He spun around, just in time to see Poppy with her arm pulled back, ready to smash a snowball in his face from a few yards away.
Before he could properly comprehend the situation, he found himself pouncing forward without conscious thought, his own snowball poised and at the ready…
And shoved it straight down the back of her jacket.
Poppy’s shriek was ear-splitting, sending birds in the trees scattering in all directions with a mad flapping of wings.
“Dammit!” she cried, helpless laughter cutting in between an assortment of rather heated curses. “You play dirty, you bastard!”
“And you don’t, with those deceptive tactics?” he said with a smile. “My face still hurts!”
“Sorry,” she said, only half-apologetically, as she twisted about, trying to get the snow out. “I used to be on the softball team when I was in school, so I guess I’ve had a bit of practice at throwing. I haven’t had a snowball fight since I was a kid, though.” She pulled her jacket off and then bent her arm behind her back, attempting to get the snow out from a different angle. “It barely ever snows at all where I live now. Sometimes we get slush.”
She sounded sad about that, and Max couldn’t say he blamed her. Now that he’d been introduced to the joys of a snowy winter, he wasn’t sure that he could go back.
Although, he had to admit, a lot of those joys were just down to the fact that it was time spent with Poppy. The two of them could be in the middle of the Sahara, and he’d probably think it was the greatest thing ever.
“Would you mind…?” Poppy said, flapping her shirt about – her very tight-fitting shirt, Max couldn’t help but notice. “You’re the one who put it there, so you’re the one who should get it out.”
Her breath hitched a little on the words, and Max couldn’t say he blamed her – he was feeling a bit flustered himself. Was she inviting him to stick his hand up her shirt?
“Uh, if you’re sure…?” he said, and she nodded, biting her lip.
How could he refuse?
She pulled the shirt out, and he slid his hand up under the warm fabric, trying not to touch her skin too much. She let out a little gasp as he brushed her back, and he murmured an apology, before reaching higher.
There really wasn’t that much snow left at this point, and he was starting to doubt whether shereallyneeded him to do this for her, but he dutifully brushed away the last little cold clumps. She shivered, and he didn’t think it was entirely from the cold.
“All done,” he said, his voice rough, and she lowered the shirt again.
She turned to face him, and he suddenly realized how close she was to him. Very, very close, in fact. And now, closer still, her lips parted slightly, breath coming fast.
He felt his own lips parting –
And then they were full of snow.
“You absolute monster!” he yelped – or he would have, if his mouth hadn’t been full of snow. It was more likeyhh mmbslm msshtm, which was probably for the best, really.
“Now we’re even,” she laughed, dancing back out of his immediate range, while he spat and hacked the snow from his mouth.
“We were already even!” he gasped, even as he laughed back. He didn’t think he’d ever been this happy in his life. He took a step toward her, and she took a step back, raising her hands in mock defensiveness.
“Well, we should let bygones be bygones, right?” she said with a smile, though she was starting to look a little nervous.
“Bygones?” he said with a grin, crouching down into a more predatory stance. “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
On the wordrevenge,he pounced forward, grabbing Poppy around the waist and gently tossing her into the soft, deep snow. She shrieked with surprise and delight, laughing breathlessly as he landed above her, hands on either side of her head and legs on either side of her body. Her chest rose and fell with exertion, creating quite the distraction, but mostly he just wanted to stare into her eyes, feel the warmth of her breath on his face.
Kiss her, you idiot.
Her eyes seemed to be conveying the same sentiment, and so he leaned down, lips starting to brush against hers –
And then thecrack!of someone stepping on a branch had him leaping to his feet before he could even process the sound, Poppy following only a moment later.
An instinct he’d never been aware of before had him shielding her with his body, arms out. If they were in danger, then he was happy to put his life on the line for her.
“Hello?” called out a voice. “I’m sorry, am I disturbing you?”
