Page 20 of If Everything Was Easy

“Try it,” she urged as she lifted the plate in my direction. I tore a piece off and took a bite. She was right, it was delicious, and as much as I liked it, I loved watching her eat it more.

“It’s good, but you can have it.” I tried to not sound insulting as I offered it all to her.

She gave me a weird look, but as she took another bite she brushed it away and enjoyed the pastry. “What’s next?” She looked around as she licked the remaining sugar off her fingers.

“The snow.” I grinned. This was something new they added this year. We never saw snow in this area, but this year we would.

“Snow?” Her nose crinkled.

“There’s a snow tent this year.” I pointed to a giant white tent in the far corner of the carnival. “Come on.” I instinctively grabbed her hand and began leading us to the tent. “This way.” I couldn’t help it. I was excited about this.

When we got inside, it was noticeably colder. There were blowers blasting icy air out to keep the snow frozen. There was a machine in the corner creating a Winter Wonderland. One side had sculptures made of ice, the other was filled with kids having a snowball fight.

“Put the bear over there.” I pointed to where other patrons had left belongings, and then I stomped out into the snow. “Hurryup.” I grinned as I leaned down and began packing a snowball in my hands.

Ava

It was freezing in here. I rubbed my arms as I sat my bear against the edge of the tent. When I turned around, Carter was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the crowd of people, and then felt a cold wetness hit my back. I whirled around to find Carter waving at me. He leaned down and started frantically scooping snow into his hand. I shifted a little and then it came again. This time I was facing him, so he hit me in the chest. “Fight back!” he shouted as he went to work again.

“Oh, no you didn’t.” I rushed to match his movements. I was competitive, and he was bringing that side out. He didn’t know what he was asking for. I squatted down and began to build my arsenal. When I looked up, he was gone.

I gathered my snowballs the best I could, and began walking around the area. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” I singsonged. I heard him laugh as I rounded a corner. Just as I raised my arm to fling one at him, I got nailed in the shoulder. “Oh, you are dead meat,” I growled as I unloaded. He laughed and ducked behind a mound of snow, and I took full advantage. I rushed over, and as he was standing to take aim again, I jumped on his back, causing him to lose his balance and tumble to the ground.

We lay in a pile of twisted limbs for a few moments just staring at each other. I was awkwardly draped across him, and laughing. His eyes twinkled as he looked up at me, and that’s when I feltit… the change. Something was happening here and as much as my brain told me to stop it, my heart didn’t want to.

“What are you going to do now?” he whispered as the world around me melted away. It was just us. The chaos of the children playing faded into the background, and all the things I’d told myself I shouldn’t do seemed to be inconsequential at the moment. I couldn’t look away, and as much as I wanted something to happen, I couldn’t force myself to take action.

“You’re really beautiful when you smile.” His hand reached up and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. My eyes closed at the touch. Every part of me was alive and I felt as if it would all disappear if I moved. Danny never made me feel like this, and it was both amazing and terrifying at the same time. “Talk to me,” he urged. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“Afraid.” The word came out barely audible. “I don’t want this to end.” I swallowed. I was being more honest than I’d been in a long time. I was opening myself up to heartbreak, and I think he saw this.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” he whispered as he lifted his head and brushed his lips over mine. “I’m just a guy.” His breath feathered across my cold cheeks as he laid his head back in the snow.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I leaned down and pressed my lips to his and surrendered to the feelings I’d been fighting for weeks. I couldn’t do it anymore, and I just hoped that this wasn’t a mistake, and he felt the same way I did.

Chapter 14

Carter

I saw the look she gave me. I could feel the tension in her body. She didn’t want what was happening to happen, but she didn’t do anything to stop it. I didn’t know how I felt about that, but I did know that I couldn’t let her run from me. I needed more, and I had to convince her that she needed it too.

“My back is starting to get wet.” I tried to break the tension. I laughed lightly as I pushed against her.

“Oh, yeah.” She scrambled off of me and began brushing snow from her pants. “It is kinda cold now.” She stood and offered me a hand. When I grabbed it, she pulled with more force than I thought she possessed.

“Wanna grab some hot chocolate?” I motioned to the exit of the snow tent. I knew once we were back outside in the sunshine and warm air, we would thaw out.

“That’s sounds nice.” She smiled sweetly.

I led her outside, and the more walking we did, the more awkward and stilted the conversation became. It was as if she were pretending that the kiss didn’t happen, and we were back to putting both emotional and physical space between us.

I let it go as we perused the rest of the carnival. I wanted to talk about it, but I’d rather do it in private. We stayed until dusk, and then I offered to take her home.

The drive back to her apartment was quiet, and when I pulled into a parking space, she started to rush to get out. “Can we talk about this?” I blurted the words out. She froze, her hand on the door handle. I watched as her shoulders seemed to sink.

“Do we have to?” The words were barely a whisper.

“Yeah, we do.” I didn’t want to sound like I was forcing her to, but if I didn’t speak my piece, I thought I might burst. I’d been burying these feelings for weeks, some days to the point that I couldn’t think of anything else. I needed to express myself or I might try more than kissing the next time something like this happened.

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