way through the scenery, I followed more slowly, sniffing the air and checking the ground for new prints. Today I sensed nothing unnatural and my mood lightened by the minute. "Erik?"
He turned, his camera in hand. I hurled a snowball that just missed it and splattered full on his face. His expression was so shocked that I lost it--big mistake. Before I could catch my breath, two snowballs slammed me, one in my hair, the other square in the middle of my chest. I staggered back. He hooted.
Game on!
Scooping up another handful of the fluffy stuff, I flung it at him. He turned at the last minute, which meant it barely grazed his shoulder. Payback was swift, deadly, and close-up. Erik charged and smashed a handful of snow right in my face, making sure he ground it into my eyes, nose and mouth. Gasping, I tried to retaliate, but found myself flat on my back in eight inches of snow.
How had that happened? Erik hadn't even moved.
Laughing like a doofus , he pounced, straddling my middle while he heaped handful after handful of snow on my frozen face and neck. Sputtering, I tried to fight back. It was pointless. He had me.
"You win!" I squealed, slapping him away. "Stop! Stop!"
Giving me a smug grin, he got to his feet. I instantly leapt to mine and started pounding him all over again--giant handfuls of unpacked snow that covered him in powder where it hit him. Erik leapt forward with a battle cry. Before I could retreat, he had me in a headlock with my right arm immobilized behind me.
" Ow !"
He let me go. "Did that hurt? Sorry. I forgot all about your being sore."
I stuck my tongue out. "Fooled ya ! I'm actually fine."
Erik started laughing. With his eyes twinkling and that wicked smile, he had to be the hottest guy on the planet, if not the world. My heart sort of swooped in my chest, a purely physical reaction that didn't stop there. I was a little startled by the intense feelings bombarding me. I'd never wanted to kiss a boy as much as I now wanted to kiss him.
His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Nothing." Everything. I shook my head, but couldn't shake off my sudden desire for him.
"Sure I didn't hurt you?"
"Positive." I began brushing snow off my clothing.
Erik did the same, his gaze on me the whole time.
"Sorry I distracted you from your work," I said.
"We probably needed the break." With a half smile, he checked out his camera, which had a few droplets of melted snow on it, but otherwise looked okay. Erik took off through the woods again.
I kept up and actually ran ahead every now and then to check out a particularly beautiful tree or fallen limb. The pine trees really caught my eye as did anything with berries, and more than once I framed a shot with my thumbs and forefingers before motioning to Erik to come shoot something especially pretty.
We didn't head back to the house until after 2:00. While he downloaded recent photos onto his PC, I made turkey sandwiches. That's when I noticed that he was really low on supplies, something a quick peek into his pantry verified. "Why don't we get groceries this afternoon?"
Lost in his task, Erik barely acknowledged that I'd spoken. "Okay."
"You do have a car or something, right?"
He pointed towards the rear of the cabin and a closed door I hadn't really noticed.
I walked straight back and discovered a tiny room that held the washing machine and dryer. Spotting another door, I opened it and saw Erik's back yard. Parked in it was an older model Jeep Cherokee covered in snow. When I turned back, my gaze landed on the washing machine again. I checked out the brand, knowing I had some internet research to do before I could help him fix the thing. Hopefully it wouldn't be so complicated that we couldn't follow directions.
When Erik eventually tore himself away from his computer, we ate. While he tossed paper plates in the trash, I took his seat and surfed the net long enough to find a step-by-step how to that I thought would do the trick. I also read the directions on
He turned, his camera in hand. I hurled a snowball that just missed it and splattered full on his face. His expression was so shocked that I lost it--big mistake. Before I could catch my breath, two snowballs slammed me, one in my hair, the other square in the middle of my chest. I staggered back. He hooted.
Game on!
Scooping up another handful of the fluffy stuff, I flung it at him. He turned at the last minute, which meant it barely grazed his shoulder. Payback was swift, deadly, and close-up. Erik charged and smashed a handful of snow right in my face, making sure he ground it into my eyes, nose and mouth. Gasping, I tried to retaliate, but found myself flat on my back in eight inches of snow.
How had that happened? Erik hadn't even moved.
Laughing like a doofus , he pounced, straddling my middle while he heaped handful after handful of snow on my frozen face and neck. Sputtering, I tried to fight back. It was pointless. He had me.
"You win!" I squealed, slapping him away. "Stop! Stop!"
Giving me a smug grin, he got to his feet. I instantly leapt to mine and started pounding him all over again--giant handfuls of unpacked snow that covered him in powder where it hit him. Erik leapt forward with a battle cry. Before I could retreat, he had me in a headlock with my right arm immobilized behind me.
" Ow !"
He let me go. "Did that hurt? Sorry. I forgot all about your being sore."
I stuck my tongue out. "Fooled ya ! I'm actually fine."
Erik started laughing. With his eyes twinkling and that wicked smile, he had to be the hottest guy on the planet, if not the world. My heart sort of swooped in my chest, a purely physical reaction that didn't stop there. I was a little startled by the intense feelings bombarding me. I'd never wanted to kiss a boy as much as I now wanted to kiss him.
His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Nothing." Everything. I shook my head, but couldn't shake off my sudden desire for him.
"Sure I didn't hurt you?"
"Positive." I began brushing snow off my clothing.
Erik did the same, his gaze on me the whole time.
"Sorry I distracted you from your work," I said.
"We probably needed the break." With a half smile, he checked out his camera, which had a few droplets of melted snow on it, but otherwise looked okay. Erik took off through the woods again.
I kept up and actually ran ahead every now and then to check out a particularly beautiful tree or fallen limb. The pine trees really caught my eye as did anything with berries, and more than once I framed a shot with my thumbs and forefingers before motioning to Erik to come shoot something especially pretty.
We didn't head back to the house until after 2:00. While he downloaded recent photos onto his PC, I made turkey sandwiches. That's when I noticed that he was really low on supplies, something a quick peek into his pantry verified. "Why don't we get groceries this afternoon?"
Lost in his task, Erik barely acknowledged that I'd spoken. "Okay."
"You do have a car or something, right?"
He pointed towards the rear of the cabin and a closed door I hadn't really noticed.
I walked straight back and discovered a tiny room that held the washing machine and dryer. Spotting another door, I opened it and saw Erik's back yard. Parked in it was an older model Jeep Cherokee covered in snow. When I turned back, my gaze landed on the washing machine again. I checked out the brand, knowing I had some internet research to do before I could help him fix the thing. Hopefully it wouldn't be so complicated that we couldn't follow directions.
When Erik eventually tore himself away from his computer, we ate. While he tossed paper plates in the trash, I took his seat and surfed the net long enough to find a step-by-step how to that I thought would do the trick. I also read the directions on
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