Page 103 of Damaged

He takes his hat back, and before he puts it back on, he holds it up and points to the sky. “Do you see the moon?” he asks.

I can see just a phantom of it. Bone white among the wisps of clouds. “I can. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” James says distantly, his arm still extended, pointing.

There’s something about the silence on the slope that’s so perfect that the words come to my lips.

I know what I feel. If I’m being honest, I’ve known for a long time what has been building.

But it’s too early. It would be crazy to tell him I love him. Crazy to tell him the truth. I nuzzle in a little closer and do the next best thing.

I turn towards his neck, and I mouth the words with just a little breath. “I love you,” I say. There’s no way he heard me.

I swear I hear him whisper something back. But with my hood up, I can’t be sure.

“What was that?” I say, bringing my head up to look at him.

“It wouldn’t be the worst death if we stayed like this until we froze.”

“I think you and I have a lot more fun to be had first,” I say.

James gets up out of the snow and brushes himself off. Then he gives me a hand and picks up my poles for me. “You’re right. A lifetime of it.”

“Yeah. A lifetime.”

He puts his hat back on and looks down the slope. “Hmm.” He looks down the slope. “Bet I beat you to the bottom. And I still have to put on my skis.”

“We’ll see about that. And what’s the bet?”

James squints. “Loser has to go down on the other for twenty minutes.”

“Deal. You’re about to have one sore tongue, punk.”

“Even when I lose, I win. You’re the one who tastes like fresh honey.”

“I do not.”

The creases in his forehead sharpen. “You absolutely do. It’s uncanny.”

“James, you’re flattering, but come on.”

“So, some sommelier can describe a wine as oaky, but I can’t say you taste like sweetness and flowers? I don’t think so.”

“Well, you’re about to have twenty minutes to figure out your palate,” I say, and I take off down the slope. After a few seconds, I look over my shoulder to see that James still hasn’t moved an inch.

He’s watching me, and even from this distance, I can see the big smile that stretches across his face.

With the wind whipping and the skis swishing, I have the cover to say it aloud as loud as I want this time. And I do.

“I love you, James Callaway,” I say, and then I tuck my poles under my arms to gain even more speed.

He gave me a head start, pun intended. But I don’t plan on giving him a chance.

James

I like Alex. He’s ambitious and smart like me. And Hailee is funny, and kind, like Sophia. But if I could’ve thrown them out in the snow at any point during their stay, I wouldn’t have complained.

They had been staying with us at my lake house for three days, and I only just closed the door behind them after a long goodbye.

---