I melted in bliss. His plush, warm lips pressed against my mouth. My eyelashes fluttered closed as I let out a tiny sound of pleasant surprise. It was a chaste kiss, something as pure as the newly falling snow, but I loved it. I wanted Karl to kiss me forever.
This really was a perfect day.
And then he suddenly pulled away.
Disappointment flooded me when I saw the concerned look on Karl's face. He checked the time and scowled.
"I'm sorry, Angelo," he said in a rush. "I have to go."
He didn't even linger to explain the kiss. He ran, kicking snow behind him as he bolted. But where was he going? His motorcycle was in the opposite direction. I knew how much he loved that bike. Why did he abandon it?
Frowning in confusion, I watched him frantically disappear behind the buildings.
Something was wrong. Karl wasn't the type of man to leave without saying goodbye, and he wouldn't leave his beloved motorcycle behind.
I had to follow him.
I followed in Karl's footsteps. He'd vanished among the buildings. I didn't see him anywhere. But with the crowds gone and a layer of fresh snow, it was easy to pick out his distinct boot prints.
With a burst of determination, I tracked his footsteps as the weather worsened. Wind howled and snow fell thickly. The delicate snowfall spiraled into a blizzard. I braced myself against the gusts. I wasn't dressed for the weather, but neither was Karl. Surely his second job at the motorcycle shop wasn't so important that he'd risk getting trapped in a blizzard?
Pushing onward against the bitter cold, I kept my eyes on Karl's prints. I'd track him down no matter what. It felt like a supernatural force gave me the strength to find him, like it was physically impossible to let him go after that kiss.
The blizzard raged on. Soon everything was in whiteout conditions. The blistering wind and frigid cold chilled me to the bone. I hoped Karl was okay. The longer this hunt went on, the more worried I became for his safety. His tracks hadn't led me to any sort of store, motorcycle or otherwise. So where had he gone in such a desperate rush?
I blinked against the harsh snow slapped my face. My cheeks hurt from the cold and my fingers and toes were numbed. I had to find Karl soon!
I must have had a guardian angel watching over me because just as my hope began to dwindle, I came face-to-face with a solid wood door attached to a cabin.
I blinked in confusion. Where was I? I'd never seen this building before. It was like I'd stepped out from the blizzard into another world.
I knocked with my half-frozen fist. "Karl? Are you there?"
No answer. But this was where Karl's prints led me. He had to be here. Maybe he couldn't hear me over the howling wind. I knocked harder, putting my strength into it.
"Karl! It's me, Angelo! Are you here?"
I saw movement from the corner of my eye. A red plaid curtain was pulled back, but only for a second before it was pushed hurriedly back into position. The curtains blocked me from seeing inside the windows. There was somebody in the cabin. I started to doubt myself. Had I followed a stranger's prints by mistake? No, these prints were definitely his.
If itwasKarl, he wouldn't ignore me. Maybe he was in the bathroom or something. I had to keep trying.
"Karl, it's me, Angelo," I said, raising my voice over the wind. "Are you in there?"
Groaning came from the other side of the door. It was definitely Karl's voice.
I perked up. "Karl!"
"Angelo," Karl said in a pained voice. "I can't let you in. You wouldn't understand."
What the heck did that mean? Was he embarrassed about a messy home? Or worse—did he not want to see me at all? But that wasn't what his statement implied.
"I don't care if your house is messy," I said, tossing a guess out there.
Karl let out a groan-laugh. "It's not that."
I couldn't think of any other reason. Still, if he didn't want to let me in, that was his choice. Ihadfollowed him home of my own free will.
Man, I was foolish. What was I thinking, tracking down my co-worker like a bloodhound in the middle of a snowstorm? It was a weird thing to do—no wonder Karl put a boundary down.
