Chapter 17 Andri
Chapter seventeen
Andri
We’ve been in a delightful holding pattern for the past week and a half, where during the day we both go to our respective jobs, and then in the evening we rally back at my cabin.
Even though Daphne tossed the “dating” word around at the diner, there’s yet to be anything set in stone about what’s going on between us.
I’m fine with that, because I’m closer now than I’d ever thought I’d be.
I can tell there’s something holding us both back from going further sexually than we have—it might be something as small as the time not being right. It doesn’t feel fair to rush this new romance though. I want to savor it while I can.
So the second Daphne walks in the door from her shift at Ted’s, I wrap my arms around her. I scoop her up and kiss her on the forehead.
“Good day at work?” I grin, happy to see her. I’ve felt a little off all day and have chalked it up to Daphne withdrawal.
“I spent most of it trying to pick up on all the town gossip with Lerana. Did you know the minotaur and the florist like to have sex in their greenhouse? Do you think they know people can see them?” Her face is honestly eating up every juicy tidbit that Lerana feeds her.
“You’ll be caught up in no time with that faun at your side, I have no doubt.”
“I hope so!” She nods toward the ground so I’ll put her down. She walks away from me, putting her bag on the dining room table. Suddenly, she snaps her head back to me, as if remembering something important.
“Also, Briarlee wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry—and also that she was right, and you should be thanking her, but I think we should focus more on the apology aspect of the message. Don’t you?” She looks at me hopefully.
That fairy has been on my shit list and rightfully avoiding me since she got Daphne drunk on that fairy wine.
“Well, I don’t know if I forgive her yet,” I huff.
“Hey! You’re not allowed to be grumpy.” She puts her hands on her hips and pouts in a way that drives me wild.
“And why is that?”
“Because I’ve got a date planned—I figure we’re far enough away from our first date now that we deserve a better start, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t change a thing about our first date. It led to this—fairy meddling or not—and I wouldn’t trade this for all the snow on the mountain.”
A fierce blush spreads across her cheeks.
“Just lemme put on something cozy and I’ll be right back. We can head out after that, okay?” She rushes into the bathroom.
When she returns, she’s wearing a white oversized sweater and leggings. She swings her heavy coat over it all and grabs a basket covered with a large fleece blanket.
“Am I okay to wear this?” I gesture to the usual.
“As long as you’re comfy.” She winks.
What on earth are we doing? I’ve never had a woman take me out on a date, so I really have no idea what to expect.
“To the truck,” she announces before marching back out the door that she just came in.
“I assume I’m driving?” I grab the car keys off their hook by the door and follow her. “Doesn’t that mean I need to know where we're going? Or is the surprise just me riding around in the truck all night?”
“Well, I suppose I have to tell you now, don't I?” She enters the gondola cab and winks at Briarlee. “We’re going to the beach!” Filled with glee, she claps her leg with the one not holding the picnic basket.
I open the front door and a chilly, stiff wind sweeps into the cab and I shut the door. I sniff, something in the air has the hairs on my neck standing up. But I shake it off and turn back to the beautiful creature behind me.
“Daphne, it’s the middle of winter.” I’m confused on what’s supposed to happen on this date.
“Oh shush, it’ll be fun, promise!”
“Go right over there!” She points to a spot on the snowy beach that overlooks the lighthouse, and I steer my way to her preferred parking spot.
“You’re lucky I’ve got all-wheel drive,” I tell her as we bump over a few small dunes. Once we’re parked, I’ll admit the view is more impressive than I thought it might be.
“God, this whole town is so beautiful.” Daphne grins as she grabs items out of the basket.
The waves fall onto the shore, feeding the ice dams that are building right where they break. The effect of constantly building piles of ice makes it look like some kind of crystal fence.
“You know I’ve never been here before,” I say as she hands me a mug and pours steaming spiced cider into it.
“Really? You’ve never come down to the beach that’s only twenty minutes from your house?” She blinks slowly, her head cocked to the side.
That is until I remind her, “You know, snowmen don’t really love the warm weather. And no one’s invited me down in the winter, which makes sense. I think Ted’s the only one that comes close to my cold tolerance.”
“Oh duh, yeah that makes sense. Are snowmen and bigfeet like cousins?” She stuffs her mug into the truck’s cupholder. I follow suit, and she grabs her laptop—now freshly adorned with a variety of stickers—and puts it on the dash.
“I wouldn’t know, but I think it’s possible. They're just as solitary as my kind.”
“You don’t seem like the solitary type.”
“I wasn’t given a choice in that matter. Snowwomen leave their children very young. I feel like I barely got the time to learn anything before she left.” There’s a dull ache in my chest as I tell her about my mother.
“Did your father leave too?” She scoots a little closer, throwing a blanket over our laps before grabbing my hand.
“He wasn’t ever really there.”
“My dad left us, right before I got taken away. Their breakup made Mom relapse. I don’t know where she is, but I don’t think I need her in my life enough to look for her either.
” She chews her lip for a moment before continuing.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate her, if that’s what that sounded like.
I just can’t try to negotiate her problems when I’m still trying to figure out my own life.
I hope she’s doing well, I really do…but I can’t risk my own mental health anymore for the people I love.
Do you think that makes me selfish?” Her brows lifted in concern, then faltered, her expression tightening.
“No.” I whisper, gripping her hand all the tighter. “Even if you did want to help her, you wouldn’t be able to pour that energy from an empty cup. I’m proud of you for putting yourself first.”
“Thanks.” She sighs before turning her attention back to the laptop, plugging in a slightly janky external drive, and slipping in a DVD. “It’s hard for some people to understand…but I guess we’re more similar than I first thought, aren’t we?” She clicks play on a video.
The intro is all Christmas decorations and sparkle, but when I don’t recognize any of the names in the opening credits, it dawns on me what this is.
“Is this a Hallmark movie?” I groan. “Because if it is, I fear we're more different than you think!” I run my hand up her side and tickle the soft swell of her hip.
“How dare you…Hallmark movies are everything!” She mock-argues and pushes my hand off her.
“Everything wrong with holiday movies?” I laugh and wrap my arms around her. “I didn’t realize you liked things so cheesy.”
She raises her brows, a smirk cracking across her face.
“I like you, don’t I?”
I cover my chest, feigning a wound to the heart. “Shots fired, I stand down… And besides, I’d do anything as long as I can keep you by my side.” I tilt her chin back up using my finger. A blush instantly spreads across her cheeks, and she leans in.
The beach is predictably empty given the brutal cold. I double-check that the thermostat is set to a “human comfort” level of warmth, since Daphne would freeze before making herself an inconvenience. I’m hoping this date might lead to some clothing being shed, so warmth is extra important.
It was only last week I learned keeping the cabin at a balmy fifty-five isn’t what a human would call toasty, but hey, we’re all learning along the way, right?
“Well, you’ll sit and enjoy this cheesy movie like the corny-ass yeti you are, then.” She gives me a peck on the lips before turning around and snuggling her back up against me on the bench seat.
I wrap my arms around her tightly and shift my hips to get comfortable for what I’m sure will be an affront to the profession of acting as a whole. She feels so good against me, though, I don’t care how many corny movies I’ve got to watch.
My hands skirt around her waistband, rubbing the soft skin of her belly. For as obvious as I am, she plays it coy, as if she has no idea what I might want. I lean in, taking her earlobe between my teeth gently as my fingers find their way under the waistband of her leggings.
Daphne’s hips lift, and her mouth parts as I stroke the soft hair between her legs.
And just as I’m about to find purchase on the spot I so desperately crave, I’m interrupted by a single, incredibly loud, piercing metallic sound.
The single tone of the note unmistakably belongs to Hallow Cove’s rarely used emergency alert siren.
Daphne jolts upright and my hands fly to the radio, and I search for the AM emergency station. Situations like this are the one time I curse not having cell service.
“What’s happening?” She snaps the laptop shut and shoves it back into her basket in a panic.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” My own anxiety rises. I keep the fact that it could be anything from a tsunami to a clerical error to myself.
The radio blips with static until the dial finds the right broadcast as it plays a tone that matches the siren, and then three beeps before a computerized voice fills the stereo.
“…This is an emergency broadcast of the national weather system issued at 6:46 p.m. and ending at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. A blizzard warning is in effect for the following areas that include Stonebridge, Hallow’s Cove…
” The fake voice lists off pretty much every area that surrounds our little hidden town.
“A blizzard? No way—they said that storm fizzled out?” She looks outside. “It’s barely even snowing.”
The voice ends its location list and continues with more details.
“A rapidly developing low-pressure system is intensifying behind a passing cold front, producing sudden whiteout conditions and winds exceeding sixty miles per hour.
This system has strengthened much faster than forecast, creating a dangerous, fast-moving blizzard now sweeping east at forty miles per hour.
“Travel is not advised. Roads may become impassable within the next hour. Visibility will drop to near zero in blowing snow. Power outages are likely due to downed lines and falling limbs.
“If you are on the road, seek shelter immediately. If you are at home, remain indoors, and avoid travel. Make sure to have emergency supplies and keep a battery-powered radio nearby.”
That’s all I need to hear before I lean over and clip Daphne’s seatbelt, put the truck in drive and pull a Uey to get the hell off the beach. We haven’t had a blizzard here…well, ever, as far as I can remember.
“I mean, it’s just a lot of snow, right?” Daphne’s eyes are wide as I take a couple riskier moves to get from the wooded park and back onto the main road. My pulse thrums a little faster.
“It’s a lot of snow, a dangerous amount, even for someone like me,” I tell her as I try to find a balance between reckless driving and getting us home as quickly as possible. “I should have known, I’ve felt weird all day, like I was missing something.”
“Can you predict the weather?” She cocks her head toward me before grabbing the oh-shit handle and wincing as I curb the tire slightly coming into town. I swear the snow is already getting heavier.
“I think I’m more in tune with the snow than other people.” I’m unsure how to describe the sense. Even if my head’s been full of nothing but her, I still felt that strange pull.
I dart down the empty street, it seems almost everyone is already sheltering in place.
When I pull into the parking lot for my gondola station, Briarlee is getting into her rusted Volkswagen Beetle.
Pulling into an empty spot, I rush out and flag her down before she backs up. She rolls the window down.
“Where you going?” I ask, worried about guests that might be trying to get down the hill.
“Hey! Where have you been? I left a note in the cab, we got word of the blizzard about a half hour before the sirens went off. The last couple guests left to check out before changeover tomorrow morning decided to weather out the storm at the motel. No one wants to risk getting stuck on the mountain—including me.” She grimaces. “Promise there’s no one left up there!”
I sigh and make a signal with my hand for her to keep backing up. “Thank you.”
“Where are you going? I heard the motel is full, a couple people are holing up at the tavern to drink through the storm—”
“I’m going home, can’t leave the lodge to fend for itself now, can I? Besides, there’s plenty of supplies up there to hold us over.”
“Got it, boss! I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get back before the roads become too bad, they’re calling for snowsqualls after all…”
“Get out of here, be safe,” I tell her, and I mean it, despite our spats as of late.
“You too, well, two.” She flits her eyes back to the passenger side of my truck before rolling up her window and making my driving look world-class racing.
I walk back over, open Daphne’s door and grab her basket.
“Come on, time’s a-wasting.” I offer my arm. “No better person to be snowed in with than a snowman, right?” I joke, and even though I can tell she’s anxious, she chuckles.