Page 33 of Ski You Later
Aurora’s curly black hair falls to her mid-back, and the darker makeup choices aid in sharpening her already accented features. Whereas my naturally blonde hair is in stark contrast to the colour and is on the verge of washing me out completely. I had my doubts about wearing the outfit, but Aurora’s insistence was the only reason it made it out of the house.
Taking in the man before me, I realize that Roman’s sporting a dashing outfit yet again. His cream-coloured cable knit sits over a dark navy collared shirt. Navy-corduroy pants connect the ensemble, and I can’t help but feel he deserves a compliment in turn. “Well, you look quite smart yourself, Huxley.”
His smile is gentle, the usual tension lacking from his face as he thanks me in return. Maybe it’s being within the walls of his own home, but he seems so peaceful as he looks down at me. Just being able to see this side of him causes a warm feeling to grow in my chest, and I can’t help but smile back at him.
He starts to open his mouth, but a loud gasp catches both of our attention. Xander has that box in his hand again, holding it out as Aurora and Landon look inside. “Aw, that’s so cute,” Aurora coos as her eyes move rapidly around the box.
I take a step towards the group as curiosity gets the better of me, but Roman’s hand latches onto my upper arm and he holds me in place. All that tension I’m used to has flooded back into him, and his eyes stay glued on his brothers.
“I told you both this already. Get that out of the house right now,” Roman grits out. His tone’s lethal as he carefully pulls me closer to him. Both boys promptly ignore him, and Roman lets me go as he runs his hands through his hair.
As much as I feel for him, the suspense of what’s in the box is killing me, and I quickly rush over while Roman’s distracted.
His yell of protest reaches my ears at the same moment an inhuman scream rips from my throat. The noise causes everyone to startle, their hands all moving to their ears at the sheer volume of my yell.
Unfortunately, Xander conducts the same motion as the group and lets the small box fall to thefloor. I watch in mute horror as the corner lands on the ground and pops the lid from the base.
The only thing that goes through my mind as the box opens is that feeling when I watch a scary movie. The frustration when the main character’s just standing there as their murderer slowly approaches them. Then all I can do is yell at the moron for not moving a muscle as this is happening.
Well, I’m that horror movie moron as two giant wolf spiders spill out of the box and start to run around. Shrieks pierce the air. I recognize Aurora’s, but the other feminine sound is all Xander’s doing.
“KILL THEM, MAKE THEM DIE,” Aurora’s voice pierces the air as she screams. Her agile body leaping onto the kitchen counter as Xander follows suit. The pair start to fight over the limited amount of counter space as they continue to yell in a panicked voice.
Neither Landon nor Rhys shows an outward reaction. Instead, they both watch the spiders with a calm curiosity.
I couldn’t be more different than them, as a paralyzing fear courses through my whole body. While I may be an animal lover, I draw the line with one of Canada’s native spiders. They might be smaller than thesize of my palm, but they’re still much bigger than I’m comfortable with.
Someone calls my name, but my gaze stays trained on the fattest of the two, its beady eyes landing on me as it shoots in my direction. Fear courses through me and seems to glue my feet to the floor. Its quick scuttling suddenly puts it a foot away from me, and all I can do is brace myself.
As if appearing out of nowhere, Roman releases a string of curses as he lightly knocks the spider off its path. His arm wraps around my waist in the same motion, and then I’m pressing against his chest as my feet go out from under me. Both of Roman’s arms are banded around me as he steps onto one of the chairs.
I’m fairly certain spiders can climb chairs, but Roman hasn’t set me down yet, so I should be safe for the moment.
“You know wolf spiders can climb chairs,” I mumble into his chest. Peeking up at him, I see a smile break free from the death glare he is sending his brothers.
Finally breaking his gaze away from the boys, he peers down at me and raises one of his eyebrows. “How is that supposed to help?” He questions me with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“I just thought you would want to stay well informed,” I quip back.
“Maybe I should just drop you then. Survival of the fittest and all that.”
I let out a fake gasp, looking at him indignantly. “You wouldn’t dare, Huxley.”
He leans even closer to me, that clean smell filling my senses and putting me at ease. He opens his mouth and shuts it just as quickly when another scream pierces the air. We both whip our gazes towards the kitchen, where a multitude of events are occurring.
One of the spiders must have started climbing up the kitchen counter due to the fact that Aurora decided to shove Xander off. Xander screams inhumanly as he scrambles on the ground, and Rhys has a huge smile on his face. Then there’s Landon, holding one of the spiders in his hands as he watches the scene in disbelief.
I tap Roman on the bicep, waiting until he notices me, and then I point towards the kitchen. The other spider didn’t fall for Xander as the bait as I watch its long legs cresting the kitchen counter.
Roman’s mouth drops open in surprise, and I can’t help but stifle my own laugh. Aurora follows the direction I’m pointing, ripping her vocal cords as she shrieks, and volleys herself off the counter.
She promptly tackles a freshly standing Xander back to the ground, and both of them scream as they lose sight of the spider yet again.
We all sit at the table. Roman on one side, with Xander and Landon on the other. Aurora and I both share the head of the table as we wait eagerly for the events to unfold.
Landon had cleaned up the mess, capturing and placing both spiders in the backyard. Aurora and Xander were breathing heavily but became relieved as soon as the wolf spiders vacated the premises.
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t like the way Roman kept his arms around me as he stepped off the chair. He scanned the ground before finally placing my feet back on the floor with his.
