I WOKE UP AND slowly opened my eyes. Why am I so cold?

I looked around, confused by my surroundings and by the dull ache in my ribs. My eyes fell on Colton as he slept on the couch. The memories came crashing back.

We had kissed for hours. But nothing else had happened. Colton remained a perfect gentleman despite whether I wanted him to or not. He had even gotten up and slept on the couch after I had fallen asleep.

I looked over my shoulder. The wood in the fireplace had burned down to a few hot embers. I looked at the nearby bundle of wood. Pulling the blanket around my body, I grabbed a few pieces of wood and peeled the bark off like Colton had done the night before. Soft light filled the room, weakened by the snow that continued to fall from the sky. Clenching my teeth, I tried to rip a few pieces of the paper bag without waking Colton. I failed.

"Hey," he said softly. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you. The fire went out."

Colton sat up and stretched his arms above his head, showing off his perfectly toned abs. "Here, let me help you."

He got up and helped me stack the wood in the fireplace. "Let's get a little of this bark and paper bag in there," he said, shoving the kindling between the logs. Colton held a larger piece of paper bag against the glowing embers. It quickly caught fire, and Colton placed it up against several pieces of kindling, lighting the fire from various points. "There we go."

"Much better," I said, holding my hands out toward the growing flames.

Colton rubbed the sides of his arms with his hands. "Sorry, I meant to wake up early and add logs before it went out."

I shivered, wincing from the pain emanating from my ribs.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concern in his voice.

I pulled the blanket tighter around my body. "My ribs hurt," I admitted. "But my face and head feel a little bit better."

Colton frowned. "It's too cold in here for you."

I bit my lower lip. I had an idea, but I didn't want it to come across as needy.

Screw it, I'm freezing! "Maybe you could come lay down next to me? You know, body heat equals warmth."

"You want me to get under the covers with you?" Colton said with a large grin. "Are you just trying to get in my pants?"

My face burned with embarrassment. "No, I just—I'm just—"

"I'm just messing with you," he said.

A moment later, he bounded off the couch and bounced onto the mattress next to me. I lifted my arm. Colton scooted under the blanket and pulled it down around us. The warmth of his body felt amazing. He carefully draped his arm around my waist.

"Does that hurt?" he asked.

"No, you're good," I assured him.

"You're the perfect size little spoon," he said as he nuzzled into my neck.

I ran my hands over his arm. "You make a pretty good big spoon."

As the temperature in the room went from freezing to warm, I fell asleep in Colton's arms.

_____

A FEW HOURS LATER, I woke up to a strange sound. Rolling over, I felt a pang of disappointment once I realized that Colton's arm was no longer around my side.

"You're up, sleepyhead."

I rubbed my eyes and smiled. "What are you up to?"

"Here," he said, handing me a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

"Welcome," he responded as he sat down on the couch with his sandwich.

I sat up and placed the plate down so I could stretch my arms above my head. "Ouch."

"Ribs still hurting?" Colton asked.

I nodded.

Colton handed me some grape juice and the bottle of ibuprofen. "This should help."

"Thanks," I said, setting the bottle down and taking a swig of juice. "Mmmm, PB and J, my fav."

After finishing my sandwich, I took two pills and finished the juice.

Colton grabbed my plate. "So, do you want the good news or the bad news?"

I paused. "Bad?"

"The snow is still coming down. There are at least ten inches out there right now."

I frowned. "And the good news?"

Colton smiled and pulled something out from behind the couch. "Board games! I found loads of board games! There's enough entertainment here to last us for days."

I tried to smile, but couldn't stop the tears from welling in my eyes.

Colton's face fell. "Oh no, why are you crying? I'm sorry—we don't need to play games. I just found them in the closet when I was looking for a shovel."

I wiped the tears away.

"Claudia, I'm really sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. It's just, my—my—"

Colton set the games down and sat next to me on the mattress. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But if you do, I'm here for you."

I wiped fresh tears away. "I used to play those games with my family. We would come up here every Christmas."

"That sounds like a nice memory," he said as he reached for my hand.

"They were nice memories. It's just, they all stopped..."

He ran his thumb over the back of my hand.

"There was an accident," I said. "A terrible accident. I survived. My brother was hurt badly, but he's okay now. My parents, they..."

Colton squeezed my hand.

"They didn't make it."

Hot tears streaked down my face. Colton pulled me into his arms and stroked my hair. "I'm really sorry you went through that," he whispered into my ear.

He held me as I cried.

After several minutes passed, I pulled back and wiped my face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lay this all on you."

"Are you serious?" Colton.

"What?"

Colton raised an eyebrow. "I told you within hours of meeting you that people thought my mom killed my dad and that they thought I helped covered up his death. Laying this on me is... it's refreshing."

I frowned. "Refreshing?"

"Sorry, that's the wrong word. Completely wrong. I just mean that I'm glad you told me."

A strange sensation passed over me. An invisible weight that had been pressing down on me suddenly lifted. I had known this guy for less than a day, and I already shared more with him than my last two boyfriends.

Claudia, slow your roll. Don't get too wrapped up in things. In a few weeks, you'll never see this guy again.

"I'm glad I told you too," I said. "I never tell anyone, and sometimes it just gets to be too much to keep to myself."

Colton kissed me on the forehead. "You can tell me anything."

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. Even if I was never going to see him after this, it didn't mean I couldn't enjoy my time with him now.

*******

Cliffhangers,

Do you think Claudia and Colton are meant to be or is she setting herself up for a major heartbreak?

Hearts and Daggers,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo