Then everything becomes a blur of white as snowballs are being tossed at me, for reasons I’m unsure of. I plot my revenge, starting with a cute redhead who’s currently running away from me.
I chase after Olivia, jumping up and tackling her down into the powdery snow. She’s laughing so hard as she attempts to crawl away from me, but I don’t let her. I grab a handful of snow and smush it onto the back of her neck. I release my hold on her as she lets out a squeal and twists around just enough to plow my face with a second snowball.
Snow fills my ears, my mouth, and is up my nose. I push out a puff of air, sending the snow flying from my nostrils, earning another fit of laughter from her. I blink away the flakes that are melting in my eyes and catch Olivia’s hand before she can toss another snowball at me.
I move her hand and push the snowball into her face, and now it’s my turn to laugh. She jumps up quickly, attempting to sprint away from me, but trips on the snowman body Emma was forming. Olivia is sent flying through the air and lands face first into the snow. I can’t stop laughing. Tears are forming in my eyes as she turns and looks back at me, frowning, like I was the reason that she tripped.
I push myself up from the snow, walk over to Olivia, and lower my hand to help her. She takes it, but instead of getting onto her feet, she pulls me down, causing me to fall and land on top of her. My face is in the crook of her neck, nose pressed into the snow, our laughter shaking our bodies.
Before pushing myself up onto my arms, I trail my nose along the slope of her neck and speak directly into her ear, “You’re going to pay for that.”
I enjoy the way goosebumps break out over the exposed skin on her neck. I know they’re caused by me and not the cold snow around us. I hover over her, my arms on either side of herhead, and I watch as the pink on her skin turns into a shade of red. Our chests are pressed together, and with us this close, she has to hear how hard my heart is beating. I’m not sure how Olivia and I went from a snowball fight to me pinning her against the snow.
Patience.
It’s what I’ve been reminding myself of every day since we started fake dating. Olivia made it clear that she didn’t want me to kiss her. Oh, but how I want to. Every cell, every nerve in my body is begging me to lean in and press my lips to hers.
Time seems to slow down, as if waiting to see where we will take this.
Olivia’s eyes are wide as she holds my gaze. I catch the brief spark of desire there—tempered by the undercurrent of worry she’s trying to hide. She’s not ready for this, and because of that, I push myself up until I’m standing on my feet. I reach a hand out to her again, and this time she accepts my help and pulls herself up.
“Come on, let’s help Emma rebuild her snowman,” I suggest.
The knot that had formed in my throat after putting some space between me and Olivia finally starts to unravel as we roll snow into big, medium, and small balls. Once the snowman is finished, we take a step back to admire our hard work with Emma in my arms.
“He needs a name,” Olivia says, her nose scrunching up as she ponders.
Emma smiles brightly at the two of us, her arms waving in the air as she suggests, “Frosty.”
Olivia shakes her head. “That’s a good name, but it might cause some confusion sincetheFrosty is his best friend.”
“Oh,” Emma replies, looking back at our large snowman friend. “I like that Frosty has a friend.”
“Of course Frosty has friends. He’s the coolest. What do we think about Stan?”
Emma and I both disagree, shaking our heads, and Emma lets a giggle escape her.
“Bernie,” I suggest.
“I like it,” Emma agrees.
Olivia beams and gives Emma a tickle. “That’s the perfect name for him. Let’s add the hat and see if he’ll come to life.”
Olivia hands a black top hat, that Nonni found for us to use, to Emma who places it onto Bernie’s head, and we wait. Of course I know he’s not really going to come to life, but Olivia has this sort of magical presence about her, so I always expect some sort of miracle to happen when she’s around. Emma, however, looks disappointed.
“I think Bernie is a bit shy. He might wait until everyone is gone before he moves around,” Olivia adds, winking up at Emma.
“Like the toys do inToy Story?” she asks.
“Exactly.”
“Emma, do you want some hot chocolate?” her mother asks, and Bernie the Snowman is now forgotten. She wiggles her legs, almost causing me to drop her, until I can place her on the ground. She claps her hands in excitement and rushes to her parents.
We watch as everyone retreats into the warmth of the house, leaving Olivia and me alone—well, except for Bernie, of course. After a few beats of silence, Olivia says, “We need a pair of sunglasses.”
A laugh bursts out of me, as if it’s been trapped inside of my chest for too long. “LikeWeekend at Bernie’s?”
“Yes. Of course. Let’s move him so it brings Emma a bit of Christmas magic.”
