Page 21 of Flames of Desire

She looked down, her brows furrowing in thought. “I want this, Alex. I really do. But I’m scared. What if things don’t work out? What if we end up hurting each other?”

I reached out, lifting her chin so she was looking at me. “We’ll figure it out together. We’ve already been through so much in this god-awful storm. What’s a little more?”

Lily laughed softly. The sound seemed to soothe my racing heart. “You always know how to make me feel better.”

“Only because you do the same for me,” I replied, my voice sincere.

We sat in silence for a few moments, the crackling of the fire the only sound in the room, but we had practically gotten used to it. The weight of our words hung in the air, but there was also a comforting sense of relief. We had acknowledged the elephant in the room, and it felt like a step in the right direction.

After a while, I stood up, offering Lily my hand. “Come on, let’s get some breakfast. We gotta talk about leaving this place eventually.”

She took my hand, her grip firm and reassuring. “Yeah, we do.”

In the kitchen, we moved around each other, feeling something more than familiarity by being in the same space. There was a certain comfort to it. A simple act such as making breakfast felt like such a big deal. It was like we were building something, brick by brick, even if we didn’t know what the finished structure would look like.

As we sat down to eat, I couldn’t help but look outside again. “So, do you think we should leave as soon as the roads clear up?”

Lily took a bite of her toast, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks we should, but another part of me... I don’t want to rush things. We need to figure out what’s going on between us first.”

I nodded, understanding her hesitation. “Yeah, I get that. But staying here won’t make those decisions any easier. We have to face reality at some point.”

She sighed, setting down her fork. “I know. It’s just... everything is so much simpler here. Out there, we have to deal with our lives, our responsibilities. Here, it’s just us.”

“It won’t be easy,” I admitted, reaching out to hold her hand. “But I’m willing to try if you are.”

Lily looked at me, her eyes filled with a mix of hope and fear. “Okay. Let’s take it one step at a time.”

We spent the rest of the day preparing for the possibility of leaving. We packed up our things, as little as they were, checked the car, and made sure the cabin was in order. But through it all, there was an underlying tension.

The cold morning air bit at my skin as I stood by the car. The storm had finally died down, leaving the world outside covered in a thick, pristine blanket of snow. As much as I loved the cabin, we needed to head back to reality.

I stood by the car, staring at my phone. For the first time in days, I had some bars. The screen lit up with missed calls and unread messages, a little reminder that the world had kept spinning while we were isolated in our makeshift, snowy hideaway. Just as I was about to dive into the flood of notifications, something cold hit the back of my neck. The ice melted into my shirt, causing me to shriek and jump.

“Hey!” I shouted, spinning around. Lily stood a few feet away, a snowball in her hand and a wide grin on her face.

“Gotcha!” she said, laughing. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, it’s on now.”

She let out a playful squeal and took off running as I bent down to scoop up some snow. I chased her around the car, launching snowballs that she clumsily dodged.

“You think you can get away from me?” I called out, my voice full of mock seriousness.

Lily ducked behind a tree, peeking out with a grin. “I know I can!”

I rounded the tree, only to be met with another snowball to the chest. “You’re gonna pay for that,” I said, my tone slightly astonished.

She laughed again, the sound like music to my ears. We continued our snowball fight, the world around us forgotten as we lost ourselves in the moment. For the first time in days, I felt a sense of pure, unadulterated joy.

Eventually, we both collapsed into the snow, breathless and laughing. Lily lay beside me, her black hair contrasting against the white snow. I turned to look at her, my heart swelling with affection.

“You know,” I said, catching my breath, “I’m really glad we got stuck here together.”

She turned her head to meet my gaze, her expression softening. “Me too, Alex. Despite everything, it’s been… amazing.”

I reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “So, what happens now?”

She sighed, her breath visible in the cold air. “I guess we go back to our lives and figure things out from there.”

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