December 28th, 2022

    "Alright, everyone," Dad calls from down the stairs, "let's head out."

     We're spending our afternoon at a ski lodge a little over an hour away. Mom, dad, and Nikki decided to go last night while talking, informing the rest of us via group text later on.

    I barely ate my breakfast this morning, so lost in a train of thought. I like Wyatt, and not in a friendly, I forgive him, and we're best friends again kind of way, but in an, I can't stop thinking about him, I want to kiss him and run my fingers through his hair, kind of way. I'm completely and utterly screwed. Somehow everything and nothing changed in no time at all.

    Mom and dad are rushing as I emerge down the stairs, making sure they have everything they need, "Marley, do you mind driving? We won't have enough room in our car."

     "That's fine." I shrug. Living in the city, I rarely drive, so it's something I don't mind doing whenever I'm home.

    "Perfect," Mom sighs. She held Skye's helmet in her hand, "Wyatt, you can drive down with Marley."

    Wyatt walks out of the living room at the mention of his name, steaming cup of coffee in hand. He seems much more chill than me, most likely because I'm the only one having a major revelation about my feelings. Wyatt's wearing a grey hoodie and black jeans; his hair a mess of curls that he didn't bother fixing. Part of me wants to just reach over and fix it, "Cool, is Harper joining us too?" I ask, crossing my fingers behind my back.

    If Harper joins, there's no way Wyatt and I can have any conversation that'd make my feelings grow stronger. She makes everything less awkward. "No, Charlie is picking her up. Then they're going to some party afterwards."

   "Oh, okay," I nod, pushing away the giddy feeling in my stomach. It's just a car ride, Marley. Calm down.

    Dad enters the foyer, with Skye's ski equipment tucked under his arm, "we all ready to go?" He asks, tossing me the keys to his car. I catch them before they can hit the ground. Everyone makes their way outside. Lizzie and James are taking their car, buckling the twins in their car seats. Harper and Charlie both sit in the front seats of his car. The boy waves to me, a smile on his face. His hair had grown since I'd last been home. His blonde hair now ended at his neck. He and Harper were both the coolest looking high school seniors I've ever seen. They make high school Marley and Wyatt look even more awkward.

    Speaking of Wyatt, he's slid into the passenger seat of dad's car, sorting through the miscellaneous CDs. He looks so focused, his eyes squinting slightly as he reads all the titles, "anything good?" I ask him, putting the key in the ignition and starting the car.

    "Not really," He chuckles, putting the case of CDs back, "your dad has weird music taste."

    "I'm shocked he still has all of those in here," I admit, adjusting my mirrors slightly with the automated button, "then again, I don't think he knows how to connect his phone to the Bluetooth feature yet."

    "There's Bluetooth?" Wyatt asks, sighing slightly. I can see him pull his phone out of his pocket out of the corner of my eye, already getting to work on connecting his phone. Music starts playing a minute or so later.

    Silence falls over us, and all of the sudden, I have no idea what to say to Wyatt. The other day, I never overthought about what to say to him. Conversations just flowed between us so naturally. I don't know how to talk to a guy I like. I've actively avoided dating for this exact reason, I'm not the kind of girl who flirts and knows what to say to make guys like them.

    Especially when that guy is Wyatt.

    "You know what we should do," Wyatt breaks the silence a few minutes later, lowering the volume of the music. I hum, shaking my head, indicating for him to continue, "we should play a car game."

    "A game?" I question, chuckling, "what are we, twelve?"

     "C'mon, it'll be fun," He presses, reaching over to poke my arm, "we can play the letter game? You always loved that one."

    I had always loved that one, mainly because Wyatt always lost. The game was, you go back and forth, naming words that start with the alphabet letters, and you're given a category. Whoever can't think of a word first loses.

    "I am only playing because I want to beat you," I inform him, sighing. That wasn't entirely true. I was glad that Wyatt had broken the silence, that he didn't feel awkward since last night.

   "I expect nothing less," Wyatt chuckles. His laugh makes me melt, "okay, the category is adjectives."

   "Good one," I nod my head in approval, "you first."

    Wyatt hums, thinking about it for a second before saying, "Adorable."

    "Bewildered."

    "Captivating."

    I can feel Wyatt watching me. I resist the urge to take my eyes off the highway and sneak a peek at him, "Dauntless."

    "Effortless."

     "Formidable."

     "Gorgeous."

    Is he doing what I think he is? All of his words connected, their meaning overlapping in some way. I dare to glance over at Wyatt, only to find him smirking. He's doing it on purpose. As the game goes on, Wyatt's choice of words continued to reveal a pattern. He says words like irresistible, majestic, and spectacular. His gaze does not leave me once as he does.

    We move on to other games once we finish the letter game, and I'm thankful for it. My cheeks a2re on fire, and the more the game went on, the harder it became to resist the blush that wanted to spread across them. I knew he was just playing around; Wyatt didn't actually mean all of the complimentary words he was throwing my way.

    We played I Spy, 21 questions, and another round of the Letter Game before arriving at the ski resort. The resort was large and wooden, with a cozy cabin-like feel. It was crowded, with people in puffy coats crowded all over the place. We all met in the lobby by the large tree that sat in the center of the space. Mom passed around our day passes, which allowed us entry into any of the amenities for the day.

    "Are you sure you don't mind watching the twins while we get massages?" Lizzie asks mom, slipping the lanyard that the card was attached to over her neck. There's also a spa somewhere in the resort, one Lizzie and James are be spending their day at.

   "Of course, we don't," Mom coos, tickling Elliot's tummy. He and Iris both wore fuzzy onesies with hoods with bear ears. They looked like little teddy bears.

    Mom and Nikki were planning to spend their day in the library of the resort, sipping hot cocoa and watching the twins. Dad and Skye are going to the bunny hill for kids skiing. She was practically bouncing off the walls, eager to get out there.

    "Do you guys wanna go Skiing?" Charlie asks Wyatt and I, his arm wrapped around Harper's shoulder. He was much taller than my younger sister, standing a little taller than both Wyatt and me.

   "Wyatt on Skis?" I laugh, shaking my head. He was the least graceful person I know. The thought of him trying to balance on skis was both comical and adorable. "That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

    "Pfft," Wyatt scoffs, playfully rolling his eyes at me. He'd placed a beanie on his head since entering the building, his hood pulled up to conceal his face from others, "I can Ski."

    "Can you?" I ask him, quirking my brow unconvinced, "cause if I remember correctly, you used to go drink hot chocolate with our moms whenever the rest of us skied?"

    Wyatt never even tried when we were younger. I wasn't good at it either, but at least I'd tried. I ended up quitting, too, partially because I couldn't stand the ride up the ski lift. "You're the worst," He mumbles, though the smile on his face says otherwise. I bite my lip, repressing the wide grin that so terribly wants to dance across my lips.

    "Aw," I force a pout on my lips, "that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

    "Alright, well," Harper clears her throat, bringing both Wyatt and I's attention back to her. She eyes both Wyatt and I suspiciously, "Charlie and I are gonna go skiing now? See you at dinner?"

    "Yeah," I smile, nodding my head, "see ya."

     Everyone goes off their separate ways. Leaving Wyatt and I in front of the tree, alone again. "I guess that leaves just us," Wyatt nudges my arm with his, smirking, "What should we do, Chamber?"

   I hum, "I could always catch up with Harper and Charlie... I'm sure our moms would love for you to join them."

   "And not spend time with my best friend?" He asks, pretending to be shocked. A pang hits my heart at his choice of words, "come on, I know just the thing." He grabs my hand, interlocking our fingers before dragging me out of the resort. It wasn't bitter cold today, but the resort had snow, enough for us to do any of the activities the resort offers.

    Wyatt's hands were cold against my warm ones. His calloused fingers fit with mine perfectly, like a missing piece to a puzzle. A couple days ago, I would have complained that he was dragging me around, but today, I just laugh, cherishing the feeling of his hand in mine.

    "Viola," He speaks in a very convincing French accent, gesturing with the hand that isn't in mine towards where he's taken me. We're at a lift that led up to tubing. At the top of the large hill, I see employees passing tubes to people.

    "Do we have to ride that?" I ask him, my eyes landing on the rickety-looking ski lift. Heights were not my thing, and the sketchy-looking contraption was not reassuring looking. It looks like at any minute, it could collapse.

   "Yeah," Wyatt nods, his brows furrow into concern, seeing my face, "you're not scared of heights still? Are you?"

    "I'm not scared," I scoff, crossing my arms across my chest, "I just don't like them. That's all."

    "That's why you didn't wanna go skiing," He nods his head in understanding, "you're still scared of heights."

    "I'm fine once I'm up there," I inform him, which is true. There was something about the contraption that sent us up that made me nervous, but once I'm up there, I'd be fine. 

    "Prove it." Wyatt smirks, raising his brow at me, "since you're not scared."

     "I hate you," I mutter, walking ahead of him towards the Ski lift that led to the top of the tubing hill.

    Wyatt rushes to catch up to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I force the smile that flashes on my lips away, glaring at him, "Aw, c'mon Marles," He mutters, nuzzling his head on top of mine. I smile at that, and this time, he catches it, "yes, there it is. That beautiful smile that I love so much."

    Love so much... His words send a swarm of butterflies into my stomach.

    "Let's just get this over with," I mutter, playfully rolling my eyes.

    We make it onto the next seat on the lift, our legs dangling off the edge as we move up into the air. I grip the railing so hard my hands start to feel dumb, my eyes squeezed shut. The metal of the bar is cold. I regret not putting my gloves on before getting on. It feels like I'm going to slip right out. The air hits my legs, causing me to flinch.

   "Still not scared?" Wyatt questions. I don't have to peek over to know he's smirking. Happy to be the one right for a change.

   "Shut up," I mutter.

    Our cart shakes as Wyatt shifts closer, his hip now pressed against mine. He slides his arm around my waist, securing me into place, "open your eyes," He squeezes my side, "just look at me."

   I turn my head in his direction before opening my eyes. His green eyes were round with concern, waiting for mine to be connected with. He smiles at me reassuringly, helping my tense shoulders relax slightly, "There ya go," He nods, "it's not so bad, right?"

   "I still hate it," I inform him, although his green eyes do help me feel a lot calmer. Two types of nerves course through me now. The first is anytime the wind blows against our legs, and the second is related to how close Wyatt is.

    Despite my words, I don't dare to look away from Wyatt. We turn the ride up the ski lift into a giant staring contest, one both of us are determined to win. Before we know it, we're at the top of the hill, both having to look away from one another to step off.

    "Technically, you looked away first," Wyatt informs me, showing his pass to the employees who pass us a tube. It is large, one with two circles, for both of us to sit together. Neither of us requests individual ones, happy to ride together, "So I win."

    "You win by default," I correct him, helping him carry the tube over to the area where the employees pointed for us to go. The snow is shovelled in a way where we'd ride down smoothly, paved like a road.

    "Tiebreaker later?" Wyatt asks me, sitting in his spot. I follow suit, taking a seat in the one beside him. We both look a little ridiculous, bundled up in our winter clothes, our feet sprawled out in front of us. I put my gloves on, helping warm my practically numb hands.

    "Deal."

     An employee comes up behind us. He's probably Harper's age, with hair nearly as vibrant as Skye's. He bent down, so he's near our height, his hands holding the back of our tube, "you guys ready?" He asks. His teeth are lined with braces.

    "Almost," Wyatt tells him, reaching his hand over. Flexing his fingers in my direction, silently asking me to hold his, "just in case you get scared."

    I roll my eyes, scoffing. I ignore Wyatt's hand, looking at the teenage boy behind us instead, "yeah, we're ready."

    The teenager doesn't waste any time pushing the tube. We're sent flying down the hill, our tube spinning around as we go down the hill. "Woohoo," Wyatt yells somewhat obnoxiously, pumping his fist in the air. I laugh, following along in his cheering.

    Most of the tubes end at the same place near the bottom of the hill, where they'd made a blockade of snow that stops everyone. Me and Wyatt end up going off the track. We weren't headed towards a small blockade, slowing to a stop. We were headed towards a giant snowbank, one that neither of us was prepared for.

    Before we can try stopping it, we're launched into the snowbank. Our tube crashed to a halt. I land on my side while Wyatt lands face first, his face buried in the freezing cold snow. "This happened because you refused to hold my hand," He mutters into the snow, looking over at me. His entire face is red due to the cold, his brows white with snow.

    A giggle escapes my lips, and Wyatt follows, bursting into laughter too. Neither of us makes a move out of the snow, laughing too hard to even attempt to. After a minute or so, I lean over, still laughing slightly as I brush my gloved hand against Wyatt's face, wiping the snow off of it. He looks adorable, his cheeks blotched red. His lips were wet due to the snow, slightly pouty.

   The more I looked at them, the stronger the urge to lean in and kiss him becomes. I force my self to look up before the urge becomes to strong to resist, my eyes connecting with his once more. Wyatt has tugged his beanie off his head, revealing his mess of curls. I'm sure my hair is just as messy. I straightened it this morning, but it's now wet. I'm sure my natural frizzy waves were starting to show through.

    "Hot chocolate with the moms doesn't sound so bad anymore," Wyatt admits, pulling himself out of the snow. He holds his hand out to me next, and this time I accept it, allowing him to help me stand up.

    "Agreed."