I back up the hill, grinning like a lunatic. “You bought the belt, not the key.”
“I’m going to pretend that I’m not in metaphorical hell and—”
Smack! I hurl another snowball at him. It hits his cheek and explodes into powder.
“You talk too much,” I giggle and start grabbing snow and throwing snowballs as fast as I can.
Sean doesn’t hesitate. He runs up the pile of snow in his black suit and tailored black coat. He runs up the hill so that he’s higher than me. I nail him in the stomach with a few throws before he has time to retaliate. A snowball clips my ear and the snow goes down my sweater. My hands start to sting from my lack of gloves, but I don’t really notice. We’re laughing and jumping around on the snow hill, pegging each other like little kids. Sean laughs so much that his eyes water. When I least expect it, he charges me running straight at me. Sean’s body collides with mine, and he pins me in the snow, holding my hands down at my sides.
I yelp as snow goes places it shouldn’t. “You suck! Let me go! Lemme go! Lemmegahhhh!” My laughter turns into hysterical screeches when he yanks my feet and snow gets shoved up my back. I try to twist away, but he doesn’t let me.
Flailing, I kick my legs out of his grip and swing. My leg clotheslines him and Sean falls next to me. I take my chance and jump on top of him, straddling him and shove snow in his face. “You’re so mean!” I laugh, trying to make him eat snow.
Sean grabs my wrists and pulls me down on top of him. Our eyes lock and I can’t look away. I’m freezing, but I don’t care. I want him. Leaning in slowly, I think about kissing him, about how it would feel. That’s when someone opens the backdoor to the ice rink and starts yelling.
“You damn kids! Get the hell out of here!” He can’t see us, it’s so dark, but we’ve been so loud up until now that he knows we’re here. He shines a flashlight at the snow pile.
My eyes go wide and I stifle a laugh. I get off Sean and pull him to his feet, dragging him by the wrist around to the back of the snow pile. We stay there for a second, until the guy gives up, and then burst out laughing.
“Holy shit,” he says, doubled over and breathing hard. “I haven’t gotten yelled at like that since high school.”
“Yeah, what’d you do then?” I say, laughing.
“Toilet papered the principal’s car… and got caught by said principal when he left for lunch early.” Sean snorts a blast of laughter and shakes his head. “He let me have it.”
I smile at him as we head to my car. It feels like I should take his hand in mine, but I don’t. We smile at each other and get back into the car. Breathing hard, I look at him. My face is frozen and I’ve been smiling so much that it’s stuck like that.
“Thanks,” I say.
“For what?” Sean looks at me, but he doesn’t know it yet. There’s a stain that mars my life. It hangs over me like a lead balloon.
“I haven’t laughed so much in a really long time.”
Sean takes my hand and holds it to his lips, cradling my frozen fingers between his. “Neither have I.” Sean opens his mouth, like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. Instead he releases my hand and I drive him back to the restaurant where he grabs his bike and we part ways.
CHAPTER 11
By the time I get home, I’m cold and tired. My head is spinning, unable to understand how tonight went from disastrous, to bliss. The laugh lines on my face seem like they’re going to be etched onto my skin until I walk into my dorm room. Amber is on top of some guy, riding him like a horse, and they’re both naked. I look away, but it’s not before I get an eye full of her bouncing boobs and sex noises that I could have lived without hearing. Again.
I go into the shower and lock the door. I stay in there forever, hoping they’ll both pull their groin muscles or something. After a while, the hot water beats on my back and I start thinking about Sean. I wonder if I’ll ever be like that. Amber’s a skank. I wonder what made her that way, and hope to God that it doesn’t happen to me. When I get out of the shower, I wrap myself in a towel and pad out into our room. The monkey loving is over, and I head to find clothes.
Amber is sitting up on her bed with a pink sheet draped over her body. The guy she was with is gone. Disgusted, I say, “Was that the fourth guy this week?”
“Yes, no thanks to you. Dennis tried to dump me after you blabbed.” Amber grabs a pack of cigarettes and smacks them into her palm after opening the window. She’s smoking again. Wonderful.
“There’d be nothing to keep secret if you didn’t screw every guy who walked in here.” I yank a pair of sweats on and head to my bed.