Page 26 of Ski You Later (Alpine Glow #1)

Aurora’s saying things too, in quite a frantic matter, but I won’t be able to register anything she says until I have some caffeine in me.

As I hop off the side of my bed, I make a beeline to the kitchen, with the primary goal of drinking as much coffee as fast as possible.

I hear a strangled sound come from Aurora behind me, but I leave my room without listening .

My mood only grows more unpleasant when I find that all the lights have been turned on, and I have to squint my eyes yet again. Making my way to the kitchen, I can’t help but grumble at the fact that Aurora turned our house into the inside of a light bulb.

Using muscle memory to put the coffee pod in the machine, I put my arms on the counter and try to catch a couple more minutes of sleep.

Usually, I’m awake and ready to go at this time, but my sketch of Roman took longer than I anticipated.

His jaw has this unique structure that I couldn’t quite figure out how to shade from the angle I drew him.

After crafting up some sketches and configuring the correct angle, I was able to be proud of my last sketch.

This angle of the drawing was from underneath, as if the artist was looking up at him.

I tried my best to capture the slight feathering that’s always in his jaw.

Then I had to ensure the proportions were all correct.

It wasn’t until much later in the night, when I pulled the sketch away to get a different angle, that I realized that I drew him from the exact angle I see him.

I quickly put everything away at that point, not needing to read into that fact any further, but my brain wouldn’t shut down. Have we been together enough for it to be normal that I can draw him in that way ?

It’s hard to ignore the fact that I drew him with my favourite smile gracing his face. The one that comes to him naturally, but he usually does his best to tamper down. I even had the thought to add the faint smile lines that rest on his cheeks.

Not to mention that damn hair; hair that is screaming for someone’s hands to run through it.

As I stared at the ceiling waiting for sleep, all I could think about was how badly I wanted that somebody to be me.

My mind reels with these thoughts as I hear the coffee machine start to brew my salvation.

It isn’t a minute later when I feel a comforting hand land on the small of my back and starts rubbing gentle circles with the palm of their hand. It starts to dawn on me that I feel asleep on the counter, but the warmth seeping through my satin pajamas overrides any thoughts I might have had.

“Rhodes, we have to go love,” a deep voice whispers close to my ear.

I lean farther into the warmth and try to bury myself in that lovely sounding voice. “No, five more minutes,” I mumble this into the air, that warm hand still rubbing up and down my back .

“I would love nothing more than to stay in this moment. But we are already cutting it really close, we should get going.”

The words slowly register, and my body slowly tenses as I understand.

Aurora’s distress, noises in the hallway, a warm hand on my back and a voice that I would recognize anywhere.

Shock eradicates all the tiredness right out of my body, and he must feel this because he removes his beautifully warm hand.

Roman stands in front of me, a dark grey athletic shirt stretching across his shoulders. He has black sweatpants that hug his hips and fall smartly down his legs. After slowly drinking in this beautiful boy in front of me, my eyes quickly dart back to his face.

The smuggest smile I’ve ever seen is plastered there as he crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at me. This does nothing but cause my addled brain to fixate on the veins bulging his forearms and the fact that I have to draw them the next time I get the chance.

“What are you doing here?” I shout in surprise, as I try my best to cover up my embarrassing sleepwear. Of course, I had to wear my satin set with the little snowmen all over it .

“Well, Langley.” He leans in closer to me, so much so that I can feel the warmth practically radiating off him.

“I said I would be here at five thirty, and it’s now five forty.

” With his body practically pressed up against mine, he just has to slightly raise his wrist between us to display the time.

Horror, fear, and panic rocket through my system as I sprint toward my room. “We have to leave in five minutes!” His familiar chuckle sounds from the kitchen as I fly into my room and slam the door. Aurora’s gone, probably in the garage, loading everything into their car.

Fast as a rabbit on skis, I rush into the bathroom and do my best to make myself presentable.

Looking at the slight frizz to my hair, I cringe as I brush it out, but thank the heavens that I didn’t do heatless curls last night.

Roman seeing me with two giant sticks in my hair isn’t what I needed today.

Quickly doing my skincare while simultaneously brushing my teeth results in globs of lotion on my face.

But, I don’t have time to fix it as I throw everything into my toiletry bag.

My clothes, which were once folded nicely, lay strewn across my unmade bed.

Letting a loud groan out and a mental promise to get Aurora back, I pick everything up and dress quickly.

With everything loaded in my hands, I whip open my door with my foot and see the grump leaning against my door frame.

“You finally ready?” He looks down at me with a smug smile and I can’t help but glare back. Usually, I love making him smile, but this morning has frazzled me beyond belief.

“What time is it?” I shoulder past him as I ask in a panic, knowing full well the van will leave without us if we’re late.

“Don’t know?” He responds casually and I hear his footsteps right behind me.

“Are we super late?” I question in a panic and double-check that everything’s ready to go.

We still have to load all our bags into their car and actually get to the van lot.

As if sensing that I’m really panicking over here and not joking, I feel a weight leave my shoulder.

He starts taking bags off my person without even answering my question.

“Come on, let’s go.” With that, he turns on his heel and walks to the door.

I don’t think I could look crazier if I tried. He is, without a doubt, the most infuriating man I’ve ever met. Why can’t anything be easy with him! “Roman!” I yell as I storm after him in a huff .

As I fully prepare to throw a shoe at his head, I’m met with a completely empty space as we approach the front door. Taking in the house for the first time, I notice the lights are all off, and it’s completely silent.

“Aurora!” I yell just to have my voice echo through the empty space.

“She’s gone; she went with Landon and Xander. It’s just you and me, Langley.”

Turning back around to face him, he’s casually leaning on my entryway wall. I can’t stop the scowl that forms on my face, and I mirror his stance on the wall across. I’m pretty sure my stance holds more power since he has three pink overnight bags hanging off his body.

As neither of us moves, I can’t help but notice that he’s acting like he was a couple of weeks ago. Unhelpful and blunt.

“What is with you today?” The question blurts out before I can really think it through, but I don’t take it back as I watch him.

He’s obviously taken aback by this, his face changing from surprised to suspicious. “What’re you talking about? Everything is fine.”

“It obviously isn’t. You are acting all weird. ”

“I’m not acting weird. I’m just trying to get to the van on time!” His voice is monotone, but I can hear the tinge of anxiety behind it.

“Something’s wrong; tell me what it is.” I take a step forward as he leans farther against the wall. Even with almost a foot on me, he seems to fear my question as I continue to push.

“We really need to get going, Rhodes.”

“AH HA! You called me Rhodes! Tell me what’s wrong right now.” I whip my pointer finger in his direction and then promptly poke him a couple of times in the chest.

“I always call you Rhodes!”

“You never call me Rhodes!” I counter immediately.

Taking a step back, I square my shoulders and put on the deepest voice I can muster.

“ Hey, Langley, I’m going to act really weird today and just expect you not to notice.

Let me just cross my arms now and pretend I am too cool for everyone.

” Lifting my arms in the air, I cross them in the air and push farther into Roman.

His blank face looks back at me, not impressed in the slightest. “I don’t do that,” he deadpans .

I can’t help but laugh at him as I keep my crossed arms in the air. “You literally do this all the time! Cross your arms and glower.”

Sending a mix between a glower and a smoulder his way, I finally see how much he is fighting down a smile. He’s trying quite hard, so I make sure to purse my lips a lot and waggle my eyebrows in his direction.

Before I can even process this action, a full-bellied laugh bursts out of him, and he sends me the most wonderful smile I have ever seen. It takes over his whole face as he laughs at my ridiculousness, and tears seem to build in his eyes.

I drop my arms and step away from him now, a small giggle coming out of me as I watch him. His sleep-deprived brain probably finds this way funnier than it is, but I’ll take what I can get.

“Will you tell me what is going on with you now?” I add in a pleading voice as he recovers from his fit of laughter.

“I don’t really want to go into it. I’m just having a bad day, that’s all.” His words are gentle, as if he feels bad that he can’t give me more.

But I’m never going to push if someone’s not ready to talk about something. A case in point is the entirety of Aurora’s love life .

I start to slip on my booties and face Roman as he opens the front door for me. “You can always talk to me, you know. I’m your fake girlfriend, after all.”His face seems to fall even more after that statement, and he ushers me out the door.

As I make my way down the front steps, I catch the words he tries to hide under his breath. “That’s the whole problem, now isn’t it.”