“Duh,” I replied and then promptly started rambling off the list. “Build a snowman, maybe a snow fort. I want to go snowboarding, have a snowball fight—”
“Whoa, slow down, Sparky.” He was standing in my mom’s entryway, dripping puddles of snow from his boots on the floor. “There is just one condition.”
I immediately became leery. “Do I dare ask?”
Those silver eyes lit with trouble. “You make me a snow angel.”
A blooming seed of warmth started to grow inside me. I felt like a shining star. “Deal,” I agreed. “But the name jokes are getting old.”
“Really? Not to me.”
It was then that I noticed Chase was harboring something behind his back. “What are you hiding?” I asked, angling my head to try to get a better view.
He sidestepped my inquisitive peek and managed to zip in front of me all in a blink. God I hated when he did that. “I got you something for your first snowfall.”
My eyes narrowed. “You did, huh?” I was prepared to get a snowball in the face, although he had been known to surprise me a time or two.
He pulled out a dark blue scarf and wound it around my neck, keeping his grip on the ends. With a quick tug, he edged me closer to him with humor in his expression. “It brings out the color in your eyes.”
I had a thing for scarfs. Never needing them in Arizona, I was suddenly partial to the downy things. My throat clogged with foolish girly sentiments. I looked away before I made a sappy fool of myself. It was just a scarf. It was not like he had given me a diamond ring.
Oh poop.
Did I want a diamond ring?
That was a contemplation for another day.
“Do I get a thanks?” he asked in a gruff voice like he’d just woken up.
With him so close and his body touching mine, forget it; my thoughts were bouncing all over the place. “Thanks,” I managed in a squeaky voice, brushing my cheek against the bunny-soft fabric.
“That’s not what I had in mind.”
Gulp.
I stood on my tiptoes, bringing my lips not quite level with his, but it didn’t matter because he met me the rest of the way, as eager as I was. The first touch was euphoria, a blend of my exhilaration and his longing whirling inside me. The feelings bum-rushed me, nearly knocking me off my feet. It had been too long since our last kiss, and the result left us breathless.
Chase stepped back before I was ready. I wanted to cling to him like a saran wrap, but I wasn’t that kind of girl. I was much too chill for that. Admiring my new scarf draped around my neck, I asked, “Now that you’ve been properly thanked, can we go play?”
He rocked back on his heels. “You’re dying to get out there, aren’t you? Just wait until we have our first snow day.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. I didn’t even want to think about school. “I am just glad it’s Saturday. If I have to go through another week like the last, I’m dropping out.” No joke.
GED—sign me up, if it meant getting away from the batshit crazy Emma.
Chase pushed off the couch, turned me around, and started massaging the muscles in my neck. I sighed in heavenly bliss, partly because my muscles ached and partly because he was touching me. It didn’t matter where. As long as he was touching me, my body had some kind of reaction.
Tingles.
Flames.
Content.
I relaxed. “On second thought, you could just do this all day.” His fingers were gentle as they worked out the kinks in my neck. I leaned into him, feeling languid.
“Not a chance,” he replied and gave my butt a smack. “Grab your coat. I’ma gonna show you what us countra folk do in the winta.”
I giggled at Chase’s attempt at a bumpkin accent—it was bad. “That was so sad. A minute of my life I can never have back.”
“Angel Eyes, every minute with me is a minute treasured.”
I snorted. “Please stop now. Your cheesiness is causing me physical harm.”
The moment we got outside, I stuck out my tongue, catching the flecks as they melted in my mouth.
Chase shook his head, chuckling. “I’ve got better things you can do with your tongue.”
He was always trying to shock me, see how far he could go. When would he learn? After all the crap I’d seen, I was pretty much shockproof. I tugged his skully down over his eyes. “Will it snow all day?” I asked, staring straight up at the misty white sky. I thought about my mom sleeping inside, glad she was at home and not out in this slick storm.
Snowflakes dusted his ridiculously long lashes. “It kind of looks like it.”
“It’s so beautiful.” I blushed, realizing I must have sounded so lame.
Chase bent down, scooped a handful of powdery snow, and began packing it between his hands. “The first snow is always the prettiest, untouched. Once the plow trucks come out, sloshing and spraying salt everywhere, it all goes down the crapper.”
I rubbed my hands together and watched a puff of smoke exhale from my mouth. “You have such a way with words.”