Gayle looks up at Jiraiya with laughter in her eyes, and Nick covers his mouth to hide his as he looks away. Eden giggles brightly but doesn’t take her eyes off mine. “You should keep it. I can give them a new copy,” she says.
I look between her and Gayle, who nods silently, a sympathetic smile hiding on her lips.
“Here,” Eden says, “I’ll make it out to you so it’s really yours.”
“Oh,” I say, reaching for the paperback and handing it to her. “Thank you.”
“Oooh,Tempo,” she coos, “one of my favorites.”
My heart simmers to a steady beat when I turn back to the line. I grab Nick by the elbow and yank him to my level. “I’m going to make you pay for that, Nicholas Saint,” I warn him.
“Wait,” Eden pokes her head on the other side of my shoulder. “I’m sorry, did you just say Nicholas Saint? Like, the director?”
Nick’s brow shoots up, the question of where this conversation might go lined in the wrinkles of his forehead. “Filmmaker, yeah?”
“Oh, we just got your documentary into the library’s catalog this summer. I cried the first time I watched it,” she says. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’m a huge fan of your work.”
Nick’s energy mellows into a cool, somber darkness. I lace my arm through his elbow and hold his hand. His thumb skates across the fleshy part of my palm, between my index finger and thumb, as he discussesEpitaphwith Eden. She doesn’t ask him anything insensitive or too much detail about his son or wife, but his mood has deflated.
“Babe,” the guy she came with calls her over to the other side of the counter, where she orders her snacks for the movie.
“You okay?” I ask Nick.
He pushes a sigh through pursed lips. “Yeah, yeah…I just wasn’t expecting that.”
I nod. “I watched some of it too,” I announce.
“Yeah?” He confirms, his brightened tone pulling a reassuring smile to my lips.
“You were right there in bed next to me.”
“And you didn’t wake me up?” The laughter in his voice returns, makes my heart skip a beat.
“I didn’t realize I was supposed to,” I smile up at him.
“What did you think?” He follows.
“I think…I think you deserve the world,” I sigh.
He looks down at me, his eyes glassy and his smile subtle. “I think I found something better.” He brings my knuckles to his soft lips and lays a feather-light kiss on my skin. Goosebumps travel up my arm and make their way all over my body. Under his fervent gaze, I feel something shift inside me.
“I don’t want this to end,” I admit, my voice barely audible. His eyes light up like a Christmas tree, his grip on my hand tightens, and I lose my breath watching the smile that overwhelms his face.
“Who says it has to?”
Nick
Imove quickly, switching my 35mm lens for the 80mm one. A fresh layer of snow covers the trees in the backyard — the branches seem cartoonish through my camera. The usual quiet of the morning is disrupted by the hustle of the employees setting up for today’s activity, a baking lesson from the resident chef, Mary. I’ve become addicted to her cinnamon rolls, and today we’ll be learning how to make her cinnamon roll cookies.
Despite my gloves, my hands start to cramp from the cold. I pull my beanie down on my head as I reenter the cabin. The chatter of the group hums through me as soon as I step inside, warming me from the inside out. You would never believe we’re a group of nearly perfect strangers from the looks of it. Everyone is in conversation with each other, bright with laughter and loud debates about topics that don’t matter. Then, there’s Krystal, sitting alone, tapping away at her phone.
My heart sinks as I approach her.
Did she finally give in? Did she text him back?
When she feels my presence, her head falls back and her lips part in a welcoming smile. My pulse trips, fluttering in the other direction as I smile back. “Who’s got you smiling like that, Snowflake?”
Her smile turns cheeky. “You jealous?”
