At exactly 9am sharp, Jack stood in front of her door, wearing that smile she had missed. Summer had cleared things up at the coffee shop with Bev who told her to take the day of with the one condition that Summer promised her a big present for Christmas.
So now, as Summer stepped outside of her house in the thickest jacket and scarf she owned, Jack lent her his hand as they trotted down the street to her car.
"So where are we going?" Summer asked, caught somewhere between worry and excitement. She couldn't remember the last time someone gave her a surprise, looking aside from the time he walked into her coffee shop with his silver hair and golden smile.
"A place I hope you'll be open to staying at," Jack mysteriously replied. "Stay open minded today, Summer. Have the mind of a kid for one day."
Mind of a kid for one day. That should be doable. "Alright then; Take me away, Mr Frost."
~~~
They drove for just about twenty minutes into the deep landscape surrounding Whitefish. Summer who had lived here all her life was being taken places she never knew existed and drove down roads she hadn't seen before. When they stopped up and parked by a forest, she began to worry.
What if he brought her here to tell her he was a wanted murderer or something? He had taken her far away from her town and was now leading her into the woods. She knew so little about him, should she really be doing this?
"Coming?" Jack asked and smiled at her. His eyes twinkled with that Christmassy sparkle, and just like that, Summer knew there was no danger. Just like that.
She had to be crazy.
They walked in about ten minutes of silence through the frosty landscape. The air was chilly. Summer could see her own breath as they stepped over frozen foliage and fallen branches. The sky was blue above them and the sun shone down on the snowy trees so they sparkled. Kind of like Jack's eyes.
Finally, he stopped up when they reached a small clearing with a frozen lake. He turned and smiled at her. "Here we are."
Summer looked at the lake and had to frown. "Did we just come all the way out here for... a lake? You do know that Whitefish has lakes much closer by, right?"
"I wanted something excluded," He confessed and took a few steps towards her, "so I could talk to you and... maybe get you to understand."
"Understand what?" Summer was confused. She couldn't for the life of her see where this was going.
"I know we said we weren't going to go into... each other's pasts," He then started and looked deeply into her eyes. "But for this to have even the slightest chance of going just a little well, I need you to understand that... snow and ice wasn't what killed your parents."
Summer shut her eyes and released a breath. She couldn't believe he was going to do this, she saw his plan clearly now. "Jack, please don't...."
"No, remember what I told you?" He said and caught her hand when she was backing away. He pulled her back and pinned her flush against his body. "Innocence of a child today. Before your parents died. I want you to remember the joys of winter. The joys of playing in the snow, of building frosty the snowman," He cupped her face gently and leaned down to her. "Of skating on the ice."
Tears were welling up in Summer's eyes. She had avoided ice ever since her parents died—had hated it with a burning passion, and now she was supposed to just leave it all behind and go skate? "Jack..."
He pressed his lips over hers and enveloped her in his arms. He gently kissed her, nibbled at her lips and swept his tongue over the seams. Summer was breaking down in his arms, a tear now falling from her eyes. He was so gentle with her, coaxed all the sadness out of her body by transferring all the joy of winter from him into her. She felt it as he dipped his tongue into her mouth and slowly kissed her, so languidly and softly, it was like he was making love to her, right there in the snow.
When she had no breath left to breathe, Jack pulled away and blindly led her towards the edge of the lake, Summer following almost in a hazy state of mind. She couldn't think, couldn't find up and down. All she sensed was Jack's hands in hers, leading her onto the ice. When that first crack of her feet meeting it sounded, panic fled through her body. "I-is it safe?"
She heard Jack tap his cane twice against the ice. "It is now. Come on."
She gulped down her fear and kept her eyes closed as she followed him. She wasn't sure she could trust his word as she continued to hear the ice creak beneath her when she took another step. He didn't let go of her hands, but squeezed them tightly and let her know he was right there. She had no idea how far they were out on the ice until he suddenly stopped.
"Open your eyes, Summer."
Only because he was holding her hands did she dare to peel her eyelids apart. Little by little, the bright white winter wonderland appeared before her eyes and revealed... she was standing in the middle of the lake.
"Oh, my God," Summer shakily croaked and swallowed a heavy lump. She was in the middle. What if the ice cracked? What if she drowned? Couldn't get up? Couldn't—
"No harm is going to come to you," Jack said to her and made her eyes swirl back on him. "Because I'm right here. I'm looking out for you. Ice and snow is only scary if you don't execute caution," He whispered. "Like anything in life, if you're not careful, you could get hurt. Don't let winter take the blame for what could've happened with anything. Life is dangerous," He said and wiped the tear away that apparently rolled down Summer's cheek. "that's why we've got to make the most of it. Christmas is a time that reminds us of that. Don't be afraid anymore, Summer. Be free instead. Like your parents."
Summer closed her eyes and cried silently. She knew deep in her heart that what Jack said was true. Her parents could just as easily have died sailing or flying, was she supposed to hate water and air the rest of her life, then? Her fear of ice and snow had only been because she had been angry; angry that her parents decided to take a trip out to fetch the last gift she never got in the middle of the snowstorm. She told them she didn't care about the present, she just wanted them for Christmas. But her parents loved her too much; They wanted her to enjoy her present and told her they would just be away ten minutes.
But ten minutes became forever and Summer ended up 'enjoying' what was the first of many lonely Christmas Eve's.
"Come on," Jack murmured, bringing Summer back to the present. "Try moving with me."
Summer was scared, but with Jack there, it didn't seem as scary. She knew she had to get over her fear somehow, and here with Jack, she knew there was no one she would rather get over it with.
Carefully, she moved her foot. The ice felt slippery below her boot, but Jack held her firm. He moved his foot as well, waiting for her to take the next move. Timidly, she did.
One slide became two. Two became three, and three became countless. Before Summer really realized she was doing it, her and Jack were sliding slowly around on the ice, the thrill in her stomach telling her she was skating.
"Oh, my God." She gulped. She was skating.
"You're doing it!" Jack smiled widely and kept her skating. He was really good at it. "You're doing it, Summer!"
She was. She was skating. And it wasn't scary. It was... fun.
Innocence of a child.
Screaming out a laugh, Summer dared to let go of Jack's hand and began skating around all by herself, sliding one foot in front of the other. Jack skated a little away and let her have this moment, this liberating moment where she finally felt herself let go of her fears and embraced happiness instead, feeling like child once more.
She skated around on the big lake, twirling and spinning, of course almost falling a few times, but she wasn't scared. Jack was always right there, skating next to her with his cane sliding over the ice as well, his smile permanent on his lips. He was watching her with this look she couldn't pin down. Admiration? Pride? Love?
As the last thought flew through her head, Summer nearly tipped over and lost balance. Within the second, Jack was there, holding her arms, keeping her up. He wrapped her against his body and held her closely, leaned down to her face. His cheeks were pink and she guessed hers were, too, and it was beautiful. The cold nibbled at her ears and nose, but Jack... Jack kept her warm.
"Summer," He whispered and cupped her face. His lips hovered millimeters above hers. "I have to tell you something..."
"What? Tell me," Summer whispered back breathlessly. She was filled with so much happiness and joy right now, she felt as if nothing could bring her down.
"I..." He begun, swallowing heavily. She suddenly noticed he looked nervous. "Summer, I am—"
A loud ringing begun jingling from Summer's chest pocket. Jack froze up and Summer immediately woke up from her haze. She blinked twice as her phone rang again.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I have to take it, it could be Bev, there could've been an incident at the shop," She quickly pulled away and yanked her glove off to pull out her phone from her breast pocket. She opened her phone to see it was a number she didn't know. "Oh. I... should take it anyway," She looked up at Jack who had closed his mouth and lowered his eyes. He nodded silently and pulled away from her.
"Of course, go ahead."
Summer felt a pinch of guilt, but this could be one of her suppliers calling about some mix in her orders. She hated to do it right now, but she couldn't just abandon her shop. That's why she pressed answer and held the phone to her ear. "Hello, this is Summer."
As the voice on the phone begun talking, Summer's body chilled up. Ice started to spread through her veins, just as a cold invaded her heart. Her throat refused to swallow as she finally ended the call and turned to look at Jack. He lifted his eyes and looked at her with grief in them, as if he already knew what had happened. "Who was it?"
Summer's voice choked. "I-it was the hospital. B-Bev was in an accident," She somehow got out as her whole body began shaking. "She slid on some ice behind the shop as she was carrying out the trash. She's... she's unconscious."
Jack shut his eyes as if he knew that it was all over now; Summer felt the same old hatred infest her body, felt how all of the joy left her. For just ten happy, naïve minutes, she had let herself convince that winter wasn't that bad. But this... this was the final proof that winter was horrible.
"Summer, I'm so sorry," Jack whispered, barely audible. "It wasn't meant to be like this—"
"Just..." Summer interrupted and held up her hand. "Don't. I have to get to her. I'm driving back now. Are you coming or staying?"
Jack sighed as if he surrendered. As if he saw she was a lost cause. Or maybe because he knew that after this, there was no changing her mind. "Staying. You go."
She nodded. "Fine." She spun around, but then remembered she was on the ice. She nearly slipped and fell, but like always, Jack was instantly there, saving her. But she didn't want his touch now. It felt toxic in this moment. "I'm f-fine. Just... let me go, Jack."
"Summer—"
"No, Jack. I can't right now. I just can't."
He gave one final sigh and then let her go, let her carefully slide across the ice until she came to the edge and walked away. Summer couldn't get home fast enough, so she ran; ran until she got to the car and then drove back. Somehow, the roads weren't icy. It was like the weather Gods were with her and had cleared the roads for her, thawed them for her safety. They weren't slippery, but let her get to the hospital in no time. But it didn't change anything.
She was through with winter.
• • •
Curious question here; Which country are you from and how cold is it currently there?