Itwas such a simple thing, and it was such a small part of her that was touching him, but it was so much more than a casual or accidental brush.Theirpinky fingers were entwined,choosingto hold onto each other.
Hehad caught her from falling.Hehad danced with her.Hehad held her in his arms as she cried, keeping her in one piece.Yetsomehow this felt more intimate.Moredaring.Morelike a line had been crossed.Achoice had been made.Achoice to be reckless and brave and vulnerable and fearless.
WhenTessafinished her story,Parkerturned to look at her, his expression so deep and layered that she could’ve stared into his eyes for days trying to figure out all of it.Butbefore she got enough of a chance,Grahamclapped his hands and said, “Alright, everyone head into the family room—we’re playingChristmasCharades!”
ParkerandKelliwere placed on different teams, so they sat on opposite sides of the room.Butshe found his eyes wandering to her just as often as hers went to him.Now, though, the night felt charged, and she wondered if she was ever going to feel tired enough to head to bed.Mostpeople seemed to feel that way, even after all the laughing from the bad acting and the hilarious guesses, so all sixteen of them played game after game, until people finally started to break away, and one by one, go to bed.
Meritwalked to the windows and looked out. “Iguess when we brought sixteen adults and a baby from a place as snowy asColorado, we couldn’t help but bring some snow with us.”
“It’ssnowing?”Kellijumped up and ran to the window, pressing her hands against the window at the sides of her face so she could see past the light in the room. “It’ssnowing!Isit even supposed to snow here?”
“Itcan sometimes,”Parkersaid as he stepped up to her side and looked out. “Justnot very often.Ichecked before we came.”
“Weshould go out in it.Youall brought coats, right?”
Thehandful of people who were still in the room looked at her with confused faces.
“Youwant to go out in the storm?”Grahamasked.
Shelooked around at everyone. “Don’tyou all go outside whenever it storms?”
“NotifIcan help it,”Elisesaid.
Romanshook his head. “Meneither.”
“Butstorms are so exciting.”Itwas baffling to her that none of them raced outside whenever it rained or snowed so they could experience it in person instead of just from behind a window.
“I’llgo with you.”
Parker’swords were as attractive as the smile on his face.Shegave him a big, grateful smile back.Thenshe hurried up to her room to put on her coat, boots, gloves, hat, and scarf before he had a chance to change his mind.Whenshe came back down to the main floor, he was already waiting by the door, all bundled up, and they headed outside.
Theair was cold, and with each breath in, it felt like the cold was zinging into her body.InColorado, it always seemed to warm up when it snowed.Likethe clouds were a blanket in the sky, holding in all the warmth.Butthe wind had blown hard to bring in this storm, and it had blown all that warmth they’d felt earlier in the day to someone else. “Doyou think we just got too acclimated to the warmth since we got here, and that’s why the cold is such a shock?”
“Maybe,”Parkersaid as he looked out across the ocean. “Itdefinitely feels colder.”
Kelliheld her hand out to catch a snowflake as they neared the bottom of the road that their mansion was on. “Ormaybe it’s just because this snow is wetter.”
“Areyou cold?Becausewe can head back.”
“I’mfine.Unlessyou’re cold?”
Hesmiled at her in a way that made her warm down to her toes.Shewould be just fine out here as long as she was withParker. “I’mfine, too.Butwe could just watch the storm from the balcony at the mansion.Thatway we’d be close if things get too cold.”
“No, because look!”Kellipointed to the main resort area as it came into view. “Lookat all theChristmaslights!Oh, it’s so beautiful.Wehaveto go see them in the snow.”
TheChristmasvillage was completely lit up in colorful lights, and so were all the buildings and pathways, even more than they had been when they’d gone to the dance.Everybuilding and the trees and pathways around it were lit up in a different color, so one building was all purple, one was all green, one was blue, one was red, and one was white.Anarchway of lights went down the main pathway, each arch a different color, making a rainbow.Itwas the most incredible display of lights she had ever seen.
Andwith the snow falling, all the lights seemed to twinkle, like a magic spell had been cast over the whole resort. “Iam so sad for everyone who stayed back in the mansion.”
Parkerlooked at her, smiling, and she thought it was possibly the most amazing smile she had ever seen.Shesnuggled in close to him as they walked down the first pathway of lights, and he wrapped an arm around her, keeping her warm and protected.Shehadn’t even thought about snuggling into him before she did it—it had just seemed so natural.Maybeall her fears had just been stupid excuses to not be brave.
Itwasn’t like she had the best track record when it came to dating, though.Sheusually just went with what made her heart happy and kept logic out of it.Shewas trying to use logic this time around, and logic told her that she shouldn’t be dating someone who could make things awkward at work.
Ittold her that she shouldn’t be datinganyoneright now.Sheknew that a man with a great family was her kryptonite, and with things being so unsettled with her dad, she knew her heart was extra unprotected.Sheneeded to keep it far from danger, not snuggle up to danger.
Soshe ran.Abunch of pathways converged in one big open crossroads, with lights twisting up the five street lamps surrounding the area.Shejust needed to put a teeny bit of space between them, and she hopedParkersaw it as her running to the magical spot instead of running from him.Sheput her arms straight out and turned around in a slow circle, her face turned up at the sky, soaking in the beauty of the meandering snow falling softly on her, the lights casting a warm glow on everything.
Shestopped turning and looked atParker, who was looking at her with the same expression that she’d just had as she’d marveled at the lights and snow.Itmade her want to go to him.Tosnuggle into him.Maybeshe didn’t need to run from danger.Maybeall she needed was to know what her weaknesses were, to be cautious when it came to them, and to be brave when it came to everything else.
