BEEP BEEP BEEP
I reached for my phone to shut off the pushy alarm. Stretching my arms over my head, I rolled out of bed. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I recalled just how chilly my new surroundings were. Grabbing the blanket off the bed and wrapping it around myself, I went in search of a thermostat.
The white device was tucked away on the tiny sliver of wall between the kitchen and bathroom door. I cranked it up to seventy-two in the hopes that it would remove the inner chill that had grabbed onto my bones.
The moody blue sky shone through the window in the living room. It all looked so magical with the sun having just slipped behind the mountain tops. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only four pm. Apparently, it got dark here early. A glimmer caught my eye, and I gasped, rushing to the windowsill to get a closer look.
It wasactuallysnowing.
I gleefully jumped up and down as I took in the white flakes falling softly from the sky. I needed to get out there and experience this firsthand.
I pulled on a long sleeve t-shirt and layered a green hoodie on top of it. I grabbed my windbreaker and keys. Checking the map on my phone revealed there was a superstore just fifteen minutes away. I could head there now to pick up some food and, hopefully, some warmer clothes.
I slipped into my ankle-length furry sheepskin boots—which, according to Frankie, were not actually a practical footwear choice for the snow—and headed out the door.
As soon as my boot connected with the ground outside, it shot out from beneath me. I shrieked. The thin layer of snow must have iced over while I was napping. My boots, while cute, didn’t provide any traction on the slippery stairs.
This is what Frankie had meant by impractical.
I gripped the railing and took the steps slowly, one at a time. When I reached the bottom, I felt momentarily proud of myself for not slipping before realizing it was freezing outside. I waddled as quickly as I could manage to my new monster SUV and hopped in.
The leather seats were shockingly cold, and I let out another yelp. Thank god Bev wasn’t around to witness this or she would be even less confident in my ability to run her ski lodge effectively.
The keys stuck when I put them in the ignition but the engine eventually started, and I blasted the heat. It wasn’t until I was about to put the car in drive that I realized I couldn’t see out the front window.
“What the—”
Upon closer examination, the window appeared covered in a layer of snow and ice. I turned on the windshield wipers only to be met with an angry scraping sound and a still-obstructed view.
Huh. I wondered what people did about this. Did everyone just sit around and wait for the heat of their car to melt the ice? Well, it didn’t look like there was much on the window. I’m sure I wouldn’t be here long.
I turned on the radio and scanned through the channels. A throwback station was playing Britney, so I turned it up. I sang along loudly while I waited for the ice to soften so the wipers could push it out of the way.
Rap Rap Rap
I screamed and clutched my chest, turning to see what had made the knocking sound. Clear brown eyes peered back at me through the window.
Giles.
As I rolled the window down, I couldn’t help but notice how the ends of his hair curled up just underneath his striped black beanie. He gave me a confused look, and I prepared my best charming smile in return.
“Hey Giles, I was just head—”
“What are you doing?”
I inhaled sharply through my nose but did not drop my smile. I hated being interrupted, and if these initial interactions were a good indicator, Giles was about to test my patience.
“I was about to drive to the store nearby. I need to pick up a few thi—”
“No. Why are you just sitting here parked in the driveway? I pulled up five minutes ago and you haven’t moved.”
My smile finally dropped at his harsh tone. Politeness could only get me so far. It was clear I’d have to work extra hard to get on this guy’s good side.
“You’ve been watching me for five minutes?”
He shrugged. “I was waiting to pull into the driveway. When you never backed out, I figured I might as well come see what the hell was taking you so long.”
“So nice of you to check on me,” I said in a sickeningly sweet tone. “I’m just waiting for my windshield to melt. You see, there’s some ice on it, and I can’t see—”
