“Of course I’m angry. Angry and over your shit,” I say, and he smirks again. But I’m being serious. I just said shit, for crying out loud.
“Okay, so let’s talk,” he says, and I glare at him.
“I’m not talking to you,” I say. “I have nothing to say to you anymore. Now if you’ll get out of my way–”
I try to go around him, but he steps in front of my door.
“Excuse me,” I snap. “You’re blocking my way.”
“I know I’m blocking your way. I want to talk to you, Charlotte,” he says.
“Did you not hear me?” I ask, stepping closer, although I feel kind of silly. He dwarfs me, but I’m not budging. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Yeah well, I’ve spent so much time with my head up my ass that I’ve got a lot of things I should probably say to you,” he says, refusing to get out of my way.
“Gavin,” I snap.
“Charlotte, you can’t leave,” he cuts me off. I laugh, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What are you going to do?” I ask. “Stop me?”
His smirk twists a little further. “Is that a challenge?” he asks. The next thing I know, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
“Oh, my god! Gavin! Gavin! What are you doing?” I cry out, smacking him on the back. But Gavin just starts walking towards the slopes. “Gavin, where are you taking me? Put me down! Gavin!”
“If you’re not going to talk to me, then I’m just going to have to make you listen to what I have to say,” he says.
“I swear if you don’t put me down–” I argue, kicking and screaming.
“Oh, shut up,” he says and my mouth pops open.
“What did you just say to me?!” I snap as he plops me down on the ski lift. Then he pushes the button and hops on.
“You are out of your mind,” I tell him as we ascend the slope. “Certified crazy!”
“The only crazy thing is that I didn’t talk to you sooner,” Gavin says.
“You’re right. And your time is up.”
“I believe I have about ten minutes unless you plan on jumping ship,” he says.
“Oh, you mean the way you’ve jumped ship?” I ask, and his eyes dart down to my belly.
“Charlotte…listen. I was wrong,” he says gently as we glide up the mountain.
“About what?” I ask.
“About everything. I reacted the way I did because I was shocked,” he says. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn’t just shocked. I used the fact that you lied to me to run away from what I was really feeling. My feelings for you,” he says.
“Feelings for me?” I ask softly. Because that is not what I was expecting. An apology maybe. An excuse even. But not a confession. My heart speeds up in my chest, and I bite my lip.
“Surely you know that,” he says. “I was afraid. But after thinking about it more, I understand why you kept it from me. I understand that you must’ve been overwhelmed with everything,”
“I was,” I say guardedly.
“And you must’ve been so scared,” he says.
I swallow, but keep my tone the same. “I was.”
