I raised my eyebrows at that, almost certain I'd just heard something not originally intended for my ears, or anyone else's for that matter. "Huh?" I asked intelligently.

Max's mouth fell open at my voice, and he lifted his face to stare at me with wide, frightened green eyes. "What?" he stammered. It took a few moments and several deep breaths for him to recover enough to insist, "I didn't say anything."

I couldn't resist the slow curl of my lips. "Yes, you did," I said slowly.

"Fuck," he said bluntly, and he let his head drop painfully against the sidewalk. "I've got to stop thinking out loud," he moaned.

"What did you say?" I asked. I let my fingers trail under his shirt when he didn't respond, tickling his sides. He gasped and grabbed my hand, trying to push it away with no such luck– I was stronger than him. "Tell me," I pressed.

"Nothing," he said, but I knew he was lying by the way his cheeks were flaming. I reluctantly pulled my hand away.

"I'll give you half the muffin if you tell me," I attempted to bargain with him.

"Are you kidding? That thing's disease-ridden!" He pointed to the muffin still held loosely in my other hand, repulsion causing the light creases in his forehead to deepen as he scowled. "Get it away from me," he ordered.

I grinned, seeing my chance for a new weapon. I purposely thrust it closer to his face. "Not until you tell me!"

"Jesus, just get off me, okay?" He held his hands up to shield himself, but I was relentless. Eventually he sighed, shoulders slumping, and I knew I'd won. "You know what I said," he mumbled softly, his voice sounding considerably more dejected than the curious, mischievous tone I'd become accustomed to. I frowned.

"What if I heard you wrong?"

His faced tipped closer to mine. "Then I'll punch you," he said simply.

I leaned closer, knowing for a fact that Max couldn't hit anyone if he tried – he had terrible hand-eye coordination – and hovered directly over his face, resisting a smile at the way his pupils dilated and his breath quickened. "Really?"

He swallowed nervously. Uncertainly. "Yeah."

I placed my hands on either side of his head to brace myself for what was about to come, absently tossing the muffin to the side. I licked my lips. "What would you do if I was right?" I whispered.

His eyes fluttered shut as my breath ghosted across his lip. "Nothing," he lied.

I snorted, "Uh-huh."

He was blushing harder now. It suited him. "You do realize you're straddling me in the middle of a busystreet, right?" he asked, a slightly desperate quality lacing his voice. It made me smile.

"Yep." And that was as much as I could take. He looked too perfect there, stretched out on cold concrete with his brown hair fanned all around his face, dark eyelashes lowered against his freckled cheeks, and before I could think twice about it I was kissing him. I thought I was blushing when I pulled away, but I couldn't be sure. Max's eyes gave away nothing when he opened them.

"Wh…what was that for?" he stuttered.

"Muffin crumbs," I said automatically, suddenly worried that I'd read the signs wrong. The healthy flush of his skin and the tremble of his lips told me I hadn't, but I wasn't certain, and I always liked to be prepared.

"I thought you were tired of muffins," he pointed out softly.

Oops. He caught me.

"Okay, so I lied," I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders, and I carefully began extracting myself from him. I dusted off my jeans as I stood.

"Then why'd you do it?" he asked, lifting his face to study mine, and I was suddenly lost in his expression.

I adjusted my collar awkwardly. "I wanted to, I guess."

"Charlie," he said my name softly, joining me in a standing position. He scuffed his beaten Converse shoes against the sidewalk, staring at the faded writing on them in deep thought. "You realize this will never work out."

"Kind of," I sighed, gently taking him by the elbow. It felt skinny and bony in my hands, and I linked our arms together, slowly tugging him in the direction of our apartment. I expertly changed the subject, "You want to get some bagels tomorrow?"

"But what about…?" He trailed off, eyes flickering back and forth between mine.

"We'll figure it out later," I said, and I brushed the pad of my thumb gently along the curve of his cheek. "Besides," I grinned, "we've got more important things to worry about."

He shot me a slightly offended look. "Like what?"

I chuckled. "Oh, I don't know." I swung my free arm carelessly as we walked, suddenly feeling much lighter. "Like getting the electricity turned back on in the apartment, for instance." He ducked his head in shame at that reminder, his face burning darkly as complete strangers looked down on him. I let go of his arm to wrap myself around him comfortingly, smiling when he did the same. "We're poor, remember?" I said.

Max rolled his eyes and rested his face against my shoulder. I could feel his smile through the thin material of my shirt. "Says the boy who just wasted a muffin," he laughed softly.

"It wasn't exactly wasted," I said seriously, and I stopped him to tangle my fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck, pulling his mouth close enough for another kiss. His eyes were hazy when I moved back, and I felt uncertain until he graced me with a boyish grin.

"No, I suppose not," he said, and we slowly walked the rest of the way home, lingering at the stop lights to steal a kiss or two.