“Hell yeah, let’s go. I’ve always loved snow days.”
I drag my feet down the stairs and brace myself for this conversation. Telling him what happened to my wings means telling him… everything.
I’m still wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday—it doesn’t really matter, seeing as angels don’t sweat or anything. However, I will say, I’ve never been more thankful to have a pair of thick black tights handy than I am at this moment, considering my underwear was quite literally torn apart last night.
He is a little too excited about the prospect of me not wearing underwear under my plaid skirt and gray sweater. After slipping my black boots on, I step outside onto the wraparound wooden porch and take a deep breath, inhaling the crystal clear, crisp winter air and white cloudy sky. Snowflakes fall across the yard, leading me to glance at the neighbor’s lake house and notice their vehicle is gone. It’s just Kai and me out here now.
He follows me down the stairs, passing me. Drifting closer to the water’s edge, we trail alongside the perimeter. After a few minutes of tense silence, he eventually stops walking and tosses his head back, opening his mouth wide to stick his tongue out.
“What in heaven’s name are you doing?” I gawk, covering my mouth to stifle a laugh.
He continues, completely ignoring me until a dainty, little snowflake lands on his tongue. He shuts his mouth and cheers. “I used to do that with my little sister all the time. We’d stand outside and do competitions—the person who caught the mostsnowflakes in under one minute would win. I bet you can guess who usually won.” He smirks.
“Iris, of course.”
He sighs. “You have no faith in me.”
I punch his arm. “No need to jump to conclusions now.”
“No, no, it’s fine—I’m just stalling.”
“Stalling? For what?” I ask, confusion crossing my features.
“Well, it’s already been over thirty seconds, and you have yet to catch a snowflake. Surely, you know the odds are stacked against you now. It takes a lot more time than you’d think to catch one of those pesky little guys.” He crosses his arms and sighs.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am. Thanks in advance for contributing to my never-ending winning streak.” He smiles. “That’s right—I’ve never lost.”
Never?
My competitive nature won’t allow me to sit idly by, no matter how childish this may seem. Knowing time is running out, I toss my head back and open my mouth as wide as I can, tongue out and all.
“Clock’s ticking, Cleo.” The fact that he’s not even trying infuriates me. I decide to pace back and forth from one spot to another in hopes of catching some snowflakes and begin to lose all hope when suddenly, the sweet freezing taste of victory lands right on my tongue.
One down, one to go.
“Ten seconds left,” Kai calls, and to my utter delight, he’s actually trying now, meaning he sees me as the threat I am.
We both keep our mouths open, and suddenly, another snowflake hits my tongue.I won.
“I win!” I scream obnoxiously and tackle him to the ground, cackling in pure delight. “I just single-handedly broke your winning streak in one try.”
We both laugh until we’re wheezing. I’m pretty certain I haven’t laughed this much since I was a child. He looks at me with mirth in his gaze as he tucks a strand of stray hair behind my ear.
“You win.”
But really, I win,his voice taunts in my mind.
“Incorrect.” I sit up and cross my arms, still straddling him.
“It’s okay—I didn’t mean for you to hear that.” He blushes. “Are you feeling a bit better about talking about your wings now, baby?”
“Oh… Actually, yes.”
I’m shockingly far less tense about this conversation than I was earlier, thanks to his little snowflake charade. We both sit down in a more comfortable position, our bodies facing each other, legs tangled.
“I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I’m not here to run away with you. Or, that wasn’t a part of my initial plan, at least. The Archangels tasked me with watching you while you were up there, and I undeniably failed. It was naive of me to assume they wouldn’t notice—especially considering your adventure down to Earth wasn’t your first since your probation period started.” I sigh, picking up small chunks of snow and letting it dissolve between my fingers. “After you left this time, they called me into the throne room. They were disgruntled to say the least. They obviously had counseled together before I got there, because by the time I finished explaining what happened, they already had determined the consequences of my actions.”
