Page 38 of Snowed

I didn’t have an excuse for being a jerk, so I thought I should at least make an attempt at conversation. “I guess you liked this one, huh?”

She shrugged. “He was a nice guy, but…”

“But what?”

“I don’t know. Something was missing.”

“Like…?”

“I’m not really sure. On paper, he checks all the boxes—good job, funny, handsome, doesn’t live with his mother at thirty years old.”

“Feelings don’t come from checked boxes.”

“I guess.” She shrugged again. “Maybe it was just my mood. I think I’ll go out with him again to see.”

I clenched my teeth so hard, it gave me an instant headache. “You can’t force chemistry to exist where it doesn’t any more than you can force it to not exist where it shouldn’t.” I met her eyes. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

***

And then there were three.

Caleb, Lucy, and I were the only ones left in the bar at closing time. Lucy usually took off before now, though her sticking around tonight had cooled the anger I’d felt earlier.

I headed to the front window and clicked off the OPEN sign. When I turned back, Caleb was getting up from his stool. “You have a good night, Tuck.” He patted me on the shoulder as he passed and lowered his voice. “Remember, don’t live with regrets, man.”

I walked around the bar and locked the register. “You want another glass of wine?”

“I should probably get going,” Lucy said. “I can’t believe I stayed out this late on a weeknight.”

I nodded toward the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

Flurries started almost as soon as we walked out. Lucy smiled. “This is the first snowfall of the season.”

“I guess it is.”

“Quick, close your eyes. If you make a wish as the first snow starts falling, it’s supposed to come true.”

I watched as Lucy closed her eyes. A devious smile crept over her face before she opened them again. “Did you just wish for something dirty, Miss Snow?”

“No!” she said waaay too quickly.

“Uh-huh.”

“How about you? Did you make your wish?”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t sure if it was only the first person’s wish that would come true. I didn’t want to beat you to it.”

She smiled. “Aww…you’re even a gentleman with snowflakes. That’s sweet. But I don’t think it’s limited to one person. So go ahead, make a wish.”

I closed my eyes and asked the gods of snow for something I’d wanted for a very long time. After, I pulled up Lucy’s hood, and we started on our way.

Lucy’s house was about a quarter mile from the bar, in the opposite direction of mine. But the houses we’d grown up in were right next to each other. In fact, we had to pass the street we used to live on during our walk.

When we arrived at the corner of Cherry Lane, I pointed. “Want to take a detour? Pass our parents’ places?”

She smiled. “Sure. I haven’t gone by my mom’s house since she moved to Florida three years ago.”

“Same. I haven’t been down this street since I loaded the U-Haul to move my parents to the condo they live in on the other side of town.”