Page 59 of Late Nights

“A snowball fight.” Halle nodded as she looked at us, a knowing look on her face. “How…fun,” she mused, as if she wanted to say a different word. If I had to guess which one she wanted to use, I’d say romantic.

I gave her a warning look, but it only made her smile more smug.

“Well, I’m glad you guys are okay,” West said. He grabbed Halle’s hand, his face softening as he looked at her. “We need to go get ready for our date.”

I’d almost forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. West had made a reservation at some fancy restaurant in town, planning to have a romantic night alone with Halle.

They headed inside the house, and Demi turned to Kate and Jax. “What are you two doing tonight?”

“Jax and I are going to head into town and check out the casino,” Kate said as we made our way inside. “I didn’t want to stay in and be sad about being single on Valentine’s Day. Going out for a night on the town sounds more fun.”

“Says the girl who will eventually tell me halfway through the night that she wants to go home, put on comfy clothes, and eat ice cream while we watch a movie,” Jax piped in.

Kate elbowed him in the side. “You don’t know that for sure. Maybe Lake Tahoe’s nightlife is right up my alley.”

He exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, maybe.”

“What about you guys?” Kate asked us.

“Uh,” she glanced at me. “I’m not really sure.”

“We don’t have any plans,” I said.

“You guys are welcome to join us,” Jax said, and Kate nodded.

I liked Jax and Kate a lot, but I had no desire to go out tonight. “I’m good with staying in tonight.” I turned to Demi. “But if you want to go out with them, you should.”

“Thanks for the invite,” she said to them. “But I’ve never really gotten into the casino scene. Plus working at The Bridger fills my nightlife quota.”

“Okay,” Kate said. “Well, we’re going to go get cleaned up too and see what kind of mischief we can get into.”

Jax shook his head at her. “People who get into mischief don’t use that word or talk like that.”

Kate laughed as she headed up the stairs. “Oh, stop, and let me have my fun.”

“I always do,” he said as he followed her.

Demi and I stood in the living room, still in our snow gear.

“I’m going to go take a bath and read,” she said, pointing toward the stairs. “Thanks for the snowmobile ride. I had fun.”

“Me too.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets, suddenly feeling awkward.

Her lips tipped up in a small smile, as if she could tell I wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, before she turned and made her way up the stairs.

I continued to stand there, turning to look out the large windows framing the snow-covered backyard and the path to the lake, the wooden dock somehow free from most of the snow as it stretched out into the icy water.

What was I supposed to do all night alone in this house with Demi? The house was huge, but even sixteen thousand square feet wouldn’t be enough to keep me from seeking her out.

A restless energy pulsed through me. I needed to keep myself busy, keep my brain occupied by something other than spending one-on-one time with Demi on one of the most romantic nights of the year.

I jogged up the stairs to put on some workout clothes, planning to work Demi out of my system and hopefully get my thoughts about her in a friendly place.

I could hear the sound of running water from behind Demi’s closed bedroom door, and it immediately had me thinking of her and the bath she’d said she was going to take. I ran a hand down my face and let out a groan. This had better be one heck of a workout if I was going to get that image out of my head.

I put on my workout clothes fast and ran back downstairs to the gym like it was my warm-up. I went from set to set, pushing my muscles, hoping the burn would also burn my feelings for Demi. But after an hour, I still hadn’t gotten rid of the pull she seemed to have on me.

Even after showering, catching up on work emails, and mindlessly scrolling through social media, my mind kept drifting to Demi. Was she still in her room? Was she reading downstairs? Was she hungry? Should I offer to make dinner for us? Should we try watching another movie? Or would I not be able to keep my hands to myself again?

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