Chapter 11 Nick
ELEVEN
NICK
Leaving Evie at the bar sucked, but it was necessary.
By the time I got to the end of the street, my hat was covered in snow. I brushed snow off the arms of my jacket, matching the rhythm of “Jingle Bells” that blared throughout downtown.
“Dammit.” I shook my head and squeezed my eyes. During the holidays I usually isolated myself in my apartment and watched action movies—except Die Hard. I hated that the Christmas crowd had co-opted that classic. Just because it took place at Christmas didn’t make it a holiday movie.
Christmas wasn’t a happy time of year for me.
Most of my twenty-three years were spent alone on that day.
With the exception of the few I’d spent with the good foster placement, there weren’t any stockings hung by chimneys, no puppies hidden in boxes under a tree, no mom chasing me out of the kitchen while she roasted a turkey.
As a kid, I didn’t get to experience the excitement of going to bed on Christmas Eve, wondering what Santa was going to bring me.
I already knew what was going to be under the tree in the morning. Nothing.
In the flower shop window, a tree made out of poinsettias glowed under display lights.
Two cedar trees tastefully wrapped in ribbons and red balls flanked the entrance.
They were starting to disappear under a thick blanket of snow.
I plucked one of the balls from the tree and held it up.
It sparkled and spun in the twinkle lights.
Part of me wanted to drop-kick it across the street.
Sorrow filled my guts. Chance Rapids was beautiful and I couldn’t even appreciate it.
Instead of giving in to my juvenile delinquent fantasies, I brushed off each of the trees and adjusted the ribbons.
“Nick.” A voice shouted from behind me and I instinctively shoved the ball into my pocket. I turned to see Evie running down the street. “Wait up.” Her breath puffed in steamy clouds as she reached me.
She tugged me by my hand onto Oak Street. It was deserted, the hills created for the skijoring contest silhouetted by the streetlamp looked like mini mountains. Away from the racket of the speakers, the snow dampened all the sound around us.
“What are you doing?” I asked. It was a stupid question. She was doing what I should have done.
Her chest heaved from the exertion of sprinting down the street.
I didn’t give her the chance to respond to my dumb ass question.
My hands went to her cheeks, then my lips were on hers.
She moaned into my mouth and pressed her body against mine.
We stumbled until I was pressing her against the brick wall of the building next to the inn. “Oh Nick,” she gasped into my mouth.
Her words brought me back to reality. I was going to hurt Evie.
I didn’t want to hurt Evie.
“We shouldn’t do this…I can’t do this.” I took a step away. Cool air swirled in the space between our hot bodies.
She kicked at a frozen chunk of snow on the ground.
I cupped her cheeks. “It’s not because I don’t want to. You’re fucking beautiful.”
“Then, what is it?” Her eyes shimmered.
God. Fucking. Dammit.
Then her lips quivered. “I haven’t felt this kind of connection with anyone…ever.”
She was feeling it too.
“I’m just not looking for anything serious right now.” That part was true. “I’m here to focus on hockey.”
She pursed her lips. It was a bullshit excuse and we both knew it.
A tear slipped down her cheek and it felt like my guts were being ripped out of my body.
My hands were still cupped on her cheeks and I kissed the salty skin above my thumb.
The tear was a preview of what would happen if I got involved with Evie. “Let’s get some rest.”
To my surprise, she let me take her hand. She had put everything on the line, chasing me down. It should’ve been a romantic kiss in the middle of the street, complete with red and green lighting and a Christmas jingle soundtrack. I ruined what could’ve been a beautiful moment.
Our hands separated as we walked in the front door of the inn. The desk was empty. A note card with instructions for reaching the management stood in the center. “Come on, roomie.” Evie led the way up the dimly lit stairwell.
Room 222 was chilly and I shivered as we stepped inside. “I’ll turn up the heat.” Evie adjusted the thermostat and the metal radiator clanked in response. “There are extra blankets in the cupboard. I’ll see you in the morning, Nick.”
She disappeared into the bathroom and I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt from my bag. The pull-out couch creaked and the springs sagged as I settled onto its lumpy mattress. I was glad that Evie took her time in the bathroom, it gave me time to get my body settled down.
That kiss. Her lips.
I rolled onto my side as she walked out of the bathroom. My dick was as hard as a block of ice that wouldn’t melt. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she tasted.
The down duvet rustled as Evie got into her bed.
I glanced over my shoulder to see that she was facing away from me.
Other than the clanking radiator, the room was so quiet I could hear her breathing.
I shifted on the pull out, the springs groaning under my weight.
It was going to be a long night. For one, it felt like I was sleeping on a torture device, and secondly, the woman of my dreams was sleeping within arm’s reach, and I couldn’t touch her.
Her breathing didn’t change. I knew because I was listening for it.
I rolled over and then back again. Then over again, trying to get comfortable.
I moved slowly to try to keep as quiet as possible.
The creaking springs had to be keeping her awake.
Then the groaning of the springs was replaced by a loud popping sound, almost like a gunshot.
I bolted upright as another spring snapped, and then the mattress below my butt gave out.
I was folded in half as the bed springs beneath me broke.
“What was that?” Evie turned on the bedside lamp. “Nick!” Her eyes opened wide. “Are you okay?”
I groaned and tried to extract myself as the broken mattress sucked me toward the floor. “I’m fine, but I’m not sure I can get out.” Grunting, I tried to press myself out of the bed, feeling more like a mouse in a trap.
A smile spread across her face and then she clamped her hand on her mouth.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me.” I tried not to laugh.
“You broke the bed.”
“I’m pretty sure this bed wasn’t made for people in this century.”
Evie got out from beneath the covers. She was wearing red plaid flannel pajamas and her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head.
She walked across her bed and hopped onto the floor next to mine.
“Let me help.” She grabbed my hands and leaned back, but as hard as she pulled, couldn’t get me out.
“Hold on, let me get up here.” She gingerly stepped on the edge of the pull-out sofa.
“Now I’ve got some leverage.” She dropped to her knees and held out both of her hands.
I put my right hand in hers and used my left to try to pry my body loose.
Her technique worked. The two of us were able to haul my two-hundred-and-thirty-pound body out of the depths of the sofa bed, but it wasn’t smooth.
Momentum took over and I toppled on top of her.
We ended up in a tangled pile at the foot of the mangled bed.
“Are you okay?” I pressed onto my hands, relieving her from the burden of my weight.
She giggled. “I’m fine. GJ is going to be mortified that the bed almost ate you.”
I rubbed my lower back and sat on the edge of the bed. The metal rail pressed into the back of my thighs. “It’s definitely going to leave a bruise.”
“Oh no.” She shimmied behind me and lifted the back of my shirt. “You’re not bleeding, but it looks like there might be a bruise starting to form.”
My skin prickled as she dragged her fingertips over my lower back. “Sorry, does this hurt?”
It did not hurt, her light touch felt incredible. “A little.” I shifted and pulled down the back of my shirt. “I think I can pull the mattress out of that void and put it on the ground.”
“Nick.” She stood and crossed her arms. “That mattress is going to require the jaws of life to get it out of those springs.”
Another spring sproinged. Were we in a Looney Tunes cartoon? “I guess it is a little dangerous looking.”
Evie grabbed the pillows from the decrepit bed and tossed them onto hers. “You can sleep here; we will make a pillow wall.”
Sleeping on a bed next to Evie’s bed was hard, but sleeping on the same mattress as her was going to take every ounce of my willpower. “I can sleep on the floor.”
“Don’t be stupid, Nick. You have a big game tomorrow. Get on your side of the bed. The pillow wall will do its job.
“All right.” I grabbed a spare blanket from the closet. “You can have your own covers too.”
We settled into our separate cocoons. Were we delusional to think a wall of feathers could hold back our desire?
Every time I felt like I was getting close to sleep, Evie would turn and a waft of vanilla would bolt me awake, like I’d taken a shot of espresso.
The radiators banged and ticked as they worked overtime, but they couldn’t keep up with the temperatures outside.
The thin wool blanket wasn’t long enough to go over my entire body, so I had to choose between covering my shoulders or feet.
I curled into a ball and forced myself not to shiver.
There was no way I was going to let Evie know I was cold.
I turned away and tried to covertly tuck the blanket under my back, but it wasn’t working. Then a cloud of warmth came over me. Evie had thrown her duvet over both of us. “You’re freezing.” Her breath was hot on my ear. “Don’t worry, the pillows are still there.”
The down pillows were squished by our bodies. She wasn’t touching me, but her warmth radiated through our “wall.”
I froze, but this time it wasn’t because I was cold. If I moved, it would be to pull Evie into my arms. I squeezed my eyes tightly. Sleeping on the busted-up couch would’ve been far less torturous.
“Evie,” I whispered.
“Yeah.”
I paused. I didn’t know what I was going to say.
My brain had stopped driving and my body had taken the wheel.
I did what I should’ve done earlier. It might end in heartache for both of us, but as I slid my hand underneath the plaid flannel of her pajama top, I convinced myself that one night might be worth it.