Sianna
THREE DAYS AFTER THElibrary incident and kissing Drake in the observatory again, I found myself mentally tired. Like being caught between a rock and a hard place. Whichever side I pushed, it didn’t budge. Not an inch. As much as I tried to take everything in stride, I figured it would eventually wear me down, and I feared the outcome. Yet, I acted like the perfect girlfriend for Rayden's sake, enjoying my time with him and his family, counting the days until we went back home. Once there, I’d find a way to end my relationship. There would never be a positive outcome if we continued this way. As for Drake, I evaded him like the plague, but there was only so much I could do to prevent being caught in his presence.
Rayden finally coerced me into going back to the slopes earlier that morning, and I relented because it meant getting out of the house. Now, I glared at my annoying boyfriend. He was laughing after I fell for like the hundredth time. “I told you I couldn’t do this.” I tried to push the one size too big goggles from my eyes. “Correction. I’m not doing this.” Frustrated, I pulled off the goggles and unclipped the skis. “I’m done,” I muttered as Tamara and Kyra reached our side.
“You’re hopeless,” Rayden teased.
My hackles rose from failure and now being called useless. “Hopeless?” I screeched through gritted teeth, not in the least bit concerned by the onlookers laughing at us. Turning away, I crouched, scooped up as much snow as I could into a ball, and stood.
Rayden saw what was coming. His hands shot up, palms out. “Hey, babe, I’m so—”
I let the ball fly. Rayden ducked, and it connected with Drake’s face. Stunned, I slapped a hand to mouth. “Oh, shit.” I winced. He stood there speechless while the others broke into a fit of laughter. “Not funny,” I hissed at Rayden.
“OMG, dad, she got you good,” Kyra squealed, her body shaking with laughter.
I dropped my head, muttering a curse under my breath. When we arrived at the resort, I slowed my efforts to slip on my accessories. By the time I donned my gear, he was gone, racing down the slopes with his daughter and Tamara. Their skill and grace left me envious. Now, I pasted a smile on my face and lifted my head. “I’m so—” the abrupt smack to my stomach had me flat out on my ass in a second, and the breath knocked out of me. I gulped air in tiny gasps. It took a moment to realize a snowball had decked me.
“Jesus, Prin—Sianna.” I caught the quick correction as Drake’s handsome face filled my vision. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”
“You okay, babe.” Rayden crouched on the other side of me.
“I’m fine.” I pulled in a deep breath and sat up, squinting at Drake.
His face a concerned mask, he leaned closer. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Dad, I can’t believe you did that,” Kyra scolded.
“It’s okay, Kyra.” I laughed and stood with Rayden’s help. “It’s official. I suck at everything.”
“Not everything,” Drake said, then quickly added, “I’m sure.”
My gaze snapped to his, and something strange clicked into place. I knew what I missed in my life. Him. I possessed little in common with other people, given my need to keep to myself, and very few knew me well enough to understand me. But somehow, he did. Even if I intended to avoid him, I couldn’t deny it had only taken one night for him to see in me what others would take a lifetime to do. I smiled, and he returned the gesture.
“You want to give it another go?” Rayden slipped his arm around my waist.
I snagged Drake’s deep inhale and tensed jaw as he walked away. “No. Go. I’ll find something to entertain myself after I grab the ski lift to the bottom.”
“Are you sure, babe?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You guys have some fun. No sense in me keeping you.” I rubbed his arm. “I’ll see you down there.”
