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The holidays in Briar Vale just got a hell of a lot more exciting.
CHAPTER7
Charlie
The lead-up to the first date left me a wreck. It was only the next afternoon, but I barely slept at night, and then rushed around all morning getting the details of the concert prepared.
“I can’t believe you’re going out with Lars Nilsen. If I’d known that not dating and being a workaholic social recluse would lead to a date with Lars freaking Nilsen, I’d have lived my life differently,” Lily lamented, as she watched me ferry posters back and forward at the printers. Since all we were doing was moving the venue of the concert, it wasn’t as much organization as it could be. Now, I just had to reprint all the promo materials, highlighting the fact that there was to be a special guest performance by the most beloved local rockstar. Lily must have a point about my social isolation in the last few years, due to the fact that I hadn’t even recognized Lars when I met him. I was still mad at the fact that he'd kept his identity from me, but then again, his reason for doing so wasn’t that difficult to understand. I couldn't imagine living a life where everyone I met was only interested in the star power I could bring to the relationship.
Regardless, three dates, with three kisses was an outrageous proposition, and only someone as arrogant as a literal rock god would ever demand it. He was audacious and charming, and well, I wasn’t dreading the dates as much as I probably should be, considering how he’d manipulated me into them.
Still, that didn’t mean I was going to make it easy for him.
“Are you sure you want to take him sledding? I mean, of all the dates that I’d plan with him, wearing even more layers than usual wouldn’t make the list at all,” Lily sighed, making me laugh.
“I think being dowsed over the head with some freshly fallen snow would be a great experience for Lars. He’s in desperate need of a good reality check,” I said blithely, utterly unconcerned with how wacky the date idea might be. I collected my warm, freshly copied flyers and looked out the window. Last night, it had snowed. It had really snowed, in fact, and today would be perfect for sledding. Then, I planned on bringing him home for hot chocolate and gingerbread with my mother. This so-called date was going to be as far from the life of a rocker as possible and that’s exactly how I intended it to be. Lars was here in Briar Vale, and he should see that there was something special about the place, apart from his clearly painful past memories. I didn't know how the whole story, but the pain in his grey eyes had been clear as day.
"You’re crazy,” Lily muttered, lamenting my lack of game. She rested her forehead on her hands on the desk. “Wake me up when you’re done.”
* * *
The afternoon skywas a pale swirling mass of unleashed snow, and the air was crisp with the scent of pine. The town’s favorite sledding spot was up the hill that overlooked the ivy-covered church at the far end of town, and as I took two sleds from my car, and watched Lars approach across the icy car park. We weren’t the only ones looking for a little afternoon fun. The place was buzzing with kids and their families, and I recognized every single one.
Lars raised an eyebrow at me, as he got closer. His face was swathed with a scarf and he had his sunglasses on again. “Are you the local mascot or something? How come everyone knows you?” He wondered, as person after person greeted me.
“It’s Briar Vale. I’ve known all these people my entire life.”
“Nightmare,” Lars muttered under his breath, before reaching out and taking both the sleds off me.
"Heaven," I argued back, reaching out to take my own one back. “I can carry this, thanks.”
He stared at me for a long moment and tilted his head to the side. I wished I could see his eyes to read what he was thinking. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“Oh, definitely not,” I breezed and started up the hill, with him at my elbow. “So, are you going to take off your secret disguise or sled in it?”
He grunted. “Since I’d prefer it was just the two of us on this date, I’ll be keeping it on.”
“I think you might be overestimating how many people would approach you if they recognized you.”
“I’m not, but thanks for thinking I’m less popular than I am,” he chuckled.
“You’re welcome. In that case, let’s go this way,” I said, halfway up the slope. In the wood nearby, a small trail had appeared, leading us away from the slope where half the town was set up to sled.
We trudged through the woods, the sounds of screams and laughter slowly fading as the silence of the snowy woods settled around us.
“Where are we going?”
“A secret sledding slope. I used to come here with my brother all the time when the hill over the church turned slushy.”
“I had no idea I was going on a date with a cold-weather, children’s sports expert,” Lars murmured, catching my arm when I slipped on an icy tree root.
“Yep, that’s me. Expert and enthusiast,” I smiled at him. “There’s nothing I’m not interested in knowing about this town.”
Lars strode in silence for a few moments, then let out a breath. “I can’t imagine feeling that way about any place. I feel it about music though. I have that, at least,” he said quietly. “Do you ever think about traveling? Moving away from here?”
“Travelling, sure. I have a very long list of places I want to go, but moving? Never. I’ll never move from Briar Vale,” I said confidently. I felt Lars's eyes on the side of my face, as we broke through the tree line into a snowy clearing.
“Never? That’s a long time,” Lars observed.
