Page 18 of The Holiday Disaster

But even I knew the limits of when not to push too far. I could see him getting frustrated and borderline pissed at me. I was reaching the point of no return, so I stopped playing around and laid my cards down.

It was the first part of my grand plan to get him used to the idea of us. He stopped struggling and continued to stare at me with his eyes filled with so much emotion that looking at them almost hurt.

When it was apparent that he wasn’t going to speak anytime soon, I let go of his hand that was held against my chest and pulled him to walk with our combined hands still in my coat pocket. He wordlessly followed beside me and let me hold his hand without complaint.

By the time we reached the top of the hill, Ethan seemed to have pulled out of whatever daze he’d been in and noticed the others around us. His face heated as he pulled his hand out of my pocket. I didn’t stop him this time and chuckled at his shyness. He still didn’t say anything as he glanced around nervously and watched the people slide down the slope.

There were a few in front of us but the line moved quickly. We soon reached the front where a man around our age greeted us.

“First timers?” he asked with a smile. “We also have two-person sleds if you don’t want to ride the tube down alone.”

His eyes lingered on Ethan, and my body automatically moved in front of him to shield Ethan from his gaze. I couldn’t blame him since Ethan was gorgeous with his soft features and big innocent eyes. However, that didn’t mean I liked other people looking at him like he was available, because he wasn’t. Not if I had anything to say about it.

The wave of jealousy that surged through me was foreign, and I suddenly understood why Ethan got so worked up last night when that receptionist handed me her phone number.

I’d dated plenty of people in the past. There’d been a long list of women and, once I headed to college, men who had become my failed relationships, and I could say for certain that I’d never felt jealous over them.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like them—because I did at the time and had fun while I was with them—but I’d never had the desire to claim them as mine. I’d attributed it to being young and told myself that it was normal to not feel protectiveness. I’d even told a few of my past girlfriends that I’d loved them, but now I wondered if I actually did at all.

None of my past exes had ever evoked such emotions in me as Ethan did, and Ethan and I weren’t even dating. At least not yet. Hopefully.

We might still be young but something inside of me screamed that he was mine and urged me to win him over before someone stole him from me. Someone like this rugged blond who had ignored me blocking Ethan from his view and was still trying to flirt.

“If you’re scared, I could ride a sled down with you,” he said and shot Ethan a wink around my shoulder. I swallowed the growl that threatened to spill when I turned and saw Ethan’s cheeks pinken the way they did when he was shy.

I slung an arm around his shoulders and tucked him close to my side. “We’ll ride the sled together,” I said to the man, filling my words with all my hostility so he knew to back the fuck off.

He chuckled and pushed a two-person sled in front of us. “All right, dudes. Here you are. Bigger one in the back,” he said, nodding to me. I climbed onto the sled as the blond held it steady and sat with my legs apart. Ethan got in after me and sat in front of me, between my legs.

The blond handed Ethan the rope connected to the sled while I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my chin on his right shoulder.

“This okay? Sorry I made the decision for you,” I said against his ear. My words made him shudder, and the reaction melted away my unhappiness from earlier.

“It’s fine. I probably would’ve chickened out if I had to do it by myself. I feel a lot safer riding down with you.”

“Oh? So I make you feel safe?” I leaned forward even further to find him hanging his head down and his cheeks redder than they had been moments earlier. An indescribable happiness shot through me knowing that I had a stronger effect on him than the rugged blond did.

“All right, lovebirds. Sit properly and get ready,” the man in question said, interrupting our sweet moment. I followed his instructions and sat properly behind Ethan.

The faster I got Ethan away from the flirt, the better.

“Ready? Let’s go!” he said before pushing us down the slope.

Ethan stiffened in my arms, and I squeezed his middle more firmly but not enough to restrict him. “I got you,” I said, my yells quickly becoming shouts of excitement as we gained speed.

Ethan’s screams joined mine as his stiff muscles loosened under my hold. The fear that lingered at the beginning of the ride disappeared, leaving behind only sounds of joy.

The ride didn’t last long, and not even thirty seconds later, we were already slowing down as we reached the bottom. Our shouts had turned into laughter and giggles that lasted until we completely stopped.

“Wow, that was fun! It was so…” Ethan paused like he was trying to find the right words to describe it.

“Thrilling?” I supplied.

He twisted around in my arms and glanced up at my face. His eyes glimmered with excitement and filled with so much joy that I couldn’t tear my gaze from him.

“Yeah,” he said on an exhale, and his eyes flitted down to my lips. Before I could say anything or even beg for a kiss, he read my mind and granted my wish. Ethan turned completely around, his legs straddling my lap as his arms wrapped around my neck.

Time seemed to have slowed as he closed his eyes and leaned in. I watched him for a second before the wait became too much. What if we were interrupted a third time? I couldn’t have that happening.

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