“Done.”
Then, like a kid in a candy store, he hoisted up the sleds and dashed out of the house. Cambridge Common was closer than the park but had smaller hills. I’d never been sledding before in my entire life. So, I was all for the smaller hills, but Derek’s law school friends had headed up to the park, and so that was where we went.
By the time I was on top of the hill with nothing but a piece of plastic between me and the ground, I was deeply regretting my decision. “I don’t know if I can do this, Derek.”
He laughed. “You’ll do great!”
I’d watched him go down with intense trepidation, but he’d whooped loudly and run—literally run—back up the hill to go again.
“Um, you can take my turn.”
“Come on, Mars,” he coached. “Conquer your fear. You can do this, and it’s so much fun.”
“Okay, okay,” I said more to myself than him. “I can do this.”
“Ready?”
I wasn’t. He pushed me down the hill anyway. I screamed as I plummeted toward the bottom, and the group of law students cheered. I couldn’t close my eyes even if I wanted to. They were watering as the cold bit into them.
Eventually, I slowed and came to a stop, flopping forward into the snow. Derek’s battle cry behind me was the only way that I knew he’d taken the other sled down after me. He collapsed into the snow next to me, a wide, excited smile on his face. I’d never seen him so giddy before.
“You okay?” he asked.
I grinned at him. “Let’s do it again.”
He laughed and helped me to my feet. “That’s my girl.”
I opened my mouth to object, but he’d already hoisted both sleds into his arms and was carrying them toward the hill. I had no choice but to follow.
We took the sleds down the slopes until I couldn’t feel my extremities anymore and my teeth were chattering. Derek finally relented. We said good-bye to his friends and then trekked back through Cambridge to his apartment.
We both changed into sweats, and he made hot chocolate, as promised. I snuggled under a blanket, trying to regain feeling in my toes. He handed me my drink and turned on the TV to Jurassic Park. He got under the blanket next to me, and without a word, he pulled me in close to him. I should have objected, but I didn’t. He was warm.
“I’m using you for body heat,” I told him as I fitted my head against his shoulder.
“Feel free.”
We stayed like that until I was warm enough that I could have moved, but I still didn’t.
“Hey, Mars,” he said, turning the volume down on the television.
“Yeah?”
“How do you feel about New York?”
I tilted my head up to look at him. “I don’t have feelings about New York. I’ve never been.”
“Really?” he asked. “Do you want to go?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“How about spring break?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come with me to New York for spring break.” I tried to sit up, but his arm was still around me, and he just smiled as I listed back into him. “I want you to go with me.”
“Derek, I don’t know,” I said, looking down. “Why are you even going?”
“I have an interview.”
“Oh,” I whispered.
“Why do you sound so sad?”
My gaze met his again. “You’re going to leave at the end of the semester.”
“Maybe. That makes you sad?”
“It shouldn’t, but… yes,” I admitted softly.
“New York isn’t that far away.”
“No.”
But my fears were deeply rooted. They were a result of him ditching me all those years ago. He didn’t seem like the same guy who had done that to me. He’d put in all the effort to win me over. And dammit, it was working. Only for him to leave again.
“Can we cross that bridge when we get there?” he asked. “Just come with me to New York. You’ve never been. I’m staying with a buddy. He won’t care if you come with.”
“You’re sure?”
Derek chuckled. “Yes. He has plenty of room.”
“Okay,” I said quietly.
He didn’t push for more. He just held me against him with such tender ease. “Don’t think about it, Mars. Just be here with me.”
“I don’t want it to get complicated,” I told him.
“Then don’t make it complicated.”
20
Savannah
Present
Everything was a fog the next morning after Ash’s birthday.
How much had I had to drink? I’d stopped counting when I hit double digits. Plus, the chocolate martini to top it all off. I didn’t know the last time I’d had that much to drink in one night, and my body sure wasn’t twenty-one anymore. The hangover was significantly worse.
I stumbled through Gran’s house, searching for some Tylenol and wishing desperately for a Gatorade or Pedialyte to fix this. It wasn’t until the Tylenol had gone down and I was stepping out of a shower that I remembered the rest of the night.