Just one week from Christmas, Sam Thornton and her twin brother are inconvenienced with the news of new neighbors who, unfortunately, have been befriended by their overly social parents.
So when they are forced to hang out with the Baker's son for...
Still unmotivated but we are pressing through, baby. Screw you, writers block.
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"So you're not going to tell me what's up with you?" Winter laughs, his eyes sparkling with determined curiosity.
"Nope." I answer lightly with a shrug as I finish off my hot cocoa. My eyes wonder to the windows where the sun has begun to set and the light fades slowly from the sky. There wasn't much light to begin with considering all the dark clouds of snow that have been swirling for the last two days.
His lips purse to the side as he chews the inside of his cheek. "If it has something to do with all the comments your brother keeps making, I've noticed it too."
I freeze, that twisted feeling of confrontation sinking into the pit of my stomach. "Of course you have." I laugh nervously.
"Seriously, Sam, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it." He tells me kindly with a genuine smile. My heart stammers a little bit at the sight.
"He's just so...embarrassing." I groan, laying my head in my hands. My hair falls around my face like a canopy, protecting me from Winter's inspecting eyes.
His large hand is suddenly laid on my back. "No he's not. He's just a bit blunt, that's all." His voice is soothing and pairs perfectly with his thumb rubbing circles between my shoulders.
My eyes widen behind my hair in surprise but I quickly recover, forcing myself to relax. "He's worse than blunt. Usually I can handle it and I even think it's funny but when it's about me and my personal life it's kind of the worst." I trip over my words, the syllables not flowing right and making my cheeks burn.
I don't look at him as he speaks, "You know, I don't see what's so embarrassing about someone exposing the truth. If it's the truth, you should own up to it and not hide from it, you know?" His voice sounds cautious as if he's walking on eggshells.
My head whips over to the side, my brows furrowed. "And what is the truth?" My eyes meet his defiantly and a daring feeling overtakes me when his bold stare freezes me in place.
"I mean that if Dakota is being blunt about the truth, even if he is an idiot about it, we shouldn't be embarrassed by it." Winter says in a quiet tone as if we're sharing some sort of secret.
Is he implying that he definitely likes me? I mean I know that it's been implied before and that, in his dad's office, he spoke about finding someone else and we had that moment in his bedroom but...something about the boy in front of me having real life feelings for me is so hard for me to believe.
Why is it that my first instinct is to just blame everything on me being presumptuous and making something out of nothing. Why is it so completely scary for me to think that someone like Winter could possibly be interested in me?
