Page 10 of The Holiday Disaster

ETHAN

I was going to have my first kiss. I could feel it in my bones that it was going to happen.

The way Kingsley gazed at me with such tenderness in his eyes that had only softened after telling him I was jealous of his interaction with the receptionist gave me butterflies and tiny hopes that perhaps the unwelcome, yet insistent emotions that always stirred up whenever I saw him weren’t as one-sided as I had thought.

His hand was so warm under mine as his thumb stroked over my lips. I pressed my eyes closed and waited… And waited… When his breath kissed my skin, my nerves shot through the roof with excitement or jitters at what was about to happen. But of course, I could never be that lucky.

“Kingsley, Ethan! What are you two doing out in the snow?” My name being called had me popping my eyes open. I wasn’t the only one surprised. Kingsley jolted away from me, pulling back so he created distance between us as he turned to the speaker.

A pang shot through my heart at his actions. I couldn’t shake the idea that he was embarrassed to be caught in that situation with me. That he was embarrassed ofme.

I sucked in a lungful of frigid air. The cold was a wake-up call to show that my delusions were nothing more than that. Kingsley and I weren’t even friends, and it was foolish to think that anything more could happen between us.

There were a million reasons why he and I would never be a thing: he was straight, he was my brother’s best friend, he was way out of my league. I listed each reason in my head, serving only to hurt myself even more.

Kingsley cleared his throat before asking, “Hey, Jim, Austin. What are you two still doing here?” Jim and Austin were sitting in the same truck, but this time, Austin’s taxi wasn’t connected to the back of the truck anymore.

“It’s more like what areyoutwo still doing out here acting all—Ow! Austin, why’d you pinch me?” Jim’s grumble turned into a cough when Austin shot him a glare. “Ah, I mean, shouldn’t you two be inside?”

“The hotel’s all booked up. We were about to call a ride to the B&B,” Kingsley replied.

“You mean the one at the edge of town? Hop in, I’ll take y’all there.”

“Are you sure? We wouldn’t want to put you out. You’ve already saved us once today,” I said. My parents always taught me not to take advantage of other people’s kindness, but heck if I wasn’t hoping that his offer wasn’t just empty words. I wasn’t so keen to be alone with Kingsley right after what hadalmosthappened, and I would give anything to get out of the cold and into a hot shower right now.

“It’s no trouble. We live on that side of town anyway. Hop in.” Jim beckoned us over and we obliged. I lugged my heavy suitcase back into his truck as Kingsley followed behind me. He was still unbearably quiet, refusing to meet my eyes. Fire burned in my belly at how much that pissed me off. So what if we had almost kissed? He didn’t have to act embarrassed about it.

I faced away from him and looked out the window to watch the gloomy weather that matched my current mood. Jim was making small talk with Kingsley, asking where we were from and about school. They fortunately didn’t force me into the conversation, so I continued to watch the darkness outside the window.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at a small two-story building that was located in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but piles of snow and darkness surrounding the brightly lit building, and I had a brief thought that perhaps Jim had gotten the wrong place, but the sign declared it to be “Fated Encounters B&B.”

“Thanks again for the ride,” Kingsley said after we’d gotten out of the truck. I also expressed my gratitude for everything they’d helped us with tonight. We were basically strangers, and they had no obligations to offer us a ride, but they still did.

“We hope to see you around at the festival tomorrow!” Jim waved to us as they drove off, leaving us alone in front of the B&B’s entrance. The dim lamp posts stationed on each side of the driveway cast an eerie glow that even the Christmas lights decorating the building couldn’t dispel. It had to be a foreshadowing of bad things to come. Goosebumps rose all over my body that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Shall we head in?” Kingsley asked before turning to open the front door for me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I walked past him. The warm air didn’t help to ease my goosebumps nor the nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

“Welcome to Fated Encounters B&B! What can I do for you two tonight?” A middle-aged man looked up from his newspaper from behind the front counter.

“Good evening. We heard you guys had a vacancy? We’re the ones who called earlier,” Kingsley said as he came up from behind me.

“Yes, of course.” The man typed something on the computer before grabbing the last key hanging on the hooks on the wall behind him. “Here you are. You two will be in room nine. It’s up the stairs to the right.”

I glanced at the single key nervously, then looked back up to the man. “Could we get two separate rooms?” I could feel Kingsley’s heated stare as I asked the question. I ignored it and continued to look at the man with pleading eyes.

“I’m sorry, but this is our last room. I’m afraid it might be the last room available in town. We had a rush of people checking in earlier.”

I deflated and I took a step back. “The room will do. Thank you,” Kingsley said, taking the key before turning. I gave the man a nod as I followed behind him.

When we reached the base of the stairs, Kingsley turned back and held out his suitcase to me. “Let’s switch,” he said as he grabbed mine and started climbing up.

It should have hurt my pride that he acted like I needed his help or something, but I kept my mouth shut since I really didn’t want to lug my heavy luggage up a staircase when I was already so exhausted.

Kingsley’s suitcase was a lot lighter than mine, so I carried it and followed behind him. Seeing how easily he was able to lift up my luggage like it weighed nothing had me scowling at his back, where I’d imagined his muscles were bulging with each step under his layers. Life was so unfair.

Even when we arrived at the top and in front of our door, he wasn’t the least bit out of breath. He looked as good as he did when I caught sight of him at the airport gate. I, on the other hand, probably looked like I’d fought through the seven layers of hell and back. I was in desperate need of a shower.

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