I almost raise my hand and admit, My name is Ashley and this all my fault. I’m the screwup again. I glare at my phone, I could hate it, but it’s been my savior on too many dreadful nights for that.
The truth is, my leaving it made us come back. Now my friend is suffering from more parental anguish, a whole torrential mess of it. I shrink further into the seat as Melissa’s face grows more tense as she stares at her phone, just waiting for the call to hit.
She grimaces, then answers, timidly saying, “Hi.” She’s been nervously running her freshly manicured pink-tipped fingernails through her blond hair since she got her mom’s text. Her brilliant blue eyes flick to me with fear in them, and I give her my best apologetic look.
She sighs, gives me a tiny smile clearly to soothe me, and looks out the window at the heavy snow falling. “Mom, I know, I know, but we had to come back. Ashley forgot her phone.” She shoves her perfect thumbnail in between her teeth and nibbles, threatening the smooth integrity of the finish. She yanks her finger from her mouth and stares at it, her lovely pouty lips stretched into a frown. She always bites her nails when nervous, which is a damn shame with that perfect nail job I gave her last night.
Mandy is over to our right, lounging, scrolling on her phone taking up the whole love seat with her feet up, smirking as she flicks. Her phone tinkles a tune for a text and she responds with a smile and a shake of her silky dark hair. As usual, she seems unperturbed by our predicament. But perhaps, that’s another reason I love her, because she manages to be unphased by most problems.
I’m all jumbled inside, as usual. I really need to strive to be low-key, like Mandy. I give her a small smile. She returns it. That helps.
Melissa shakes her free hand rapidly in front of her chest. “Mom, I know, but now the snow has started here. It’s really looking bad. I’ll try some neighbors and see if anyone has gas.” She pauses and puts her hand on her forehead while squeezing her eyes tight. “I know, I screwed up big. I should have gotten gas last time I was in town. I had planned to get it right away when we started for home, but I forgot, then with Ashley’s phone…”
Poor girl, not getting gas was probably her only screwup for the entire year, and her mom won’t let her forget it. Just…crap. Total crap.
Her eyes widen and lighten up. “Oh? School’s canceled again for tomorrow?” She fist pumps the air and meets our gazes with her eyes still flared, a large grin splays across her perfect little face. She’s like a doll, she’s so pristine and petite. White blond hair, perfect porcelain white skin against striking brilliant blue eyes; her Swedish descent is completely clear. She jumps, her tiny size two frame jolts in the air. “So, we can just stay the night? For real?” Her eyes are popping as she bites her lower lip. She’s won the lottery.
My jaw drops. Her parents are okay with us staying here alone for the night? This freaking rocks. It will be a minute before they clear the roads, too. But will my mom go for it? What choice does she have? Because…the storm. I smile. I’ve won the lottery, too.
“We won’t drive anywhere in the storm, I promise.” She pauses. “Yes, we will right away when the roads are plowed tomorrow, Mom. I promise we’ll try to find a ride to Joe’s for gas in the morning. Yep, I’ll call him if I need to.” She pauses and nods quickly. “Yes. Get home safe now, it’s looking pretty nasty out there already.” She nods again as her face blossoms into further elation. She jumps in the air, shaking her fist as she makes eyes contact with me. Her body then slumps; she she’s still smiling as she rolls her eyes. She stays on the phone for another full minute; her mom is obviously dictating the rules to her, again. “Yes, Mom, I know. Yes. Okay. We’ll stay safe. I promise. Bye. Love you, too.”
Melissa ends her call with her mom and squeals with a full leap into the air. “Sweet motherload of freedom!”
“Wow, what the…?” Mandy sits straight up and looks out the window as a car drives past. Through the large front window, we watch as the car turns into the driveway next door.
“Dang,” Melissa says. Her face falls. “They probably can help us get gas and we’ll have to go home, but my mom said not to drive home in the storm, so…”
I creep over and watch as a car door pops open and a tall boy with dark floppy hair gets out. He looks sort of familiar. “Wait, Melissa. Who has the cabin next door again? That boy looks familiar.” I peer out and squint my eyes, trying to figure out who the boy is. I gasp. “And…oh my God! Melissa! It’s Liam.”
“What?” Melissa shrieks as she runs to the window and watches.
Sure enough, Liam Holstrom, resident heartthrob with a voice that melts every teen girl in the tri-state area, shields his eyes from chunky flakes of falling snow. It’s falling so heavy he bats it away from his gorgeous face, his lips set in a lazy sly grin. His dark hair becomes quickly speckled with large snowflakes in mere seconds. He runs his hand through his hair, causing Melissa to sigh.
“Wow. Incredible. He’s so amazing.” Melissa’s hands fly to her cover mouth as she watches in apparent ecstasy as he stretches his arms up into the swirling snow. He isn’t wearing a jacket so when he stretches, a tiny line of his abs becomes visible, and she gasps. “His abs! Ashley! Did you see that? I saw his abs and they look delicious even from here.”
I smirk expecting she might actually drool with that look on her face. “Who owns the cabin?” I ask again. Next to exit the car is Lucas Hamilton who moves to the back of the car to open the trunk. His dark brown skin looks stunning against the white snow. That guy could make millions as a model and his girlfriend, Lily, could make more. Together they’d make billions. Lily appears from the other side of the car, and wraps herself around his waist when he bends over to dig in the trunk. He glances back at her with a pearly white smile and tries to wiggle her off, but she doesn’t budge. Instead, she lays her cheek on him and her blond hair gyrates across her back as he wiggles them together. He grabs a pile of winter jackets from the trunk. I smile. Right. No one actually wears their jackets in Minnesota. They’re extra. We’re tough.
“Lucas Hamilton’s family owns it. I don’t see his parents yet though,” Melissa says, her eyes still transfixed on Liam.
We watch as the last guy stumbles out of the car into the snow. My cheeks flush as my heart plummets to my toes, then flutters like a ping pong ball on a hard surface.
It’s Kian. I can’t help it, I sigh. If there’s one person in the world I’d want as a boyfriend, forget any perfect book boyfriend, it’s Kian, he trumps them all. But he’d never even give me the time of day let alone have a conversation with me. I dream nightly of his sexy, goofy smile, his lush floppy hair, and how incredible it would be to be wanted by him. I’d die happy if he ever asked me out; that act alone would make my life and I could perish right on the spot. He’s a straight-A student, a star athlete, class comedian, and the most popular guy at school by a long shot. I fantasize about him curling me to his broad chest with his strong muscular arms, and staring down at me with desire in his eyes. But, my hopes bottom out because that will never happen. I watch him; can’t take my eyes off him.
Kian shakes himself all over like a wet dog as he peers up into the heavy falling snow, a smile on his gorgeous face as he’s talking. I’m sure spilling a joke because Liam laughs and smacks him on the butt. Kian doesn’t even flinch from the slap, rubs his thick muscular arms and I almost drool. What I wouldn’t give to be the one doing that rubbing. I close my mouth before saliva falls out. Be still, my saliva glands. Simmer down, now.
Mandy scoffs and I glance back at her. She rolls her eyes. “What? We’re lucky enough to get stuck in a cabin without parents around, and the two guys you are both hot for magically appear next door. You two get all the dang luck.” She sighs and heads back towards the kitchen. “I’m hungry. I hope your parents left food here.”
“Yes, they always do,” Melissa says without taking her eyes off Liam.
“I’ll go get you two some drool rags,” Mandy says as she laughs. “Your mama got any bibs left here? Damn lucky, that’s what you two are.” She scoffs, then snorts. “So unfair.”
Kian grabs three bags of groceries from the back and trudges through the fast-piling snow on the driveway. It’s like a foot deep over there. Clearly the drive hasn’t been plowed recently, but he trudges on like it’s nothing but air. The benefits of being a jock with thick leg muscles. I swoon, imagining him in shorts.
I suck in a breath and hold it for a second. “Wow. I can’t believe they’re right next door, and we have no parents,” I whisper as I nudge Melissa. “You sure your mom isn’t going to come back to retrieve us?” I won’t have the guts to talk to Kian. But, God, do I want to with every stinking cell of me.
“No, she won’t risk it with the snow. Plus, she’s supposed to work tomorrow morning. So is my dad. She said it isn’t even snowing in Aitkin yet and that’s like an hour from here. I told her we already have, like, four inches on the ground.” Melissa licks her full pale pink lips as she watches Liam with a smile. “We’re gonna get to stay here tonight. Next door to him.”
Kian. “Yeah, I think it’s even more than that, like six inches already. I cannot believe we have another day off of school. Two in a row; that’s unheard of!” I turn my gaze from Melissa back to Kian as he disappears inside.
“Bless you, Superintendent.” She sighs.
“I know, right?” I clap. “The man is an angel.”
“The plows will be slow, plus with this cold, it’s dangerous out there. Mom would freak out if we started driving in this crap, my one and only saving grace right now, Mom is petrified to have me drive in a snowstorm.” She sighs. “Those are the only reasons we get to do this, otherwise she’d hightail it back here to make sure we don’t do anything wrong.”
“You’re always the good one. You never do anything wrong,” I say, shaking my head making my blond curls dance across my shoulders. It‘s true. She’s the best rule follower I know. That’s not a title I can claim; I tend to break them. “That’s Mandy and me.” I smirk even though she isn’t looking at me.
Remembering the troubles I had at a recent party starts to take over my brain. My heart starts to beat faster and feelings of panic rise as I struggle to not think about it. A frown overtakes me, and I wipe it off fast, physically grasping my lips hard to fully erase it. I need to keep calm and not think about that party. I sigh and count slowly to three. Whew, it’s working. I’m calming down. I need to focus on the moment. That always helps me. Thank goodness, Melissa didn’t see me starting to freak out since her eyes are still glued on Liam. I don’t want any questions right now. It’s safer that way.
“I know, and my mom acts like I do bad stuff all the time. She’d kill me if she knew what I fantasize about doing with Liam.” Melissa smirks, her eyes lit.
I smile and giggle. “You’re going to elaborate more on that.” I take in Liam’s frame. He’s not hard on the eyes by any means. “I’m not surprised you love a bad boy like him. He’s the opposite of you, like, in all ways. He’s a rebel.”
“I know, right? I’m no rebel. That’s exactly why he’s so hot. It makes him even hotter.” She watches intently as Liam grabs sleeping bags and pillows from the car and barrels through the snow, giving a loud battle cry as he runs. “Wow.” He almost falls in the snow, and she gasps. “Oh, poor baby,” she says when the next charge he does lands him laid out flat, face first in the snow.
I chuckle at Liam. He’s cute, but Melissa stares at him like she’s brainless.
I’m not so sure I’m any different when I stare at Kian, though.
Lily stands over Liam, hands on her hips, her lovely face grimacing as she yells over him. She plucks pillows out of the snow and shakes them. Liam just laughs and throws snow at her. Lucas arrives to rescue her and heaves a whole armload full of snow on Liam’s head, which he flails away wildly with his arms, cracking up. Liam grabs Lucas by the ankles and yanks him down into the snow. Lily runs with the pillows into the cabin as Lucas bear crawls after her kicking his legs as he fights off Liam.
Kian appears outside again and heads over to the boys wrestling in the snow and snatches up the sleeping bags before they can tackle and pull him down, too. Kian runs with three sleeping bags in his arms but trips over something and falls belly down on top of the sleeping bags. That’s just enough time for the boys to scramble up and run at him. Liam grabs Kian’s feet and Lucas grabs his underarms, and they carry him to the driveway. They swing him, heaving him into the over three feet of snow in the yard.
“Oh my gosh,” I say. “They’re so cute. I love watching them play like this.”
All three of them have bright red, rosy cheeks. No jackets on them which makes more eye candy for Melissa and me. Their muscles ripple as they run, throw snow at each other, and then they disappear inside. I sigh. “That was hot.”
“I’m surprised they lasted that long out there in this cold.” Melissa hugs herself, nodding and ending with a shiver.
I nod back. It’s even a bit chilly inside the cabin. “I know, right? But we’re Minnesotans; we are tough.” I turn away from the window now that the show is over. “Melissa, you really going to go door to door asking for gas?” My heart ramps up to quick beat as I imagine going with her to ask.
“No. I’m going to follow your lead and be a rebel this time. I can’t pass up a free night with you two here. This is going to be an awesome night.” Her eyes shine with glee as she shivers again. “Besides, I don’t even want to drive in this, mom doesn’t want me too, and if we had car trouble with these below-zero temps, we’d be in big trouble.” She crumples in a shudder. “Geez. I better check the thermostat. My dad must have turned it down before he left. It’s really freaking cold in here.”
Melissa heads off to check the thermostat and I meander into the kitchen to find Mandy digging in the cupboards.
“You’re still here? I thought you’d be knocking next door asking to borrow a cup of sugar so you could see Kian up close.” Mandy sports her teasing look, smirking at me with an impish half grin.
“If I had your confidence, I’d do that in a heartbeat.” I lean against the counter and cross my arms across my chest.
“I’ll go with you, Ms. Ashley Larson,” she offers with a smirk, wiggling her fingers in the air at me. Her pink nail polish looks so nice against her dark skin, like pink rose petals on my deep brown kitchen table. She kisses the air at me. Then shakes her head. “Denial doesn’t look good on you. I know you want to go see him. Admit it.”
I’m ignoring that. “I love this color nail polish on you. It really pops.” I opted for red last night when we did manicures on each other, a rogue red when they both chose pinks.
“Yeah, I like it, too. I’ll have to buy this one for myself, have to ask Melissa where she got it. I need it.” She slips two tarts into the toaster. “Want me to leave these out?”
“Nah, I’m not hungry.” My stomach is a constellation of nerves and excitement, not a rumble of it due to hunger.
“Oh, you’re hungry, just not for food.” She laughs at me and bats her eyelashes. “Am I right, or am I right? You want a Kian-size snack, with chocolate on top.” She opens the fridge. “I saw whipped cream in here, too, unless Melissa’s mom took it.” She snatches it and shakes it at me with a big teasing grin.
I take a step and smack her arm, ready to tease her back. “Will you stop? You’re awful! Mandy Rodriguez, you’re ever the pervert, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight. And you love me, and I know you think the same way I do; you just hide it.” She gives me a direct look, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Ha! You don’t hide it at all.” I plop down in the wooden chair at the table and open my phone to text. “Better tell my mom and dad we aren’t coming home. They’re probably going to hate this.”
“So, what? At least I’m honest.” She’s still stuck on the pervert comment. See…? A one-track mind. She takes a giant bite of her tart, raising her eyebrows at me several times. “Perverts get the goodies.” She sits next to me and slips the hair elastic off her wrist, then whips her dark smooth hair into a ponytail bun on top of her head. Her irises match her hair color. She licks her lips. “You doing okay?” Her face twists with concern. “You seem, a little off.” A look of concern floods her face. “Are you thinking about the party?”
I nod, sigh, and roll my eyes at her. She means well, but I don’t want to talk about the party. “I’m good. Really, I am.” I don’t need to go anywhere near the real answer to that at the moment. I need a distraction from those thoughts, so I text my mom all the details of our predicament. She actually agrees we shouldn’t drive in this storm and cold temps. It really is dangerous—no one’s overreacting this time. I’m utterly shocked that she isn’t pissed. A grin fills my face as I set my phone down. “Wow. That went way better than I expected. Probably because school is canceled, but she didn’t even care. You call your dad yet?”
“Yeah, he’s fine with it. He trusts me.” She takes another chomp and chews aggressively through a grin. “Though we both know he shouldn’t.” She chuckles, her eyes ablaze with fire.
“Yeah. That’s so true.” I smirk back at her. We have our juicy secrets, and they’re streaking through my brain. And so is Kian. Despite talking with her, I can’t get Kian being next door out of my mind. I’m so obsessed with Kian. I fully admit it.
“But I won’t tell anyone what we’ve done.” Her face is full-on blooming with a gritty naughty girl grin. “Secrets to the grave.”
We link our gazes and smirk in unison. I nod sealing our pact. Mandy and I go on wild escapades together, perusing parties that Melissa refuses to try, not that I blame her. Things sometimes do get crazy, but we have loads of wild fun together.
Most of the time.
“My lips are forever sealed, my friend.” I put a finger to my lips.
“Ditto.”
Melissa appears. Her delicate features are scrunched up, making her look cute as a baby bunny. “We have a problem. The heat isn’t working. Dad always turns down the heat before we go and he forgot to do it this time, so it’s still set at the usual mark, but it’s really cold in here.” She rubs both arms with her palms.
“Oh shit,” Mandy says. “And with below zero temps hitting today and tonight, it’s gonna get damn cold in here.” She sighs, throwing her hands up. “There goes our fun night.” Her smooth calm expression is now frazzled by a frown. “Should have known, it was too good to be true.”
“I know. A comfortable night alone here with you two was just too perfect to happen, I guess.” She picks up her phone with an exasperated sigh. “Maybe Mom will know what to do.”
I slap her forearm. “Wait. Don’t call your mom. Let’s just wait it out. We can pile on clothes and our jackets, hats, gloves…we can make it.” I don’t want to give this up. It’s too good, and too damn rare. “Plus, what would we do anyway? We have barely any gas to drive anywhere, the tiny amount left in the tank is probably frozen by now, and the roads are now covered in way too much snow. We might get stuck even if we do try to drive.”
Melissa shrugs. She looks nervous, but a bit intrigued by my idea of staying. “I don’t know. But there’s a hotel in town. Problem is, we have only fumes for gas, so, you’re right. We’re stuck here. We could call the police for a ride?” She grins, then shakes her head as Mandy and I grimace, scowling like we’re eating habanero chili peppers. She shrugs again, plops down at the table. “We’re gonna freeze our asses off,” she spits, sneering through her wide grin.
“No way, Miss Goody Two Shoes!” Mandy growls like a beast, making me smirk. Her sassy grin flares. “Did you really just say ‘asses’? Loving it!”
We all bust up laughing. Once the laughter dies, we all stare at the wood surface of the table; there are dents all over the top where Melissa’s twin brothers sit. They must have taken spoons or forks and jabbed the table over and over again when their mom wasn’t looking. I trace the dips with my index finger…I can’t believe her mom didn’t sand it down and re-stain it to make it perfect again. She’s just anal enough to do something like that to bring back perfection.
“We’re screwed.” Mandy puts her head in hands, runs her fingers through her silky hair, then pulls out her hair binder and slips it back on to her wrist. “Wait,” she says with a massive grin. “Is there still only one car next door?” She hops up and runs to the window. We follow hot on her heels like her groupies. “Yep, still just one car.” Her expression turns devilish. She nods as she rubs her hands together like she’s cooking up a perfectly evil idea. “We don’t need to go next door to beg for sugar or gas…we need to go beg for a cabin of warmth.”
“No,” Melissa says shaking her head and her hands wildly. “No way. We can’t do that.” She gives a fervent final head shake. “Nope.”
“Come on, you chicken. Why not? The cabin looks big enough. Plus, you two could ogle the boys of your dreams live and in person.” She gets this naughty rascal grin on her face, running her tongue on her lower lip like a hungry savage. “Juicy fodder.”
I shudder at the thought of being so near Kian. It sends huge chills through my torso and grips me hard like a lurch in my gut. “God, could you imagine staying there with Liam, Melissa? That’d be like a dream come true, right?” My brain starts to shift, wanting Mandy’s idea but being terrified by it.
She shakes her head vehemently, with a look of terror on her face. “But we can’t go over there.” Her eyes go wide as her head wobbles. The girl’s going to shake that pretty head right off her shoulders.
Mandy turns her back to us and saunters away. We follow again; we have no shame.
“Or won’t?” asks Mandy with an accusing finger jab to the air as she spins to face us. “You want to freeze your tushes off here all night?” she asks in a sassy tone.
“They are way too popular for me to go knock on their door. Lucas and I used to play together years ago, but, ya know, he’s nice and all, but he doesn’t talk to me, like ever. Sometimes when I see him here, he waves, says a few words if I’m lucky, but that’s because our parents are friends, and he has to when we all get together. He avoids me like the plague though. I just can’t do it.” She sighs. “Plus, she’s there,” she says with extreme disgust, as she makes a gross face, sticking out her tongue. “Bleck.”
“I’d give anything to have a cabin next to him. Watching him and Lily in swimsuits jumping off the dock? Talk about your double twist cone pleasure.” Mandy smirks and exaggeratedly sways, then pretends to faint, falling to the couch. “Those two are smoking, effing, ever-loving, chill-inducing, volcanically hot together.” She shudders, fanning herself as she’s splayed across the couch.
I giggle and shake my head. “You’re funny.”
Melissa laughs. “Yeah, she’s here all the time, too. She comes along just about every time. She won’t talk to me at all and when Lucas does, she stays away. She’s way too cool for me.”
Her disdain for the girl is so obvious, but I happen to agree.
“Who needs talking when that’s your view?” Mandy chuckles as a snarky snarl graces her face. “Staring at those two all summer, geez, I’d have to live in the cold shower.”
I shake my head at her, rolling my eyes. “You’re too much,” I say with a grin.
Mandy nods as she sits up abruptly. “Yes, that I am, friend, that I am.” She pauses, then rises off the couch, jerking her arms up in the air. “I’m going next door to ask if we can stay with them. They’ve got to say yes in this cold. Besides, we could die.” She winks, then spins away, only to look back at us. “It’s literally a perfect setup.” She raises both her hands in a shrug. “I gotta do it,” she says with confidence. “You’ll both soon be thanking me.”
Melissa quickly rises and blocks her. “Please, no, Mandy. No. Don’t do it. Let’s just try to stay here, maybe it won’t get that cold. We have lots of blankets.” Her voice is so full of pleading it almost hurts to listen to her.
“Are you nuts?” She sidesteps Melissa easily, her basketball skills showing as she dodges Melissa’s lame grab attempt. “I’m going. I’m not freezing my ass off all night in this cold cabin when there’s a warm cabin next door—that’s also full of total freaking hotties.” She dashes across the living room.
“What if Lucas’s parents come?” I ask, not hiding my own hesitation over her plan.
She turns back to us. “So, what if they do? It’s still a warm cabin full of sexy people we all like looking at. It’ll be epic. Besides, parents are parents. They will help us.” She does a little dance in place, wiggling her butt in celebration. “Hey, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m not going to squander it.” She approaches the front door. Melissa and I follow her like puppies.
This is getting embarrassing. How did we get to be such wimps?
“Are you really doing this, Mandy?” I’m in awe. She has balls of steel for someone who has no balls at all. “You’re my hero.” I smile at her, though I’m scared to death to go over there. But it would be so incredible if it happened. Being snowed in with hot guys? Yes, please.
“I know, love. I know.” She slips on her boots and pats my arm. “You will love me forever for this, right?”
I nod. “Maybe?” I’m shivering, I’m so nervous, but I want it, bad. Like I want air. I gasp as she sets her face in firm determination.
She slips on her coat and a hat with a white glittery ball on top. She’s out the door before we can snag her, and before I forget to breathe. She’s prancing along in the falling snow as she glances back at us with the most giant grin possible.
“She’s amazing. I could never to that in a million years.” I watch her strut down the driveway. “She’s a pro.”
Melissa wrings her hands. “I don’t want to go. But then there’s Lily. Lily, like, hates me, and I hate her. I can’t be in the same cabin with her for that long.”
“I don’t like her either. She’s a stuck-up bitch. They might say no.” I shrug.
“They won’t.” Her eyes are so worried, I give her a big hug. “I might have a heart attack being that close to Liam.” She looks so serious I almost laugh in her face.
I rub her back; she’s shivering, too. “I get it. It’ll be okay. We will all be there together. We could always come back here if they’re mean to us.” I don’t believe myself either, but hell, I’m trying to. “Right?”
She nods as her face shows she’s trying to not panic.
We watch as Mandy bounds up the driveway next door, dragging her black leather boots with the bows up the backs through the snow like she shouldn’t be.
“Girl is gonna wreck those beautiful boots,” Melissa says, shaking her head.
