Page 56 of Snap Shot

“At this point, you owe me, like, amilliondollars.”

He trudges over where I brace myself by leaning over my knees. A humid breath floats between us when he lowers. “Keep smiling at me like that and I'll give you whatever you want.”

My chuckles peter out into short gasps of disbelief, pulse thudding in my throat. I cough. It's dry, parched like everything else. I'm dehydrated: mouth, skin, eyes. Everything is bone-dry except between my legs.

“Wow,” I croak. “Smooth.For a loser.”

A groan rumbles from his chest. “Best two out three—let's go, Davé.” Landon grabs the discarded gloves and poles and readies himself. “Or are you chicken?”

This third run, he gets ahead for a few seconds but loses an edge by swiveling to broadly. It slows him down enough for me to take the lead again. Another tantrum. More cursing.

I cackle as I climb onto the lift.

Landon is adamant. He gets on, too, and builds an argument to convince me to do best of seven.

“Bye, Landon.” I hold up a pole as I jump off, then propel ahead without looking back at him.

“Indi! Get back here! This isn't over!” It echoes over the mountain.

The urge to smile grows and grows until I can't bear it. It leaves me smiling the rest of the day. And I kinda hate that the time with him is the most fun I've had in a while.

—————

Landon's not in the room when I wake from a midday snooze. Or after I return from window shopping and a peaceful dinner in the village.

Wanting a better view of the mountainside at night, I curl into an arced sectional in the lobby. It's cozy. Fleece-lined socks and a cable-knit sweater sate my need for comfort. The fire flickers, crackling flames hypnotizing me as they lick at their wood fuel. This is what I came here for. Stretches of solace.

“Coffee?”

And it's over. My head drops to my chest in resignation before lifting to face Radek. I prepare for a snarky comment but am pleasantly surprised.

“It's an iced latte,” he offers at a soft volume.

Can't say no to that. “Thanks.” I grasp it with both hands.

Landon takes a seat but gives me space. “It's not poisoned.”

I click my tongue. “That's too bad. I was hoping to end this conversation by any means possible.”

“Ha-ha. You're hilarious.”

“You walked right into it, Radek.” Landon lets out a shy, boyish smile.

I shake the cup, rattling the ice around. “How did you know?”

“I saw the pile of these plastic cups in your office recycling bin.”

He noticed?

“Figured you're addicted.”

“Guilty,” I say through a chuckle.

An awkward lull passes. He fixates on his coffee cup, tracing the rim of the lid with his finger.

“You don't have to be nice to me, you know?”

Landon shakes his head and looks over from the corner of his eyes. “What do you mean? Iamnice.”

---