Chapter 16
Rosalie
Ikind of felt like I’m living in the twilight zone. One moment I’m basically homeless, alone and living in constant fear, and then, within a few weeks, I now have a safe place to sleep, a job I love and… friends that I want to spend all my time with.
Last night was the first relaxing evening I’ve had in a very long time.
The guys insisted we marathon The Santa Clause movies and order Chinese food.
Then when I told them there was a TV show, too, we started watching that until I had to go to bed, afraid I would fall asleep and drool on one of them.
I did, however, keep my door open while I slept. I wasn’t sure if they’d think it was weird, but if they did, they didn’t comment. Just the thought of being behind a closed bedroom door alone again made me anxious.
It helped that if I lay in just the right position, I could see Leo across the hall in his bed, making me feel like I wasn’t so alone.
I check my neck in the mirror and am pleased to see that the bruises have all disappeared now. I’ve got Scott out of my skin, now I just need to get him out of my mind.
I step back and adjust my sweater for the tenth time.
I didn’t have any fancy clothes, but I was still nervous.
Leo had called this a date. I knew he didn’t mean it in the romantic sense, since all four of us were going, but it would be the first time I did something with them that wasn’t work related and I was nervous about acting weird.
Taking a deep breath to calm myself I head downstairs to where I can hear the guys' voices.
“Shortcake!” Leo says excitedly when he sees me.
“Good morning, Leo.”
“Come have some crepes, there’s also bacon, eggs and sliced bananas and strawberries.”
I join them at the table and look at the large spread of food with wide eyes.
“Here,” Grant says, placing a couple of crepes on my plate.
I stare down at them and am suddenly hit with a memory of my mother making them for me. We’d always have them with lemon juice and sugar, and no matter how many she made, I always wanted more.
“Clara, what’s wrong?” I glance at Grant and he brushes a tear from my cheek.
“Sorry.” I wipe my eyes as I try to calm my rampant emotions. “It’s just my mom… she used to make crepes for me.”
“Used to?” Grant asks carefully.
I glance across the table at Asher, and I see the question in his eyes, so I nod, giving him permission to share what I told him.
“Her mom passed away from cancer about a year ago.”
“Awe, sweetheart, I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone. Or did you have someone?” Grant asks, resting his hand on mine.
“No, I was alone. I lost my dad the year before, and I’m an only child.”
“Christmas must have been hard last year,” Leo says, and I lift my head to look at him and nod.
“Yeah, we loved Christmas. Everything about it reminds me of her.”
“That’s not a bad thing though, is it?” Grant asks. “It reminds you of the good times.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah, the good memories aren’t painful, but it reminds me that she’s gone and that I’m alone.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Leo says proudly.
“What?”
“Look around you. You don’t look alone to me.”
I smile thankfully, and the conversation turns to lighter topics as we eat breakfast.
It’s not until we’re in Leo’s truck, with Asher and me in the back, that I finally ask, “Where are we going?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” Leo says eagerly. “Last night I was looking for ideas and it turns out there is a winter festival on in Aspen Hollow.”
“Really?” I ask excitedly. “Where’s that?”
“It’s the next town over, about forty-five minutes from here if we don’t run into bad weather.”
I glance out the window to admire the freshly fallen snow. By the time we reach Aspen Hallow, there are several feet of snow covering the ground.
The drive flies by fast thanks to Leo’s constant chatter. He includes me in every conversation, too. It feels good to have people to talk to again, even if I am still hiding some things from them .
Eventually, we pull into a crowded parking lot as the fair comes into view.
“Is that a skating rink?” I ask in surprise.
“Yep, can you skate?” Leo asks as we all climb out of the truck, Grant offering me his hand to help me down.
“I did when I was younger.”
“We can rent skates here,” Grant tells me as he leads me around the truck to join the other two as we head towards the fair.
My head swivels as I try to take everything in at once.
“Why don’t we grab some hot chocolate then we can walk through the ice sculpture gallery?” Grant suggests, pointing to the ice sculptures.
I nod eagerly and grip his arm as we enter a more crowded area. I now realize he has not released my hand since he helped me out of the truck, and I’m now hugging his arm, with my other arm wrapped around his bicep. “Oh, sorry,” I say quietly as I try to pull back.
But he squeezes my hand, not letting me pull away as he smiles down at me as we get in line at the drink stall. “Don’t apologize, you’re keeping me warm.”
I smile up at him although I’m not sure what to think of his answer. Does he like me doing that only because of the heat? Or is it more?
He orders our drinks, and I have to let go to hold my hot chocolate with both hands. Asher leads us over to the sculptures, and we take our time looking at all the amazing art.
“I can’t believe what people can do with ice,” I say, looking at a intricate mermaid ice sculpture.
“Yeah, they’re talented, for sure,” Leo agrees from my side.
“What’s that?” I point to a strange wall made of ice blocks at the end of the trail. As we get closer, I see it’s not just a wall but like a large box, the size of a small shed.
“It’s an ice hut,” Leo says, taking my empty cup and throwing it in a garbage can along with his. He glances behind me, and I turn to see what he’s looking at. Asher and Grant have stopped thirty feet back to talk to a couple other guys.
“Quick, come here,” Leo whispers, grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the ice hut. Around the corner is an opening, a little smaller than a normal door. We have to turn sideways to slip inside, and once we’re in there, it’s close quarters, barely enough space for the two of us.
“Why is it so small in here?” I ask, gazing around at the ice blocks.
Leo shrugs as he turns to face me, his warm green eyes suddenly smoldering as he forces me to press my back against the wall.
Slowly, he raises his gloved hands and places them on the wall on either side of my head.
“W-what are you doing?” I stutter, barely able to keep my cool, even surrounded by all this ice. His eyes flick down to my lips, and a small gasp escapes me. I feel my body heat and am afraid if he keeps looking at me like that I might just melt through this wall.
He moves closer, pressing his body against mine and lighting me up. My entire body feels on edge, like one small touch and I will explode.
Holy shit, what is happening right now?
“Leo?” I whisper when he continues to stare at me, his eyes bouncing between mine. “What are you doing?”
“Showing you I’m interested.”
“Y—” I’m cut off as he dips his head and gently presses his lips to mine. My gloved hands fly up on instinct, and I end up gripping the sides of his jacket as he kisses me.
His lips move slowly, placing excruciating slow kisses on my lips, over and over, adjusting their position each time.
I’ve never been kissed like this before.
Scott would always dive in tongue first. It was passionate, sure, but there is something about this slowness that sets every nerve on fire, making me wish for more.
I start to move my lips back against him, and his hands drop to my face, angling me just the way he wants me. His action makes me feel bold, so I run my tongue along his lower lip, seeking more. He instantly reacts, pressing harder against me as his tongue meets mine.
He takes control of the kiss, making me moan as I get lost in his embrace.
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined what kissing him would be like, and now I know my imagination is clearly lacking.
The real thing is way better than I ever expected.
The fact that we are fully dressed in winter gear, gloves and all, so our lips are the only part of our skin that touches, just tells me how strong this connection is between us.
Kissing Scott had been nothing like this. It didn’t light up my whole body the way Leo does. Even my past boyfriends, before Scott, never held a candle to this man. That’s probably the difference - Leo is a man, and everyone else I’ve ever dated feels like they were just boys.
“Clara? Leo?” I hear Grant calling out names, and Leo pulls back with an audible sigh.
He stares down at me with a pleased grin on his face as he slowly licks his lower lip, my eyes trailing the movement. He doesn’t say anything, just grabs my hand and leads me out of the tiny ice hut.
“There you are; we thought you’d run off on us,” Grant says, looking between us. His eyes drop to my lips, and I instinctively wipe my glove across them, afraid there is some sort of visual clue that we’ve just kissed.
“I think there’s a snowman-building contest starting soon; do you guys want to join it?” Leo asks, tugging me along as we exit the ice sculpture area.
I decide that’s just what I need to cool myself down, so I agree, along with the other two as we make our way to the field where the contest is being held. Most of the other groups are families, but there are a few couples in their twenties participating, too.
We decide to do something family-friendly, since there are kids around, and make a snowman couple with a dog.
The problem is, none of us are actually very good at building snowmen, and the snow is too fluffy; it’s not packing snow.
When my third attempt at the base snowball for the snow-woman collapses again I drop to my knees and groan in frustration.