Chapter 13 Ari #2
“It’s okay, I can get myself home,” she said, trying to draw a line between them.
But she knew Harrison thrived in the gray areas.
He wouldn’t give up as long as he thought there was still a shot, but she didn’t have the energy to spend two weeks avoiding whole chunks of the Village to steer clear of him.
So, she stepped out into the wintry night, spotting the tall coniferous trees cloaked in white blankets, the icicles hanging off nearby buildings.
There was a bitterly cold breeze circling the air.
“No, I can’t let you go alone. It’s dark, and I don’t trust that ice,” he said, looking down at the well-salted walking paths.
He was acting as if he could see something she couldn’t, like her safety was his number-one priority.
But she knew he was just trying to creep his way into her plans for the night.
“I’m walking back with my friends, actually, so it’s alright,” she said.
“Which friends?” he asked, looking around.
She searched the crowd, but she couldn’t see any of her teammates. She scanned the sea of athletes for a familiar face, but everyone was preoccupied. But then, just as she was about to give up, she saw a face she immediately recognized.
Drew. He had a camera in his hands, a press pass hanging around his neck, and looked just as surprised as she was. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she didn’t have time to catch up. She needed an excuse to leave, and she needed one fast.
Ari looked back at Harrison, and then she looked toward Drew.
A light bulb lit up in her mind.
Harrison didn’t respect her enough to listen when she said she wanted nothing to do with him.
But Harrison respected other men. Her feminism disagreed with the logic of what she was considering, but her instincts told her it was the best option.
So, in a split-second decision, she decided to make herself unavailable, or at least make it seem like she was.
A perfect, albeit messed-up, solution came to her in an instant.
“Actually, my … boyfriend is over there. So, I’m going to bounce,” she said in a rush as she walked away.
She could feel Harrison’s eyes burning holes in the back of her head as she left. But it was too late to change her mind. She walked across the snow toward Drew.
There was a shadow of stubble on his chin that made him seem older, but when she saw the way his eyes twinkled under the light of the lamppost he was standing under, she knew he was still the same man she’d met on the roof.
For a moment, it felt like New Year’s Eve again.
Time stood still as they gazed into each other’s eyes.
A flood of memories came back to her: their late-night confessions, a sky full of fireworks, the remnants of a perfect midnight kiss.
“Ari?” he asked. Her name sounded like a song on his lips.
“Drew,” she said, taking in the way his face softened as she walked closer. It felt like minutes since she’d last seen him, not months.
“What happened to never seeing each other again?” he said with a soft laugh. That laugh sounded like sunlight, warm enough to make a Swiss winter night feel like spring. She was about to ask him why he was in the Village, but then she remembered she’d walked toward him for a reason.
“It’s a long story for another time, but can you do me a quick favor?” she asked, glancing over at Harrison, who was still watching her. Drew followed her eyes and glanced over with curiosity.
“Shoot,” he said gamely.
“Can you pretend to be my boyfriend for two seconds so I can get away from him?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think them through.
Drew’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He looked over at Harrison, then back at Ari. Once he put the pieces together, he acted fast.
He put his hand out, and she grasped it. His hand was warm, and the contact of his skin on hers felt so natural that it was as if they’d stood like this a dozen times before.
“What do you need me to do?” he said.
Harrison was still looking over at them.
“Um, do something boyfriendy, I guess?” Ari hadn’t thought this far ahead.
“Boyfriendy?” he asked, confused.
“I don’t know, you could kiss me?” she wondered aloud, regretting the words as soon as they came out of her mouth.
What a weird thing to ask an almost total stranger, she thought, opening her mouth to take it back.
But Drew just nodded. He let go of her hand and slowly leaned closer.
She could feel her heart beating a little faster as he looked into her eyes and smiled at her like they were in on a secret together.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and she leaned into the comfort of his embrace.
He smelled like clean skin, aftershave, and firewood.
Like coming home after a long day and settling into someone’s arms.
“Is this okay?” he whispered, his voice sending a tingle around her neck.
She just nodded, holding his gaze as he ran his finger against her cheek, tracing a line from her eyes down to her lips.
His touch was gentle, but she could feel the trail of heat it left across her skin.
The way it spread out across her face and down her body as he cupped her chin, brought her closer, and closed his eyes.
Everything went quiet for a moment, and then he kissed her.
His soft lips meeting hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into the delicious taste of him.
Their bodies moving in a slow, smooth rhythm as he leaned in and pulled her closer.
She gently parted his lips, feeling the hot, smooth sensation of his tongue as they deepened the kiss into a heady, slightly dizzying intensity.
Soon her reasons for kissing him were forgotten.
Because this felt way too good to just be pretend.