11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Lance
The snow falls outside again, coating my yard in a white silence. I glance out the window, watching as the flakes move in the wind, but despite the distraction outside, my mind is somewhere else. After what happened yesterday on the couch and watching her change, I knew I had to try and distance myself as much as possible. So far, I’m not doing a good job. I can’t forget about how fucking amazing it felt to have her cuddled up to me this morning.
She’s here, stuck with me. It’s only the second day, and I’m finding it to be much harder than I realized. It had been my idea, thinking it was safer for her to ride out the storm with me rather than risk getting stranded on the icy roads on the way to her parent’s house. But as I look at her sitting across from me, sipping her coffee and pretending to do the crossword puzzle I had on the table, I can’t help but feel a knot tighten in my stomach.
She’s so close, too close for comfort. Every quick look, every smile, sends my heart into a frenzy. I try to focus on anything other than her—on the crackling fire in the living room or the book lying forgotten in my lap, but no matter how hard I try, my thoughts keep going right back to her and how much I want to bend her over the kitchen table and fuck her until she’s begging me to stop.
I curse silently, berating myself for even entertaining such thoughts. She’s Robert’s daughter, for God’s sake. Even though she’s twenty-six, I’m still much older than her, and yet, despite all my efforts to convince myself this isn’t okay, the feelings remain, simmering just below the surface.
I stand abruptly, the chair scraping on the floor. I can’t handle another moment in here, where I can’t touch her.
“I’m going to grab some wood from the shed out back,” I mutter, not meeting her eyes as I hurry out of the room. The cold air hits me like a slap in the face as I step outside, but it’s nothing compared to the turmoil raging within me.
I walk through the snow, each step heavier than the last, as I try to outrun the thoughts. Yet, no matter how far I go, I can’t escape them. She’s everywhere, her laughter echoing in my ears, her smile burning into my memory.
I stop, leaning against the shed and running my hand down my face. How has it come to this? How did I let myself fall for someone I could never have? I know I have to push her away, distance myself before I do something unforgivable, but as I look back at the house, her silhouette in the window, her eyes meeting mine from across the yard, full of concern, I know walking away would be the hardest battle of all.
So maybe it’s a sign I shouldn’t.
After getting the fire going inside with some new wood, I argued with Kallie about cleaning up from breakfast. News flash: she won . So, I left her inside to do that while I went back outside to distract myself. I might have admitted my feelings for her to myself, but I shouldn’t stand there and stare at her ass as she does the dishes.
As I step out into the cold winter weather, I pull the jacket closed, taking notice of the few layers I put on to brace against the cold. The wooden porch swing in the yard, the grill, and my car are completely white with snow.
With a resigned sigh, I grab the shovel leaning against the porch and prepare to tackle clearing the driveway. As I begin to push the heavy snow aside, my breath forms clouds in the freezing air, and I can’t help but appreciate the beauty of it as well. The town is painted in shades of white, and the only sound is the soft crunch of snow beneath my boots.
Lost in my thoughts, I don’t hear Kallie slip out of the front door behind me. As I bend to scoop up another pile of snow, I feel something hit me on my back. Shocked, I stumble forward slightly, dropping the shovel with a clatter.
I turn around to find her standing there, covering her mouth to suppress her laughter. Her cheeks are flushed pink from the cold, and in her hand is a perfectly round snowball, evidence of her little sneak attack.
“You little brat,” I say, trying to sound stern but failing to suppress a grin. “What was that for?”
She shrugs her shoulders innocently, a twinkle in her blue eyes. “Just adding a bit of excitement to your day.” She smiles. Her smile is contagious.
I can’t help but chuckle as I reach down and scoop up a handful of snow, shaping it into my own ball. With a playful shrug, I aim, and it flies through the air, hitting her square in the face with a soft thud.
She gasps in mock anger then bursts into laughter. “How dare you!” she yells before making a few snowballs for her retaliation.
As the snowballs pelt me, I can’t help but admire her. The way her hair is piled high on her head, only a few strands falling to frame her face. How her pink lips turn up into a real smile. This is the freest she’s looked since she arrived back in town, ten times better than the night she came to the bar and threw everything up hours after.
Despite my fingers feeling like they’re frozen, I know I can’t let her have all the fun. With determination, I gather a handful of snow and wait for the perfect moment as she collects her own. Just as she launches another snowball in my direction, I dodge, her shot barely missing, and take the opportunity to charge towards her.
Surprise washes over her face by my quick movement. Probably because she thinks I’m old . She tries to avoid me, but I’m too quick. With a yell, I wrap my arm around her waist and tackle her to the ground.
“Lance!” she yells as her back hits the fluffy snow, her head cradled in my hand.
I lay above her, only a few inches separating us. The world around us seems to fade away, leaving only the two of us in our own little bubble of heaven. Her eyes move to mine, her breath hitting my lips as warmth infuses my whole body.
“I’ve thought about what it would be like to kiss you since the second you walked into the bar,” I tell her.
“Then do it,” she says, wasting absolutely no time. Then, without hesitation, I lean in, capturing her lips in a kiss I’ve been desperate for.
Time doesn’t seem to move an inch as our lips press together. The cold of the snow is long forgotten, and the feeling of her warm lips on mine makes me never want to leave this spot.
When we finally pull away, breathless and a tad flushed, I find myself gazing into her eyes, searching for any sign of regret, but all I find is a gorgeous smile plastered on her face. And that’s when I realize everything between is about to change, and there will be no going back.
“You are absolutely beautiful, sunshine,” I tell her as I lean down and leave another kiss on her lips.
“I’m also freezing,” she laughs and pushes at my chest. I stand, my knees giving me slight trouble. I guess I’m probably too old for a snowball fight with a twenty-six-year-old. As I pull her up from the ground, she makes sure to keep her grip as she drags me in the direction of the house.
“I need to finish shoveling the snow,” I tell her, but she only shakes her head.
“No, what you need is to come inside and show me where you keep the hot cocoa.” I don’t argue, because how can I? This girl could ask for anything, and I’d find a way to get it for her.