She ran to the bedroom and dressed quickly. The idea of not having a shower had never been more prominent than it was right now. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and a bottle of water and joined Colton outside, who was also now fully dressed.
She learned quickly that brushing without running water was tricky at best. After she brushed and spit in the snow, she laughed as they went back inside. "It's the little things."
He gestured behind her. When she turned around, her breath hitched in her throat. It had snowed while they were sleeping, and the entire area was covered in a thick blanket of white. "It's beautiful." She turned. "Stay here. I need to get my camera."
When she came back out, she waited for the lens to catch up to the temperature so she didn't have a fog over it. "I want to get pictures before there are footprints all in the snow. It's so peaceful right now."
Colton agreed. "I've always said that there's nothing prettier than a fresh snowfall." He glanced over at her. "Almost nothing."
She ignored him as she took photos. When her fingers went numb from the cold, they went back inside. She rubbed her hands together in front of the fireplace.
"Listen, Ellie," Colton started, "I need to apologize for last night. For anything inappropriate that happened."
She turned from the fire, not wanting to have the conversation, but knowing that it needed to be had. "I don't go around sleeping with just anyone. I want you to know that. Last night was just... just..."
"To be honest, I thought I was dreaming." Colton shook his head. "I've always been an avid dreamer, and somehow you just played right into that."
"Me, too!" She giggled nervously. "I thought I was having the most erotic dream of my life."
"If it's any consolation, we can dream together any time you want." He winked at her as she turned back to the fire. His proposition both scared and excited her at the same time. Her own response to his suggestion was something that caught her off guard. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was about this guy that kept her so off-kilter.
He apparently mistook her lack of response as going too far. "I'm sorry. That was crass of me. Sometimes I have the habit of going too far with my joking around."
"No, really, Cole. You're fine." She straightened and smiled at him. "Don't think that same thing hasn't crossed my mind."
"As long as we both know where we stand."
She closed her eyes. "Last night was amazing, but it's not something that can become a habit." She didn't want to rule it out completely. "I'm not here for a relationship, and when I go home, it will be hard on you."
"I'm your guide, and I crossed the line. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."
Disappointment almost knocked her down, but she couldn't think of a way to respond that didn't make her sound like a harlot. She busied herself at the pantry. "Breakfast?" She held up a cereal box.
"That'll work. I'll grab the milk." He opened the door and disappeared outside while she grabbed the paper bowls and plastic spoons. She thought of her expensive dishes at home. "I'll never look at dishes quite the same way."
After a quick breakfast, Ellie grabbed her coat and her gloves. "I'll be outside."
"Where are you going?"
"With all that snow, there's a snowman waiting to be created."
He grinned, and her knees buckled. She was in the perfect place with a handsome cowboy for hot sweaty sex, and she wasn't going for it. Sometimes she had to wonder about herself.
Colton went to let the horses out while she started to roll the bottom part of the snowman. By the time he came back, she already had all three parts stacked and was searching for sticks to use as arms. "I don't have anything to use as a nose."
He went to the corner of the cabin and broke off an icicle, which he stuck right in the middle of the top snowball. "There you do. One nose."
"Hey, that looks pretty cool." She broke off two small pieces of a twig to use as eyes. "Not exactly how Elsa would have done it, but good enough."
"Who?"
She glanced up at Colton. "Elsa. Frozen."
His eyes widened and he shook his head.
"Really, you've never seen the movie?"
"Not a chance."
