Page 6 of Wild Card 13

And through all of it, Ty kept finding his way back beside me. He handed me gloves when my fingers got cold. Stole marshmallows off my plate. Leaned close so I could hear him over the music.

Every tiny thing felt bigger than it probably was. Which was terrifying.

At some point Mason narrowed his eyes at us from across the fire.

“Oh,” he said slowly.

Ty pointed at him immediately. “Don’t.”

“You like her.”

“Mase.”

“You have library feelings.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

I nearly choked on hot chocolate trying not to laugh.

Simon looked delighted. “You’re blushing!” he accused.

Ty actually flipped him off.

The entire group lost their minds.

And somehow, impossibly, I realized something awful. I washaving fun. Not polite-smiling-through-social-events fun. The kind that made your stomach ache from laughing too hard.

The kind that made time disappear.

Snow continued falling softly around us. Music drifted over the ice. The fire crackled warm against my frozen cheeks while Ty sat beside me close enough that his knee bumped mine every few minutes without either of us moving away.

Finally, Ty leaned closer. “You trust me?”

I looked over at him. “Depends.”

“Come skate with me.”

“I told you I don’t skate.”

“You can stand there while I look impressive.”

“That seems narcissistic.”

“It’s one of my best qualities.”

I laughed softly.

Ty held his hand out anyway. The lake stretched endlessly behind him beneath strings of glowing lights and falling snow. Beautiful. Terrifying. And somehow impossible to say no to.

So, I took his hand. The ice groaned faintly beneath my borrowed skates as Ty guided me farther away from shore.

“I’m going to die,” I informed him. “I can literally hear the lake cracking.”

“We’re fine. It’s thick.”

“That is not comforting.”

Ty laughed, steadying both hands on my waist before I could slip again. The contact hit me like an electric shock. Warm palms. Cold air. Snowflakes caught in his hair. Everything inside me went strangely quiet.