Page 21 of Delay of Game

As soon as we enter the cabin, I’m hit with the smell of sandalwood and patchouli, and I smile at my mom’s choice of essential oils. This has always been her favorite and I can’t deny that it smells divine.

Jordan makes a few trips to the car and brings everything we need inside as I put food away in the fridge. When I’m done, I step away from the large kitchen island, and into the living room. My eyes take in the place that’s been a stepping stone for every single core memory I have. Birthdays, Christmases, New Years—they all happened right here at this cabin.

The fireplace has seen better days, but there is dry wood next to it. No doubt my dad paid someone to stop by and stock the place up for us. The pictures on top of the mantel show all of us Elliots over the years, but the one that snags my attention is a family picture from Michael and Tangela’s wedding. We were all in our best attire, but towards the end of the night, when everyone had let loose not just their ties and shoe straps, but also their inhibitions. We look like one big happy family, everyone laughing and smiling, clinking together champagne flutes.

“That has to be one of my favorite days,” Jordan says from behind me, and I startle. His hands land on my shoulders as he steadies me, and I blink up at him. He’s so cute, with a dopey smile on his face as he reminisces about that night. Does he remember how we danced together that night, and how I called him cute?

“Why is that?” I ask, finally finding my voice.

“All our friends and family were there, and we were celebrating love. I’ll never forget it,” he says, gaze moving from the picture to me. The chocolate hue is gone now, but his eyes are just another lovely shade of brown. They get darker as his eyes roam over my face and his thumb moves back and forth on my navy blue sweatshirt, near my collarbone.

I shiver and he stops the movement, but he doesn’t pull away. Jordan steps in and gives me a tentative hug, and I’m so stunned that for a moment, I just stand there, arms at my sides.

But then the sweet scent of him envelops me and I lose all train of thought, melting into him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“You’re cold,” he says, pulling back and rubbing my arms up and down. “I’ll start a fire.”

I nod but don’t let go of his waist right away, basking in his closeness for a moment longer, my cheek pressed against his heart.

“I’ll make us some hot cocoa,” I say when I finally step away.

Jordan

When Robbie saidwe should go ahead without them, I thought it was a terrible idea. I almost bailed.Almost. It was the sight of Alice bundled up in her favorite leggings and navy blue sweatshirt with a pink pom-pom hat on her head, ready to go to the cabin, that stopped me.

The weather was worse than I expected, and I made sure not to distract her while she drove us, even though all I wanted was to finally talk to her and see how she was doing after her birthday.

The truth is, I want to spend time with her constantly because she’s funny and a great conversationalist, and eventhough I might have some unresolved feelings for her that I could never act on, that doesn’t mean I should ignore her.

I tried keeping my distance, but that never seemed to fucking work in the past. Not until she kissed me that night two years ago and I completely freaked out. My biggest regret was not explaining why I needed to put some distance between us. I was so terrified of letting her in.

And yet, I can’t help but feel drawn to her like a moth to the flame.

Ilikeher.

Even though I have no right to, I want to be the person she confides in, the one she's not afraid to ask for help. I want to be thereforher.

Maybe that’s why I hugged her. The urge to hold her in my arms as she shivered was so strong, I couldn’t help myself.

Outside, the snow is still coming down, blanketing the backyard and the frozen lake in a thick layer of white. Inside, the fire is roaring as we unpack more things, stocking up the pantry with breads and muffins, chips and various snacks. As Alice makes us hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and caramel syrup, I pull out a few board games from the shelf near the fireplace.

“Do you want to play card games or strategy games?” I ask, holding up Power Grid and Exploding Kittens.

Alice wrinkles her nose in the cutest way and I’m so dumbstruck, staring at her pretty face, cataloging her bow-shaped lips and small button nose, that I miss her answer.

“Sorry, which one?” I ask.

She giggles as she places our drinks down on the coffee table, and even that small little noise gets me all flustered.What is wrong with me?

“I said, maybe we can play later. We should get some dinner started soon, since it seems like we’re kind of stuck here for therest of the day. It’s snowing too much to hit the slopes,” she says with a sigh.

I frown, looking out through the window to the front of the cabin and notice how much snow there really is accumulating on the roads. “Think we’ll be fine with the truck tomorrow?”

“Probably. They’ll plow the roads at least, but we’ll need to take care of the driveway in the morning. There’s a snow blower somewhere in the garage as well as shovels.”

“Should be fine, then. Are you excited to snowboard?” I ask, and take a seat next to her on the couch as we both sip on our hot cocoa and look at the fireplace, the faint smell of smoke and burning wood permeating the air.

Alice grins and fiddles with her hair with one hand, cradling the mug with the other. “So excited, can’t wait to kick your ass racing down the slope.”

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