Page 40 of Ski You Later
“Damn, Langley. You have terrible taste in men,” he says eventually.
“That’s a self-burn, isn’t it?” The words are out of my mouth before I can think twice, and I tense my muscles in realization.
His eyes light up, and a small smile starts to form on his face. “Is it now?” His voice is full of humour and I can’t help but laugh at him.
I shove lightly at his shoulder and relax a fraction when a chuckle escapes his lips. “Alright, alright. Let me just go put these in water, and I’ll meet you at the car.”
He grabs my elbow as I turn to go back inside and spins me so I face him. “Put them in water? They’re dead, Langley.”
A blush spreads across my cheeks, but I don’t shy away from him. “Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are special to me.”
He lets go of me slowly as if he’s thinking through something. That contemplative expression remains on his face for a minute but slowly changes to one that looks like appreciation. “I’ll go keep the carwarm then. Do not slip on that icy patch again!” With a quick squeeze of my elbow, he turns and walks off.
We’re quickly on the road after that. My frozen flowers are currently sitting in warm water with the unrealistic hope that the warmth will rejuvenate them.
Roman and I have been sitting in companionable silence, the howl of the wind mixing with the sounds of traffic keeping us company.
“You should’ve put them in hot water. That way, maybe one of the flowers might’ve survived,” Roman says into the quiet car.
“I did that actually,” I say easily.
His hand holds the wheel lazily as he brings the car to a stop and looks over at me. “Whoa. It’s like we have one brain,” he says with an air of fake surprise.
“Whoa. You are so right,” I respond with an air of equally false shock. We both share a quick smile as the light turns green and he turns back to the road.
It’s not twenty minutes later when he pulls into the dark parking lot of the winter festival. The traffic sounds are quickly replaced by the shrieking of children and the steady beat of music.
Roman quickly puts the car into park and jumps out of his door. While I’m registering the speedy exit ofmy fake date, my door is opened for me and Roman stands with his hand extended.
I can’t tamper down the smile that forms on my face as I place my glove in his. Hopping down from his truck is a lot easier when his other hand instinctively goes to my waist. To my surprise, he keeps his hand in mine and pulls us towards the crowd.
Kids run amok as they weave between groups of people, and the events and games are everywhere, causing the air to become electric. The field has been transformed into a winter wonderland with lights hanging off every tree, booths littering the space, and people skating on the frozen river. One side occupies most of the carnival games, while the other stretches out to local vendors.
I’m absolutely mesmerized by the space. Snow falls lightly around and people all crowd around the fire pits that are placed methodically. My gaze jumps from place to place, and I’m absorbed in watching the events happening.
“What do you want to do first?” The sudden sound of Roman’s deep voice startles me, and I focus back on our date.
I don’t really know what to do here. Aurora and I usually beeline it to the mulled wine booth and go fromthere. We always have a blast, considering I don’t have a single memory of ever returning home from this event.
“I don’t know. What do you think?” I respond with uncertainty in my voice.
He stares over the space and thinks for a minute. “Okay, we could play a game, make maple taffy, or even deck those kids over there with snowballs. It’s up to you.”
I turn around quickly to see a group of ten-year-old’s screaming. All of them engaging in a giant snowball fight. The stall closest to the bunch houses a very unhappy man who glares at them, and I can predict how this will end.
“You want to have a snowball fight with the angry mustache man right beside them!” I point to the booth worker and the bulging vein on his head.
“Hmm, you’re right. There’s no need to anger Randy if we don’t need to.” He says in all seriousness, the slight tilt to his mouth giving him away.
“Oh yeah, because you and Randy are so close.” I lift my eyebrow up at him, his gaze lowering to meet mine.
“We go way back; he might as well be my second father.”
“Okay, Huxley.” I tug him away from Randy and the kids, making our way towards all the booths and lights. Luckily the wind has died, so there’s nothing more than the crispy air nipping at our noses as we peruse.
It’s nice being with Roman; his posture remains relaxed as I pull him from stall to stall, and we check out the various trinkets and wares. There’s wooden carvings, metal makers, hot chocolate stations, and many more random vendors as we make our way.
After some wandering, I spot Charles, Aurora, Isla, and Liam sitting by the fire pits on a couple of benches. Everyone’s squished together with hot chocolate in their hands and huge smiles on all their faces.
