Cole
It’sunrealtothinkhow, after all these years of pining, my best friend is finallymine.
It’s taken fifteen years and dozens of letters for me to confess, and even then it was only because she forced my hand. Noelle’s always been braver than me, and I’ve never been more grateful. The ice might be my battlefield, but the world is her domain. I’m just living in it.
She’s in my arms, watching the ever-changing skies from our bed.Ourbed—what a fucking blessing it is I get to say that. That she trusts me enough to stay, to let me love her the way she deserves to be loved. We’re not out of the woods, but we can see the light.
Outside, the storm has died down. The wind no longer howls through the mountains, the skies blue and clear of snow. It looks like a perfect winter’s day, but any fun is smothered by the snow piled high enough to be trouble.
I can’t bring myself to care about any of it. With Noelle in my arms, her body curled into the crook of mine, the snow could bury us for all I care. I would die without a single regret. Allthose years of yearning to be with her, of tears and heartbreak while trying to get over her and searching for her in every model’s bed. It was worth it for us to end up here. Together.
My lips brush the soft skin on her shoulder, tracing a pattern between the freckles on her skin. “What are you thinking about?”
“Trying to guess how hard it would be to get to the café,” Noelle confesses. “I need to see the damage for myself.”
I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Noelle, after all she’s been through, has to have her life raft of independence; without it, she could never settle. But I hoped it would be a few more days before I had to even think about putting us both in danger like that again.
My girl is too stubborn for her own good. “It won’t be pretty. Especially after the second half of that storm.”
After I got home, the winds picked up faster than before, so odds are the rest of her roof is gone now, too. Not to mention the fresh snow that came with it. There is no telling what kind of damage happened after I left there. I can only hope the café made it out unscathed.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s my house, my home. I…I need to know,” Noelle sighs, her worry evident in her voice.
I want to tell her not to do it. That the roads are too dangerous even with the plowing, that the risk of injury is too big to try. And that would not even be a lie. But that’s not the real reason I don’t want her to do this.
I’m worried seeing her apartment in ruins will trigger her thoughts of depending on me. That she will forget everything we said last night and see me like one of the deadbeats her mother dates, holding a roof over her head to get what I want. I’m afraid it will ruin us before we’ve had a chance to begin.
Still, I know there is no changing Noelle’s mind once she’s made her choice. Either I get on board and make sure she stayssafe doing it, or she will slip out and do it herself no matter the risk. And with her emotions as big as they are, rational thought might be hard to find once she steps foot inside that place.
“Okay,” I sigh. I wipe a hand across my face, trying to force myself to leave our little nest and risk it all. “We’ll go after breakfast. But you will follow my lead, and we will go back home the moment it gets too dangerous.”
Noelle snorts, and though I can’t see her face I know she’s rolling her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
I groan when her words go right to my groin, leaving me hard and twitching as I press into her skin. I bet she’s doing it on purpose now that she knows it drives me wild. “You’ve got to stop doing that.”
Don’t stop. Keep doing it forever, if it means you’ll stay.
“What’s wrong?” Noelle asks, innocent as a dove, batting her long eyelashes as she looks up at me. She leans back, dragging herself up and down my hard shaft, feeling the effect her words have on me. “I thought you liked being in charge? Your body seems to think so, anyway.”
I grin at her thinly veiled attempt at provoking me. In a second I’ve got her flipped over, my hands on either side of her head to pin her in place. My honey-sweet love is such a little brat. Maybe I should remind her what happens when she acts out like that.
“Yeah? Let’s put it to the test, see if you’re right,” I say. “Spread your legs.”
Chaos and destruction surrounds us the moment we drive into town.
The roads have been plowed, making them somewhat safe to drive but blocking the sidewalks, forcing everyone who dared toleave their house to walk on the road. Looking around, it’s clear that this storm has wrecked more than any storm I’ve seen. So many people are out in the streets assessing their homes and businesses, eyes full of tears and faces of disbelief.
I keep my hand gripped on the steering wheel, the other on Noelle’s thigh. I shake my head. “I don’t think you’re the only one with terrible luck.”
“This is terrible. Shelters will be crowded for a long time, I’m guessing. And contractors will be hard to come by.”
“Not if you have money,” I say with a smile, but she doesn’t mirror it. I slow down the car as we approach the square, giving her time to reconsider her choice. “Better prepare yourself. Your street is coming up.”
We pull up across the street, the damage clear as day. A pained gasp rips from Noelle’s throat as she looks up at the remnants of her home—nothing I said could have prepared her for this.
In the soft light of a milky sun the damage is more obvious than last time. Other parts of the roof caved, effectively turning her cozy apartment into a rooftop patio. The glass from her windows covers the sidewalk in thousands of tiny shards, along with a few of her things that sat on nearby dressers and side tables.
There is nothing to be salvaged here.
