Page 3 of Snowed In

His gaze caught on a snow-covered sign for a gas station, so he pulled over to fill up—just in case—and stock up on a few snack items.

It felt good to stretch his legs. The air had that dry, almost cruel winter chill to it which made his nose immediately start running, and his eyelashes felt frozen by the time he made it inside. Drops melted, drifting down his cheeks, and he shook out his hair before he went to the sad little turnstile cooking hot dogs.

They were a weird orange-grey color, so he grabbed a few bags of chips instead, then some Gatorade from the fridge before heading to pay. The man behind the register looked about as thrilled as Adam felt to be out there in the middle of nowhere.

“How bad do you think the storm’s going to get?” Adam asked.

The guy stared at him like he’d just started speaking Greek. Then he let out a small grunt. “Bad.”

Bad. Okay. Fair enough. He swiped his card, gathered his things, and rushed back to the car to fill up. He was half-frozen by the time the pump clicked off, but at least it was full now. If he did get stuck—God forbid—he’d have enough heat to last him a while.

Turning on the car, he let the heater kick back on before he pulled away, and his phone flashed, letting him know there was a message waiting. He was half-expecting it to be Piper checking in on him, but instead, he saw Magnus’s name.

Magnus

you might want two stay tonight the weather is bad period

Magnus’s voice to text was always on the fritz, and it made Adam smile as he pulled up the keyboard to type out his reply.

Adam

I’ll check the weather when I get in. I’m not going to risk it.

Magnus

I have a spare room if you need period

Adam

Thanks!

Thanks? With an exclamation mark.

God, could he be any more of a complete loser? He had the worst habit of making a fool of himself every time he was around Magnus, and there was no chance in hell the man hadn’t noticed. He was smooth as fuck, especially compared to Adam. He’d dated a couple of minor celebrities in the past, though the rumor was he’d been single for a good, long while.

Not that Adam thought he had a chance. He wasn’t delusional.

With a frustrated sigh, he plugged his phone back in, started up the GPS, and saw he had twenty minutes to go twelve miles, which meant either the roads were shit, there were accidents, or both. Either way, he was going to make it well before the storms.

Maybe.

Probably.

But he was starting to wonder how bad it would be if he didn’t miss them at all.

Chapter Two

Magnus

Magnus was a neat freak by necessity, not by choice. And sometimes he let things get out of hand until he started falling all over the place and giving himself black eyes and split lips before he tidied up again. It was worse when he was younger, not because he felt like being clean, but because his mother was completely out of hand about it.

The chances of Magnus being born blind was—in all reality—a hundred percent. Which wasn’t entirely accurate, but Magnus was a man of statistics, and all the men on his father’s side were born with the same genetic condition.

His mother had hoped. She’d prayed. She’d lit candles at the church and had religious zealots lay hands on her belly.

Magnus was always slightly offended when she told the story of how much she’d begged God to spare him his condition. Why had she cared so much? Why did she mournhimwhen she married a man just like him who she could see with her own two working eyes did just fine without sight?

His father was a psychiatrist. He had a successful practice inStockholm. He was well respected amongst his peers, and he had no doubt that all of his children were going to do well in life.

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