He unlocks the front door and kicks it open, motioning me to go in first. I know I was just thinking about doing naughty things with him, but actually being this close to him, and stepping into his home…I’m nervous as all get out.
He steps in behind me and places my bags down on the floor. The inside of his house is dark, but the light coming in from the sheer green curtains is enough to see most of the layout. I watch him as he strolls into the kitchen and starts opening blinds and turning on lights.
“Sorry it’s dark in here, I woke up late and just rushed out,” he walks past me again and opens another set of blinds near a small dining table. “Make yourself at home, there’s food in the fridge and k-cups for the Keurig. Mugs are in the cabinet next to the fridge.”
I mosey my way into the kitchen. It’s small, but intimately cozy, and very, very tidy. There isn’t a single dish in the sink, and the granite countertops look wiped down to perfection. He has a tea towel hanging on the stove, and I’m not surprised to see that it’s Christmas themed.
Seeing all the touches of Christmas through the area makes me smile. Kevin didn’t even bother putting a tree up, and he wouldn’t have never bothered to swap out towels or hang a holiday themed wreath on the door. I practically had to beg him to let me decorate his home for Christmas last year when my family came to visit, and those decorations had to be tactful and elegant to fit the vibe of his home.
Spencer has gingerbread men decor, small reindeer and cute little snowmen decorations placed in random nooks and crannies throughout the kitchen. It’s absolutely adorable, and makes me curious to see what else he has throughout the house.
I turn on the Keurig and wait for it to warm up. As I wait, I pull two holiday mugs from the cabinet. One is green and shaped like a Christmas tree, the other is a white snowman. I giggle out loud at the thought of him using these on a daily basis.
“What’s so funny?”
I jump and turn to find him perched on a barstool that I missed when I came in. He’s removed his hoodie, and has a fitted black v-neck on in lue of it. The sight of him makes my mouth go dry, and instead of answering him, I sheepishly hold up the two mugs.
“Mom got those for me last Christmas at the market. They make excellent hot chocolate mugs.”
“Can I use them for coffee?” I ask and look down at both of them, pretending to inspect them thoroughly as an excuse to take my eyes off him.
“I don’t see why not,” is all he says in response.
Turning away from him, I quickly make both cups and place the snowman one on the bar in front of him. He grins as he gets up and opens the fridge, then pulls out a bottle of creamer with the Grinch on it. He shakes it, then pours a generous amount into his mug before offering it to me. I take it, and snort when I see that it’s flavored ‘Snickerdoodle Cookie’, and pour a much smaller amount into my own mug.
He opens the drawer behind me, and I stiffen when he places his hand softly on my hip, moving me aside gently so he can grab a spoon. He stirs the creamer into his own coffee, then sticks the spoon in his mouth. Walking over to the sink, he pulls it from his mouth and starts to place it in the sink, then he turns back around and sticks that same spoon intomycup, stirring it gently, then placing it into the sink.
My eyes don’t leave him as I watch him sit back on the barstool and take a small sip of his own coffee. He winks at me when he catches me staring at him, and in a panic, I swallow a large, scalding hot gulp of my own.
Why the hell was that so damn sexy? I’m practically salivating at the idea of his mouth anywhere near my coffee. I’m also trying not to cough up a lung, as it’s on fire thanks to my stupidity.
“Alright, let’s do it,” he says out of nowhere.
This time I do cough up some of my coffee, but I catch it all in the sleeve of my jacket before looking at him in shock. “Excuse me! Do what?”
He reaches over and hands me a napkin and I happily take it from him. Our hands brush and that electric shock feeling comes back, forcing me to yank my hand away quickly before I give in and pounce on the man.
“Let’s build this snow-fort. Have any ideas? I figured since there aren’t ‘technically’ any rules, we can pretty much get away with anything, but it has to be better than everyone else's to win,” he blows into his coffee and takes another sip. “And Pheebs,” I look up at him and melt a little when I seemysmile plastered on his face. “We are in it to win it. So let’s build the best damn snow-fort our parents have ever seen.”
He holds his snowman mug out, and I clink my Christmas tree mug to his.
I will not fall for Spencer Larson.
I cannot fall for Spencer Larson.
Dammit, I might be falling for Spencer-freaking-Larson.
Chapter Fourteen
Spencer
WhenIwokeupthis morning, I had no idea that my night would end up with Phoebe snuggled next to me in front of our small fire, cooking pigs in a blanket, skewer style.
We spent the day as a companionable team, jotting down ideas for this task, and running to town for supplies and lunch. We haven’t talked about our almost kiss, and I still owe her a giant apology and explanation. The apology I can do–the explanation though is a bit trickier. I really need to talk to Piper soon. But right now, Piper has no place with us in front of our tent.
Yes, I said tent. Since our parents didn’t give us any real rules for this, we improvised the best we could without actually having to freeze to death. I fully expected Phoebe to be inside, warm and toasty by the fire. But she’s tougher and more stubborn than I remember her being. She’s said no countless times to my attempts to get her to go inside, and rolled her feisty green eyes even more.
I feel like we totally cheated, but when our parents came by to judge our poor attempt at a snow-fort, they didn’t say anything to elude to it being the greatest thing they’ve ever seen–or the worst.
