Cold. Wet. Violent.
I stumble back two steps before catching myself, blinking through a whiteout that makes me look like someone dipped me in a blizzard. The entire fire truck disappears behind a wall of manufactured winter. For a full five seconds, the world is nothing but ice, wind, and humiliation.
Then, mercifully— It stops. Silence.
I wipe my face with both hands. I am soaked. My jacket. My hair. My eyelashes. My dignity.
Lucy stands frozen ten feet away, hands clasped over her mouth. Her cheeks puff. Her shoulders shake. Then she breaks. She laughs. Hard. Uncontrolled. Bending-over-at-the-waist, hand-on-her-knee, absolutely-unhinged laughter.
“Oh my God—Ash—your face—” She wheezes. “Your—face?—”
I stare at her. Stoic. Dripping. Frozen in place.
“You think this is funny.”
She nods frantically. “So—funny—I can’t—oh my God?—”
I step toward her.
She backs up instantly. “Ash—wait—no—hold on?—”
“You think blasting me in the face with a snow cannon,” I say, walking her down, “is funny.”
She squeals. “Don’t! Don’t you dare—your shirt is soaked?—”
“You’re laughing at me.”
“I—I—yes—but—Ash—I’m sorry—I swear I’m sorry—just give me—a minute?—”
She can’t even finish a sentence. She’s doubled over, tears streaming, gasping for breath. I’m going to murder her. Lovingly. Eventually.
“Lucy.”
She looks up at me between laughs—eyes shining, cheeks flushed, hair falling out of her bun, beautiful in the most chaotic way. And something inside me shifts—dangerously. The tension we've been dancing around explodes. Not out loud. Not with words. With the way her laughter fades into breathless silence as I keep walking toward her.
She straightens slowly, voice softening. “Ash…”
Her name leaves my mouth like a warning. “Lucy.”
“You’re—soaked.”
I glance down. My shirt is plastered to my chest. My jacket dripping. My gloves squishing with every move. “Noticed.”
“And you’re—really—really mad.”
“Oh yeah.”
Her breath catches. “You’re—you’re looming.”
“Good observation.”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re going to… do something.”
The air between us tightens.
