Snow in Love (12 page)

I

The morning after Tiffany shrieked into the night, I was in the middle of my normal angsty routine at Snow Cones with Erin and Abby when there arrived a dozen roses. Abby clapped her hands. Erin cast a doubtful eye over the entire scene.

They were from Jake, with a card that said that he had a lot to make up for.

Erin wanted to know what seventeen-year-old sent roses, but I ignored her.

We were officially back together that afternoon.

He broke up with Evie the way he should have broken up with me. Face-to-face, with no kissing and no mixed messages. This made me feel only slightly better, though when he told me that she was going back to Boise with her father early, I felt terrible all over again.

We returned to the way we’d been over the years. We spent our days skiing and our afternoons lingering at the Mountain Diner or some such place. We talked about taking a trip to Glacier National Park in the summer, we talked about going to college together, we talked about his father wanting to move to Willow Hill full-time.

The only difference was in me. I kept looking for Will, despite my best intentions to let my silly crush go. Each time I caught sight of him, he was either surrounded by a flock of blond freshmen or teaching out-of-towners the finer points of leaping into the air with your snowboard. The one time he caught my eye, he brought his finger to his brow in a salute.

“You can’t just break up with him without saying anything!” Abby scolded me one morning while we were looking up Facebook pages in my room.

“I’m not dumping anybody! We weren’t together!”

I hated when Abby thought ill of me, but she had every reason to. I was avoiding actually talking to Will because I wanted to pretend that I didn’t care about him at all. If I talked to him, my stomach would flip and then I’d know I was lying to myself. But by not talking to him, I was essentially doing to him what Jake had done to me. Breakup by silent treatment.

Then there was the matter of the dance. Abby refused my requests to rent a tuxedo for Jake. She claimed she didn’t have the time to take his measurements.

So the next day, I went to visit Erin at work.

“What’s up?” she said, eating carrot sticks behind the counter. “You’ve got about five minutes before Mean Agnes shows up here with a broomstick, shooing you out.”

“Is Will around?”

Erin’s eyes widened. “I’ll get him here.” She whipped out her cell phone and texted him.

“What, he jumps when you call?”

“Something like that.”

I grabbed a carrot stick and chewed it thoughtfully. “Erin, is Will like a brother to you?”

“Huh?”

“It’s just, I don’t understand why you don’t want to date him.”

Erin shrugged her shoulders. “It’s like, I don’t get that butterfly feeling when I look at him. You know?”

I looked at her. I did know.

Just then, Will bounded into the lodge. “Needed me, doll cakes?” he said to Erin before he spotted me. He slowed his steps and even looked like he was surprised to see me. The butterflies Erin had just mentioned were now flying around like caged birds in my stomach.

He looked good. His hair was sweaty and his face was red. I suddenly couldn’t catch my breath.

Erin grimaced at him. “Not me. Her.” She pointed at me, and then warned, “Take it outside. I’m not filing any more of Agnes’s stupid receipts from the 1980s.”

“Okay, okay.” Then he took my arm and tried to lead me out the door. “Ice cream on you?”

“Yeah, okay.”

We walked to Snow Cones and he waited in a booth while I piled all his favorite flavors into the biggest dish I could find. When I put it in front of him, he ate half of it before saying anything. I was about to scream when he finally looked at me. “I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy.”

“I’ve noticed.”

I didn’t say anything.

“I was waiting for our fake breakup.” He smiled at me and the butterflies started flying again.

“Will,” I exhaled. He put his spoon down and looked at me. I noticed that his eyes were blue and quite serious. He was holding his breath too.

“Yeah?”

“Um. I know I haven’t talked to you since the trip and all, but about the dance—”

“You’re going with Jake, I know.”

“No!”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Well, the tux is rented, and Abby altered it to fit you.”

He blinked. “So you still want to go together?”

“Um. Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

He looked at me. “What about the guy?”

“He understands. He’s not going now, because he broke up with Evie and everything.”

“Hmmm.”

“Listen, I know I’ve asked so much of you this break—”

“It’s this important for you girls to show up Sabrina?”

My mouth fell open. “How’d you know?”

“Please. It’s not really a secret how much you three hate her.”

I bit my lip. When Will said that, it made us sound like horrible, horrid human beings. “Well, whether we win or not, Abby worked really hard on these outfits. I don’t want to disappoint her.”

He leaned back and rested his arms on the edge of the booth. “I’ll take you. No worries.” Then he climbed from the booth and walked out of the shop without a backward glance.

T

Abby swept my hair up off my neck, and Erin handed me the prettiest pair of diamond earrings I’d ever seen.

“Those are
yours
?” Abby shrieked when she saw them.

Erin smirked. “You two know so little about me.”

Once my transformation was complete, the three of us made a dramatic exit, descending down my stairs as if we were Mary Poppins traveling by fluffy white cloud. When she saw me, my mother began to cry.

My father took pictures, then drove us over to the resort. My dress barely fit into the cab of the truck.

“What’s wrong with that kid anyway? You should be picked up. I should be met with.” My father was snarling.

“Dad, it’s just easier this way,” I replied, nudging Abby in her side to stop her laughter. Erin had left us early, to make sure all the decorations in the resort ballroom met with Mean Agnes’s approval.

“That kid’s just a big softy. Can’t even talk to the father of the girl he’s dancing with?”

“Dad, I told you, I’m going with Will, not Jake.”

My father took his eyes off the road for two seconds to catch my eye. “Oh. In that case, it’s all good.”

Now Abby’s laughter was threatening to spill out of her.

“Dad, that’s a double standard.”

“No, it’s not. I know that kid can take care of himself and therefore can take care of you. I don’t think Soft Jake could get himself out of a jam, if you know what I mean.”

I didn’t, actually, know what he meant.

My father pulled up to the resort and put the gear in park. Then he descended from the cab, came over to my side, and opened the door for me.

“You do look very pretty, honey,” he whispered, bending low so I could hear him. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered back.

“Not too late. If you’re not back by eleven, I’m coming in with my shotgun.” This, unfortunately, he didn’t whisper.

Once he hopped back into his truck and sped off, Abby finally let out her breath. “I don’t think that was a joke.”

“No,” I agreed as I tried to adjust the sleeves of the dress. I was wearing a white faux-fur-lined wrap that Abby had sewn to go with the ensemble, and it was remarkably warm. “You should sell these,” I said to her, twirling the cape around so she knew what I was talking about. “It’s warmer than Will Parker’s coat!”

“Yeah?” Abby grinned. She stood back and admired me. “I can’t believe how pretty you are! People are staring!”

I turned from her and for the first time noticed the stream of dressed-up couples pouring through the resort’s front gate. And Abby was right. As they walked by, they nodded appreciatively at me.

“You should be really proud.” I clutched her hand.

Abby squeezed and prodded me into another twirl. The cape fanned out as I did. “Even if you don’t win, I feel really good about this!”

“You should. You should be really, really proud!”

“Wow.”

The two of us turned to the sound of the voice, which came from behind Abby. Cam Brock stood near the resort’s front entrance with his buddy Jay.

“Whitman, look at you!” Cam exclaimed.

I blushed and put my head down. “Thanks,” I said. Abby was suddenly obsessed with my shoes.

“Oh, hey, Abby,” Cam said, shoving his hands into his black tuxedo pockets.

There was a moment of silence, so to save us all, I said, “No coat? You cold?”

“Nah,” he said. “Like it?” He held out the edges of his jacket to display his threads. Abby kept her head down. My heart was breaking for her.

“Yeah, um, well, we should go inside,” I said. “Have you seen Will?”

He gestured to the parking lot. “His truck is here. He’s probably inside.”

“Okay, well—”

“Yeah, I gotta go pick up—” He shoved his hands back in his pockets, and Jay punched his arm.

“You’re lame, man.”

“Shut up.” He punched him back. Boys had a way of punching each other when they should have been expressing their feelings. Cam had some serious nerve making conversation with us, and the deepening shade of red on Abby’s face made me more determined than ever to stomp all over Sabrina’s heart by winning this contest.

“Anyway. See you guys. Bye, Ab,” he said. She still hadn’t looked up. Finally he walked away, around to the parking lot.

She stepped closer to me and clutched my arm. “I wish he’d forget I existed. It’d be easier that way.”

I rubbed her arm in support and then promptly became distracted. There, in the doorway, stood Will Parker, in a black tuxedo jacket and black tie with a white rose in his lapel. His hair looked angelic against the black. His skin was tan. My stomach was on the floor. I chanted a new mantra in my head:
Jake. Jake. Jake.

He began to walk toward us and then I saw that Erin was with him. She wore a black hooded sweatshirt—the hood was up over her head—and a pair of dark corduroy pants. Her hair was in two long pigtailed braids. When she saw me, she jumped up and down and clapped. “You’re pretty!”

“Thanks,” I muttered. I was concentrating on restoring my breath. I couldn’t remember ever seeing Will in anything other than snow boots or sneakers.

He didn’t say anything when he joined our group. Erin looked from him to me and back to him, then nudged my arm. “Okay. Well, do plenty of things I wouldn’t do. Come on, Ab. I’m going to sneak you in through the cafeteria.”

Abby grasped my arms as if to hug me, but then just shook me a little. Then the two of them left me and Will out there in the entryway.

He handed me three stalks of lilies. I hadn’t noticed that he was holding them. His hand closed over mine when I reached for them. “Here.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Really.”

“Okay,” I said. Suddenly I had an attack of Abby-itis. I couldn’t look at him, for some reason, and my stomach felt all flighty again.

With that, he crooked his elbow and held it out for me. “Want to go break some hearts?”

I looked up and seeing him made me smile. I took his arm, and he escorted me inside.

I’d never seen the interior of the resort look like this. Gone were the couches and tables and descending lamps. In place of the normal furniture was a pristine ballroom all in white: white drapes, white settees, white tablecloths. The lighting was soft, there was a band playing songs—I noticed Jay up there playing bass; he gave us a thumbs-up.

Half of the crowd danced and the other half lounged on a back patio that had been opened and lit up with hundreds of lights. The slopes were lit up too, serving as the most beautiful backdrop imaginable. It looked like something out of a television show.

Will kept hold of my elbow as we walked along the periphery of the room. “Dance or mingle?”

“Um.” The thought of dancing with him made my heart speed up. I ground down on my teeth and tried to picture Jake’s face.

“I say dance,” Will continued, oblivious to my distress. “That way people can get a load of how awesome we look, and maybe they’ll drop out of the contest.”

“You’re devious,” I said, smiling.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Then he steered me to the floor. Jay gave us another thumbs-up sign, and Will held up his hands as if to tell him to give us a break.

Then the band busted into a slow song. Will swept me into his body and the butterflies in my stomach transformed into full-on flying birds. His hand was on my back, and I couldn’t breathe so easy. So I rested my head on his shoulder. From my perch there, I could breathe easier.

“Whitman,” Will said, his voice quiet.

“Yeah?” I raised my head and looked him in the eye, and then had to avert my gaze.

“I’m going to spin you a hundred and eighty degrees. Look against the wall.”

Sabrina and Cam stood on the outskirts of the floor, not dancing and not looking very happy. In fact Sabrina’s arms were crossed and she was glaring in the direction of the dance floor. Will continued to move us in a circle, which was good thinking because it didn’t look like I was spying on Sabrina, which, of course, I was. When we rounded back in the proper direction, I realized that she was glaring at us.

“She’s angry!” I whisper-shouted.

“Yep. And
I’m
the devious one. You are now officially evil.”

I looked back at him. “It’s not the costume, you know, it’s you.”

He looked to Sabrina and then looked at me. “She’s not my type.”

“I realize that.”

His eyebrow went up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Then he spun me around and dipped me. When he brought me back up I laughed. “That’ll get her.”

“See? Devious.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I have my moments. Besides I’m tired of her. She’s not that nice to Cam, and I gotta stick up for my boy.”

When we twirled back around, Sabrina and Cam were gone. I spotted them around the corner at a table serving refreshments. She was saying something to him, with her arms crossed and her face contorted. He didn’t seem to be paying attention. He ladled a cup of punch and handed it to her. She slammed it down on the table, spun on her heel, and stalked away to where Stephanie and Hannah were conspiring in a corner.

Will continued to twirl me and I continued to people-watch. “I like being on the floor like this! I can take it all in.”

“Yeah, well, I need a break, twinkle toes.” Then he dipped me again. I couldn’t help myself. I was giggling. He raised me up, and he smiled at me.

We walked to the edge of the room, where Erin and Abby were poking their heads out of a shimmery white curtain.

“You guys are
so
going to win!” Abby squealed.

“Shut up!” Erin poked her in the ribs. “We’re going to get nailed for crashing.”

Just then a coworker of hers passed us and waved to her. “Hey, Erin!”

“You guys aren’t exactly invisible,” I said. “Anyone can see you.”

“Forget it, then.” Erin stepped out from the curtain and pulled Abby out too.

“Did you like my moves?” Will asked Erin.

“You’re a regular Fred Astaire,” she responded glibly.

“Come on. Dance. I dare you.”

Abby and I began chanting, “Do it. Do it.”

But just then, a whirlwind of light blue attacked Will. “Dance with me!” Sabrina shouted.

Will wasn’t expecting a full-on assault, so he staggered back from the force of her hug. Once he realized what was happening, he peeled her hands from around his neck and pushed her away. “Sabrina, hey.”

Sabrina didn’t even look at the three of us girls. “Will. Dance with me,” she commanded.

Will, for once, was a little speechless.

Erin, as ever, was not. “Sorry, Sabrina. He’s with us.”

Erin removed the hood from her head, shot us a look, and walked to the middle of the dance floor, where she held out her arm as she waited for Will to join her.

He ran to her.

Sabrina’s face turned twelve shades of red. I thought she might cry. Then she spun on her heel and stalked off to the girls’ room.

“I can’t believe her. She’s going to get fired!” Abby gushed as we watched Erin on the dance floor.

“A little fun will do her good,” I responded.

Will spun her around, and Erin laughed while she danced. It was nice to see her so smiley, and I realized that Will probably had thought the same thing, which was why he had asked her to dance in the first place.

“Oh!”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“You said ‘Oh’ out loud.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You did.”

I didn’t know how to put into words what I had just realized. How to explain a moment that has no rhyme or reason to it? But watching Will Parker in a suit, knowing he was doing me a favor, watching him goad Erin into smiles, for the first time I had a real notion that he
did
care about some things.

But luckily I didn’t have to explain this to Abby, because at that moment, Cam Brock appeared before us. His face was ashen and his hands were in his pockets like they always were. “Hey, Abby,” he said.

“You want something to drink?” she asked me. “I’m going to get something to drink.” And then she tried to walk away, but Cam reached out and grabbed her arm. This surprised her. And me.

“Sorry,” he said, letting her go.

“I’ll get it,” I said. “Drinks all around.” Abby’s face looked petrified at the notion of being left alone with him, but it seemed fairly clear to me that he wanted to talk to her.

As I walked to the refreshment table, I turned to spy on them, to make sure that our poor Abby was holding her own. What I saw shocked me. He was leading her to the dance floor! Her face looked dazed, but happy. Then Erin waved her arm in the air, which caught my attention. Once we locked eyes, she pointed at Cam and Abby and made a happy face.

I poured myself a glass of punch. It was red and sticky and sweet. As I drank, I watched my two best friends, dressed in casual black clothes, infiltrating the dance floor and having a wonderful time.