Page 15 of Snow One Like You

“We preferred the term nudist colony.” The sound of tires squealing as he stops on a dime, a phrase I never understood until this moment, reaches my ears. “So glad nobody was behind us.”

“Those two statements should never be together,” he mutters, making me snicker. “You’re joking, right?”

I pat his hand. “Don’t worry. They promised to wear clothes tonight.” He chokes, on what I’m assuming is the saliva as his mouth dries up at the thought, and I pound him on the back to dislodge it. A horn honks, warning us we’re no longer alone on this street, and he checks the intersection before continuing.

“You’re mean,” he informs me as I laugh.

“Worth it.” My parents weren’t nudists when I lived with them, but after I got my own place, they preferred to walk around in their birthday suits. I’ve learned to warn them before I come over because of it.

“You’ll be punished later,” he vows.

“Definitely worth it.”

“Maybe we’ll start our own,” I arch a brow, silently telling him to amend that, “for two,” I grin, “when we get home.”

“Mine or yours?”

“How about ours?” The squeak that leaves me is not a response, yet it perfectly sums up my answer. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak bird.”

“But somehow we both sound like dodos.”

Calvin pulls into my parents’ driveway and shifts to look at me. There’s no mistaking the hurt expression on his face at my words. “Because I’m asking you to move in with me?”

“And because I want to say yes.”

Oh my gosh! I want to say yes.

**Calvin**

How can I go from heartbreak to joy in a split second? Only Snow could give me both. “Then we’ll continue being dodos together,” I urge her. “Give me that yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of what the future holds? No. That you’re a part of mine regardless? Yes.”

“I think you just stole my line.”

“Yeah?” Hope rises within me. I hadn’t thought this through prior to asking her to take this step, it just came out of me. But now that I have, I realize how badly I want it.

“You really know how to make a case.”

“I have the closure rate to back it up,” I wink at her, recalling our first conversation.

I exit my side and go to hers. “There are things we need to figure out,” she states as she puts her hand in mine and I help her out.

“I’m thinking the first will be what to tell them,” I mumble, tipping my head toward the porch where her mom is waiting. “Your dad is going to kill me after all. I just asked his daughter to live with me in sin.” Snow, surprising the hell out of me, bends at the waist with laughter. “My imminent death is amusing?”

“Inside joke,” she replies, further confusing me since we’re the only two currently involved in this discussion. “One you’ll soon be part of.”

**Snow**

Mom and I hug, then I wait as she and Calvin do the same. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s getting dressed,” she replies, looking at Calvin in alarm when he appears to choke. Calvin glances at me, trying to decipher if her statement is a coincidence or if I wasn’t teasing on the way here. Deciding to let him stew on it for a while, I grin and head inside. I’ll explain later, then warn him to always call before visiting.

“Snow?” He calls after me, the inflection inquiring.

Of course, my dad chooses that very moment to turn the corner from where the bedrooms are located to blurt to my mom, “Did you put the swing awa…Hey, guys. You’re here.” I applaud his recovery attempt, but there’s no denying what he’s referring to. Calvin sends me another glance, this one more desperate than the last.

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