I've seen snow before. Plenty of times. But this is different. This is snow like a blanket, snow that's transformed the landscape into something alien and beautiful.
"Wow," I breathe.
"Yeah."
Jake is watching me watch the snow. When I glance at him, he looks away.
We trudge toward the driveway. Or where the driveway should be. It's buried under at least three feet of white.
"That's going to be fun to dig out," I say.
"We'll manage."
The path is narrow, tamped down by Jake's earlier trips outside. We walk single file, me behind him, stepping in his footprints.
We're about halfway down when it happens.
I step on a patch of ice hidden under the snow. My foot goes out from under me, and I have just enough time to thinkthis is going to hurtbefore I'm falling.
But I don't hit the ground.
Jake turns at my yelp, and suddenly his arms are around me, catching me mid-fall. He pulls me upright, and the momentum carries me forward, into his chest.
We freeze.
I'm pressed against him from knee to shoulder. His arms are locked around my waist. My hands are fisted in the front of his jacket. We're both breathing hard. Mine from the near-fall, his from... something else.
"You okay?" His voice is rough.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm—"
I look up.
He's so close. Inches away. I can see the individual snowflakes caught in his eyelashes, the fog of his breath in the cold air.
"Madison," he says.
It sounds like a warning. It sounds like a prayer.
"Yeah?"
"Tell me to let go."
I should. I know I should. We've been dancing around this for two days, and the smart thing—the sensible thing—would be to step back and laugh it off and pretend my heart isn't trying to beat out of my chest.
But I'm tired of being sensible.
"No," I say.
And he kisses me.
His mouth is cold from the winter air, but it warms fast. I make a sound—surprise, maybe, or relief—and then I’m kissing him back, his hand sliding up to cup the back of my head.
He kisses like he does everything else. Deliberate. Intense. Like I'm the only thing in the world worth paying attention to.
I forget about the cold. Forget about the snow. Forget about everything except the taste of him and the way his fingers tangle in my hair. The way this kiss feels unlike any kiss I’ve had before.
When we finally break apart, we're both gasping.
