It was now or never.
I had to make my move.
Cade
Aiden stepped closer and leaned down – and claimed my mouth with his own.
I found myself melting, closing my eyes into his kiss. It felt like the world was spinning around us, like we were the earth’s axis, like nothing else out there mattered at all. I distantly heard some kind of whooping and noises of surprise, but it was like it was happening far away to someone else. I didn’t care.
The only thing I cared about was Aiden.
I let go of his hand only so I could put my arms around his neck. He pulled me close against him as he kissed me, one arm looped around my waist and the other hand cradling the side of my face. In his arms, everything else faded away. Avalanche? What avalanche?
I had Aiden. That was all that mattered.
My stomach flipped around inside of me, electricity sparking through all of my veins.
I had Aiden. I really had him.
When we finally broke contact, noise and light and color flooded in around me once more – and I realized we’d done all that right in front of my family. Not to mention Aiden’s parents.
There probably couldn’t have been a more awkward time to choose.
Aiden looked up at Caleb and gave an awkward chuckle. “Uh, so, man…”
“Look,” Caleb said flatly, folding his arms over his chest. Aiden was big, but Caleb was still just that little bit bigger. And when he was in protective big brother mode, I could swear he managed to put on an extra inch. “If you do anything to hurt my baby bro – I meananything…”
“I’ll be strung up on the goalpost overnight for Coach to find me in the morning?” I suggested.
Caleb narrowed his eyes. “Naked,” he added. “And I’ll beat your ass first.”
“That sounds fair,” I nodded. “So long as you’re not going to kill me for, uh. You know. Just being with him.”
Caleb sighed. “Fortunately for you, he appears to be smiling like an idiot, so it looks like I’m going to have to be okay with that part.”
I turned my head, looking at the others who had been with us. They were all watching with various expressions of surprise or – in the case of Keaton – what I could only describe as glee. Somewhere behind us, Brody had already limped away back to his car. I heard an engine start up – the throaty, overpowered engine of a stupid muscle car, the kind that no one else would be stupid enough to bring to a mountain – and knew he was gone for good.
I took a half-step forward into Aiden’s arms, burying my head in his chest as his arms came around me again properly.
And it felt so good.
“Congratulations, man,” Olly said, slapping Aiden on the back. Apparently, that opened the floodgates, because suddenly everyone else around us was offering statements of support or asking questions.
“I need to know everything,” Keaton told me with shining eyes. “I have a feeling this is going to be the greatest love story I’ve ever heard.”
I laughed, a little madness taking over. We’d gone from the darkest depths of the avalanche to bright sunshine and fresh air, and I wasn’t even sure if this was real or if I was having a really great dream that was going to be absolutely terrible to wake up from.
“Later,” I said, still clinging to Aiden. Now I knew I could have him out here, too, I didn’t want to let go. I never wanted to let go of him again. “I think we need hot food. And showers. And clean clothes.”
“I think we can manage that,” Mom said. “Let’s get you boys back to the hotel.”
“Just please, for the love of god, no chips,” Aiden groaned. “And I think I might have been put off fruit for quite a while, too.”
“And I need something to drink that isn’t just water,” I added as we all began to walk again as a group. The news cameras had all but packed away, apparently realizing that their footage was going to be ruined by underhanded tactics if they tried to take any more. “Maybe a nice calming tea.”
Aiden chuckled. “That sounds like your style,” he said.
“Why, what do you want? Hair of the dog?”
