A kiss.
You beneath me, calling my name.
I’m not stupid enough to say either of those things, though.
“If I win, you let me stay until the new year, no more trying to kick me out.”
I watch as she gnaws on her lip, pondering the request before she finally nods and holds out a hand towards me.
“Deal.”
We shake, and I tell myself I have to win this. I have to make the best damn s’more anyone has ever had. I pull out thesupplies and skewer a marshmallow and move closer to the fire so I can roast it. I smile over at Annalise, and she shuffles off the couch, gathering her supplies, and joins me. We roast the marshmallows over the fire in silence, her eyes cutting to me every once in a while, and I do everything I can to keep a straight face.
When the marshmallow is perfectly cooked, I pull it out and turn my back to Annalise so she can’t see what I’m doing. I shove half a piece of chocolate into each end of the marshmallow, just enough that it’s not sticking out anymore, and then place a piece of chocolate on the graham cracker with the marshmallow on top, and then another piece of chocolate, and then the top graham cracker.
I take in my handy work before turning back to the fire and holding the s’more close to it but not inside. After a minute, I pull away, quickly inspecting the melted chocolate before handing it to Annalise. She finishes putting hers together and sets it on her knee, taking mine.
She rotates it, inspecting it, and I press my lips together, waiting for her to take a bite. When she does, she seems hesitant before her eyes go wide and she stares at me. Now I let my grin break free, and she fucking moans as she takes another bite.
My mind immediately goes to wanting to know if her moans sound the same as she comes, or are they huskier?
“Dammit,” she mumbles around her last bite. “I didn’t want you to be right.”
My grin is so big my cheeks hurt. Knowing I get to spend two weeks alone here with Annalise is more than I could have hoped for. It’s not going to be easy to win her over, but I’m going to put everything I have into it for the next two weeks.
She pouts as she finishes the s’more then looks at hers, disappointment filling her expression. I grab another marshmallow and begin roasting it. I put together anothers’more and hand it to her, and her face lights up again. She eagerly takes it from me, and as I get to work on another, I watch her out of the corner of my eye.
One of the things I’ve always loved about Annalise is how the smallest things make her happy. The girl doesn’t need big, expensive gifts. She’d rather get something that has meaning, that shows you’ve listened to her. She likes when you do small thoughtful things for her, like getting her favourite snacks, or making her a s’more. She’s never been one to require a lot to be happy.
We sit in silence as I make her a few more. She happily takes them from me, shaking her head when I go to hand her another and telling me she’s had enough. I scoot closer to the couch and lean against it, eating the last one, staring at her as she watches the way the fire crackles. The few times I came here with the Reids, Annalise could sit and watch the fire for hours. She’d put some music on, usually Christmas tunes, and just stare at it. When I was younger, I didn’t get it, then I realized I could watch Annalise the same way she does the fire.
It’s taking in the simple beauty, trying to capture it and sit in it, revel in it.
After a few minutes, she joins me against the couch, crossing her legs at the ankles as she continues to stare. She sighs and says, “So, I guess you’re staying.”
I nudge her with my shoulder and say, “It won’t be that bad. You’ll get some company, and you now have someone to make sure you’re stocked with firewood for a fire every day.”
A small smile pulls at the corner of her mouth before she squashes it.
“I guess you have some uses,” she says.
“Plus, I’m not that bad. It’s not like I bite, unless you ask.”
That has her cheeks pinkening, and I wonder if that’s something she’s into. I push the thought to the side, because thelast thing I need right now is to be getting hard when she’s just coming to terms with the fact that we’re spending the next two weeks together.
Instead, I reach for the bin with the games and pull it close, asking, “What are we playing?”
SEVEN
ANNALISE
Two entire weeks with Sebastian does not sound like my idea of fun. He was right when he said I now have someone to cut wood, so I don’t have to bundle up in the snow and do it myself, but I’d rather do that than spend the rest of my trip here with him. But a deal is a deal, and I’m not backing out now.
I agreed to let Sebastian stay for the length of my trip, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cut the trip short, even if I don’t want to.
I stare into the bin of games and try to decide on one. I finally settle on a game and pull it out, and we begin setting it up. We manage to make it the entire game without me wanting to throw a pillow at him, and I actually have fun, although I’d never admit it to him.
When we finish, he gets up and says he’ll make dinner and starts unloading his cooler into the fridge and pulling out ingredients. I watch as he makes his way around the kitchen, and he looks so relaxed and at ease, like he’s meant to be there. I start packing up the game, not wanting to get caught watching him, but I still steal glimpses out of the corner of my eye.
